Paulo had been driving for almost four hours. He felt a bit tired and needed to stop to stretch his legs and have some coffee. He remembered passing a sign that said there was a gas station in 5 km. There, he could take a short break for a few minutes to rest.

The day was cloudy, and on the horizon, he could see dark clouds and flashes in the sky. It would probably rain soon, but he felt an immense peace within him in that setting. He had always preferred days like that over sunny ones. Looking outside and seeing the sky darken, announcing rain and thunder, almost instantly lifted his mood. The first things that came to mind with that kind of weather were: brewing some coffee, grabbing a good horror book, and sitting on the balcony of his old apartment to relax and read—when he wasn’t working, of course.

He wished he could do the same now, but he was sure the gas station wouldn’t be the coziest place to spend a few minutes reading. Still, he promised himself that if the station had a covered outdoor area, he would stay a bit longer to sip his coffee and read until the weather improved.

When he arrived at the station, he parked the car and looked around to see if such an area existed. He smiled when he saw that it did. As if inviting him to get out and enjoy the moment, the sky exploded with a lightning bolt followed by thunder. The clouds were even darker and heavier now. As he stepped out of the vehicle, the first raindrops hit his face. There couldn’t be better weather than this to begin his new life. It felt like the universe was blessing him and wishing him luck.

He entered the station's convenience store, grabbed a coffee, and went back outside to start reading. Most of his friends, if they were there, would be scrolling through their phones or chatting idly, but Paulo was never much into social media. While his friends scrolled through timelines, liking shirtless, muscular men and sharing their photos and videos, Paulo preferred to read his books.

Of course, he liked muscular guys too, and sure, he occasionally scrolled through Instagram or X. Not too long ago, he even had an NSFW profile on X, where he posted nudes and exchanged explicit messages with others.

But those were different times. Paulo no longer felt much desire to start or maintain conversations with people—especially if they were only about sex, dick size, or what one would do to the other in bed.

Lately, he has enjoyed spending his time reading, writing, or working. When he felt too horny and needed relief, he’d open one of those adult sites and take care of it quickly so he could get back to focusing without distractions.

He placed the coffee on the table and opened his bag to take out his Kindle. He was reading two books at the moment: The Wheel of Time: The Shadow Rising and The Housemaid. He decided that with this weather, he’d continue the second one, since the first-person narrative and the mystery everyone talked about had already hooked him. Not that he had any idea what the mystery was—so far, all he’d read was how the employer mistreated the maid and seemed a bit unhinged.

The Wheel of Time was one of his favorites, too, but he was getting a bit tired of the slow pace in the fourth book. And a mystery always went better with weather like this.

He stayed there for a few minutes, listening to the thunder and getting lost in his reading, until he decided it was time to hit the road again. He tossed his now-empty coffee cup in the trash and was walking toward the car when he saw, on the other side of the station, an employee shooing a stray dog away, into the rain. The dog limped off and lay down on the wet ground, resting its head on its paws, as if it were used to being out in the rain.

It made Paulo furious how people could be so cruel and heartless. In weather like that, all that the poor animal wanted was a shelter to stay dry and safe. It wouldn’t hurt anyone to let him stay in a corner quietly.

— “Hey, why do that to the poor dog? Would it hurt to let him stay there just until the weather clears up?” Paulo said, walking toward the employee.

The man just looked at him and shrugged.

— “Rules of the station, sir. If I don’t do it, it’ll be the dog and me in the rain.”

As angry as Paulo was, he understood what the man meant. The guy couldn’t risk his job for the animal. Paulo himself wouldn’t have turned the dog away if he worked there, but he couldn’t expect everyone to act like he would.

He stared at the dog for a few seconds and then went back inside the station. He bought a bread roll and a small bottle of water to offer the animal and stepped back outside.

— “Come here, pup!” he called, walking toward the covered area again. The dog couldn’t stay there alone, but Paulo wanted to see if the employee would really risk kicking the animal out while he was feeding it.

The dog looked at him for a few seconds and then followed, wagging its tail.

— “Here, eat this.” Paulo placed the bread on the ground and looked around for something to pour the water into. As there was no container, he poured some into his hand and offered it to the dog, who drank without hesitation.

After finishing the bread and drinking enough water, the dog just lay down at Paulo’s feet and fell asleep. Paulo decided to stay a few more minutes there, reading, in the company of his new friend. A few extra minutes wouldn’t hurt. He had no appointments that day besides picking up the keys to his new home.

Twenty minutes passed. The rain stopped, and the dark clouds began to fade. He looked down, and the dog looked back at him, its eyes full of gratitude for not being abandoned.

— “I have to go now, little buddy. I’m sorry. I hope you’re lucky and find someone who can give you the best life possible.”

He got up and walked toward his car. As he opened the door to get in, he noticed the dog still clinging to his feet.

He sighed. No, he couldn’t take the dog with him. Or could he? He didn’t remember seeing anything saying pets weren’t allowed in the house. And the dog looked at him, smiling with its eyes, as if begging Paulo to take him along. He had wanted a dog for many, many years. What if this was just another sign from the universe, handing him all the wishes he had left behind, dormant, forgotten?

He sighed again. Picked up his phone and called the owner of the house he’d be living in at Chasses.

— “Rogério, I have a question I forgot to ask. Can I bring my dog with me to the house?”

He smiled when the man answered yes, that there was no problem at all with having pets there.

He hung up and bent down to pick up the dog:

— “Looks like it’s your lucky day, buddy.”

He placed the dog on the passenger side, closed the door, and started the car.

It would be another two hours of driving now.

His new life would begin alongside his new friend. It couldn’t be a better fresh start than that.

— “Now I just need to think of a name for you,” he said, as he drove toward the highway.