Lost to be found

Part 3

One morning I woke and wolf was not by my side. I went outside and called for him but he did not come running. I started walking around and searching for him but he was nowhere to be found. I gave up, deciding that he would return when he was ready. I went about things in the usual format. Everything was like my everyday routine. I kept a head out, always expecting wolf to come running around the corner but he never did. 

Two days past before the return of wolf. He woke me up by licking my face but I was not amused. I was upset. I turned my back to him. He let out whimpers but I still ignored him. I went about my day as usual with wolf trying everything to get my attention.  He barked, scratched and tried many ways to hinder my progress.   

I was doing well ignoring him until I got into the river to take a bathe. He moved by so quietly that I didn’t even see him. After I finished my bath, I went to the branch where I hung my clothes to see my shirt missing. 

I looked around the tree to see if it had fallen but it wasn’t there. Then I heard a sharp bark. When I turned around, I saw the wolf sitting on a rock with my shirt in its mouth.  

“Bring it back!” I shouted. The wolf had the audacity to turn its head to side while continuing to look at me. 

This has gone too far. I marched towards the wolf adamant to get my shirt when he stood up. “You better not run!” I shouted while pointing at it.  

Then he run. I had no choice but to run after it. 

Never in my life would I think that I would be running in the woods in my bra after a wolf. The wolf had a good head start and I soon last sight of it. 

I was beyond frustrated. I turned around in hopes that I would be able to find my way back to the cave when I saw the wolf peeked its snout out behind a tree, showing me my shirt.  

I clenched my fist and took off after him again.  

*****                                                                          

By the time I finally caught up to the wolf I was out of breath. I climbed up rocks and ran through trees after him and here he was, all comfortable. He was sitting on top another rock staring out. I tiptoed towards him, trying my best not to make a sound. 

I was so tired and had no energy for another run. When I came directly behind him, he dropped the shirt and faced me. I took it up and got dressed. I turned around to make my way back when he made another bark. 

I turned around to see him leaning his head in a direction. I changed directions and decided to go where he wanted. He came up beside me and we made our way through some more bushes until we came to a clearing. 

I had to take a double look. There was a village. There was a village here in front of me. There was a village here in the middle of nowhere. I was stunned to the point that I couldn’t move. 

The wolf let out another howl and nudge me in the direction of the village.  

I entered the village in hopes of seeing someone but no one was around. It was empty, like a ghost town. My hope started to fade away. I was defeated. 

The wolf kept nudging me go ahead and I did what he wanted. We stopped in front of a house.  

It seemed to be the biggest in the village. Could they be the ‘leader' of this village? I took a step back to observe the area some more when the wolf started scratching on the door and howling. 

I rushed towards him and tried to get him off the door. I heard heavy steps coming down some stairs before the door opened. “Seriously Nicholas!” they said as they opened the door. 

“Umm,” now this was awkward. 

I quickly released the wolf but the force of me pulling him back made me fall on my butt. “Umm. Hello. My name is Moya. I got washed ashore from a plane crash and was wondering if you could help me?” The wolf gave another bark. 

“Oh yes. Come in and have a seat. Would you like something to drink?” the lady said as she stepped away from the door. 

“A drink would be wonderful thank you,” she said as she brought me to a couch.  

“Get comfortable. I’m going to make a quick meal for you. I’m sure the journey here must have been so tiring. “ 

“Thank you and yes it was.”  

Then she made her way to what I presumed was the kitchen. 

My eyes did a quick survey of the room. It seems friendly with cool colours. They also had some fake flowers and picture frame for decoration. You could definitely tell that a family lived here. 

I let my body relax more into the couch. This couch was comfortable, way too comfortable. I took one of the cushions and rested it under my head as I went into a lying position.  

This feels so much better. I realized the journey was finally taking its toll on my body when my eyes were getting heavy. 

I sat up in the couch. I had to stay awake. This would paint a bad image for me. First, I come in their house looking like a mess then I fall asleep on their couch. That would be very disrespectful of me. 

I tapped my hands on my face to get rid of the sleep. Maybe if I walked around a little it would get rid of the sleep. 

I got up and started walking around. I admired the flowers and looked at some of the picture frames. One in particular caught my eyes. It was the lady with a man and a teenager. They seemed so happy in the picture. 

I ran my fingers over the frame. It was so beautiful. I envy them. If only my family was as close as them. 

The boy in the frame was handsome to say the least. He had mostly his father’s features but you could still see the mother in him. My heart started to beat faster as a continued to look at his picture. Why am I feeling like this?  

I went back to the couch with the picture in hand. The silence and the calmness of his face allowed me to drift off to sleep.