one last shot, but not in person. “Maybe you’ll understand now, Dad,” she thought as she took the piece of paper and returned to Rosy’s house. Entering the family room, where her parents slept in a fireside bed, she placed the paper on a coffee table, where they would be certain to see it. As she turned to leave, she looked at Balto, holding Jenna close in sleep, and wondered once again if what she was doing was a good idea. Granted, she liked the idea, but there was something inside her that kept telling her over and over that it was wrong. Now, it was speaking very strongly. Aleu stood there for a moment, conflicted, but then rejected the voice and left the house. “What he’s doing to me is wrong. I have to get out of this.” She exited through the dog door and walked down the street, looking back only once. “Goodbye,” she said quietly. She didn’t feel happy about her choice, but she also didn’t feel like she even had one. She turned away from the house, away from the town, and headed north into the snowbound country.

Dingo awoke the next morning to a strange sound, a sound he didn’t often hear. It sounded as if someone was…crying. He got out of bed, heading in the direction of the sound. It led him into the family room, where he saw Balto lying on the floor, sobbing with pure, agonized misery, with Jenna at his side, holding and stroking him, trying to soothe him with her voice. “What’s wrong, Mom?” Dingo asked, shaken at the sight. Jenna looked at him, and he saw that her face was tear-streaked. “It…it’s alright, sweetie,” she said, trying to keep herself together. She pulled the piece of paper away from its resting place under one of Balto’s paws and pushed it toward her son. “Read that.” Dingo turned the paper so he could read it.

To Mom and Dad,

I’m really sorry to do this, but I can’t live the way I am any longer.  I’m running away from home, and I’m going to find a wolf pack to live with.  Dad, it’s because of you that I’m doing this.  I can’t live with you anymore, not with the way you treat me.  My problems were unsolvable because you couldn’t help me work through them with you, so I decided to handle things myself.  I tried to tell you that all I wanted was for you to loosen up a little, but you couldn't even understand that, so I feel I had no choice.  Goodbye.

Dingo wiped away a few tears, not wanting to believe that Aleu was gone. She had been his best playmate, and when they got older, he had still spent a great deal of time with her. “Man…” he said quietly. “She never said anything. I didn’t know she was unhappy.” “I knew,” Jenna said, “but I would never have guessed it to be this bad.” She turned back to Balto, still holding him gently. Dingo could now understand why Balto was in such pain; Aleu’s letter must have added insult to injury for him in a huge way. He walked forward and put a paw on Balto’s head. “Don’t cry, Dad,” he said. “I know you love Aleu, and all the rest of us.” Balto didn’t respond; his tears just kept flowing. Dingo didn’t blame him, and he left the room, feeling like finding someplace to cry himself.

By the time evening came, everyone in the family had heard what Aleu had done, and had mostly gotten over the initial shock. Kodi, always protective, had been angry at first, wondering how Aleu could do that to the family. Soon, however, it was replaced with grief at her being gone. Saba had cried for quite a long time; she was more attached to her mother than her siblings, but it still wounded her deeply. Dingo had come to tears a few times, but he didn’t let them last long. Jenna had been the strong one, comforting everyone, especially Balto, who had taken over an hour to stop sobbing. Now, however, Kodi could tell she was emotionally worn out. He saw her walk into the hall and sigh heavily after helping Dingo overcome his latest surge of grief. Going to her, he embraced her, letting her do the same to him. “I love you, Mom,” he said. Jenna kissed his cheek, and he returned it. “I love you too, Kodiak,” she whispered, tightening her embrace. She laid her head on his shoulder, and he felt the fur her face rested on become moist. Kodi felt Jenna’s shoulders shake, and he nuzzled her. “It’ll be alright, Mom,” he said softly. Jenna spoke after a few moments. “I’m sorry, Kodi…normally your father comforts me, but he’s in really bad shape…” “It’s no problem, Mom. I don’t mind if you cry.” She laid her head on his shoulder, letting out a few more tears. “I miss her…” she whispered. “So do I,” Kodi replied. “It hurts a lot.” “I know. I wish I had been able to help her better, or something, anything…” “Hold on, Mom; don’t do this to yourself.” Jenna nodded as Kodi nuzzled her again. “Thank you so much,” she said, finally moving away. “You don’t know how much better I feel now.” “Thanks for being here for us.” “Always happy to be. I’m going to go see how your dad’s doing.”

