Em sat in an uncomfortably soft chair at Mrs Brown’s office. She felt like she was slowly sinking inside the chair as she stared at Mrs Brown’s eyes. They hadn’t said anything at each other in at least three minutes. Mrs Brown was trying her best to keep the eye contact but Em could see that she was feeling uncomfortable. Mrs Brown looked like she was in her mid-forties. She had short, slightly wavy dark brown hair, a smart looking outfit, thick glasses and dark red lipstick. Her eyebrows were slightly wrinkled as she looked at Em who in turn didn’t want to break the eye contact. It had been an accidental challenge of strength of wills, but she didn’t want to lose it now. Once you look at someone in the eye, you can’t break the eye contact or you’re the weaker one. That’s how it went.

Finally, Mrs Brown lowered her eyes to her papers, coughing a bit. Em felt just a little bit better.

“So, Em, can I call you Em? I’ve read your papers and your story looks very interesting. Would you like to tell me about yourself a little bit?”

“I’m seventeen, I’ll turn eighteen in just a few months. I have a dog. I want to study biology. I like roses and apple pie”, Em said.

“That’s nice to hear. Biology is a very interesting field indeed. You were missing for a month I heard. I think I saw it on the news too. Happy to see you’re safe. Would you like to tell me about that month?”

“Not really.”

“No? Why not?”

“Because if I tell you the truth, you’re going to think I’m crazy. And if I lie, what’s the point?”

“You don’t seem to think very high of me Em. That makes me sad. I have read Doctor Cavanaugh’s message and I talked a little bit with your parents too and they have already told me the basic details. But I’d like to hear this story from you.”

Em wasn’t sure what to do. She was still very much convinced that talking to Mrs Brown was a bad idea. But maybe she’d get out faster if she just did like she asked. Mom had said that she only had to come here once so it wouldn’t matter too much, right?

“Fine”, Em sighed. “I was bitten by a wolf like two months ago, and after that I got really sick. And then last month when the full moon was in the sky, I turned into a wolf. I met another wolf who promised to help me so I went with him so I wouldn’t hurt my family. And I stayed with him until I was found by the police and brought home.” Em looked at Mrs Brown with a serious face: ‘come on, laugh, say that I’m crazy’. But she didn’t say it. Instead she wrote something down on her papers (which was probably worse) and then took a sip of her tea.

“You said you met another…wolf. Who was he?”

“His name is Remy. And he’s, well, a wolf too. He used to live with a pack but now he’s alone. He helped me to deal with this whole thing. He was really nice, and he took care of me. And I guess I took care of him too. We looked for food and cooked together and when it was really cold in the cottage, we had to share the bed. He always hogged all of the blanket to himself and then complained when I tried to get some of it back.” Em didn’t notice it but she smiled a little as she told to Mrs Brown about Remy. But talking about him made her heart wrench and chest hurt. “And…and then I couldn’t even say good bye to him properly. I was just…ripped away. I wanted to say good bye to them.”

“Them?”

“Remy. And Carter and Mikey. They’re Remy’s friends. We spent some time together. They’re really funny guys.”

“While you were with Remy, did you miss home?”

Em was silent for a while as the realization dawned on her. “No…Not really”, she said. I was really happy with just Remy. At first, I did feel bad that my parents didn’t know where I was but I though it’d be better. I didn’t want to take the risk of hurting them by accident. But then…I guess I forgot about them a bit.” She hadn’t felt homesick at all after the first few days, after getting to know Remy better and after getting used to the forest life. She had really enjoyed it. It had been tough life and she had missed some of the modern commodities but eventually everything had just started to feel natural.

“What does…being a wolf mean to you?”

“I…I guess it mostly means that I don’t really know where I belong”, Em said hesitantly. “After coming back home I, I just haven’t been able to live normally. Everything is bad, it makes me sick. There’re too many people and too much everything. And it’s a bit scary too. What if I hurt someone by accident because I can’t control my wolf? How can I tell anyone without them immediately thinking I’m crazy? I know what my story sounds like but it’s true, but I know no one will believe me and it feels bad. But then, I don’t really know if I fit in with other wolves either. But I also feel kind of free. Like as if this is what I’m meant to be. Or at least that’s what living in the forest felt like. It felt like a place where I belong.”

“You feel sad and scared. Did you feel like that with Remy and his friends?”

“No. With them I was really comfortable. They’re all wolves so they understand. They know to an extent how I feel and why I’m scared. They’ve all gone through it and some even worse… With them I felt more like myself. Sometimes I feel like my parents don’t really listen to me or understand me. But they did and it felt really nice.”

They continued talking for a bit until Mrs Brown finally put her pen and papers down.

“Thank you Em. It was very nice talking with you. If you don’t mind, I would like to talk with your parents as well and discuss this situation with them.”

“Sure, whatever.” Now that the talk was over all the feelings rushed back to her. The reality she had almost forgotten while talking with Mrs Brown. Talking had felt surprisingly good but she doubted it was any use in the end. At least she had done what mom had asked and now she could, hopefully, be at peace.

“So, did you find out anything?” Em’s mom asked sitting on the edge of the chair, eager to hear what was bothering her little girl.

“Em and I had a very good talk”, Mrs Brown said calmly. “She seems like a smart young woman.”

“How about the whole…wolf thing? Did you find out anything?” mom had an impatient tone in her voice.

“I…I believe that she has come up with the story to cope with the fact that she was separated from her new friends”, Mrs Brown said. “She seems to feel very strongly towards them, especially this Remy. There apparently was a strong sense of unity and understanding between them. What I think is that this “wolf” is another identity and side of her she discovered when spending time with Remy. I don’t think it’s anything serious. I’m sure everything will return back to normal eventually.”

“Really?” mom asked, and Mrs Brown nodded.

“But of course she can continue her talks with me if she wants to or if you find them necessary.”

“Thank you so much. This really lifted a weight off my chest.”

“I recommend treating Em as normally as possible but also listening to her and her wishes. It will make her feel more at home and a part of your family again.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” Mom was almost in tears when she hugged Mrs Brown. “You have been a big help.” Mrs Brown smiled warmly.

While waiting for mom to come out of Mrs Brown’s office, Em had been thinking everything she had said. She had been happy in the forest. She had been happy with Remy. She had felt like she belonged there with him and being at home felt wrong. She also felt like the solution to this all had been in her mind ever since she had come home but now, she finally dared to actually think about it.

She was unhappy at home. She missed Remy. There was only one solution: She had to go back to him.