stepping outside to feed the birds one dark winter morning, with the snow crunching beneath my boots and the howling wind stinging my eyes, i took a deep breath and swallowed a gulp of the bitter cold air. sprinkling the last few seeds onto the frozen ground, i heard an unexpected shuffling of feet and the faint snapping of a twig. my heart immediately sprang into my throat, and my arms became numb, as i slowly turned to the woods.
that was when i saw him
his dark wolf eyes as mysterious and endless as the ocean floor, stared directly back into mine. his smooth ebony coat uniquely set him apart from the white, snowflake decorated wood, like a spec of dust upon a clean countertop. we both stood, frozen like the icicles hanging from the trees, staring into one another's eyes with odd fascination. despite my pounding heart, there was something in his stare that calmed me like a big fluffy pillow during a fierce crash in a thunderstorm. then, with a sudden whoosh of his tail, he was gone, leaving only his light footprints and his tranquility behind.
- Talia Doud
