I went for my morning jog as I usually do, just after the sunrise. Even in winter, I have always loved running in the park, just until it meets the forest and then come back home, have my shower and drive to work. I love the silence of the early mornings, the sounds of the birds waking up while the rest of the world is still asleep. It always feels like I am the only human on Earth.

Also as usual, my Labrador dog, Zinnia, joined me. A nice run always pumped her up, just like it pumped me. I’d let her be free most of the way but when the forest got to close, I’d put her back on her leash. There were some wild animals around and I didn’t want to take chances. Zinnia would stand no chance against a bear, wolf or even a coyote.

I had always been very careful and Zinnia was an obedient dog too. There we were, running side by side, our warm breaths freezing in the cold air the moment we exhaled them. All was quiet, except for the birds and the sound of a soft breeze. My dog would love sneaking around if she sensed a rabbit or some other rodent, but the moment I called her, she’d immediately join me again.

That morning though, I was up to a big surprise that I could swear took some ten years off my life. As I kept running through the dirt road for joggers like me, Zinnia went sniff and suddenly darted from her spot, barking furiously as if she had seen the devil or some threatening creature.

“Zinnia, come here! Zinnia!” I shouted, speeding up my pace. She was still off her leash and the forest was too close for my taste.

But for the first time ever, Zinnia didn’t listen to me. She kept running towards the forest much to my despair. What could she have seen that made her act so furious?

“Zinnia, what’s wrong with you? Bad girl. Come back!”

I was now getting angry at her.

“No treats for you today.” I thought to myself.

That was when the whole world stopped. When I set my eyes on her light brown coat and what she had just a couple of metres ahead of her, I stopped breathing. My heart stopped beating. Panic invaded me and a chill down my spine almost paralysed my movements. Zinnia was standing before a huge black wolf with yellow eyes, a massive creature that was some three times bigger than her. It looked at her fixedly, showing no signs that I could possibly interpret as good or bad.

Zinnia kept barking. Then she moved towards the wolf.

“Nooooooo! Ziiiiiiniaaaaaaa!”

I shouted from the top of my lungs, believing that death was now a matter of seconds away from claiming her life. I ran even faster but I knew I wouldn’t make it on time. My dog would be transformed into mince for having been silly. And I was to blame for keeping her off her leash. Then the wolf did something I would never have expected in a million years. It raised its tail and stretched its front legs. It jumped back, eyes on Zinnia, who also jumped back. I stopped, panting, and observed the scene. They just kept jumping around in circles, on their toes, as if challenging each other. But no aggression that I could sense. They were... my gosh, yes, they were playing. They took turns every few seconds to chase each other. Sometimes Zinnia would chase the wolf, then it would chase her. A wave of relief washed my body and the weakness of the moment made me drop on my knees.

“Zinnia!”

She finally looked at me and came back. I looked at the wolf. It looked back at me, then turned its back as if I was too unimportant to be acknowledged, and disappeared in the forest.

“Naughty, naughty girl!” I scolded Zinnia when she approached, wagging her tail as if she had not given me the fright of my life. “No treats for you today, you silly.”

I put her on the leash, my heart still pounding, and we ran back home. I kept taking her with me every morning and even though we never saw that or any wolf again, I always kept her with me. Next time Zinnia might not be so lucky.