The Traveler

After a while of idling his time away of not doing much of anything, he stops poking at the fire and puts away his bedding.

Turning back to the fire, out from the waning shadows appears the granddaddy of all moths gliding over to where it alights upon Lilly’s wood carving. Watching it fold its wings, the moth rests a moment before it takes flight. Being drawn to watching the moth fly away, out from the deep shadows comes a sickly howl that has him up to his feet to where he is walking in the same direction the moth has taken when he hears the slam of a car door.

Good morning sunshine is probably not the best greeting to say as Lilly comes sidestepping her way down to him. Once she is close enough, out of her mouth rolls, “What the heck was that?” Every word she had said is filled with concern which in turn has him quickly shouldering his backpack as he goes to say to her, “Don’t know for sure. How about we go find out.”

It takes more than a minute, but soon enough, what is seen under the dull light of an early morning is a dog chained to a driven peg. On their approach, the dog drops its head to where it drags the chain in looking for a way out of its predicament. His heart melts under the crushing sadness as all he can do is to offer the dog some water. Emitting an empty howl on his approach, the filled cup is put within easy reach. Back to her side, Lilly is all about pointing out the dog’s rib cage seen through its brown coat.