Through The Moonlit Night

Down a road I walked; you couldn't even call it a road. A thin stretch of flattened grass winding its way through the trees. The distant, lonely sound of a train's horn - a railway track passed through not too far from where I stood.

Silence.

The absence of human life was overwhelming, yet comfortingly enticing.

I stopped, sat down against one of the large trees amongst the soft, tall grass. The winter breeze sent chills down my spine and raised the hairs on my arm, yet I welcomed the cold. There was a soft rustle behind me and a young wolf cub rolled out; another leaped out on top of it. They tussled and bumped into my legs, suddenly stopping and staring at me with eyes as round as the moon.

I put out a hand for them to sniff. The larger one, grey as ash, backed away. The littler one crept forward, its snow white fur glowing in the moonlight. It raised its muzzle to my palm and gave it a nip, but I did not withdraw. It looked at me once more, then pressed its head against my hand. The smoky one let out a sneeze and approached me. At that moment, a gentle snowfall begun. The cubs shivered and crawled closer to me.  I put a hand over each of them, letting the warmth flow through to them. A distant howl sounded, perhaps the pups' mother.

Silence once more.

I lay my head back against the rough bark of the tree, looking up at the night sky - the moon was a beautiful orb hanging in the sky amidst the wispy clouds, it's light bright and strong, protecting from the darkness. The snowflakes landed in my hair, on my eyelashes. I felt safe there in the grass with the cubs cuddled against me. Their rhythmic breathing lulled me into a trance like state, tempting me into sleep. I felt a nuzzle against my cheek and lazily opened an eye to see a majestic white bitch, much like her smaller cub, her blue eyes boring into mine. I saw no hatred in them, only kindness, she lay her head upon my lap while the cubs, smelling her milk, moved closer to her.

And just like that, with the smell of milk and the comfort of wolves, I fell asleep in the woods.