The Last Day

The sunrise was so beautiful on a normal day, but from up here it seemed even better. The den sat a few feet from the cliff which surrounded one side of the lake. The waters were still dark as the rays of the rising sun had yet to hit them, but there was now enough light to make out the waterfall that hid the path up to the den and the thousands of trees filling the forest around the lake.

There was some movement behind me and it didn't surprise me when I heard a soft voice say, “Wolfie? What are you doing?” I turned my head toward the small girl that was standing just outside the den. With a small jerk of my head, I pulled her attention to the approaching sunrise. A soft wolfish smile pulled my lips upward as I heard her gasp and saw her eyes widen in wonder at the sight laid before them.

They had made it to this den last night after the little one had managed to stumble upon it in her exploration. These past three days had been some of my favorites as I had traveled with the girl. I had found her washed up on the side of a river, drenched from head to toe and freezing. After dragging her into a safe spot in the sun, I had curled up around her until she had woken up.

The first day the little girl, Lilly as she said her name was, had talked my ear off as she described her family and how she had fallen in the river while trying to reach for some flower. As she told me of her parents and siblings, I knew I needed to get her back to her family somehow. So, I had started my journey toward this lake. In my journeys, I had often found humans not too far from this area so I hoped I could find some this evening when the fires would start.

I turned to look at the little girl. Her hair was the same color as the dry leaves which were stuck in her hair from her crazy adventures over the last two days of travel.  No matter what I did, Lilly always managed to get distracted and head off to examine some plant or animal. It was cute, but it had made their journey take longer. Turning my head back to the sunrise, I felt a mixture of sadness yet joy at the thought of finding her family. 

After a while of watching the forest welcome the first morning rays, the little girl spoke up, “Wolfie, I am hungry.” I turned to look at her and found her large blue eyes staring at me. I nodded and crouched down next to her and allowed her to scramble up onto my back. When I felt her little legs wrap around my waist and her tiny hands grab onto the thick fur around my neck, I stood and carefully made my way down the cliff.

I sniffed around to find a berry bush and carried Lilly there before letting her slip down to the floor.  She shouted, “Berries!” before she started picking and eating them. I never cared for berries too much, but to each their own. I went a bit further into the woods and caught and ate a rabbit before once more returning to the girl. She had sat down next to the bush and was intensely staring at something on the ground while she absentmindedly continued plucking and eating berries. A small smile once more lifted my lips as my eyes found what she found so interesting.

A snail. It was probably the size of Lilly’s pinkie and doing nothing but slowly crawling along the branch, yet Lilly stared at it like it was the most interesting thing she had ever seen. Her wide eyes scarcely blinking as she watched. A quiet huff left my nose as I shook my head in something between amusement and wonder at the little girl in front of me. 

At the soft sound, her eyes snapped up to mine and a large grin covered her face. Lill quickly ran to me and threw her arms around my neck, leaving both the berries and the snail forgotten. “Wolfie, can we swim?” I nodded my head and the girl took off for the lake. I was able to quickly follow after her as she headed to the lake edge. She had wanted to go into the water at every lake, pond, and river we had seen but I hadn’t let her until now because it would’ve taken up too much time.

She went knee deep in the water before turning and splashing me. I jumped back to dodge the water before lunging forward to use my head to splash her back. We continued to play at the water’s edge splashing each other for a while, until she threw herself at me and I let her knock me onto my side and into the water. Lilly’s laugh filled the air as I gently used my paws to wrestle with her for a while longer.

The playing stopped when the girl froze with her gaze upward and eyes once more wide. I rolled up to my feet and turned to follow her gaze to find her staring at the waterfall. A strip of the mist around the wall of water had become multicolored. “A rainbow. It's a magic waterfall,” Lilly’s gentle whisper reached my ears as I once more turned to look at the little girl.

The expression she had on her face was similar to the ones she had had while looking at the sunrise, the berries, and the snail. Come to think of it, it had been the same expression she had had when she had looked at me that first day. Lilly had this same look on her face every time she looked around and saw something. Did she think this whole place was magical?

I softed nudged Lilly to bring her attention away from the waterfall and to get her to leave the lake. The little girl nodded and turned and ran off into the woods instantly. A huff left my mouth as I followed after the unwearying girl. The rest of the day was spent with Lilly picking berries, chasing me, and staring in awe at all the birds and animals we saw.

The sun started nearing the horizon way too quickly, but I knew it was time for her to return to her family. With a soft sigh I nudged Lilly’s arm and crouched next to her. Instead of climbing on top of me she asked, “Are we going somewhere?” I stood back up and nodded while looking at her. “Where?” With my nose I poked the small bracelet that circled her wrist. When her eyes looked at it, they widened and she asked, “My family?” I nodded and a squeal caused me to wince as her arms wrapped around my neck firmly.

