A cold breeze began to seep in from the balcony. By the time it grew dark, Ami began to feel a slight shiver. She closed the balcony door, set the room temperature, and went to lie down on the bed. In the nature filled with darkness, the dim light from Ami's room stood out clearly.
Even then, Ami could not sleep. Her mind was entirely filled with Ameliya… She had become a great puzzle for which Ami could find no answer.
She picked up a book from the bookshelf and began reading it while lying down. It was a cute romantic story. Somewhere in the middle of that book, she slowly drifted off to sleep.
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Ami loved traveling, just like her father. In the past, whenever Jagannath set out to go somewhere, Ami would follow right behind him.
One such day was this one. Ami was a small child then—about six or seven years old. On a day when Jagannath had leave, the two of them set out for a trekking trip.
Behind the house where they lived, there was a vast forest. If you traveled through that forest, you would reach a range of mountains a short distance away. Below those mountains lay the sea. However, it was impossible to go down directly to it because that part of the ocean was extremely deep.
But the top of those mountains was a favorite place for many trekkers. It was often heard that the place was filled with many mysteries. Yet, no one had ever directly experienced or reported what those mysteries actually were.
Looking out from those mountains, very far away—so far that it could only be reached after crossing many leagues of sea—there was an island. Because of the mysterious beliefs surrounding that island in the city of Edinburgh, the government did not grant anyone permission to go there. No one from the government side seemed to know exactly what it was. It was only known that there were some things related to Edinburgh Castle. It was also certain that even today's government might not have a clear understanding of what lay there.
And so, the journey of Ami and Jagannath that day was to that very mountain. It was a two-day trek. Jagannath had carried everything they needed; after all, Ami was with him. By the time it grew quite dark, they had reached halfway up the mountain. When he felt it wasn't right to climb further at that hour, Jagannath decided to find a good spot to pitch a tent and began making the arrangements.
"Aami, don't go too far..."
Even as he said this, he didn't stop telling Ami, who was running around playfully and showing a bit of mischief, to stay close.
"Daddy..."
A few minutes later, what he heard was his daughter's cry from afar. Startled, he looked around, but as far as his eyes could see, she was nowhere to be found.
"... Aamiiii..!"
He called out for her, filled with panic.
"Daddy, I'm here!"..
Again, her voice called out... Following the sound, he ran quickly only to find his daughter standing there, staring intensely at something.
"Aami..."
He called out to her with a mix of surprise and a touch of sternness.
"Daddy,look a wolf... it's crying in pain..."
She spoke while turning around suddenly. It was only then that Jagannath realized Ami was crying. He quickly reached her side.
"My child, why are you crying...?"
He asked Ami, who replied,
"It's hurting for him, Daddy... I can feel that... look Daddy... Daddy is a doctor, right? I can't bear this sadness..."
Little Ami began to cry again. With that, his eyes moved toward where her finger was pointing. It was a wolf... it possessed a size far beyond that of a normal wolf. Its entire body was covered in wounds, as if something had attacked it. It was trying to heal them by licking, but it seemed utterly exhausted. Occasionally, it raised its head and, with its tired yet sharp eyes, cast a piercing gaze toward Ami... but to her, it didn't seem threatening.
The moment it saw Jagannath nearby, it began to growl softly. Jagannath didn't know what to do.
"Daddy, save it...!" little Ami said, crying again.
"Child, it might harm us... besides, a wolf can heal its own wounds," he tried to comfort his daughter.
"Then why aren't the wounds healing? Look Daddy, if we don't help, it will die," she pleaded.
When she spoke again, he didn't feel any surprise. It was because it felt as if she herself was the one in pain. Moreover, when she became stubborn about certain things, she would never let go. Even so, he had doubts—and fear—about approaching that wolf. Firstly, seeing its massive size, he wondered if such a large wolf could even exist. Secondly, he feared it might attack if he went near it.
Nevertheless, with deep hesitation, he moved forward. But the creature continued to growl.
It looked at Jagannath...
"Cool... cool..."
Despite his words, there was no change in the wolf. Although it was weak, it continued to growl with immense ferocity. It was as if the presence of humans was utterly unbearable to it, filling it with a strange madness. However, suddenly falling silent, it shifted its gaze—that gaze was now fixed on Ami, who had reached Jagannath's side...
"Daddy is a doctor... he will treat you and the wound will heal... okay?"
As she spoke with such childlike innocence, her eyes never left the creature. Jagannath did not feel any wonder at this; it was as if she herself was experiencing the physical pain of its wounds. Slowly, he managed to reach the wolf's side.
"Don't do anything... I am here to help you..." he said in a low, soothing voice as he sat near it. But the wolf ignored him, its eyes fixed solely on Ami.
"She is my daughter... Amika... look, she is very pretty... a 7-year-old girl. She is the princess I received after my two sons."
Jagannath spoke softly and first tried to touch its wound. Suddenly, the wolf turned its gaze away from Ami and growled at him.
"Okay, okay... relax... something has bitten you quite badly, right?" He spoke to the creature as if it were a human patient. "But there is the presence of something else in this wound that is harmful to you. That is why you are so tired, right?"
"Wait... I have medicines with me... if you don't mind, I will bring them quickly. I promise I will treat you well... look, my daughter is so sad because of you. I cannot do anything that would hurt her."
Saying this, he stood up and began to walk toward their camp.
"Ami, come... let's go get the medicines and come back," Jagannath said.
"I will stay here, Daddy... what if someone else comes to hurt it again?" she replied, expressing her deep concern for the wolf.
"Child, it is not safe for you to stay here alone."
"Please, Daddy...!"
Seeing that she was about to cry again, he took a deep breath.
"Don't do anything to her... can I trust you?" he asked the wolf directly. Even as he turned to walk away, the wolf's eyes remained fixed on Ami. Its gaze held a mixture of curiosity and wonder as it looked at her, almost as if it had understood everything Jagannath had said....