The barking echoed through the room… then into the hallway… growing fainter, but never truly gone.
Ethan remained still, watching.
The fear in his eyes had faded. In its place was quiet sorrow—and a strange sense of peace.
His wife had stopped answering his letters long ago. His son had never come. To everyone else, he had already been forgotten.
But not to that dog. And when the door finally shut and the barking disappeared completely, only one heavy truth remained in the silence:
Sometimes, an animal’s loyalty is stronger than any human’s.
