Chapter 4 – The White Wolf on the Edge of the Forest
Milan rubbed his chest hoping to ease the feeling of itchiness deep inside him from coughing too much. He hated coughing. He hated that he couldn’t suppress it. It was always so loud sometimes, enough to alert everyone in the house that he was sick. The cold weather was hard on him. His immune system was too weak to fight. Leaving him open to pneumonia from the first night after landing in Portento. He stayed sick for weeks. It was taking him longer to adjust to the new climate. It didn’t help that it had snowed through Christmas. The white stuff was pretty outside, yet, it meant the cold was unrelenting. Milan wished he could run outside without making his health worse.
So, he stayed in his room, reading on his kindle, or drawing. He was finishing uploading his latest artwork on DeviantArt when Ayu came into his bedroom.
“Milan,” Ayu said, holding up a heavy blanket. “Want to step outside for fresh air? Mamma is not due back home for another hour. I set up a heater in the gazebo at the back garden. We can have hot chocolate.”
“Have I told you I love you?”
Milan pushed his blankets to the side, careful to make sure his laptop didn’t fall off. He shifted to the side of the bed and smiled when Ayu hurried to his side.
“Not today, you haven’t. I know you hate being cooped up in here. Mamma won’t let you out until you stop sounding like a drum when you cough,” Ayu said.
Milan grinned, elated by this little gift from his brother. Ayu helped him wear a heavy jacket over his thick sweater, and zip it up. He wore a wool hat, and pulled on gloves warm enough to make a healthy man sweat. Gloves. Milan adjusted the white surgical mask over his mouth and nose, adjusting the wool hat covering his head so that his ears were warm.
Ayu crouched to help him with boots. His feet already in the heaviest socks possible. Their mother worked at making sure Milan’s clothing was the heaviest it could be in this weather. Satisfied that every part of Milan was covered except for his eyes, Ayu looked up at him and grinned.
“Ready?”
“Yes,” Milan nodded, excited.
Ayu wrapped the heavy blanket around Milan, then turned around and presented his back to Milan. Milan wrapped his arms around Ayu’s neck, pressing his slight body against Ayu’s back for a piggy-back ride outside. They used a side door to get outside, careful not to alert Marie, or else they would get a scolding.
Milan felt the contrast of being in the house, and outside immediately. The cold air felt good on his face, the fresh air flowed deep inside his lungs. Ayu walked fast, over the salted path to the gazebo. The snow covered grounds were beautiful, all the way to the evergreen forest surrounding their house.
Milan smiled hard when Ayu deposited him on a comfy bench in the white gazebo. There was a heater sitting right in the middle of the round floor space. Ayu adjusted the blanket over Milan, and stepped back to inspect his handiwork.
“Are you comfortable?”
“Yes,” Milan said, happy to be outside for the first time since the day they landed in Portento. He had fallen sick overnight, and been unable to get out of bed all the way through Christmas.
“Mamma’s gonna freak out if she finds us out here, so we’ll head back when my phone beeps. I set up a little alarm to tell me if the front gates open.”
“You’re so handy with that stuff,” Milan noted, watching his brother turn on music on his Ipad.
“Yeah, it sucks that we can’t tell Mamma and Papa. I don’t like that they both want me to get into medicine.”
Ayu shrugged, settling on the bench opposite Milan.
“You can enroll into whatever class you want, Ayu. Do what you want. I want to be an architect, although I don’t know if it will happen,” Milan said, staring at the tree edge with a wistful glance.
He wished he could explore the forest surrounding their home. When he was feeling better, maybe he would try to sneak in there and discover what lay inside that forest.
“Milan.”
“Don’t say something to inspire me right now. I don’t want to hear it,” Milan said, turning to Ayu. “Dance for me. Like you used to when we were hanging out with Christina in Turin.”
“Milan.”
“Come on, this space is awesome. Move the heater closer to me, and do some B-boying, Ayu Takeda. I bet you’ve lost it.”
“Oh no, you didn’t.”
Ayu placed his iPad on the bench. He got up and moved the heater closer to Milan, then went to change the music to break beats.
Milan adjusted the blanket so that he could remove his hands from under the heavy fabric to clap when his brother started dancing. Ayu was a great b-boy, his style fun and entertaining. Milan couldn’t help clapping in excitement when Ayu contorted into a back flip, and came up into a comical freeze that had Milan laughing with joy.
After thirty minutes, Ayu decided he needed some water after working up a sweat.
“I’ll get hot chocolate for you, Milan. Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
Ayu jumped out of the gazebo, running toward the kitchen.
Milan watched him leave, and finally let out the cough he had been holding back for a while, not wanting to spoil the fun. The cough was harsh, violent, left him scratchy inside his chest. Taking off the surgical mask, he wiped his mouth with a handkerchief from his jacket pocket, and looked toward the trees on a coincidence. Milan choked on his last cough when he saw a large white wolf standing right on the forest edge.
