Page 38 of Cherry Moon

The amount of relief coursing through me was almost too much to bear.

He was alive, still fighting. But he needed me. Now.

The same light appeared in Zach’s fingers. He held them up, cocking his head to the side.

We’d both tapped into something.

The magic of Cherry Moon?

The brush of fur against my arm, a swirl of blossoms in the middle of the room.

“What…”

A wolf. Gray-furred, its eyes shining with the different shades of the Cherry Moon.

“Rose?”

Did the wolf just shake it head?

“Bob?”

He licked my arm.

“You’re Bob?”

He licked me again.

One of Aki’s metaphysical babies here in the flesh?

“How?”

The Cherry Moon? Breaking the rules, turning everything on its head?

Clearly.

Bob brushed against me, turning his large body around to face Rose nuzzling up to Zach.

He stroked Rose’s back, her eyes the same color-changing spectacle as Bob’s, scrolling through the shades.

Zach’s mouth hung open in shock.

Incredible. Such beautiful wolves, such an amazing sight. Something spun from a dream, yet a complete furry reality.

My heart swelled, pushing back some of my anguish.

Aki is alive and just as glorious as ever.

“Can you sense Aki?” I signed to Zach, getting to my feet.

“Yes,” he responded. “How about this?” He gestured at the wolves.

“A miracle,” I said.

Bob moved to the middle of the room. Rose followed him, the two wolves brushing against each other.

I think those umbrellas have a new contender.

Bob and Rose cast their eyes my way, then Zach’s, before turning their attention to the bathroom.