LONE WOLF

You hear nothing but the sound of your own laboured breathing as you race through a forest of thickset trees, flying over broken branches, and defeated tree trunks. You know not what it is that you are heading towards, only that a sharp yearning has nestled itself into the core of your spine, and you cannot shake it. You cannot ignore it. You must simply obey.

You run faster hoping it will soothe the fiery feeling, but the anticipation of what you are heading towards simply strengthens until you are left with a sickness in your stomach. You slam all four paws against the mossy forest ground again and again, you think maybe the sound of your body will drown out the buzz of the ache that lives within you.

Finally, you burst through a clearing, and find yourself running through what seems to be an endless field of overgrown grass except your legs have lost faith, and you stumble to a hesitant halt.

It is here, somewhere. But what is it, and where can it be found?

Look up little wolf.

Your breath catches. Hanging above you is a bright, ethereal moon, glowing in the surrounding inky blue sky. So still, silent, and utterly unaware of its power. You feel inconsequential in its presence though it is nothing more than a distant shape. As you gaze at it, that feeling in your chest swells, and you know you cannot contain it a moment longer so you tilt your head back, and close your eyes. You split open your mouth and release the deep-rooted emotion in a wild howl. A howl filled with the pain of the broken, and mingled with a sense of relentless hope. A paradox that has almost driven you to insanity.

As your howl fades, a louder silence takes its place. Suddenly, you become intensely conscious of how vulnerable you are, standing alone in the open, howling at the moon.

You have never been more aware of how quiet the world around you is. There is the crowded forest you ran through, here is the endless field, there is the bright moon. But there is no other living, breathing, and moving creature in sight aside from yourself.

The world seems too vast and too empty, and you are a lone wolf within it. The memory of the family you once had has begun to fade, and you desperately cling onto the feeling of unconditional love that was once an unquestioned part of your life. You wish you had not thought so little of it at the time.

You curl up under the light of the moon, and allow yourself to rest. Your journey has battered you, and you must rise and run again soon.