That Saturday afternoon Sofia had arranged to meet Dave to do their usual exercise routines in preparation for the physical tests they would have to face in the Civil Guard entrance exam. Sofia had had the good sense to take advantage of the afternoon’s early hours, since the full moon would rise that night. However, she already felt its influence, something like a slight caress that stirred the energy in her chest. She didn’t feel that she would change that night either, although it had never happened to her before so she could not be entirely sure. In any case, she chose the time thinking of finishing the routine with enough time to go deep into the pine grove. She wanted to try to find the cinanthrope by taking advantage of the full moon, when by his very nature he would have no choice but to hide in his house or go to the forest until it fell. Of course, Sofia could not tell the boy who was running beside her anything about all that.
The girl furtively glanced at him and a small smile tugged at her lips. Dave, dressed in his tracksuit, was looking straight ahead with an expression of absolute concentration on his face. The day he said he wasn’t feeling well, they hadn’t been able to meet in the afternoon for their exercise routing. However, the following day he came to class like usual, and claimed to be quite recovered. In fact, he had been studying with her after class, since Sofia''s mother was not at home, and after they both had taken Kas for a walk. Whatever it was that had made him sick had stopped giving him trouble.
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“If you don''t want to, it''s okay. I wanted to show you something, but I can do it some other day,” he said with a shy smile.
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The two teenagers left the wide dirt road and entered the depths of that incredible place. Under the cold darkness of the night ithad an atmosphere that was somewhere between ghostly and magical, as if only then could the most incredible miracles and the most terrifying apparitions occur. However, bathed in radiant sunlight it seemed like another world altogether. Golden rays filtered through the tree’s branches, creating a dance of light and shadow that brought out the color from the lichens that covered the rough trunks, the red berries of the holly trees and the moss that carpeted the ground. It also descended on the two of them, highlighting the gold of the boy''s hair and the light brown that Sofia wore on her ponytail. The girl took a deep breath to inhale all those smells that mingled in her nose.
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“I understand you better than you think. My mother is a psychotic lunatic. For a long time she tried to teach me her hobby, and I...” Sofia sighed, “I accepted it at first. It was the only life I knew and for me it was normal. All my friends belonged to our hunting guild and it was hard not to want to be part of that. I never got to shoot game, and I''m glad for that, but it doesn''t change anything.”
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Her voice lowered until it was no more than an almost imperceptible whisper, so quiet that it lost itselfamong the bird’s song and the sighing of the leaves above their heads. Sofia bit her lip to stifle a sob and looked up at the patch of sky visible through the tree’s branches. Thick tears began to run down her cheeks. Dave said nothing, but in his silence and presence he supported her more than a million catch phrases and empty comments. All he did was move closer to her to wrap her in a hug. Then Sofia hugged him back and began to cry, for the first time feeling understood.
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Sofia''s cheeks lit up in a deep blush, matchingthe boy’s who,despite his apparent calmness, showed that nervous gesture of his of licking his lips. However, she was unable to look away from those sincere eyes, so pure and so innocent that it was impossible not to feel a shudder.
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A little more cheerful, the two friends continued their walk through the woods, accompanied by that radiant afternoon sun that hid the brightness of the first stars and their unquestionable queen. As they walked, going further and further into the deepest part of the forest, a place that even Sofia did not know, the two chatted and smiled, sharing snippets of their lives that were more or less accurate to reality. Naturally Sofia wasn''t going to tell him that her mother hunted supernatural beings, and that her father was a cinanthrope, but being able to say some things like the fact that he abandoned them when she wasn''t even born felt like taking a slab off her shoulders. Suddenly she had a person by her side whom she trusted completely.
“I will never understand what kind of man abandons his own children. I may sound a little... conservative perhaps, but a man has to be there for his partner at all times, to care for her and support her, and it is his duty to protect and raise his children,” he said, frowning, his voice slightly deeper.
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Then she heard it. Far, far away, but still clear and distinct, the answer. Not one but a chorus of six howls that made Sofia shudder all the more, that made her blood wake up with a shout of joy as she recognized her people in those voices. It was a friendly response and also a warning that indicated the size and strength of the pack, and also marked the territory they occupied. It was a cordial greeting to a neighbor with whom they would get along if he did not cross the invisible boundary between the two areas.
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“I thought you might like it.”
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