Microfiction: Lone Wolf

Lone Wolf

by Luke Evans © 2020

He sits outside of the pack and listens to the other wolves. He takes what comfort he can from their proximity, even if he’s not one of them. It’s not because he doesn’t want to be, not because they wouldn’t welcome him.

Maybe they would. Maybe they’d accept him. Maybe he could be a part of the circle, sit with them, live with them.

Maybe.

It wasn’t fear. He wasn’t afraid of them or of what they would do to him, or that they wouldn’t accept him.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like being amongst them, either. He just didn’t know how to be amongst them. How to act, what to do. What to say.

This was how he dealt with his own pain, his own suffering. He preferred to be on the outside, where he could hear them and know they were there.

He liked hearing that they were close.

Hearing their sounds, hearing them. He liked knowing they were there.

After a time, his father found him. “Everyone’s going,” he said gently. “They’re saying goodbye to your mother now. They’re… in the room around the bed. They’re saying goodbye. Come a-and… Come and say goodbye, son.”

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This piece was originally printed on the online literary journal StylusLit. Copyright remains with the original author, in this case myself. StylusLit is a wonderful opportunity for Australian writers to have their works published online. The journal is also collected by the National Library of Australia and added to their collection, so that's interesting too!

- Pic: From Commons.wikimedia.org by author Mas3cf

NOTE: The pictures used here have been sourced from different internet sites, always linked to under the picture. In the case of comic panels, the original issue numbers and creators are listed, as well as the company that owns them. All rights remain with the original creators and have been used here for entertainment and educational purposes only.