When she let go I crouched down and she quickly climbed up my back. I stood only when I felt her latch onto me with her hands and then lifted my nose in the air. There was a faint scent of smoke in the air and I instantly started running toward it. As I got closer, I started to smell some meat and the scent of humans. The time to say goodbye was near.

Lilly had started to doze off and I slowed down as I felt her grip soften slightly. They were so close now that I could hear the sounds of two men chatting over the crackle of a warm fire. I walked slowly out of the trees and into the firelight. The two men didn’t notice me. Lilly was now asleep so I let out a soft growl to not wake her up. Again the men didn’t notice at first, but as I growled again in a lull in their conversation they both stiffened and looked around.

The first man who saw me, froze completely with wide eyes and the other followed his gaze before sucking in a sharp breath. They stared at me for a while before one asked, “What does it want?”

The second snorted before commenting, “Food, probably.”

“Do you think a hot dog will get her to go away?” The first wondered only to have the second one to snort once more. I rolled my eyes before letting out a soft whine and lowering my head slightly. Both their brows furrowed.

This time the second one commented, “Do you think she needs help?”

“Well, I am not going into the woods after her,” the first one quickly exclaimed. This brought a huff from me before I moved further into the firelight and turned just enough for them to see the little girl on my back.

They both sucked in a breath before the first men stated, “Do you remember George talking about the little girl that fell into the river a few days ago?” The other man nodded before he continued saying, “Do you think that is the missing little girl.” I pawed the ground and nodded my head while the mens’ eyes widened.

“No way... do you think she understands us?” the second man asked.

“No, she cant be that smart,” the first man responded, shaking his head. The comment caused me to growl which had both of their mouths falling open. Sadly, the growl was a bit too loud as I felt Lilly shift on me.

Her soft voice soon followed, “Who are you?”

The first man responded, “I am Matt and that is David. Did you fall into the river?” She didn’t vocally respond, but must’ve nodded as he nodded his head and looked at David before saying, “Call George, he should be able to get in contact with her parents.” When the man pulled out a phone, I crouched down to let Lilly slide off. I nudged her chest with my head softly and caused her to sit down before curling up around her.

Matt glanced toward the fire before returning his gaze to us and asked, “Are you hungry?” I felt her nod her head as it leaned against my back. My eyes followed his every move as he took the two cooked hotdogs and slowly approached us with them, one in a bun and one not. He handed me the one without a bun and I quickly grabbed and gobbled it up. Lilly gently took the one with a bun and started eating.

He hesitated before asking, “Do you want to come sit by the fire? You can have my chair.” I growled and lay my head down onto her lap. I was not going to leave her side until she was at the side of her parents. His eyes widened before he put his hands in the air and returned to the fire.

David hung up the phone as Matt sat back down and said, “George is on the way with her parents. They should be here soon.”

Matt nodded and sighed, “Then we wait.” With that, the two men grabbed two new hotdogs and started to cook them. Once Lilly finished eating hers, she rolled over onto her side, curled up slightly and fell asleep with her hands holding onto one of my front legs. I only moved when Matt offered me another hotdog.

The scene was eventually lit up by a car’s headlights as it approached and parked nearby. Three people got out of the car and approached the bright fire. A couple was holding hands and their eyes followed David’s gesturing finger till they landed on me. I lifted my head and nudged Lilly until she sat up and looked at me with a scrunched face. I angled my head toward her parents and a gasp left her lips as her eyes landed on them.

She quickly jumped off the ground, ran to them and exclaimed, “Mommy! Daddy!”

The couple dropped to their knees and opened their arms as they cried, “Lilly.”

A soft smile lifted my lips as I stared at the scene before the new man's voice reached my ears, “The wolf saved her?” My eyes met his before I nodded and stood up. Matt, David, and the new guy all watched me with open mouths, before shaking their heads and looking at the reunited family. When I turned back, I found both parents glistening eyes looking at me.

“Thank you,” They said at the same time before looking back down at their little girl. No one was watching me and I took the moment to slip back into the shadows. Just before I was too far away to hear, one of them said, “Where did she go?”. In answer, I threw my head back and howled a goodbye before dashing back to the den.

When I got there I climbed the path and stood at the edge of the cliff looking out over the forest. The gentle light from the moon revealed the trees as shadows and glistened off the misty waterfall. While in the waters of the lake, the full moon was reflected clearly on the otherwise dark waters. A normal night, after a strange and magical adventure. A howl filled the woods as once more I tilted my nose to the sky.