“Shelter”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

“Courage is the ladder on which all the other virtues mount.”

Clare Boothe Luce

She sat, trembling, in the rain, watching the droplets sprinkle around her, forming ripples in the puddles. A single drop landed on her nose and she sneezed. Water flew from her back, joining the rest on the ground.

She watched as legs passed her, splashing her with dirty puddle water and mud. No one paid her any attention. Not even a sideways glance.

The cold leeched through her protective layer of fur and to her skin. She began shivering uncontrollably, her ears flapping against her cheeks.

She needed warmth, or at least shelter.

She lifted a tentative paw to take a step forward, but a foot slammed in front of her. She squealed and recoiled, scrunching herself against the side of the building to escape the danger in front of her.

She looked around. There was no other way. She had to go through the forest of legs to find warmth.

She lifted herself to her paws once more and took the tiniest step forward. She raised her other front paw and took another tiny step. Then another, and another, until she was right in the middle of the sea of legs.

Feet stomped angrily around as, telling her to go back, that she had no place here. But she ignored them, dodging their hurtful words and rushing to the other side, where the land was clear.

And finally, freedom. She skidded to a halt, her tongue lolling as she panted.

A hand on her head made her jump. Her immediate instinct was to run and hide.

But the hand was so soft, so gentle. She looked up to see a face peering down at her with kind eyes. The hand continued stroking her head, ruffling her ears and smoothing the water from her fur.

The hand was joined by another. They slid beneath her front legs, scooping her up into solid arms.

She melted into those arms, feeling safe and comforted for the first time in her life. She had found her warmth, her shelter.

Final Comments: I feel like this one had a much different tone than how I’m used to writing. I don’t really write in third person much, but I found that it was much more freeing in terms of being able to write imagery passages.

Overall Rating: 🥰