Chapter 2 Big Wolf; 🐺

The mountain house appeared around the bend just as my anger was finally cooling. And the moment I saw it, the anger left me completely. It was exactly as I remembered from childhood, that magical place, though it had aged over the years.

I stepped onto the creaking veranda. The key was still in the same place, under the flowerpot in front of the window. I took it and pushed open the heavy wooden door with trembling hands. The silence of years settled over me all at once.

"Grandma," I called out to the empty house. "You really left me quite a magnificent mess. How did you think we'd celebrate Christmas in this place?"

It looked daunting, but I had to start somewhere. I rolled up my sleeves and got to work.

I swept and wiped for hours. My hands ached and my back was killing me. But the house was slowly beginning to remember itself.

By the time I finished, the sun had already begun to retreat behind the mountains. I remembered the supplies in my pickup and went back outside. It took three trips to carry everything in.

As I set down the last box, my phone rang. Maya.

"Eva! God, finally! I was going crazy. How are you? Are you okay?"

I collapsed onto the old velvet couch. "I'm surviving," I said with a laugh. "Barely. This place is a complete madhouse, Maya. The people here are seriously insane. They refused to sell me food. I had to drive to a town an hour away."

"What? Eva, that's insane! Why are you still there?"

"I promised my grandmother," I said, my voice softening.

A brief silence.

"Eva, you gave her a beautiful funeral. You honored her. Don't you think you've done enough? You can come home. You can even come to me. You don't have to torture yourself in those freezing mountains."

I closed my eyes. My grandmother's wise, loving face came to mind. In that moment, everything made sense.

"She wanted to spend her last Christmas here. Specifically here, with me. I made her a promise, Maya. It will be good for both of us. I'll rest for a few weeks and then I'll come back."

"Alright," Maya said, helpless. "But Eva, please don't forget your vitamins. You hate the cold. I'm worried you're going to get sick."

I laughed. "If you keep talking like this, I'll freeze stiff on this couch. I need to get firewood. I need to light the fireplace."

"Okay, okay. I'll let you have your alone time, but show signs of life every now and then."

"Deal. Talk later, Maya."

I hung up.

I put my coat on and went outside. The sun had nearly disappeared. The woodshed was about twenty meters from the house. I opened its creaky door and loaded my arms with firewood, so full I could barely see in front of me.

I started walking toward the house, turning my head sideways since I couldn't see ahead.

And then I saw it.

At first I thought it was an illusion. But it was there. At the entrance to the forest path, about ten meters away, stood a massive wolf. Far too large for a wolf. The size of a bear. Its reddish-brown fur gleamed in the fading light.

But what truly froze me were its eyes.

Burning amber. So different from any wild animal. Intelligent. Aware. Staring straight into mine with a gaze that reached somewhere deep and old inside me.

I flinched. Because those eyes, I knew them. I had been seeing them since childhood. In dreams that felt less like dreams and more like somewhere I had actually been. Warm, ancient, full of longing.

How could a wolf have those eyes?

When I stepped back in fear, my foot slipped on the ice. The firewood scattered into the snow with a crash and I went down hard. The breath knocked out of me.

When I lifted my head, it was gone. The path was empty. Trees, snow, silence.

"What is happening to me," I whispered.

I jumped to my feet, grabbed a long piece of firewood to protect myself, scanned the tree line. Nothing. No tracks, no shadow, no movement.

I quickly gathered the firewood, glancing over my shoulder with every step. Then I ran for the house.

The moment I was inside I slammed the door and locked it.

I lit the fireplace with shaking hands. When the flames finally caught, I sank to the floor in front of them and let the warmth reach me.

Sometimes people who have been through psychological trauma have hallucinations. Maybe that was what had just happened. I hadn't had coffee in days. As a caffeine addict, I hadn't even thought about it during the grieving process. I went to the kitchen, made a strong cup, and came back to sit on the floor in front of the fire.

Then the wolf came back to my mind.

"Even if it was real," I said to myself, "it's just a wolf. A very large wolf. Perfectly normal for the mountains. Right?"

I had experienced quite enough for one day. I just wanted to rest.

But the universe had one more surprise.

There was a clicking sound at the door.

I nearly spilled my coffee. Who would knock on my door at this hour? On a mountain? In the middle of nowhere?

I got up and went to the window, looking out through the frosted glass.

On the veranda stood a young woman about my age. Curly red hair braided in two plaits, freckles on her cheeks, and a warm, reassuring smile on her face.

I opened the door a crack. "Yes? How can I help you?"

Her smile widened. "Hi! I'm Eleanor!"

I just stared. Then she laughed. "Oh, sorry! You don't remember me. I'm Elly!"

My brain was running slowly from exhaustion. Then a memory surfaced. A girl with mud all over her face, laughing, gap-toothed, hair an absolute disaster. We used to play together as children.

"Elly?!" I exclaimed. "I can't believe it! Mud-pie Elly?!"

"That's me!" she squealed.

I threw the door open and hugged her.

"Welcome back!" she said, eyes shining. "I heard you'd come back to town. I figured you might be missing a few things your first night, so I came straight away."

This was genuinely the best thing that had happened to me all day. A familiar face. One that still cared.

"Come in," I said. "It's absolutely freezing out there."

She stepped inside and moved toward the warmth of the fireplace, rubbing her hands together. Then she looked at me with something tender in her eyes.

"I still can't believe you're here," she said.

In this cursed little town, I had finally found something that would let me breathe...