She didn’t like it.  

It was so tight. 

There were things on either side. 

One had a little girl that kept poking her. 

The other had a little boy that was loud. 

But she was told to sit. 

So she would sit. 

She could obey. 

She could listen.  

She did what she was told. 

She did enjoy it. 

Looking out and seeing green fly past. 

It tugged on something 

Reminded her of wind 

Blowing through her fur. 

Dirt flying as she ran. 

Fur? 

She had skin. 

What was that? 

As quickly as it came, that moment was gone. 

So she stared outside. 

Watching green fly past. 

Soon the sunset and they stopped. 

‘Follow me inside.’ 

With one order, she followed. 

Watching as they talked with strange sounds. 

She was understanding more.  

She knew what a tooth brush was. 

A hair brush and clothes.  

She was learning. 

‘Follow us to the rooms.’ 

She didn’t know if that was good or bad. 

She didn’t know how long this would last 

How long it would be until she was in a basement 

Or locked behind a fireplace 

Or stuck in a room. 

Eventually, that’s where she always ended up. 

‘Get dressed and ready for bed, brushing teeth, hair and using the bathroom.’ 

She could do routines. 

Ready for bed. 

Open the top drawer and pull out cloth called Pajamas.  

Take off clothes and put pajamas on 

Go to the bathroom 

That was the room with the toilet 

Pull hair out of hair tie 

Take brush and pull through hair. 

Regina said to do it softly 

Take out tooth brush and tooth paste 

Put some paste on the brush 

Water the brush 

Brush teeth 

The dentist said she needed to do this twice a day 

Go back out and get on the bed 

Sleep 

Sleep was the hardest part 

Sleep was when her chest got tight. 

Sleep was when pictures came into her head 

Sleep was when she was either left alone 

Or hurt by the monsters 

In her dreams, things changed 

She felt free, running wild, wind blowing through her fur and trees flying past. 

For once, she was alive again, smiling at her sister and cheering when she won the race. Again.  

She was the faster wolf, Za knew this. And yet, she kept asking for a race, as if anything would change between the last time they ran together. Still, she would never turn down a race or an adventure with her sister. 

‘You run so perfectly Zo.’ 

She laughed, running circles around her sister. 

‘I’m gonna be the best runner in the world! Running and never ever stopping!’ 

‘Does that mean you’ll leave me behind?’ 

The wolf turned, laughing at the sad look on Za’s face. 

‘I thought you were the bigger sister.’ 

Za whined but Zo didn’t take back her words.  

She loved running. 

When she ran, she was on top of the world. Nothing could stop her, nothing could bring her down.  She was like the Moon Goddess, leaving this world and entering another. She wasn’t Zoet anymore, she was a creature joining the wind to travel around the world.  

Dirk didn’t like chasing her, he would tease her with his words. Joking that she was a prissy princess, or that she couldn’t get her feet dirty. She would roll in mud just to show that she wasn’t afraid of no dirt. 

Irene was a baby. She didn’t want to leave Mama’s side, she didn’t do anything but follow Mama around all day long. She thought it was so silly, Mama didn’t do anything interesting.  

That’s why Za was so cool. She was the big sister, but was nice and interesting. She loved running, playing games and watching the stars. 

Staying up late to watch the stars was the best part. Za would tell stories about the Moon Goddess and the heroes she placed in the sky.  

Sometimes it was fun piling up and sitting with everyone in the den. Other times though, she just wanted some peace and quiet as the moon moved overhead.  

She was jealous of the moon. It was free and was able to see the whole world. They had seen so many cool places as they traveled but they had never left the continent. She wanted to see forests that were never ending, mountains as tall as the sky, oceans too deep to ever explore and so many things she hadn’t explored yet.  

So she ran. 

She couldn’t travel across the ocean, but she could travel through the forest.  

This time it was different. 

Red was chasing her 

They were coming to get her 

Za was in trouble, Mama was hurt. She didn’t know what was going on, she was just relying on instinct. And it was telling her to run 

Run 

Run. 

RUN 

RUN! 

She woke up with a gasp, her chest tight and her skin wet. 

She was sweating 

She was panting 

It was a nightmare 

As the minutes passed, the tension left her body 

Do what was told 

Follow the rules 

Obey and she wouldn’t get hurt. 

Listen 

It was still dark 

She moved silently 

Sitting in the widow and watching the moon 

By the time the sun started to rise, she was back in bed. 

Regina wanted her to sleep. 

She didn’t 

‘Come out to the car.’ 

Then they were back in the tight spot 

Regina called it the car. 

With another person behind her now. 

Not much longer they stopped 

It was so loud. 

There were people everywhere 

She couldn’t look at only one spot 

Everything was pulling at her 

She didn’t know what to do with her hands 

Her chest felt tight 

She was getting emotional 

‘Follow me Silver.’ 

Obey 

Listen 

Follow 

And you won’t get hurt.