Exentio here, sorry for the interjection. Due to limitations from Tapas, the story is split into parts as I only have 15,000 characters. You can read it in one piece on Yozakura by clicking on the image at the end or by writing this URL: https://yozakura.me/projects/exentio/dreamer/place

Ahh, that hits the spot! A foot bath right after a hike? Sign me up, I’m so coming to this hot springs town again. We’re having a blast here, I haven’t felt this relaxed in a looong while. My friends are already panicking at the idea of going back to work at the end of the week, but I don’t care. That’s a problem for the future Alva, screw that dude.
I wanted to go take some photos around the area and in the forest nearby, but I’m very aware that they’d bother me the whole time if we went together, so I proposed to split up for today and go each one on his own way.
I took a lot of pictures today, but as dusk approached I walked back to the town. The tourist area where the hot springs and our inn are is entirely reserved for pedestrians, so people can walk around freely and without a worry. In multiple places along the street there are foot baths like the one I’m sitting in, alone, all comfy, not checking my phone and not letting a single negative thought pass by. Also wet on the face.
… Wait, why is my left cheek wet? I look in that direction only to see golden. Golden Retriever, actually: a dog appeared out of nowhere. The tag on his collar spells “Blaze”, and from what’s visible… yup, that’s a boy.
“Hey, big guy! Are you lost? Come here, lemme pet you!”
He’s so soft and warm, this truly is the best~ but… I’ve been here for a while already, I should reunite with the boys for dinner. Let me check the back of the tag. His name on the front is engraved, but on the back there’s some writing made with a black marker, the phone number is covered. “Thawing Snow… isn’t that the name of my inn?” - well, I was going there anyway.

I’m accustomed to dogs so I easily grab him by his collar without worries, it’s quite uncomfortable to walk like this, but he’s staying beside me without making a fuss or pulling, he must be well trained. In a couple of minutes we’re already there. There’s a “pets welcome” sign, I didn’t notice that before.
I walk inside with Blaze. A girl is reading a magazine in the lounge with an umbrella hooked to her chair. Weird, it didn’t rain once since we arrived, and the weather is not supposed to change either.
There’s no one at the desk and I can’t see anyone from the staff around, so I ring the bell, causing him to tilt his head. He’s so damn cute. Let me try this. “Blaze, sit.”
He sat with a happy face. It’s just his normal face, but he always looks happy. “What a good boy! Paw!”
He gives me his paw, and when I grab it he licks my hand. That’s it, I want to take him home with me. The girl has been looking in our direction the whole time, I can only see her eyes behind the magazine.
A woman walks from the room behind the reception: it’s the owner of the place. “You called? Oh, that’s Blaze. Did he bother you?”
“Oh, no, I just found him at a foot bath and read the name of the inn on his tag.”
The woman sighs, “yeah, he always escapes to walk around the town, he’s become some kind of celebrity. We really don’t know what to do with him.”
By the detached way she’s talking, it’s almost as if he doesn’t belong to her. “Isn’t he your dog?”
She shakes her head. “Not really, we had no choice but to take him with us. He was the guide dog of a blind man who passed away here at the inn last month, it was a mess. He had no family, so we ended up looking after the dog.”
I look back at Blaze and pet him. “That’s so sad. He must really be missing his owner.”
“Honestly, if you or any of your friends want to take him, I’ll give you a good discount on your stay. He’s very well-behaved, but we can’t keep him.”
I smile, a bit embarrassed. I know what I thought before, but… “I don’t think I can, I’ll let my friends know but the chances are pretty slim.”

Our room is empty. Where did they all go?! Oh right, I didn’t check my phone yet.
“We’re at this very yellow pub with a weird name, we’re gonna eat without you!”
How thoughtful of them. Thankfully I remember seeing a pub that fits the description: when we first arrived here, we walked past this pub with a bright yellow facade named “Brewing With You”, drawn on the sign there was a girl in a raincoat that reminded me of our divinity Mieke, the logo placed under her umbrella. A quick search on my phone later I learned that she’s a heavy beer drinker, you never stop learning. Anyway, I guess that’s where I’m going.
When I open the door I immediately notice two things: the delicious fragrance of roasted meat, and the chaos of the voices of all the people eating there. I just found out why this town is so quiet: this place is where all the noise concentrates. The guys see me at the door and start shouting intelligible words, and when I walk towards the table I realize that they’re already shitfaced. The noise has been piercing my eardrums the whole time. Hell no, I’m not doing this, I turn tail and get outside, waiting for the ringing in my ears to stop. You know what? I’m going to the pizzeria, alone.
Except, as if waiting for me, I notice a familiar shape in the middle of the street, close to the pizzeria. “Aw, come on, you ran away again?” - it’s Blaze. He barks gently, clearly asking for pats.
I grab a takeaway pizza and go back to the inn. I just had a funny idea.

