Dawn

• Kate Park, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2015

I had to see him again. After dark, I summed up my courage to find him. As I stepped through the piling snow, my fingers frozen and breath coming out as mist, I recalled our magical encounter.
It was also an icy night when I unintentionally saw him gleaming in the moonlight. He had the most stunning sapphire eyes, although; they seemed proud but sad at the same time.
There, standing as brilliant as it could possibly be was an alpha male. He was a handsome wolf, white as the soft snow beneath my feet. Normally, one’s reaction would involve lots of screaming but not me. For I knew that he would not harm me. Showing no hesitation I slowly walked towards the grand wolf standing before me. When I was close enough to reach out and touch its silky fur, there was a gunshot noise.
It immediately bared its sharp teeth and after one glance at me, it leapt away into the gloomy forest.
Now I was back at the place where we met. I looked around, desperately hoping I could see him a second time. When I waited and he did not come I decided to enter the woods to look for him. After a few minutes walking into the forest, I regretted it immensely. I helplessly thought, ‘What if I can’t find him and die here all alone?’
Suddenly I heard a rustle in the bushes. Sweat formed on my forehead at the thought of being attacked by a wild beast. I started running for my life, when not even a meter off, I tripped on a branch that fell off a tree. When I heard the creature in the bush coming closer and closer toward, me I shrieked.
I shut my eyes so that I didn’t have to see what kind of brutal monster it was. A few moments later, when I couldn’t feel any painful snaps on my trembling body, I carefully opened my eyes.
I immediately forgot why I was terrified and smiled. In front of me was a wolf; small has a young Shih Tzu. It had soft, ivory fur which camouflaged perfectly in the snow. I knew straight away that it was the alpha male’s kin. “What are you doing here?” I whispered in the silence.
It stared back at me with its pale blue eyes. With shivering arms, I gently picked it up. On its back, was a hint of maroon. Blood. Hairs on my back prickled up. Was it the alpha male’s blood? Did the hunter’s attack? I didn’t have all the answers but I knew one thing. The alpha male wanted me to protect this precious pup. When I look out into the sky that was once caliginous, it was now opening up with a shining sun. Dawn was finally breaking.