Something rustled beside Annabelle, making her grunt in her sleep. With a frown, she flung open her eyes and took in the sight of a small shadow spinning around, not even an inch away from her head. The next instant, it crashed into her forehead, then clumsily fell onto its butt. Its tiny, wet nose crunched as if to snort, while its black, misty eyes stared at her with resentment.
"Girl, you're the one who headbutted me, so why do you look so offended?" Annabelle smiled faintly, stretching a hand to stroke the dog's head. "Thanks to you, I'm wide awake now."
The pug dog snuggled against her palm before curling up next to her shoulder, taking possession of half of her makeshift pillow. Annabelle shook her head slightly before sitting up and glancing at the entrance of the cavern. Rain was pouring down like a curtain, drumming onto the ground at a steady pace.
"Looks like we won't be able to hunt today," Annabelle sighed, stretching her sore body. "Oh well, we still have a few pieces of dried meat left. Lady, come here, I'll give you some."
The dog tilted her head, looking at Annabelle with confused eyes. A blueish-white veil clouded her irises, and grayish-white fur covered her muzzle—which had once been a beautiful silky black.
'My puppy has gotten so old,' Annabelle couldn't help but think, her eyes turning soft as she playfully poked the dog's nose.
The day she had found Lady was still crystal clear in her mind, even though that was more than a decade ago. Back then, the dog was just a puppy, so tiny that she could fit into her hands; she looked just like a small ball of fur.
After being spirited away by the will-o'-wisp, Annabelle wandered about for a very long time. The world she had been yanked in was harsh for a young teen, and surviving had been hell. Sometimes, she wondered how she even managed to get through the first few weeks. Her mind was too haggard at the time and she could not remember much.
Time ticked by, and days went on. Her will to live grew weaker, and walking forward became harder with each passing day. When Annabelle finally reached the end of her rope, ready to give up, she met the puppy.
It was shivering under a leaf, its fur soaked wet. Annabelle had seen it at first glance but decided not to bother. What was the point? She and the dog wouldn't live for long anyway. However, just as she prepared to leave, the puppy rolled to her side and chewed on her ankle, drawing back her attention to it. It looked at her with its big round eyes, shaking its tail and yapping happily.
From what Annabelle had seen from her wandering, dogs weren't native to this world. So, it probably had been dragged in by will-o'-wisps. The puppy was a poor soul lost in a hostile land, just like she was.
Not knowing why, she bent over and took the puppy in her arms. Even soaked, the fur felt soft. It was also warm.
A moment passed before Annabelle buried her head into the puppy's fur, holding it tightly against her chest. The next second, she fell on her knees and broke down into tears, bawling her heart out for the first time since her arrival in this world.
That day, the empty shell that she had become started to feel alive again.
In the years that followed, Annabelle took care of the dog's every need and nursed her as if Lady was her own child. A little life depended on her, and it gave her the courage to go on. No matter what she had to face, be it walking corpses or monsters, she would fight back and drag her mangled body home, for Lady was waiting for her return.
But now, her puppy had grown old.
Oh so old.
"Come on, you need to eat a bit!" Annabelle grunted, battling with her dog to pry open her mouth. "Don't pull that face! It's your favorite!"
After who knows how long, Lady finally consented to open her mouth and nibbled on the piece of dried meat Annabelle handed her. However, the dog threw it on the ground the next second and intently stared at it, appearing to be somehow offended by the food. When she looked back at Annabelle, her big round eyes seemed to be asking for more. But they both knew she would toss the meat aside again and not touch it.
"Are you kidding me?" Annabelle cried out, pinching the dog's squishy cheeks. "Do I need to chew it for you too!?"
As if to answer her, Lady seemed to snort, blowing air through her little nose.
"Fine, fine! We'll try again later."
Annabelle ultimately conceded. This dog was stubborn, and she knew it was a losing fight. If Lady didn't want to eat, she couldn't force her. Thus, Annabelle loosened her grip on the dog's cheeks, albeit reluctantly. Once freed, Lady snuggled her head against her thigh and went back to sleep. She snored loudly, her eyes half-closed.
"Seriously, you need to eat," Annabelle let out a long sigh, ever so gently stroking the dog's back. "Even if it's just a little, please eat."
