Rimwick

With a Giant Wolf

“Aaaaaah!”

“Riley, this is Roman. Roman, this my daughter, Riley.”

“Mom! Wolves can’t talk!” His massive gray body stretches from the front porch to the end of the kitchen table. His giant head is cocked to one side and his ears are poised, listening to the conversation. As I stand in horrified shock, a long pink tongue appears and licks my leg.

I scream and leap into action, grabbing my mom’s hand and hauling her into the hallway.

Leaning against the closed kitchen door, I say, “Mom. You can’t just let wolves into the house. Especially after dark.” My mother is usually a rational person. The only reasonable explanation for this is that she was experimenting with random herbs again. Or she hit her head, or something.

“Riley.” Mom’s voice is dry. “He’s fine. He’s not a normal wolf. Look in the kitchen if you don’t believe me.”

I crack open the door and peek into the room. The wolf is sitting calmly on the linoleum floor, tongue hanging out, looking curiously at our refrigerator. He seems harmless but he is still a wolf.

Mom pushes open the door. “My apologies, Roman. I didn’t tell Riley you were coming.”

The wolf bobs his huge head, almost like he’s nodding.

“He… understands?” I ask. His head follows my visible words as they trail off into the air. But that’s ludicrous- of course he can’t know what I’m saying.

“Yes, he does,” Mom says. She hands me my canvas army bag. “And now it’s time for you to go.”

“Go?”

“To the other place, remember? Roman will take you.” She winks, and then hugs me.

“But- but Mom. You’re not coming?”

She shakes her head. “I can’t. But you’ll like it there, I promise.”

“But where is it? When will I see you again? What-” What do I do if Roman the Wolf decides to eat me? How do I stay safe from Dusk Children?

“Roman will protect you. I love you, Honey.” Mom folds me into her arms, and for a second, I’m a little kid again. But then she lets go and before I know it, I’m standing on the front porch with a giant wolf.

“Um… hi.”

Okay, not the best opening sentence, but talking to an animal feels absurd.

“I’m Riley.”

The wolf butts his head against my leg and pushes me down the porch steps. He keeps nudging me, urging me across the dirt road to the ditch on the other side.

“I’ll walk,” I snap. “How about you just lead the way?”

Roman the Wolf studies me for a moment before sauntering ahead on the path.

“Thank you.”

On the other side of the road is a ditch filled with brambles and muddy snow. We cross it, with me muttering obscene things to the thorns that pull at my blond hair, and continue on through the forest. This is hill country. Technically, we’ve reached and crossed the Rimwick boundary. It’s the first time I’ve left the town.

I pause for a moment to look up. The sky isn’t pitch black, like I’d thought it would be. Purple streaks across dark blue while clouds, melting like a whisper, intertwine through the atmosphere. Snow blows off the trees and swirls across the sky along with the breath that fogs the cold air in front of my face. But the stars, glistening like tiny lighthouse points, add more color to the breathtaking cosmic dance than anything else.

“Incredible, isn’t it?” someone asks.