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Chapter 11

Sophia spent the rest of the evening in her room, only coming out to grab something to eat from the fridge. Her dad was watching TV in the living room, but neither acknowledged the other. Too depressed to do much else, she tried to distract herself with funny online videos. It was of mixed success in cheering her up, but at least it passed the time. When she became too tired to continue staring at her screen, she did the bare minimum to get ready for bed. She fell asleep, crying quietly.

The next day, Sophia and her dad barely exchanged so much as pleasantries over breakfast, before bundling up to shovel their driveway. Snow had piled up in front of their garage to form a nearly two foot tall drift while burying the rest of their driveway in six to eight inches. It took the two of them all morning to clear it. Temperatures were hovering around freezing and Sophia removed her hat and wound up alternating between zipping and unzipping her coat. During lunch, the snow plow came through and piled up snow at the end of the driveway, forcing them to go out once more to clear it.

After the driveway was finally clear again, Sophia took the opportunity to escape the house. She told her dad she was going for a walk and was out the front door before he had a chance to respond. At the end of her driveway, she took the sidewalk north. There were only a few more houses on her block in that direction, and she quickly made her way past them.

She waved and smiled innocently at the occupant of the last house on her block who was out shoveling his driveway. He returned the smile and went back to shoveling. Sophia continued on to the corner, but rather than turning to follow the joining street, she continued on. Both roads ended in short spurs left for potential future development which dead-ended in the field that wrapped around behind her house. As there was nothing beyond them, every winter snow plows piled up mountains of snow which served as excellent sledding hills for the neighborhood kids. Since it was only the first snow of the season, they were only a few feet high and no kids were present as Sophia clambered over them.

Once she was past the freshly created artificial hills, Sophia trekked through the now snow-covered field towards the mountains. Her boots sank deep into the freshly fallen snow, making her hike considerably slower than it had been the week before. She also found her muscles weren't used to the adjustments needed for walking in snow and found herself breathing hard after a scant ten minutes. Still, she pressed on.

It took half an hour to reach the tree line, and her muscles were burning. Coming across a fallen tree, she cleared as much snow as she could and collapsed onto it. The snow was cold through her jeans, but sitting was a badly needed respite for her legs. After a few minutes, her heart rate and breathing slowed, and she was able to turn her attention outward.

Looking around, she took in the snow covered expanse. The snow was draped over the pine trees surrounding her, making for the beautiful sight of green branches under a white blanket. In front of her, the rolling peaks of the nearby foothills were covered in snow and the upper elevations of the mountains beyond seemed to fade and merge with the clouds. Even under the overcast sky, the crisp air and sights all around her lifted Sophia's spirits. Taking a glove off, she ran her hand through the snow, enjoying the contrast of its icy touch on her warm fingers.

The sound of twigs snapping drew her attention upwards to see branches swaying from a strong gust of wind. Snow falling from the branches was caught by the breeze and enveloped her in a thick mist, forcing her to close her eyes and turn away until it passed. When she looked up again, she gasped.

On top of one of the foothills was the silhouette of a wolf.

My wolf. Sophia forgot the cold snow stinging her face and hand for a moment as she looked. I hope he can see me too.

As if in reply, the wolf adjusted his stance until he was pointed in her direction.

He looks like a shadow against the snow, Sophia stood and took a step forward, staring. That seems like an appropriate comparison, he's like my shadow - always following me.

"Shadow," she said aloud to herself. "That's what I will call you."

For a long moment, she contemplated the name, staring at him. Shadow seemed to react to something as he suddenly lifted his head. Just then, another gust of wind blew more snow into her face and she again had to cover her eyes. When she opened them, Shadow had disappeared off the ridge.

Sophia's heart fell and she took a few steps towards where he had stood. She badly wanted to go to her furry friend, but a quick survey of the terrain ahead stopped her. Daylight was fading, and the sound of freezing branches snapping signaled the temperature was dropping. It had been treacherous without the snow cover, but now it would have been foolhardy to attempt walking through the mountains in the dark. Sighing, she slipped her glove back on her numb hand and pulled her hood tight. With a last regretful look at where Shadow had stood, Sophia turned and headed home.

The wait for the next weekend was agony. Someone had gone through the trouble of duct taping a plastic bag with a couple cans of dog food to her locker over the weekend and that kicked off a fresh week of teasing the 'Wolfgirl'. An announcement that bullying would not be tolerated just made it worse. Although she pulled out a 'C' on her math test, she struggled in her other classes and realized she had forgotten an English essay was due that Tuesday.

In gym class, they started a volleyball unit and she managed to embarrass herself by misjudging a return, tripping and landing hard on her right wrist, drawing laughter and mock howling from the other students. After calming the class, the teacher directed her to the school nurse. There, Sophia was diagnosed with a sprained wrist, had it wrapped and given ice. Much to her relief, she was excused from participating in volleyball for the remainder of the week.

Unfortunately, she still had to work with an injured hand. Every time she overextended it, grabbing an item off the conveyor belt, she winced as fresh stabs of pain radiated through it. Needless to say, it slowed her down quite a bit, to the frequent irritation of her customers. Lacking proper medical insurance, she was unable to have it properly looked at or get a doctor's note excusing her from work. Her dad managed to be even more absent after their disastrous game night and she was left to suffer alone.

