I heard the noise in the morning fog of the surrounding forest and caught the faint scent of wolf. I remained still for if I moved toward the rustling sound the wolf would take flight into the green and if I ran away, I risked being the creatures next meal.

So, I closed my eyes, inhaled slowly and imagined myself as a part of nature, a young flesh-colored sapling in which an animal might rest beneath for shade…and that was when she came to me, huge paws moving with a lightness and serenity that belied her size, sunlight catching highlights of her thick silver-grey fur.

Our encounter was brief, a satisfying of interspecies curiosity, but in that moment I was filled with contentment laced with an undertone of envy that I would never be as free as she, though it was my intention to devote my life to achieving that goal.