Future soccer player, Andre laughed. I love you both. I’ll be late.
Don’t wait up. I’ll call when I’m free. We love you too.
After the call, Irina added more logs to the fire. The room filled with warmth, and sleep crept in. She lay down on the bed to rest.
Sever lay in the corner, his massive head resting on his paws. Lately, he hardly left the house, choosing instead to stay close to his mistress. I should open the damper, Irina thought, but exhaustion won.
Her eyelids grew heavy, and she drifted off. She dreamed again, dark forest, whispering trees, and the same giant wolf leading her through the thicket, toward light. Just like the dream after the shaman’s visit, she woke to a strange smell.
Her throat burned. Irina tried to stand, but felt dizzy and collapsed to the floor. Her mind was hazy, but through the darkness, she saw Sever.
The wolf stood over her, whining and nudging her urgently. The damper. That was her last thought before the world went black.
Andre returned late that evening. The blizzard was fierce, and the road to the village was nearly impossible. Approaching the house, he heard Sever’s long mournful howl.
Something’s wrong, Andre realized instantly, and rushed to the door. A heavy smell of smoke, and something else that made his throat burn, hit him in the entryway. Pulling his coat sleeve over his nose, he stormed into the house.
In the dim light, he saw Sever circling Irina’s motionless body. Ira, he shouted, throwing himself toward her. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her over.
Her face was pale, lips bluish. She wasn’t breathing. No, no, no, no, he whispered, beginning CPR.
Hold on, my love. Please, hold on. With shaking hands, he called for an ambulance.
He flung all the windows open, letting in the icy air, and continued his attempts to revive her. But Irina didn’t respond. He waited nearly an hour.
The only ambulance in the area had gotten stuck in a nearby village due to the storm. When the medic, a tired-looking older man, finally examined Irina. He shook his head.
Carbon monoxide, the damper wasn’t opened. I thought she knew, Andre couldn’t form words. The medic gently touched Irina’s belly.
She was pregnant, almost full term. Shame, we were too late. Nothing I can do.
What do you mean nothing? Andre clucks the man’s sleeve. Do something, please. She’s been gone for hours, the medic said softly.
There’s no way to save her, or the child. Andre let go and slowly sank to the floor beside his wife’s body. Reality shattered into a nightmare.
But how? How did this happen? He whispered. Carbon monoxide, the medic repeated. Silent killer.
No color, no smell. You fall asleep and never wake up. If the damper’s shut too soon, before the fire burns out completely, the gas doesn’t go up the chimney.
It fills the room instead. The medic stepped out quietly, saying he needed to fill out some forms in the ambulance. Andre was left alone with his grief.
He stroked Irina’s cold hand, remembering how they had just been planning their future, picking out names for their son. He didn’t notice Sever returning to the room. The wolf approached Irina’s body and stared at her for a long time, as if refusing to believe what had happened.
Then, gently, he began licking her hand. Get out! Andre shouted, shoving the wolf away. Go! But Sever didn’t give up.
He tried to get to Irina’s face, whimpered, and even tried to tug at her clothes with his teeth, as if he wanted to pull her away. That was the last straw. Something broke inside Andre.
Rage flooded his mind. He grabbed the wolf by the scruff and dragged him into the yard, chaining him near the kennel. Stay here, he rasped, barely holding back tears.
Returning to the house, Andre sat down beside his wife’s body and, for the first time in many years, wept. He sobbed uncontrollably, like a child, not ashamed of his tears. Then he called Irina’s parents, his mother and the local police station.
His voice was flat, mechanical, as if someone else was speaking. All night long, Sever’s mournful howling echoed from the yard. It would fade, then grow louder again, carrying over the entire village.
The neighbours shook their heads. The wolf senses death. He howls for his mistress.
Andre didn’t sleep. He sat next to Irina’s body, holding her hand, as if hoping her fingers might suddenly move. As if this was all a terrible mistake.
In the morning, Irina’s parents arrived. Her mother collapsed in hysterics. Her father silently smoked on the porch, swallowing his tears.
The funeral arrangements began. Documents, the coffin, the service. The blizzard wouldn’t let up, and the road to the cemetery had to be cleared by tractor.
The principal of the school where Irina worked personally informed all the parents of the tragedy. The entire village came together to help. Some brought food for the memorial, others transportation, others just moral support.
Andre seemed petrified. He carried out the necessary tasks mechanically, muttered condolences to Irina’s parents, but inside, there was a void. A black hole had swallowed all thoughts, all emotions, all life.
Sever remained chained the whole time. He stopped eating and drinking, only occasionally lifting his head to gaze at the house where his mistress lay. Andre barely noticed him.
Grief had blinded him to the world. On the second day, a detective arrived from the district center, a routine procedure for accidental deaths. He inspected the house, the stove, asked a few questions of Andre and the neighbors.
Classic carbon monoxide poisoning, he said, filling out the report. Unfortunately, that happens often in rural areas, especially in winter when stoves are burning hotter. But she knew about the damper, Andre croaked.
I always reminded her. The investigator shrugged. Fatigue.
Pregnancy. She may have just forgotten, or fell asleep earlier than she planned. When all formalities were completed, the funeral preparations began.
The coffin was placed in the living room. Irina lay there in a white dress, like a bride, with artificial flowers in her hair. Real ones were impossible to find in winter.
The neighbor women washed and dressed her properly. According to tradition, Irina’s father insisted on a church service. The family was religious.