The wolves stopped about thirty feet away, sniffing the unfamiliar scent of the children, but showed no aggression. Ellie quickly hid behind Sam’s broad back. “Don’t be afraid, kids. They know me well. I nursed them back to health when they were pups,” he explained in a calm voice.
“Poachers killed their mother and left the little ones to die. I found them, fed them with a bottle.” Leo looked at the wolves skeptically. “You’re really friends with them?”
“In the forest, all living things help each other,” Sam replied philosophically. He took a piece of bread from his backpack, broke it in half, and offered it to the old wolf on his open palm. The wolf gently took the treat from his hand.
“I’ve lived here for 20 years,” Sam said, scratching the wolf behind the ears. “First, I worked for the logging company, felling trees. Then I ended up alone. I treat injured animals, feed them in the winter.” He showed Ellie how to hold her hand so the wolf wouldn’t be scared, and the girl dared to give a piece of bread to the younger one.
“Mr. Sam, why don’t you live in a city?” she asked. “I was miserable there. Here, I’ve found peace.” Leo cautiously stepped closer. “Did you ever have a family?”
Sam was silent for a long time, watching the running water, then sighed heavily. “I had a wife. But we weren’t right for each other at all. Got married young, out of foolishness. Thought we could make it work.”
“She drank from morning till night, started fights, broke dishes. I divorced her five years ago, after she’d completely hit rock bottom.” Sam plucked a blade of grass and twirled it in his fingers. “But before her, there was a girl. I loved her very much. The brightest, kindest person in the world.”
“But?” Ellie asked, intrigued. “I lost her. Through my own stubbornness and stupidity. I couldn’t make the right choice in time. I was afraid.”
“Now I think about it every day: she was right to leave me. She was smart, honest. She knew you couldn’t live like that. If I had been braver back then, maybe things would have turned out differently.”
The wolves drank their fill and disappeared into the thicket. Sam stood up, brushing off his knees. “Time to keep moving.” They walked in silence, but Sam kept glancing at Leo.
“You know, Leo, you look a lot like me. Like me as a kid. And you look like that Mary, too.” Leo grew wary. “What do you mean?” — “Same gray eyes. And that stubborn chin.”
Ellie laughed. “Leo is always stubborn. Once he makes up his mind, you can’t change it.” Sam shook his head thoughtfully. “Funny how coincidences happen.”
A red fox with a bushy tail ran out onto the path. Seeing them, it wasn’t scared but came closer. Sam knelt down, held out his hand, and the fox allowed him to stroke its red fur.
“This is my old friend, Rusty,” he introduced her warmly. “Treated her paw last spring after she got caught in a poacher’s trap. Nursed her for two weeks, fed her by hand.”
Ellie clapped her hands in delight. “It’s like a real fairy tale! You’re like a wizard, Mr. Sam. The animals aren’t afraid of you, and even the wolves listen to you.” Sam smiled sadly, stroked the fox one more time, then his gaze fell on the teddy bear in Ellie’s hands.
“And that bear… he’s very, very special,” he said quietly. Leo tensed up. “Why special? It’s just a toy.” — “Not just a toy, Leo. That bear led you straight to me. It’s as if your mother showed you the way from heaven.”
The fox ran off into the bushes, and they started down the forest path again. Leo walked behind, carefully watching Sam’s every move. Too many strange coincidences, hints, and things left unsaid, and that odd look he gave his mother’s teddy bear.
“Mr. Sam,” he called out. “Yes, Leo?”
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