“Do you mind if I take him with me?”
The owner shakes her head with energy, “please take him with you whenever you want. That’s always better than letting him stay here or, even worse, wander around the village. Here’s his leash.”
To me it looks like she’s hoping that I get attached to Blaze and adopt him, but she better not get her hopes too high.
I always wanted to give astrophotography a shot, but around the city there’s way too much light pollution. The top of the hill nearby should be more than fine, I usually wouldn’t be this confident with going outside alone at night, but… eh, it’s gonna be fine, I have a good boy with me, and I’m not going to get lost in the forest like earlier. Honestly, the hardest part is taking the pizza with me while holding a torch for the whole walk, but thankfully Blaze is very good and he doesn’t pull.
In less than 15 minutes we’re at the place, it’s at the end of a path just like any normal tourist spot. The view is nice enough, and many people come here during the day for picnics; now, however, it’s empty for obvious reasons. I always bring a blanket to put on the ground because I’m not too fond of the idea of bugs walking over me if I sit on the grass.
After eating (yes, Blaze deserved half a slice too) I lie down to look at the stars, the dog lying by my side and lowkey keeping me warm. It’s a pretty sight, I gotta try this.
I only brought a small tabletop tripod with me because I wasn’t hoping to have too much time alone, but it’s gonna be enough.
“Blaze, hold your breath, I set a 8 seconds exposure.”
He tilts his head, and I go ahead and pat him while calling him random names in a dumb high-pitched voice. I really like this dude.
My parents always loved dogs, mom has a pet store and grooming shop and my dad in particular is a fan of the Lagotto. Until the day I moved out, there were dogs in almost every day of my life, and although I tell myself that I don’t want to bother with having to go for a walk every time the dog needs it, I still miss the presence of a fluffy friend wagging its tail all around. This is bad, I’m seriously considering bringing him home.
I hear the click of the camera, let’s see the photo… “that is pretty nice! I want it a tiny bit brighter, the noise is good, let’s bump the ISO.”
I notice something moving, but it’s too dark to see. Maybe it’s some wild animal, but it’s gonna be fine as long as it’s not a wolf. Blaze got on guard too, but he didn’t run toward it. It’s probably part of his training since, you know, if he rushes towards something while a blind person holds his leash, it can end up quite badly. The timer is set, I move down next to Blaze. Of course, he can’t help licking me. “Haha! Man, from time to time I wish all my friends were as quiet as you.”
The camera clicks again, but this time I don’t move. I blurted it out without thinking, and now I don’t wanna stop. “They’re all good people and we have so much fun together, but, you know, sometimes I feel like wanting something different.”
Out of nowhere, I feel something on my arm. It’s a droplet. “Oi, don’t drool over me” - but then I see another, and one more. “What the hell, it’s raining with a clear sky?!”
Well, it was clear. There are some clouds just behind us. I grab the camera, the backpack, and Blaze’s leash and move closer to the trees behind us, they seem to shelter us well enough. Worst case, I have a raincoat in the backpack, but I don’t want him to get wet if possible: wet dogs smell bad and it’d be a problem when taking him back to the inn.
I pat him gently, the weather is setting quite the melancholic mood. Of course it’s not like he can understand me, I know that very well. And yet, I want to get some thoughts off my chest, maybe exactly because he can’t understand, it’s a weird feeling. “Wanna hear something strange? I spend stupid amounts of time talking with random people on the internet. I get overly personal and share random stuff I don’t even tell my friends. Haha, I wonder why I even do that…”
The weight of my own words is bringing me anxiety and guilt. “Do I not trust them? I feel like that’s not the reason, but it’s the only thing I can think of.”
I look at him, and he’s looking at me too, but without his usual funny expression and tongue out. It’s almost as if he was actually listening to me. “Am I telling you all these things because I don’t feel judged? But I don’t think they’d judge me.”
I don’t think they’d judge me, but… “but I still worry that they might judge me.”
While I feel lighter for having said it out loud, I still feel bad for having such thoughts. Blaze is nudging me with his nose and licking my face all over. “Hahah! Stop, that’s too much! Please, not the mouth! Hahaha!”
