When you’re a child, the forest seems magical. Especially in the summer, especially when you’re ten years old and the whole world seems kind and simple. Martha often went there alone — not because she was lonely, but because there was always something going on there. You could find berries, a snail on a moss pillow, a discarded bird feather, and sometimes even an old tire, from which she made «chairs» for her doll games.
That day, the sun was breaking through the leaves, the air was thick with the smell of pine and last year’s pine needles, and the ground was softly springy under her feet. Martha walked slowly, examining the patterns on the tree bark, when she suddenly stopped. There was something lying in the middle of the path. More precisely, someone.
It wasn’t a ball. And it wasn’t a toy. It was a puppy. A very strange one, almost hairless, covered in scabs, with thin paws and huge, bottomlessly sad eyes. He didn’t move, he just trembled. He didn’t whine. He didn’t beg. He just lay there, as if he had long since given up hope.
Marta sat down next to him, not scared. She brought her hand up, and he didn’t bite. He just looked. Her little palm touched the burnt, uneven skin, and she immediately pulled it away, not out of fear, but out of pity. The child didn’t know the words «demodicosis,» «infection,» «threat,» but her heart told her that he was in a lot of pain.
«Are you alone?» she whispered. «I’ll take you.»
She took off her T-shirt, wrapped the puppy in it, pressed him to her chest like a doll, and slowly walked back. The puppy didn’t resist. He just let her carry him. He was light. He was almost weightless.
At home, everything was like a fairy tale in reverse. The parents were scared. First, by the sight. Then by the smell. Then by Marta’s answer: «He’s mine. He was in the forest. All alone.» Mom held back her tears. Dad called the vet. The doctor arrived quickly. An old man with a tired face, who examined the puppy and shook his head:
— He won’t last long. Everything here is… neglected. Someone just threw him away like a rag.
Marta stood in the corner, clenching her fists. Her lips were trembling. She did not cry. She only said:
— I will not give him up. We will save him.
The next day, a car stopped near the house. Two people got out — in uniform. Not the police, no. Something else. One was holding a tablet, the other was showing a photo:
— Did your daughter find this puppy?
They spoke evenly, calmly. And scary.
Marta immediately felt — these people did not come for help. They came for him. For her new friend, for this strange, bald lump with eyes in which she saw trust for the first time. When Mom quietly confirmed that «yes, we found him in the forest, right on the path,» the man in uniform nodded and said:
«He’s not homeless. He’s a laboratory test subject. He escaped from quarantine. Your daughter, unfortunately, violated the sanitary protocol.»
Dad’s hand began to tremble. Mom turned pale. And Marta simply hugged the puppy.
«He’s not a thing!» she screamed. «He’s alive! He’s afraid! He understands everything!»
The men exchanged silent glances. One took a document out of his pocket and handed it to Mom, who couldn’t read it. Only the words «return,» «property,» «health threat.»
But then the vet intervened again — the same one who had given the disappointing diagnosis yesterday. He called. And came.
«You’re taking an animal that’s about to die. That no one treated. That was thrown out like experimental trash. This is what a child found. And you want to return it… where?» In a cage?
And suddenly the man in uniform — the one with the tablet — lowered his eyes. For a second. And said:
“We have another one missing. He died. And they wrote him off. But if you want, we will formalize the transfer to private hands. Only the condition is to isolate him.”
Dad agreed. Mom, too. Martha pressed herself against the puppy. He did not move. He only put his withered paw on her wrist.
And a new life began.
They named him Fox. Because he had a sly look. Because he survived. And because no one knew who he was before. But now he was — part of the family.
The vet treated him. Mom smeared him with balms. Dad built a kennel. And Martha… she simply believed. She told him fairy tales. Sang songs. Pointed to the stars. And with each day, a new island of fur appeared on his skin. At first — a period. Then a spot. Then ears.
A month passed. Then another. And then he started running. Funny. Crooked. But running. Playing with a ball. Lick his fingers. He became different. He became himself.
And a year later, journalists came to Marta’s school. The Children and Animals Project. And she stood in front of the camera, holding in her arms not a bald lump, but a fluffy, warm, real dog. And she said:
— They called him «object.» And now they call him Fox. Because he is my friend. And because no one can be just an «object.» Especially if he has such eyes.
Now Fox’s photo hangs in the veterinary clinic. And under it there is a caption:
«From the forest. From the lab. From the darkness — into a family.»
And everyone who looks at him thinks: maybe I can save him too. At least one.➕