The one thing that kept her going through the week was her workplace had not scheduled her for Friday evening or Saturday morning. All week she mentally planned out an excursion back to where she had met Shadow and gathered any supplies she thought she needed. As Friday rolled around, her excitement built and she spent the day daydreaming about her evening plans. Intellectually, she knew there was no reason for Shadow to come back, but irrationally or not, she believed he would.

School let out, and she practically ran home. Besides her anticipation, there was a practical reason to be in a hurry - wolves were the most active around sunset and there wasn't a lot of daylight left. Not wasting a moment, she changed out of her school clothes into hiking pants (which she had grown out of a couple years before) and threw a sweatshirt over an exercise top and bra. Next, she retrieved the water bottle and food she had prepared the previous night. Bringing everything into her bedroom - while being gentle with her wrist - she emptied her backpack on her bed. To her surprise, the two cans of dog food tumbled out of her backpack's front pocket. She had thrown it in there when she found it Monday morning and completely forgotten about it.

She hesitated before picking it up and throwing it in her bag along with the other gear she had gathered over the course of the week in her room. Maybe Shadow would like it.

Packed, she laced up her boots, threw on her coat, hat and gloves before heading out the backdoor. The weather had warmed up after the weekend, and the snow had melted considerably. After ten minutes of walking, she removed her hat and tucked it in her bag. The remaining snow was a slushy, muddy mess that caked her boots and made her walk across the field a slog. Several times, she stepped in puddles hidden under dead grass, splashing water onto herself. By the time she reached the foothills, the legs of her pants were soaked and streaked with mud.

Breathing hard after crossing the mire that was now the field, she allowed herself a moment to catch her breath before continuing on. The sun was just above the western horizon and the trees cast long shadows across what was left of the snow. After taking a drink of water, she adjusted her back and began making her way through the trees.

A few times, she stumbled over branches that had been knocked off the trees during the snowstorm or melting snow. Each time, she instinctively reached out to grab a tree limb to maintain her balance and was punished with a sharp, stabbing pain in her injured right wrist. Part of her lower legs weren't covered by the too-small hiking pants and had long since gone numb from the water and cold. She yelped as a low lying branch she had missed in the fading light scraped her left cheek. It stung and her hand came away from the wound wet with blood. Still, she was determined to reach her destination.

After what felt like an eternity, she recognized the rockfall that marked the ascent to the secluded ledge. To her good fortune, most of the snow had melted off the south facing terrain over the past week and her ascent wasn't nearly as perilous as it could have been. Even with her injured wrist, she managed to clamber up the debris without too much difficulty and made it to the place that now held a special place in her heart just as the sun disappeared behind the western horizon.

For a moment, she stood reveling in her triumph and enjoying the magnificent view. Shadow wasn't there to her disappointment, but the night was young and she was prepared to wait. Pulling out a blanket she had stowed in her backpack, she found a dry rock to sit on and wrapped the blanket around her lower half.

I definitely need to get some outdoor pants that fit. She rubbed the exposed skin on her legs, trying to get some feeling back. Probably some bigger hiking boots too.

The remaining daylight was fading fast and she fumbled around inside her bag for the headlamp she had found in her family's neglected camping equipment. After finding it, she strapped it to her head and grabbed the turkey sandwich she had put together. Thus prepared, she settled in to wait.

Silly, foolish Sophia, even if he wasn't a wolf, he'd have no way of knowing you were coming tonight, Sophia wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep her teeth from chattering. What was I thinking? I don't belong out here.

After half an hour of sitting, the remaining daylight had disappeared and she was really starting to feel the falling temperatures. Despite her best efforts, the damp pants continued to sap heat from her legs and the skin was starting to sting. Standing, she stretched, trying to get her blood moving. Sighing, she sat back down and began preparing the hike back. Reaching up, she turned on the headlamp and noticed immediately that a small puddle of nearby meltwater had frozen over. Even with the light, it would be a hazardous climb back down.

If I slip and fall, how long would it take for someone to find my body? She miserably folded up her blanket and stuffed it in her bag. How long before anyone even missed me?

She had just finished stuffing the blanket in when a tapping sound made her jump. Looking up, her heart skipped a beat when her light illuminated a large, grey wolf walking towards her. Luckily, it only took a moment for her to recognize Shadow though. The familiar wolf immediately stopped, squinted and looked away as Sophia's light fell on him. The backpack fell from her hands as elation and relief flooded through her.

"You came!" Sophia exclaimed in excitement, words tumbling. "I was hoping, I mean I believed you would..."

Shadow took a step back and continued to shy away from her.

"What's wrong?" Sophia asked, suddenly concerned. "Oh, the light!"

Reaching up, she turned off the headlamp and the ledge was immediately plunged into darkness. At first, she couldn't see anything and was afraid she had scared Shadow off. However, after a few moments, her eyes adjusted and she was able to make out the vague outline of her lupine friend still standing there. After a few more moments, she heard the wolf's claws clicking on the rock as he resumed moving towards her. Squatting, she reached out as his form approached and he sniffed it before moving past it. To her delight, the wolf sniffed and then licked her face.

