When Maggie moves into a new house with her son Ethan and husband Kyle, she’s more than ready for a fresh start. Her son needs a change of scenery, and Maggie just wants him to be happy. But one day, a husky wanders into their yard, eats their food, and gets close to Ethan. Soon after, the husky leads Maggie and Ethan into the woods, ready to show them something devastating…
When we moved into our new home, I had a good feeling. It was a new chapter in our lives, and I was more than ready. Kyle, my husband, and I were eager to give our son, Ethan, a fresh start. He had recently been bullied at school, and we all wanted closure.
The interior of a moving truck with boxes | Source: Midjourney
The house belonged to an elderly man, Christopher, who recently passed away. His daughter, a woman in her forties, sold it to us, saying it held too many memories and that she hadn’t lived there since her father’s death.
“Are there too many memories in there?” she told me when we met to tour the house. “And I don’t want it to fall into the wrong hands. I want it to serve as a home for a family who will love it as much as my family loved it.”
Two women talking in a kitchen | Source: Midjourney
“I know exactly what you mean, Tracy,” I said reassuringly. “We will make this house our home.”
We were eager to move in, but from the very first day, something strange happened. Every morning, a husky showed up at our front door. It was an old dog, with a grizzled coat and piercing blue eyes that seemed to bore right through you.
This sweet dog didn’t bark or make a fuss. He just sat there, waiting. Of course, we gave him food and water, thinking he belonged to a neighbor. After eating, he would wander off.
Close-up of a husky | Source: Midjourney
“Do you think his owners aren’t feeding him enough, Mom?” Ethan asked one day when we were at the grocery store doing our weekly shopping and buying food for the husky too.
“I don’t know, E,” I replied. “Maybe the old man who lived in our house was feeding him, hence his coming?”
“Yes, that makes sense,” Ethan said, adding dog treats to our basket.
A boy in a grocery store | Source: Midjourney
At first, we didn’t think much of it. Kyle and I wanted to get Ethan a dog; we just wanted to wait until he was settled into his new school.
But he came the next day. And the day after that. Always at the same time, always sitting patiently by the porch.
We felt like the husky was behaving as if he belonged there. As if we were just temporary guests in his home. It was strange, but we paid it no mind.
A boy in his school uniform | Source: Midjourney
Ethan was thrilled. And I knew my son was slowly falling in love with the husky. He spent as much time as possible running with the dog, throwing sticks, or sitting on the porch talking to him as if they had known each other forever.
I watched him from the kitchen window, smiling.
It was exactly what Ethan needed after everything he’d been through at his old school.
A little boy and a husky | Source: Midjourney
One morning, while petting him, Ethan made a discovery.
“Mom, there’s a name here!” he shouted.
I walked over and knelt beside the dog, brushing away some of the fur covering the worn leather collar he wore. The name was barely visible, but there it was:
Christopher Jr.
Close-up of a husky with a collar | Source: Midjourney
My heart was pounding.
Was it just a coincidence?
Christopher, just like the man who owned our house? Could that husky have been his dog? The thought sent shivers down my spine. Tracy hadn’t mentioned a dog.
“Do you think he comes here because it was his home?” Ethan asks.
Close-up of a little boy | Source: Midjourney
I shrugged, feeling a little unsettled.
“Perhaps, my dear. But it’s hard to say.”
At the same time, I felt like the husky was acting like he belonged there. Like we were just temporary guests in his home. It was strange, but we didn’t make a big deal of it.
Later that day, after Christopher Jr. ate, he started acting strangely.
A woman looking concerned | Source: Midjourney
He whined softly as he paced near the edge of the yard, his eyes wandering toward the woods. He’d never done this before. But now, it was almost as if he was asking us to follow him.
The dog stopped and looked straight ahead, and that’s when I saw him.
“Mom, I think he wants us to come with him!” Ethan said excitedly.
I hesitated.
Close-up of a husky | Source: Midjourney
“Honey, I’m not sure this is a good idea…”
“Come on, Mom!” Ethan said. “We need to see where he’s going and what’s going on. We’ll grab our phones and I’ll text Dad to let him know. Please?”
I didn’t want to do it, but I was curious. There was something about it that made me think it was more than just a random walk in the woods.
A path in the woods | Source: Midjourney
So we followed.
The husky led the way, occasionally glancing back to make sure we were still there. The air was crisp, and the woods were silent except for the occasional crunch of a twig under our boots.
“Are you still sure?” I asked Ethan.
“Yes!” he replied enthusiastically. “Dad has spotted our location, don’t worry, Mom.”
A woman in the woods looking concerned | Source: Midjourney
We walked for about twenty minutes, deeper and deeper into the forest. I was about to suggest turning back when the husky stopped abruptly in a small clearing.
The dog stopped and looked straight ahead, and that’s when I saw him.
There was a pregnant fox, trapped by a hunter, who was barely moving.
“Oh my God,” I whispered, rushing towards the fox.
Close-up of a fox | Source: Midjourney
She was weak, her fur covered in dirt. The trap had sunk into her paw, and she was shaking in pain.
“Mom, we have to help her!” Ethan said, his voice trembling. “Look at her, she’s hurt!”
“I know, I know,” I said, my hands fumbling to free her from the cruel trap. The husky stood nearby, whining softly as if understanding the fox’s pain.
A worried little boy | Source: Midjourney
After what seemed like an eternity, I managed to loosen the trap. The fox didn’t move at first. She remained lying there, panting heavily.
“We need to take him to the vet immediately, E,” I said, pulling out my phone to call Kyle.
When Kyle arrived, we gently wrapped the fox in a blanket he had brought and rushed her to the nearest veterinary clinic. The husky, of course, came with us.
A man holding a blanket | Source: Midjourney
The vet said the animal needed surgery, and we waited nervously in the small room. Ethan sat silently beside the husky, his hands resting on the dog’s thick fur.
“Do you think she’ll make it, Mom?” Ethan asks.
“I hope so, honey,” I said, squeezing her shoulder. “She’s tough. And we’ve done everything we can.”
The entrance hall of a veterinary clinic | Source: Midjourney
The operation was successful, but when the fox woke up, she was screaming, her cries echoing through the clinic.
The vet couldn’t calm her down, and neither could Kyle. But when I entered the room, she stopped. Her eyes locked with mine, and she let out one last whimper before falling silent.
“It’s like she knows you helped her,” the vet said.
A fox in a veterinary clinic | Source: Midjourney
We went back to pick her up two days later and brought her home. We settled her into a small den in the garage where she could rest and recover. CJ, the husky, as Ethan had taken to calling her, stayed with Vixen the fox the whole time.
A few days later, she gave birth to four tiny babies. It was truly the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen. And she allowed me to be a part of it.
“She only lets us near her babies,” Ethan told me one day when we went to see Vixen and the babies. “She trusts us.”
A fox in a garage | Source: Midjourney
I nodded and smiled.
When the babies were old enough, Kyle and I knew it was time to let them go. We built a proper den for them in the forest and watched Vixen disappear into it with her babies.
Now, every weekend, Ethan, CJ, and I go into the forest to visit them. The fox always comes out to greet us, her cubs trailing behind her, ever so curious.
A woman walking in the woods with her son and husky | Source: Midjourney
What would you have done?
Read also: My whole life, my father blamed me for my mother’s death, then he was taught a lesson – Story of the day
This work is inspired by real events and persons, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to real events is purely coincidental and is not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims regarding the accuracy of events or character portrayals and are not responsible for any misinterpretations. This story is provided “as is,” and all opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the opinions of the author or publisher.
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