It was unclear when it started exactly, but Lady had gradually lost her appetite, refusing to swallow anything except water. Over the past few weeks, she had turned into skin and bones and now looked like a walking skeleton.
These days, Lady also had difficulty breathing, often wheezing. Whenever she had violent fits of coughing, it made Annabelle's heart clench with pain and her stomach twist in knots.
Deep down, she knew her dog was at the end of her life, but she didn't want to admit it. So instead, she put on blinders and pretended everything was fine. It was only a little cold, and Lady would get better in no time, just like she always did.
"Don't think about it," Annabelle told herself, sucking in a breath. "Come on, you got work to do."
Although she couldn't hunt today, she wasn't short of things to do. For instance, she needed to repair the fishing nets and weave some baskets, and there were also a few dried herbs she had to grind. Unlike that cute little dog of hers, she couldn't afford to laze around—she had to provide for Lady, after all.
***
"Lady, where are you?" Annabelle screamed, scanning the area with squinted eyes. "It's dangerous outside, come back!"
Since a while back, Annabelle had been searching for Lady in the wood surrounding the cavern. With her heart in her throat, she called the name of her dog over and over again. Lady was weak and could barely walk; she couldn't have gone far. However, there were steep slopes everywhere and it wouldn't be surprising if she had fallen and hurt herself.
"Please, come back!" Annabelle choked, wiping the tears that had started to well up.
She had taken her eyes off for a second, just one second, yet it was enough time for the dog to run away somehow.
If she were to lose Lady…
'No, don't think about it.'
"Woof!" The bark echoed throughout the wood, startling Annabelle, who then dashed toward the sound like a madman. The thorny branches wiped her skin, leaving cuts behind, but she didn't even notice. All she could think about was her dog.
A few seconds later, Annabelle found Lady sitting in a clearing. She was waving her tail, her little tongue dangling.
"Goodness, you scared me shitless! Don't you ever do that again, ok?"
As if to answer her, the dog yapped happily, making Annabelle shake her head helplessly. What was she doing, scolding a dog that could barely hear her?
"Let's go home." Annabelle took a step forward to bring the dog in her arms but stopped dead in her tracks. A few meters before Lady was a will-o'-wisp. It gently floated in the air, its blue flames casting a pale light on the surrounding trees.
It took a second for her brain to process the information.
After falling into this world, she searched every nook and cranny in the hope of finding a will-o'-wisp. That thing threw her into this hellish realm, so it should be able to bring her back to her original world. But as the years went on, she started to lose hope to ever find one. This place was vast, and stumbling upon one would be nothing short of a miracle.
Just when she was about to give up, a will-o'-wisp finally showed up at her doorstep. It was a little hard to accept, and for a moment, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. She blinked a few times in disbelief, yet the will-o'-wisp didn't disappear.
It wasn't a mirage!
"Lady, we can go home!" Annabelle cried out of happiness, pouncing on her dog to hug her.
But she passed through Lady instead, crashing headfirst into the ground. Annabelle froze for an instant before slowly turning her head toward her dog, fear slowly spreading all over her face.
"Lady…?"
The dog tilted her head and seemed to smile at Annabelle. Then, bit by bit, her body started to turn transparent.
"No, no, no," Annabelle stuttered, stretching a hand to touch her dog. Again, her fingers passed through Lady's body, grasping nothing but air.
"Woof!"
There was one last bark before the dog's body vanished into thin particles of light, dispersing in the wind.
Soon after, Annabelle's wails resounded throughout the forest, far and wide. She cried and sobbed, wiping the tears that flooded her cheeks. She wasn't a fool and knew her dog was dead. Though she wouldn't admit it aloud, she had been expecting her death any time these past few days. But even so, Lady's passing hurt so much it felt like her heart would burst. She hadn't wanted to part with her, never.
Lady was a little dog, not a human. She had reached the end of her life a long time ago, yet she stayed behind to keep her company. Even after her body could not go on anymore, Lady did not leave. Instead, she showed her the way to her home, sending her off with a happy bark. If it hadn't been for her, Annabelle knew she wouldn't have found the will-o'-wisp.
She could finally go back, but at what price?
Lady had been her dearest friend for over half of her life. They were always together, days and nights. And now she was gone, never to be seen again.
_______________________
Edited by Clozed and Iseul!
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