I’d been told no before. Sometimes I would ask Rachel for a toy and she would refuse. Sometimes I would ask for a different meal because I didn’t like the one being served, but the answer was always no. Sometimes I’d beg the doctors to let me go, and stop with all the tests being done on me, but the answer was always no.

So I shouldn’t have been surprised when Buddy didn’t agree with my answer. I kept trying to tell myself this, but the same conclusion kept coming up: Buddy didn’t want me to stay with him.

But why?

The dog had saved my life, so wasn’t it ordinary to want to stay with him? Shouldn’t he have been barking excitedly, and nodding his head yes?

I took a deep breath in, and then let it out slowly. In, out. In, out. While I did this, I tried to find a solution in this situation that benefited myself and Buddy. I hadn’t told the dog my answer; it just seemed he knew what I was thinking. That didn’t necessarily mean that he meant no when he shook his head. He might have done it to shake off water, or to be playful.

Buddy probably didn’t even understand, or know, what I was thinking. How could he? Some talented humans could, but probably not word for word (I didn’t know much about people). But a dog? I’d heard that dogs could be very smart, but I didn’t believe that an animal was capable of reading a human’s mind.

I looked back at Buddy. He looked. . .offended? Was that the word? His eyes were narrowed, his fur poofed up (especially his tail), he walked backward slowly, and he even put a paw up to his chest. How did he know. . .

Smart dog.

That was my final answer. This was nonsense, and I was wasting my time on it. A dog could not read a human’s mind (at this Buddy shook his head no), and that was that.

I shivered at this thought, but tried my best to ignore it. I wouldn't waste my time on this, because I had decided I was going to stay, and that was that. Then Buddy shook his head no again.

I suddenly wished I could communicate with him. But of course, there was no possible way. Then my thoughts turned to this place. Goblins lived here, so why couldn’t magicians?

No, this was stupid. Why was I getting sidetracked so much? Why couldn’t I just stay focused on what mattered at the moment? My thoughts were put on hold for a second. This didn’t make sense. What did matter at the moment? Convincing Buddy to let me stay?

Oh, stop it! Buddy didn’t understand what was going on! He was a stray dog that just happened to save my life!

I started to feel terribly tired. You know after you cry a lot, your eyes feel really dry? That was how I felt now. So I walked back into the cave, laid down on the bed, closed my eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

No dream encountered my troubled thoughts. I guess this was a good thing, because I didn’t need more things to think about.

Plip, plap, plip, plap.

I awoke to the sound of rain lightly tapping on the roof of the cave. It eerily sounded like a soft whisper. Strangely, I understood it. The rain seemed to sound out the same word over and over: la-by-rinth.

I shivered uncontrollably. I wasn’t cold; the fire still burned at the foot of the bed. But something about that word made fear curl through my spine.

Reassuringly, I saw Buddy shaking himself off beside the bright fire. His presence stopped my shivering, but I still had bizarre feeling sitting in the pit of my stomach. I tried my best to ignore it, but something just wasn’t right. I could. . .sense that something really bad was coming.

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Buddy noticed that I was awake, and stretched.

“Hey, Buddy.” I mumbled. Then I realised that my voice had cracked, for I hadn’t spoken in a very long time. I cleared my throat, then fixed my eyes on the large dog, wondering what to do now.

Gosh, how I wished I could talk to the dog. How I wished I could ask him for an answer, how I wished I had someone who I could understand, and vice versa.

I closed my eyes to collect my thoughts. I felt like there was nothing holding me together, like I was the boss of everything, but powerless nevertheless.

Even when I was at the hospital, the doctors were the bosses. There was someone in charge, someone to hang on to. But now. . .I only had myself.

Frighteningly, Buddy barked right when I thought this, as if to remind me that he was there too, that I wasn’t completely alone. Was he really able to read my thoughts?

The rain had gone from a light drizzle to a loud storm. “La-by-rinth” each drop of rain chanted. “La-by-rinth” Louder and louder the chant got. Each individual raindrop was doing its part when it landed on the roof; it chanted that horrible word. It was like millions of voices whispering at once the same sounds.

La-by-rinth.

I started to cry. I looked at Buddy for reassurance, and as usual, he didn’t fail to make me feel better. The golden dog jumped onto the bed and sat next to me. I stroked his soft fur, hoping the voices would go away. It’s all in your head. I told myself. But somehow I knew it wasn’t.

“Do you hear it too, Buddy?” I asked in a soft voice. This time I wasn’t frightened when the dog nodded yes.

La-by-rinth.

All went wrong when the rain fell down harder. Buddy began to whimper and growl, which made me shake even more. Then the fire went out, plunging us into darkness. Soon I heard the bark door crash open, and then an army of wind came marching in. It blew my hair around, and Buddy’s fur.

It swept through my torn clothes, leaving me shivering and in the dark. The only comfort was knowing that Buddy was there with me, feeling the same fear as I was.

But then the worst part came. I clung on as hard as I could, but Buddy was disappearing under my hands. I couldn’t see him, but I felt his warm fur leaving my grip. His whimpers and growls got fainter and fainter, until there was one last bark that I could barely hear. Ever so strangely, I understood what the hero dog said.

“Trust your gut!” Buddy cried before his voice faded away completely.

And now there was no one to comfort me. I was buried in darkness, showered in a mix of rain and tears, and blanketed with fear. The fear curled through my body, making me shiver and bury my head in my arms and legs.

Black. Pitch black.

I could see nothing, and of course that made everything worse than it already was. But either way I didn’t dare to open my eyes, for I was afraid of what I might see. What if the Goblins had come back? Or maybe the laughter of the children to taunt me? With barely any relief I realised I wouldn’t be able to hear it; the storm raging outside was deafening. And even louder, it made its way through the entrance of the cave. The bark door lay in pieces on the ground.

So now what? Wait until the storm ended and then search for Buddy? Or leave now and find another safe place like this used to be?

None of this was possible. There was no way that I would find Buddy. I had no idea where he went. I wouldn’t leave out in this storm, that was too dangerous. The best option was probably to wait until the storm ended (but not search for Buddy), and then reassess the situation.

So I waited. I waited and waited and waited and waited. And after that, guess what? I waited.

It seemed like the storm would never end. I was sure that hours had passed. Lonely, scary hours.

And what made it worse? The rain just kept getting louder and louder by the minute. And it chanted the same word. “La-by-rinth” over and over and over. And every time it got louder, I shivered more, and every time I shivered more, I got colder, and every time I got colder, I shivered more. And this went on and on for what seemed like forever.

“La-by-rinth”

An eternity later, the thunder in the distance faded away. And soon the cold rain turned to a drizzle again. And the thick clouds made way for the sun. and the grey fog cleared away.

The sun beamed brightly in the land, lighting up all the trees and making the grass glow.

After all this, I dared to lift one eye slightly open. It wasn’t too bright; it was almost night time. So I cautiously opened my other eye, expecting it to burn, but it didn’t. The sun was still covered a bit by some clouds that refused to leave.

Finally I had both my eyes open normally. I gasped at my new surroundings.

I was no longer in the cave.