Life returned to normal, that is for the most part. Issac's health returned, more fights occured, and I learned to hunt, pretty good actually.

    I continued to long to run to the American base. I saw Sam around town, but she was always with that human, and though she called to me, titling her her head confused at why I would not approach her, I stayed away.

    The fighting had continued, but lately it had  gotten worse, and I had not been able to see her, though I kept feeling something. Every time I tried to dismiss her from my mind, I got sick. It made me wander what was happening, Issac thought I was coming down with something, but he didn't know about a girl with Blue eyes, soft fur, and a beautiful smile.

      **************************

 I tried to sleep, but all I mangaged to do was toss and turn and finally awake with my shoulder throbbing. I sighed long and hard, looking out into the night as flashes of light lit up the sky and I imagined her.

   I got up quickly, a can banged agianst the wall, the downside of calling an alley your home,was th trash, I cringed. Issac moved slightly but stayed in the same spot. I breathed agian heading out into the night. I didn't care what danger there was, if I went another night without seeing her my mind would escape me.

   I crossed the boundaries, ducked or walked around curiosly as I saw the regular night patrols. No one seemed to see me, or maybe they just weren't paying attention, either way I made it safely to where I had seen her for the first time.

   I searched the air but there was no scent, at least none of which was her. I walked along, trying to make my way around the American patrols, and especially the patrols with other dogs.

    Soon I came to what I thought a a desserted place. Dissapointed I looked around, the breeze blew gently as I prepared to head back to the lonely alley. Then I smelled it, the smell of a rose garden trapped in the bonds of gun fire and sweat, the smell of a deep blue ocean surronded by sand, the beauty that was trapped in an unwelcoming place but that every where it went it left its special mark, and I knew it was her.

  I grinned silently as I spotted her sitting on a far hill over looking erything beneathe her. I went to her slowly, I thought about trying to get my fur to settle into place, but I knew that was an impossibilty, it was always all over the place, the perk of living where the wind always blows harshly and the sun always shines way to bright.

  I cleared my throat. "Sam"  She turned to me, a little surprised.

 "Hi"  She smiled, but I saw the pain in her eyes.

  "Hi" I said a little unsure, looking over the area before me, it was empty, but the impressions were still clear of boot tracks, and I knew men had crossed it not too long ago.

 "Is everything ok?" I asked gently, I thought my voice sounded too smooth, like a puppy.

 She gathered her breath and tunred back to the desolate ground ahead. "He left today" She said.

 "Who?" I asked uncertain.

 "My Owner"

  I wanted to tell her that every dog's owner is the same, eventually they all leave, human nature, eventually all humans stopped caring, and eventually none of them could be trusted, but I wanted to comfort her, not rage on my disgust.

  "Why?"

  "He recieved a new misson, he has to lead a team to invade new territory and save some of our guys" She explained. "I wanted to go, but he told me he couldn't take me." She went silent only for a moment.

  "Sage I'm so scared" She said turning to me, tears escaping her eyes.

    I went to her quickly, allowing her to fall on my shoulder as I nuzzled her closely.

  "Shsh" I said in a whisper, "Its gonna be ok, I'm here, its alright, I'm here" 

  And thats when my mind was made up, I was never leaving her, never agian.

       ***********************

   I stayed with her that night, but I didn't cross a line, and I believe at that time she still saw me as her friend rather than anything else. Then agian, at first, thats all I was.

      Soon she calmed down, and we talked for the longest time, of alot of different things. I didn't confront her, not yet. She talked about this human with such admoration, I wandered how she could really love him. His name was Daniel, and to hear her talk he took care of her, took her in when she was a puppy and her mom died and they were best friends. The thought of that made me shiver, and each time I tried to see the good in the man, my thoughts raced back to a man in a doorway throwing trash at us as he beat my Mom to no end, I saw no good in that, how could one possibly love a creature of such hate?

  When I knew the sun was coming, I slid out from under Sam, she had cried through the night, but somewhere between midnight an day break, she fell asleep on my chest. I made sure she was comfortable, and wrote in the sand with my paw, my Mom had taught me to write. Dad never saw the need for it, but I always liked to learn new and intersting things, when Mom ran out of things to keep my active mind busy with, she taught me to write, it did come in handy.

  I wrote: I'll be coming back soon.

  I sighed unwilling to leave her, but I knew she would be safe, for the place with the humans she called "home" was in sight, it was less the humans and more the dogs I trusted but neither were high on my list of trust, then agian though, few were.

        **********************

  I ran all the way to town, Issac had come to expect me to wake him up and often he lied there awake until I nuged him with my nose or tuged at his paws, he just loved to make me work, and hated to admit he got up early.

    The sun was alread coming up as I rounded the street corners and the light spread across the tiny shacks. I caught my breath quickly so I wouldn't make any noise and rounded into the alley, Issac was snoring slightly so I knew I was safe. I layed down and looked on to the horizon wandering if she was awake now too. Then the thought crossed my mind. I'm sure she has some sort of pedigree, a plaque of her pure breeding, a life and a more of a home back in the states and country of America. Was I kidding myself or could she? It was a question I knew I would have to find out, for my heart was beginning to understand the depth to which I was going, I was learning what most dogs took for granted as it were a part of daily life, I was finally learning the one thing I never had, and now I finally knew, because I was expierencing it,  I was falling into that four letter word the one thing I didn't understand and there was no way to stop, what a maddening thing.

   I smiled to myself and wandered if this is how Dad had felt when he met Mom, then I wandered how he ever handled it. I knew I was getting in too deep, but what I didn't know is that my life was going to send me down a different path, one that would change my untrusting heart forever.

             *****************

 Author's note: Keep reading Sage's life is in for a big change and its not only with  Sam.... Hope you enjoy it!! :)