The Moon Kissed

8 √

"I told myself I won't be afraid of it," I say out loud, and the wolf's ears twitch, "That I would come up here and I would paint whatever I saw, but I've been up here for three hours and everything is in the same place it was three hours ago." I sigh in frustration, running a hand through my hair that I had decided to straighten out a little. Of course, my waves were already coming back because of the humidity. 

God, was I talking to a fucking wolf? Is this how low I've gotten? That I'd risk my life with a wolf?

"A boy brought me up here the other day," I suddenly say, and the wolf's head goes up as I dip the paintbrush in a tan/light brown mix, splashing it onto the white canvas, "I saw the Milky Way, and I saw the city at night...Now, he had been teasing me all night and I wanted so badly to call him a jackass every single second, but I stopped myself because I was going to say my Jackass. While a girl may hope and dream, she doesn't always want what she hopes for." I say, and the wolf watches attentively as I begin to paint a story on the canvas, building it piece by piece. "He has a really nice family too. They're all so nice and gorgeous; I'm still wondering where that gene came from because I want it. The world doesn't just give six children godly looks and expect no one to question where everything went right. Anyway, I've only known this guy for what? Two weeks from today or something like that? And yet he just seems like he knows me so well that it could have been years we've known each other and it would still be the same." I stop, and I look at the wolf, and then at myself, seeing that I was already staining my clothes with paint. 

"I decided on the first day I saw that arrogant, jackass mountain, that for some reason, that I wasn't going to be afraid of him. I told myself that if I just stand my ground and say with I mean even if it hurts the person, I'd do it to make sure I fought my own battles. I wanted to fight my own battles so badly because I didn't get to fight them before–I didn't have to. Everything was so right with the world when my mom was here, and when she died, there was a reality shock that I couldn't forget. I learned that losing battles were hard, but winning them when they don't need to be fought is even harder." I smile sadly to myself, shaking my head a little, "I had a boyfriend when I was–oh I don't know when I was younger. He was kind and popular...and he was arrogant as well. I liked Alex because he never gave me this look of pity when I told him my mom died, or when I broke down in hysterics because it was her birthday and I hadn't gone to visit her yet. He never understood, but he never pitied me, and I guess I liked that I could escape that way." I stopped painting suddenly, looking over at the wolf as he stood up, his body towering over me. I froze as he walked behind me, rubbing up against me a little before he sat down on his haunches behind me, looking over my left shoulder at the painting. He tilted his head a little as he observed it. 

"What? Do you not like it?" I ask him, turning back to look at him, "It's ok if you don't like it. If a wolf doesn't like it, then I don't think anyone will." I add, and he whines, pushing his muzzle into my shoulder. I cover my ears as he barks at me, and then he howls, the sound shaking my bones.

"Ok! Ok! I got it, you like the painting! You don't have to make me deaf!" I yell and he goes silent instantly, his ears going up straight as he looks at me. I give him a brief, scolding look before I turn back around, and I continue to paint the story while the wolf looms over my shoulder.  As it began to get dark and the sun touching the horizon, the wolf whined, nudging my shoulder. I ignored him the first time, but when he barked once, pushing me over, I looked back at him.

"What?" I ask him, and he sniffs at the air, before he trots around in front of me, looking from me to the horizon, and I caught onto what he was trying to tell me. Man, it felt great to understand a wolf once in a while. "Oh, you want me to go before it's dark." I say, and he nods, sitting down in a regal position as he waits for me to start packing up.