Wolves (English)

Chapter 20

The minutes pass slowly as I walk through the forest with Dyre. And with the passing of those minutes, the environment also seems to adapt. Not in negative form, oh no, on the contrary! With every step we take, the leaves of the trees seem to be getting greener and the bushes are getting denser. The brown autumn leaves are slowly disappearing from the ground, giving way to the green grass of last summer. Flowers shoot out of their buds, high in the sky the song of birds, and far in the distance I think I see a rabbit running.

It is as if the dark mood of the past two days has turned into a kind of infatuation. As if the forest has tried to dispel my gloomy thoughts by cheering me up with all these bright colors. And if I'm being very honest, I have to admit that it did. I haven't felt the negative energy from before for a long time now. That feels like a relief. And that feeling is only reinforced by the enormous change in everything around me.

For the first time since I got Finn's phone call, I dare to relax a little. I notice Dyre taking over my merry mood, as she starts jumping around like a young cub, looking at me with shining eyes.

'I know,' I smile at her. 'It's really beautiful here.'

She looks at me and nods her pretty head at something in the distance. Curious, I follow her gaze.

Hey, am I seeing that right? Over there, behind some oak trees, I see a black shadow on four legs. When I squeeze my eyes a little more, the shadow begins to take shape. A long tail, two pointed ears and a pointed muzzle become visible.

'That looks like a wolf.' I look at Dyre. 'Is that right? Are we almost there?'

Her short nods confirm that suspicion. I see that the wolf is eating something in the distance because its mouth opens and closes several times. I don't know why, but secretly I hope it's not that poor rabbit I just saw passing by.

The closer we get to the strange wolf, the greener the forest becomes and the more visible the animal becomes. When we are a few meters away from the beautiful creature, it catches sight of us. It raises its red and white head towards us, and looks first at Dyre and then at me. The wolf's eyes widen and he or she walks towards us with slow steps.

Dyre presses her muzzle against the other wolf's muzzle. Greetings, I suppose. Then both Shadows face each other for minutes, making strange gestures with their heads, tails and ears. I suspect it is some kind of communication that can only take place between two wolves. Otherwise I should be able to hear it myself.

After a while, the red-haired wolf bows to me and signals us with his or her head that we can walk on. I smile gently at the animal and follow Dyre further into the woods.

Well, actually the forest doesn't extend much further. In the distance, I see a large object looming. I can't quite see what it is from this distance, but it looks like we're entering the realm of the Shadows.

That thought is confirmed when I notice Finn's brown curls. He is leaning against the object and apparently has not seen us yet. Only when Dyre barks at him briefly a few times does he notice us. He comes running towards us with a big smile on his face.

'Ester, Dyre! Good to have you here!' He stops in front of us and kneels for a moment to stroke Dyre's head. 'Well done, girl. I knew you would make it. You both!'

It's clear that Dyre beams at the compliment. Her ears go up and down happily and she presses her nose against Finn's.

He stands up laughing. 'Sorry, Ester. Where are my manners? Come on.' He grabs my hand and pulls me toward the big thing. 'You may not like this, but the whole pack already knows you're coming. So get ready for a warm welcome.'