Allie opened the door and walked out, squinting against the bright light. After the cool dimness reigning inside, the warm summer sunshine was blinding.
The wolf was still there, its large, fluffy, cloudy head watching her from the sky.
It bothered her a little, especially because neither her husband nor their two sons could see it. And it's been there for a week at least, day after day...
There was something at the back of Allie's mind, bothering her, a half forgotten story about a wolf appearing in the sky as an omen... She must have read it somewhere but could not remember where... Was it in a book...? Or was it something she heard from her grandmother who used to like telling her stories when she was little?
"Hey, watch out you two, have you finished your breakfast?" Allie scolded her two sons who pushed past her as she stood in the doorway, nearly toppling her to the ground.
They were well aware that this was the last week of their summer holidays and wanted to make the best of it.
"We have, mummy," the older one, Mark, a twelve-years-old young man nearly as tall as her, replied, as he stopped running at the very edge of the garden, at the foot of the first trees of the forest spreading behind it. He did not bother to turn around completely, he simply looked at her over his shoulder inquiringly, waiting for the inevitable instructions.
"Don't go too far, not beyond the stream. And make sure to come back for lunch. I'm taking you to buy some new clothes for school this afternoon. Did you hear me too, Jake?" she asked the younger one, who was already half hidden from view by the shadows of the ancient trees.
"Sure, mummy."
Then they vanished in the underbrush and Allie, giving another uneasy look to the wolf, walked back inside. Taking her phone from the kitchen counter she read her husband's message, assuring her that he was fine even though he missed her, and would be back in two days, as he had promised.
This is it, the reason of my... uneasiness is that Steve is not here, it's not the wolf... She tried to persuade herself while she collected the boys' used dishes and rinsed them in the sink. It did not help though, and the moment she tidied up Allie called her mother. She needed to know something, anything about the cloud wolf.
"Mum... How are you?" Allie asked when the other woman replied. "Yes. He'll be back soon. Listen... I know this... will sound weird but... I keep seeing this wolf's head... in the sky."
She pushed the words out with difficulty, expecting her mother to laugh, to tell her that she was crazy, or suggest that she became paranoid in her husband's absence... Allie did not expect to hear what her mother told her.
She listened in silence to a confused story about a cloud wolf appearing to not one, but several of her female ancestors, before some unpleasant event occured. Her mother did not know why, and had never seen one herself, so, she was not fully convinced that it was true, and that was why she had never told Allie about it before. However, just in case, she thought it would be better if Allie and the boys came to stay with her for a few days, at least until Steve got back.
"Hmm... Thanks mum." Allie said, unconvinced. "I'll think about it and let you know later... Yes. Bye."
It is just a story, she thought, peeking at the wolf through the window as she put the phone back on the counter. She had work to do, she would think about her mum's suggestion later.
Allie put her laptop on the kitchen table and sat down, trying to concentrate on her work the moment it came to life. Her thoughts, however, were strolling back to her mother's words. It wasn't true, her mum did not believe the story herself... But still...
She walked to the open back door and looked at the garden and the trees surrounding it. Nothing except that wolf looked extraordinary. And she couldn't do anything anyway, not until the boys returned.
Allie crossed the room again and sank on the sofa, there was no way she could focus on her work right now. She should pack the boys' clothes for a few days and wait for Steve's return at her mother's... Her eyes began to close before that thought was completely formed.
No. She could not sleep now. She shook her head and looked around. Something was... off. Her kitchen... looked different.
There was a little girl playing on the floor in the middle of the room, not far from the sofa she was sitting on. The sofa that... was now just a wooden bench...
She looked around, confused. Her white curtains were gone, and her counter, too. There was a fireplace in the spot where the hob had stood mere minutes ago, and foor was earthen...
The kitchen looked like Allie remembered it from the day when she and Steve walked into this house for the first time, thirteen years ago.
Her family owned this place for generations but no one in a long row of her ancestors had ever wished to make it their home. It was too far from any large town, too close to the wild woods. Allie fell in love with the old house at first sight and it didn't take much to persuade Steve that this was an ideal place to bring their children up.
"You're just like her, your great-great- grandmother, the woman who came from the forest." Her grandmother who loved telling stories told her then.
Unfortunately, she was too old already, so her stories did not make much sense. Allies had forgotten those few confused lines about a wild girl, who was found in the woods, surrounded by wolves, not far from this house by Allie's great-grandfather... The wolves left when they saw the man, and the girl, aged six or seven, was accepted by the childless family living in this house. Allie's ancestors.
Allie started at hearing the distant wail of sirens. It had only been a dream, her hazy mind assured her as she let her eyes stroll to her curtains, while her fingers caressed the soft pillows of the sofa.
The sirens... the sound was not close enough to alarm her... too much. Nonetheless, she walked outside, to check on her wolf.
She recalled the story of the wolf girl found in the woods clearly now... could it have something to do with the cloud wolf?
"Mummy!" Mark's voice pulled her out of her reverie.
Jake was at his heel as they ran across the lawn towards her, breathless.
"Fire. The forest is burning!"
She looked up to the sky one last time even as she ushered them inside, telling them to grab a few most necessary things quickly, only to see the wolf dissolve to nothingness in front of her eyes when the white wisps of the cloud were disturbed by the first faint, black ribbons of smoke.
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********* This story was written for Imagine this... Writing workshop, prompt n.17.
