Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 2763

He entered the alley, and the girl’s cries grew louder, sounding as if they were right beside him. When he rounded a wall, the scene before him made him freeze in place.

In the deepening twilight, a small girl was cornered by two wild dogs. She looked no more than three or four years old, small and frail, her clothes torn. Her thin body was covered in bloody scratches. Her eyes were filled with terror, yet she continued to fight back, struggling with a survival instinct that gave her small frame limitless potential.

A cold fury seized Jonathan. Blood rushed to his head, and his body trembled uncontrollably with a mixture of heartbreak and panic. He lunged forward, grabbed one of the dogs, and slammed it violently against the wall. He then spun around and kicked the other dog away.

Both wild dogs were dead. The little girl remained huddled in the corner, looking up at him in terror.

He knelt on one knee before her. Seeing her torn clothes and bleeding wounds, he raised a hand but didn’t know where to touch her.

He was afraid anywhere he touched would cause her pain.

“Mister!” the girl cried out in a hoarse, childish voice.

His heart clenched. He took off his coat, wrapped it around her frail body, and held her tightly in his arms before turning to find help.

After asking a passing neighbor for directions, Jonathan found the town’s clinic and had the girl’s wounds treated and got her a rabies shot.

He held her the entire time, not even letting go when she received the injections. She was so well-behaved, not crying out once, which only made his heart ache more.

The doctor said she needed to be observed for two hours, so he sat with her on a bench in the clinic’s hallway.

The corridor walls were stained and peeling, smelling of disinfectant and decay. The girl rested quietly in his arms, her eyes fixed on him.

He asked if she was hungry.

The girl nodded faintly.

Unwilling to leave her, he paid someone to go out and buy a variety of food for her. She carefully picked up a small box and asked him, “What’s this?”

Once her hair and clothes were straightened, he told her in a heavy voice, “My name is Jonathan. You grow up safe and strong, and when you’re older, come find me.”

The girl’s innocent eyes held a look of confusion and doubt.

He repeated with gentle gravity, “Do you remember?”

Only then did the girl nod.

An hour later, having eaten her fill, she fell asleep in his arms. Jonathan held her closer, feeling the faint, weak beat of her heart against his chest.

Night fell, and the corridor grew quiet, with only the low murmur of patients and nurses occasionally drifting from a distant ward.

Without realizing it, Jonathan leaned against the wall and fell asleep too.