She seems to be spending more and more time with that cat guy. I thought she liked dogs? 

LoG, 14

"Whew. That was close! We're lucky the head governess didn't punish us too hard! She even let us come out and play!" Roko beamed next to Squinty.

They stood in line in the hallway with the other orphans, ready to initiate the monotonous march towards the barren courtyard.

Squinty felt pleased the head governess had let them off with little more than a kindly recrimination instead of getting beaten; they must have tugged on the right heartstrings.

Still, courtyard held little appeal.

"Come out and play? I'd hardly call this 'out.' They're just moving us from one wall to another." She waved her hand in dismissal.

"But... Um... You are always so eager for the playtime." Roko frowned.

The great door opened before she could reply and the queue stampeded into the backyard.

Children elbowed one another, yipping, yapping, and tripping over the dull, grey-colored bricks.

After Squinty made sure other orphans scampered away from them, she motioned Roko to come closer.

"You wanna know why I am always looking forward to playtime?"

He nodded "yes."

"Can you keep a secret?"

Roko leaned forward, eyes glowing.

"A secret? What is it?" He squeaked.

"Shh! Come." Squinty put her hand over Roko's mouth and took him by the arm to the rear of the building, turning around every little while.

They circled the entire Orphanage, until they reached a small derelict garden patched with tufts of scorched grass and thin shrubbery.

The joyous screeching of the playful kids faded away, replaced by a pleasant silence.

"Why... are we here?" Roko hugged himself glancing around.

Squinty deposited Mr. Big Ears on the rotting wooden bench whose planks were falling out, and pulled Roko behind a crumbling statue.

"You see this?" She pointed at yellowish ivy growth.

"Wha'? It's just bunch of dry weeds." Roko shrugged.

"No, stupid. Look." Squinty clicked her tongue.

She pried the emaciated leaves apart, revealing a stone slab.

"Come on, let's move it."

With Roko's help, Squinty pushed the boulder aside, and a gap appeared at the base of the wall.

"Is that a... hole?" Roko's mouth formed an 'o.'

"Sure is. Been burrowing it to escape this place." Squinty wiped her grimy forehead and held her chin high.

"How did you... um... do this?"

"I've been coming here to dig for ten or fifteen Lights now, not sure. Last week, I got to the other side."

"You... left the orphanage?" Roko stammered, blinking rapidly.

"I did." Squinty thrust out her chest.

"And... what did you see? What's on the other side of the wall?" Roko's breath hitched.

"Just an alleyway... And..." A smug smile hung about Squinty's lips.

She whistled.

A huge russet-coloured head popped up from the hole. A horse-sized hound pounced on Squinty's shoulders, hugging her with its giant forepaws, licking her cheeks with fervor.

"Squinty, what are you doing? Stay away!" Roko shrieked in alarm.

"It's fine, Roko. Grizzly's friendly."

"Friendly? He's huge! Even just standing normally, he's taller than you. Look at his paw! It's the size of your head. Imagine how big he'd be if he reared up! He'll kill you, Squinty, really, kill you!"

Grizzly nuzzled horrified Roko to the ground in a playful fashion. Then he sniffed Roko's pockets.

"I... I don't have anything. Please don't eat me... um... Grizzly?" Roko closed his eyes in fear, but only received a thorough tongue-cleaning in return. "Eww! He is slobbering all over me!"

"I don't think Grizzly's going to eat you, Roko. My theory is that he probably feeds off the rats he finds in the alleyway, anyway." Squinty approached and caressed the hound's back.

"What's that he's wearing?" Roko narrowed his eyes.

"I've been wondering that myself. It looks like some kind of a... leather vest?" Squinty took her fingers for a stroll over the soft, pliable fur several more times.

"Where did he come from?"

"I found him in the alleyway, hiding in the shrubbery. He was hungry and hurt, so I would bring him some food during playtime after breakfast. His wounds have mostly healed now."

"So that's where you were disappearing to these Lights! You even gave him a name. Why Grizzly?" Roko rose and brushed of his knees.

"I thought he looked like that bear from the picture book the instructors showed us during the lessons."

"He does, a little!" Roko edged closer to Grizzly.

"Do you want to pet him?" Squinty smiled.

"Umm... Ah... Is it safe?"

"Here..." Squinty rummaged through her pockets.

Some rotten maize pulp and a small boiled potato fell out on her palm.

"I nicked this from some kid's plate while Enoka was grilling you," she explained.

"So you're a thief, too!" Roko burst out in laughter.

"I guess." Squinty shrugged. "Give him this." She put the food on Roko's hand and Grizzly yipped with excitement.

"You know there's something there for you, is that it, boy?" Roko cried out in delight.

"Boy? He could devour you in a single bite. Well, maybe in two."

"Bbb...but... He ain't gonna, right, Squinty?" Roko stretched out his hand, sweating a little.

The massive dog trotted over, his tail curved like the hook of a coat hanger, and began gobbling down the food.

"Th... that's a good boy. Good boy." Roko whimpered, a relieved smile shining on his face.

"Don't be a wuss. There you go. Now, you're the best of friends." Squinty yawned. "Maybe we could stay out here for a while with Grizzly before we roll the boulder back. And remember: not a word of this. To anyone."

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Roko said, all solemn.

They plopped down into the thin, uneven, sharp grass, rough and shaggy like uncombed Grizzly's coat, and the dog soon joined them.

The children used his fur as a warm pillow, settling down against the hound's body.

"I like it here. It's hot, and dry but at least it doesn't stink. It stinks in the orphanage, a lot." Roko said.

"True. It reeks of unwashed bodies, dirty clothes, and sickness. In the courtyard, it's easier to breathe, at least. And there's beauty, away from all that rot." Squinty plucked a yellow dandelion and held it before her eyes.

"Squinty, do you ever look at the sky and dream?"

"Of course, I do." She redirected her gaze upwards. "But I get tired of it, fast, too."

"It's so wide, so blank, so... nothing," Roko whispered.

"That's because all the dreams we can fulfill are down here. You want things in the sky? What kind of things?"

"Yeah, maybe... A big doggy face, and something to keep us warm, and maybe apples. Wouldn't it be cool if apples fell from the sky?" Roko rubbed his tummy.

"Things in the sky would be weird."

"Fine, forget it." He pouted.

An unexpected deep rumble from Grizzly's throat made them bounce up.

"What is it, Grizzly?" Squinty looked around in alarm.

"Someone's coming. Quick, we need to..."

"Over here, Sien!" giggles erupted from around the corner of the orphanage, and Enoka emerged, holding hands with a tall, skeletal guy. "No one ever comes to this place."

Sien ground Enoka against the porose wall, peppering her neck with light kisses.

Squinty pushed Roko behind the massive trunk of a gnarly wilted tree.

"We'll wait for them to go away and then we'll come out," she muttered.

Grizzly growled.

"No, boy. Come back here! Come... back!"

He barked twice, and then howled.

Sien untangled himself from Enoka.

"Is that a... War Dog? Shit! What's it doing here?"