Noah

A fiery tongue of lightning licked a dry pine tree. Noah froze, inhaling the smell of burning, a moment before the thunder deafened him. The forest, his home, his refuge, was turning into an inferno. He ran, fleeing to the lake, but the fire spread faster, devouring paths and bushes.

When the red cars with blaring sirens appeared, Noah lay exhausted on the scorched earth.

"I have no home"—the thought was worse than smoke. The loneliness familiar from childhood squeezed beneath my ribs.

People in strange clothes spoke of another reserve, a nursery, and their owners. The word "owners" made Noah's skin tingle. He remembered the rabbit at the edge of the forest a year ago. She had clung to the man, calling him "owner," and there was no fear in her eyes. Perhaps they weren't so stupid? Perhaps someone needed someone? The lump in his ribs tightened.

The kennel turned out to be a concrete box with bars. It smelled of cleaning fluid and someone else's melancholy, not of the forest and freedom. No border checks, no hunting. Only commands.

"Sit! " the trainer snapped, and the wooden ruler struck Noah in the thigh. His body wanted to struggle, to growl, but he sank to a crouch, his yellow eyes staring into space. "Follow the rules," he repeated to himself, remembering the old hybrid dog's words, "and you'll find an owner." "If you're liked, you'll be fed and cared for. "

He sat. He stood on the command "heel." He crawled toward me, clenching his teeth, feeling fury. But he did it clearly and quickly, demonstrating with his whole appearance: "I hate this, I hate you. "

The skin on his thighs and lower back turned pink for his "insufficient discipline." Noah growled, but controlled himself. Maybe he could become like that rabbit? Maybe he could find his place? Hope was a tiny ember amidst the ice of anger.

One day, he was taken out of his cage, given a pungent-smelling wash, given a bow around his neck, and brought to a strange house. "A gift," they called him. Noah didn't realize who had given him to until someone's hand touched him between the ears.