"I missed you too," Sophia told him as she let him lick her teeth and gave him a big hug. "It's been a hard last couple of weeks without you."

Immediately, the wolf sniffed her bandaged right hand and made a concerned whine.

"Oh, I injured myself falling," she explained. "I'm okay."

He whined again and licked the bandages. Sitting on her feet, she raked her hands through his fur, which he seemed to enjoy immensely.

"I came up with a name for you," Sophia said softly and the wolf's ears perked up. "How does 'Shadow' sound?"

In response, the wolf nuzzled his head with hers, nearly knocking her over. Sophia shot out her left hand to keep her from falling over, and laughed. She couldn't see him very well and he couldn't talk of course, but she felt as though he approved.

"I guess you like it?" she said happily as she scratched behind his ears.

For several minutes, Sophia just stroked and scratched her furry friend. Shadow responded by pressing his body in hers and nuzzling her face. Finally, she sat cross-legged on the ground and Shadow rested upper his body in her lap. At last, her numb legs began to warm.

"I have something for you," she said, remembering the cans of dog food.

Shadow picked up his head and made a questioning sound. Feeling around inside her backpack, she found the bag with the dog food and took one out. The smell of the food definitely wasn't appealing to her, but Shadow immediately stood excitedly and made an expectant 'yip'.

"I thought you might like it," Sophia said and dumped it out.

Shadow had noisily gobbled it up almost as soon as it hit the ground. He immediately began sniffing and licking the hand that she had used to open the can.

"Oh, I guess that wasn't much!" Sophia exclaimed and the other can.

The sound of Shadow's noisy eating briefly filled the silence.

"I'm sorry, that's all I had," Sophia told him when he started sniffing her for more. "I'm glad you liked it though."

The wolf stopped sniffing, lay on his side and put his head back in her lap.

"I'm really sorry I couldn't come last weekend," Sophia apologized. "I hope you understand."

Shadow whined and nuzzled against her stomach and she responded by scratching his neck.

"Thank you," she said sincerely. "I'm so glad to have you as a friend. You're the only good part of my life right now."

Then she fell silent, and just enjoyed his company.

Sophia wasn't sure how long they had been up there - a couple hours she guessed. During that time, she told him a bit about her recent life and he listened patiently. Through it all, she had the strange feeling that he somehow understood what she was saying, even if the words themselves were meaningless. He whined sadly when she told him her mother had died the year before and growled when she told him how the students had treated her. For her, it was like a weight had been lifted - she had not realized how badly she needed to be able to just talk to someone and have them listen.

"I guess I never really minded being called 'Wolfgirl' since I've always loved wolves," she reflected. "But it's taken on a very different meaning in the last couple of weeks."

She paused and looked down at the dark form of Shadow. Her eyes had fully adjusted and she could make out the outline of his head, but the lack of moonlight meant that was all she could see.

"Now that I really am a 'wolf girl', I've had a much harder time with it," she went on. "Everything has become so confusing. Well, more so than it already was. Now I find out magic exists and my only real friend is a wolf!"

Sighing, she exclaimed in frustration, "I don't even know what I am anymore!"

Shadow picked his head up in response and let out what sounded like a cross between a growl and bark. Deep down, Sophia knew what he wanted to say.

"You see me as a wolf?" Sophia replied in surprise and stopped stroking his neck.

After a moment, the feeling faded and she let out a nervous laugh. "No, it's late and I'm imagining things."

Shadow let out a 'herf' and lay his head back down.

"Still, the next full moon is in two weeks and I hope I change again," she admitted. "I'd love to spend the night as a werewolf with you. It would be so much fun!"

Shadow shifted a bit and Sophia went on.

"I don't know if I will, but if I do, I'll definitely come out here!" she enthused. "Promise you'll stick around until then?"

Shadow lifted his head and made a quiet barking noise.

"Great!" She took it as an agreement. "Anyway, it's getting late and I should get back. Next week is Thanksgiving and I have Friday off. I'll try coming out early in the day, okay?"

Shadow got to his feet before Sophia even grabbed her backpack. He waited patiently as she packed up everything, including the empty cans. Underneath his warm body, her pants had dried out and feeling had returned to her legs. She started towards the rock slide, but Shadow moved in her path and growled softly.

"I have to go," she told him. "I really enjoyed being with you though."

Shadow growled softly again, turned and slowly walked to the edge of the small clearing before turning and waiting.

"Oh! You want me to follow!" Sophia exclaimed in understanding.

Putting her trust in him, she followed him into the trees.

It turned out there was a natural path off the foothill that didn't require any climbing. She still received her fair share of scratches from the foliage in the dark, but at least she didn't have to risk slipping and falling twenty feet. After a few minutes, they were at the bottom of the hill and, to Sophia's delight, she saw they were only a few yards from the rockslide.

Kneeling, she surprised Shadow with a hug, "thank you so much!"

The wolf immediately pulled out of the hug, but gave her a friendly lick before darting into the night. Though alone, Sophia practically floated home.