Milan took in a labored breath, standing in a panic, his blanket sliding to the ground. The cold air wrapped around him, making him shiver. His gaze remained trained on the large white wolf.
He took a step back and it seemed to move forward.
He stopped.
He had once watched a wolf feature on NatGeo. Wolves loved the chase, they cornered their prey, and the moment the poor deer started running, the wolves attacked. He closed his eyes, when he remembered the sight of those same wolves with their muzzles red from the deer’s blood. If he moved now, he might end up like that animal. He could try running, but to be honest, his muscles were weak, he could barely walk without tiring out. The house was the same distance away as the gazebo was from the forest edge.
Opening his eyes, he stood stock still, his gaze on the white wolf still watching him. Heart racing, he weighed his options. Would calling out help? Marie wasn’t supposed to know about him being out here, but surely—
The sound of the kitchen door opening and closing filled him with relief. Ayu was coming back. Milan saw the wolf start back into the forest. He let out a soft relieved breath as the wolf blended into the forest edge, until Milan couldn’t see it anymore.
“Milan!” Ayu exclaimed when he reached him. “What are you doing? You can’t expose yourself like this. You’re still coughing up a storm. Sit.”
“Ayu,” Milan pointed to the forest edge, his teeth chattering, from the cold or fear, Milan couldn’t tell. “I just saw a huge wolf over at the trees. It was too huge, I couldn’t believe it, but it was definitely a wolf.”
“Wolves in a residential area?” Ayu asked, disbelief heavy in his tone. He pushed Milan to sit, and grabbed up the blanket on the floor. Wrapping it around Milan, Ayu moved the heater closer.
“I swear to God I’m not crazy. There was a wolf right there.”
Ayu straightened up and turned to look, his gaze searching the tree line and finding nothing.
“Milan.”
“There was a wolf, Ayu.”
“Okay,” Ayu agreed, with a small frown. “I’ll talk to Papa. Ask him to check with the Biosense staff. Meanwhile, why don’t we get this hot chocolate in you? Hmm…”
“I really saw a wolf, Ayu,” Milan insisted, holding the warm mug between his hands, his gaze on the forest edge. He wished the wolf would appear again, if only to prove his words to his brother.
Ayu patted the wool hat over Milan’s head and perched on the bench beside him.
“I believe you.”
Milan sipped his hot chocolate, his gaze returning to the spot where the wolf had disappeared. He wondered if the wolf was living close by, was it alone, or did it have a pack? Did it have kids? Was it starving?
“I miei bambini, what are you doing out here?” Ilaria’s voice startled them into turning around. “Polpetto, mind explaining yourself?
Ayu gave a nervous chuckle, standing up, as Ilaria walked into the gazebo. She looked tired, dark shadows under her eyes. Dressed in a silver-grey winter jacket, she removed her gloves and moved to press her palm on Milan’s forehead.
“You’re lucky he’s not feverish. He is not supposed to be outside.”
“Mamma,” Ayu started, just as his ipad buzzed. His alarm going off a tad too late.
“It was my fault.” Milan cupped the mug of hot chocolate tight and took a sip to warm his insides. “I pushed him until he had no choice but to bring me out here. I’ve been cooped up in the house too long, Mamma. I’m starting to look like a shriveled mushroom.”
“This child,” Ilaria sighed and sat beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “Come, Ayu, sit. The weather is letting up, I think. It’s warmer than yesterday.”
“January hasn’t come yet,” Ayu said, sitting on their mother’s right side. “They call January and February deep winter here.”
“Hmm…” Ilaria squeezed Milan’s shoulders. “I know you wanted to go to school, but maybe a tutor will be better? This way you don’t have to deal with the cold.”
“Don’t take it back,” Milan said, leaning into her. “I’ll be strong enough to go.”
“I hope so.” Ilaria pressed a kiss on his head, and turned to do the same to Ayu. “Well, the music is on. Was Ayu b-boying for you, cucciolo?”
“He was, and he hasn’t lost it,” Milan grinned.
“I can burst some moves too, you never ask to see them,” Ilaria complained.
“I want to see,” Milan insisted.
“Okay, but Ayu has to help me, my bones are getting old…”
Ilaria stood making a show of having her back in pain, making them both laugh.
Ayu jumped to his feet and changed the music to their mother’s favorite Italian singer. She grinned wide and started dancing her own version of the saltarella, lifting her skirts so that they could see her steps. She was good. Mostly, she was hilarious, and then the music changed to Shakira’s Lobo and she grabbed Ayu so that they danced together.
Milan was happy watching them, suppressing his coughs when he could, not wanting to spoil their fun. His cheeks flushed with excitement. This was the best day he had had since landing in Portento.
***
Sui Writes 