I kept petting him for a while so that he stops giving me a smelly face mask. I’m feeling better, I gotta give him that. When he finally calms down I grab the packet of wipes in my backpack and clean my face. “It’s all slimy, ew!”
But I can’t be angry at him. He’s back with his dumb smiley face.
“He felt your anxiety, what a good boy!”
I almost piss my pants as I notice a figure suddenly standing before us. It’s too dark to see her properly, but I recognize the transparent umbrella. It’s the girl I saw in the lounge.
“You scared me! Just for how long have you been there?!”
She starts laughing. “Hahaha! Here? Just now! But I’ve been around for the whole time~”
Ugh, that’s creepy. Is she a stalker? “What the hell, did you eavesdrop on me for the whole time?!”
“Ehh… kinda? Don’t get me wrong, I’m here for the dog, I feel responsible for him.”
For Blaze? “Are you a relative of his owner?”
“Oh, no, not at all. I was, well, probably the last person he’s ever met. We had some beers before he went to sleep and died.”
Wait, doesn’t this mean she could’ve caused his death? “Are you sure-“
I can see she’s shaking her free hand. “Oh no no, don’t get the wrong idea! He only drank one can, he said he missed drinking with other people! It was me who drank a lot! He died naturally, it wasn’t the alcohol!”
I wonder if I should believe her. I grab my torch in my pocket so I can see her better… is that a yellow raincoat? Hmm… wait, holy shit. “Mieke?!”
She tilts her head. “I thought you had recognized me already. Well, I guess it’s dark and I didn’t introduce myself. Your name?”
Now that explains the umbrella, the story about drinking beer with Blaze’s owner, and the rain. “Uh, it’s Alva. Are you the one who made it rain?”
She sticks her tongue out, “you needed a push, teehee!”
So she was eavesdropping. The rain is coming to a stop, it was about time.
“Boys like you always bottle everything up, like a certain fox I know. It was refreshing, wasn’t it?”
Sigh, I don’t wanna admit it. I just nod, no way I’m gonna say it out loud.
She shakes lightly her umbrella and it starts casting a bright light, now that’s amazing. I can finally see her and everything around properly. “I wanted to know if you’re a good person,” - she gets closer to Blaze and starts petting him, he probably knows her very well by now - “this big guy needs a good person to look after him. Are you thinking of adopting him?”
I sigh a second time, “I don’t know. I didn’t intend to, but… being with him is fun, reminds me of the old times. I have to consider if I can take proper care of him.”
Mieke smiles, “that’s how I know you’d be good to him! As a thank you for giving it some thought, allow me to give you some divine advice!”
We’re not at a shrine but, well, I guess that doesn’t really matter. “Alright, sure.”
She clears her throat. “Ahem! So… Alva!” - she’s faking a deeper voice - “don’t overthink the way you talk to your friends and don’t be ashamed! Try saying whatever is on your mind, maybe they’re going through the same struggle. The bond with your friends will only grow stronger! Dogs are great listeners, but they can’t tell you what you need to hear!”
That’s actually some good advice, although I’m struggling to take her seriously. “Hmm, thank you, I’ll try.”
“Don’t thank me, thank Blaze. Ain’t it funny how a dog can bring you to new places and make you meet the strangest people? It’s true that they can’t talk back, but at times they make the best confidants.”
Strange people like her. “Come on, now you’re just trying to convince me to adopt him.”
She nods, “yeah, I am! That’s still true, though!”
I get up to stretch and start putting everything in the backpack. “Are you going back? We can go together, how about we drink something? I’m going to the pub~”
I shake my head, “I pass on the drink. I don’t like beer and I can’t stand all that chaos.”
She brings her hand to her chin. “I see, so that’s why you left.”
Just for how long did this girl stalk me? Ah, whatever.

“Here’s the pub! Buh-bye!”
I wave my hand and mentally prepare for the hell that’s gonna burst out of that door. “Have fun.”
As the door opens, an even stronger deafening mess of voices than before overflows the street, grabbing the attention of all the other people outside. I get a glimpse of my friends, looking in worse shape than before. A unison chorus blasts from the inside. “MIEKEEE!!!”
She raises both her fists, even the one holding the umbrella, “GET YOUR BEST BEER, I’M BAAACK!!!”
“WOOOOOOO!!! LET’S GOOO!!!” - and the door shuts behind her back, cutting out the noise from the outside world. I had to remind myself that she’s one of the representatives of our country. But in the end, it’s exactly because they also act like this that we love our divinities. Hopefully she’ll look after my friends too.

Licensed under Yozakura BY-NC-SA-NoAI 1.0