Balto was lying in bed, staring silently at a picture of Aleu from when she was a puppy. Jenna went to him and put a paw on his shoulder. “Are you feeling at least a little better now?” Balto shrugged his shoulders a little. “I don’t really know what I feel…” he said quietly, “other than just…pain with no end.” He shook his head. “I don’t understand…if she says it’s because of me, how could I have not seen it coming? I mean, I knew I wasn’t doing my job right; that was obvious. But…you’d think I would’ve at least been able to tell if it had come to this point…” Jenna lay down in front of him, caressing his face. “Balto, I can’t even imagine the kind of pain this is putting you through, but please listen. I didn’t see this coming, either. No one did. Don’t start thinking about what you think you should’ve been able to do; there’s no point. Besides, Aleu made the choice to run away, not you.” Balto nodded, but then, tears began dripping down his cheeks. “I didn’t know she hated me that much…” he moaned, and Jenna pulled him close to her, holding him tightly. “I don’t think it’s hate, sweetheart.” “You read the letter.” Jenna paused. “I know. I know what you mean, but…I really don’t think she hates you. I think she wanted more, she got desperate, and she left.” “I just wish…that I could’ve worked it out or something…I mean, I guess I still don’t totally understand why she left.” He moved back from Jenna. “There’s only one way to know,” he said, wiping his nose with one paw. “I have to go out and find her.” Jenna hadn’t been expecting this. “Well…I want Aleu back more than anything, but…how are you going to catch up? I know you’re a good tracker, but she has a headstart.” “I’ll find her. I can pick up her trail, and I’ll follow it as far as I need to. Once I find her, I’ll see if…we can figure anything out, and I’ll try to convince her to come home.” “Do you want me to go with you?” “Thanks for offering, but no. I’m responsible for this problem, and I have to fix it. Besides, it could be awfully dangerous, depending on where she goes. I don’t want to put you through any danger if I can help it.” Jenna nodded. “I understand. You’ll be leaving in the morning, I assume?” “Yes, if you don’t mind.” “I think the sooner, the better.”

Balto wished he could’ve gotten more sleep that night, but he couldn’t help thinking of Aleu. “Even if I can find her, what am I supposed to do? How can I convince her to come back? Will I have to strike some kind of compromise? How can I even tell what she thinks of me, or if she even loves me? There’s too much I don’t know…” He at least slept for a few hours, then got up early, knowing he had to make sure he didn’t let Aleu get any farther ahead. Though they knew he was the only hope of bringing Aleu back, the whole family was grieved to part with another member so soon, even if only temporarily. Kodi and Saba both wept openly, not even bothering to try not to. Dingo missed Aleu so badly that his gratitude to Balto helped lessen his grief at his departure. It was obvious that Jenna wanted Balto to stay very badly, but was torn between that and her daughter being gone. Balto gave each of them a hug and kiss. “I promise I’ll come home as soon as I possibly can,” he said, “and I’ll do my best to have Aleu with me when I do.” Everyone nodded, and Balto tried to smile. “I love you all,” he said, turning away to hide his emotions and walking towards the edge of town, in the direction Aleu’s scent trail took him. Jenna blew him a kiss, wishing him all her love in her heart. “This is going to be hard for him in more than one way…”

The snow-covered forests were beautiful in late autumn, with the evergreens still standing proud and the grass and bushes not yet having succumbed to the cold. Balto’s heart was far too heavy to allow him to appreciate it, however, so he walked briskly onward, keeping Aleu’s scent. She did indeed have a headstart, but he was traveling faster; her scent became clearer as time went by. He felt a little better, knowing he was on the right track, but he had doubts about everything, even if whether or not trying to bring Aleu home was a good idea. The choice was an awful one: either bring Aleu home and resurrect their terrible relationship, or leave her to her fate in the harsh wilds. Either choice he considered, Balto was ravaged by anger, grief, and hopelessness, and the only thing he had to take it out on was himself. He berated himself so hard he brought himself to tears over and over, not knowing who else in the world to blame, not even Aleu. He knew this was one time where his wolf strength wouldn’t help; all he had to go on was his love for Aleu and his hope that perhaps he could reason properly with her.  “I wonder if she still loves me…” he thought miserably. “If she doesn’t, I doubt I’ll be able to do anything about this.” Soon, his thoughts were pulled back into the present as he came to a stream. He crossed it easily, but when he was on the other side, he found that Aleu’s scent trail had disappeared. “Well, that’s just perfect,” he groaned. He