The Dreamer

Chapter 1

I went back to the zoo again to see the wolf late at night. Most of the animals are sleeping, but the zoo stays open for people to walk around or just get away until closing. The staff are kind and friendly here, which I greatly appreciate. When I quietly approach where the wolf lives, I see his ears perk up before he lifts his head and turns to me. "Sorry," I apologize. I sit down and take a deep breath, taking in the fresh night air. "It's always so nice at night, isn't it?" I hear the wolf huff with a soft groan before it lays back down, still watching me with his piercing crimson eyes.

I get that same feeling that he's looking right through me again. I shift uncomfortably before I take out a book to read. There's thankfully enough lighting around the zoo for me to see the pages without damaging my eyes. As my eyes scan the words, taking in each sentence, I hear a soft moan nearby. I glanced to the side to see the wolf right next to the barrier between him and I. I watch as he paws at it and I come to a shocking realization. "Do you want me to read aloud?" I hear a soft grunt from him and smile. "Okay." So I start reading to him.

I never experienced anything like it. The wolf seems more intelligent than I ever heard or thought. He seems to be listening to me as well. Perhaps too well, but I can't help but feel more comfortable about it, even if he is just an animal. Soon, I grew tired, so I closed the book and stood up, stretching my arms and legs. "I should get going." I look at where his name is pasted then back to him. "Maybe I can read to you again, Nico." As soon as I said Nico, he growled. It wasn't threatening though. It feels more like a warning of some sort, though I'm not sure what kind of warning. It's the first time he has even growled at me at all. I furrow my brows in confusion but quickly shrug it off and leave, waving goodbye on my way out.

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"So where'd you go? To see your wrongly named wolf?" Mia teases me over dinner. "Mia! Be nicer to your sister," mom exclaims but I don't respond. I found ignoring her attempts to start a fight worked better when I wasn't in the mood to poke the bear in her. I keep my eyes down on my plate, thinking about the wolf again and how he had growled at me. I find it strange how I didn't feel threatened by it. It must've been because he was locked up and I knew I was safe. "Well if she would be more social, she wouldn't be having issues." Mom argues with Mia, telling her that she should at least be nicer about it. Mia didn't want to surrender the fight to mom though.

"She always stays in her room. She has no friends’ mom." I sigh, getting tired of their bickering. I turn to dad to see he feels the same. "That doesn't mean you should be rude about it. Apologize." Mia dramatically sighs but doesn't say anything. "Mia."

"It's fine mom. She's right." I look up and Mia points a thumb at me with an I-told-you-so look. I finish my food and put my plate in the sink. On my way to my room, I spoke to Mia without turning to look at her. "And yes, I went to spend time with the wolf because I find his company more pleasant than the company of people who do nothing but talk." I stop and turn to her. "He is at least willing to listen." Then I continue to my room as I feel Mia's glare on my back. It shouldn't take long for us to make up though. It's not like we despise each other. We just find the other more annoying since we're so different.

I sit on my bed and try to reorganize my drawings again. I separate all of them out across my bed and look them all over. They're drawings of random things. A single rose, doodles of a pattern made up of music notes (which made it look like a music sheet of random tones) and a few animal ones. One of them is a drawing of a face that's half tiger and half human. The strange thing is, a majority of my drawings are things I've seen in my dreams. Any dream I have seems to come true, have happened before, or are happening. I don't know why I have them but I found drawing them out helps.

As I try to organize them, I decide to just trim them up and tape them back in the book. It'd be easier than carrying a book and folder. As I go over each of my drawings, the wolf came to mind. I know I could always try to copy the original drawing, but it wouldn't be the same. "Get some sleep!" I hear mom say from the other side of my door before walking away. I put my sketchbook aside and lay down, not even pulling the covers over me.

That night, I dreamed of the wolf again, only he's not in a cage. We're face to face. His face so near mine but I wasn't even panicked. In fact, I had walked up to him and even pet him with a calm smile. I remember thinking that his sleek black fur is beautiful and so soft. The dream felt strangely calming to me. I felt warm and safe there. Suddenly, something unexpected happened. The wolf unexpectedly changed into a human, but just before I could see who it was, I woke up.

"Eira!" I jump awake and turn to Mia. "You don't have to wake me so violently, Mia." She just shrugs and turns around with a look of accomplishment. She struts out while wearing a pair of white skinny jeans and a pink shirt with the word wild stretched across in black.

I quickly get up and change into a pair of jeans, a shirt with a sugar skull to decorate it, and my black jacket to cover it all up. For shoes, I wear my usual tennis shoes. I pass by everyone on my way out, bidding them goodbye before I leave. "Wait, aren't you going to eat?"

"No, I have to go." I close the door before either of my parents can stop me. I usually eat breakfast at school anyway.

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After school, I went to the zoo again. The wolf looks at me and in a weird sense, I could've sworn that he was smiling. When I look at the wolf, I remember my weird dream and wondered if it was something bound to happen, someone else's dream, or just my own. I can't even tell the difference.

I sit down on the stone bench as the wolf sits down right next to the barrier between us. "Do you ever get lonely?" I suddenly ask. I mentally face-palm myself for asking an animal, but so far, I've been talking to him like it's my friend. When I asked, the wolf only stared at me as if wanting to answer,but not having the voice to. I stare back, feeling a weird connection to this handsome animal.

I don't know how long I stayed there before I finally left. I made sure to wave goodbye to Nico, the wolf, as well before I leave. The day seemed to just go by smoothly and I remember the weird connection to the wolf I felt before. I immediately grew curious about it. Maybe it's the bond that people talk about with their pets. Whatever it is, I hope I find out soon.