The Dog by Kerstin Ekman Read Free Book Online Page A

when he breathes. Everything
    warm-blooded is fair game. There are swellings on his hide
    from the stings. The more he licks the more it burns. He
    wants to escape to a cool breeze, but the wind has completely
    died down. During the white nights of summer the
    water is smooth.
    He spends his days stretched out motionless under a
    spruce, as close to the water as he can get without being
    seen. There are often boats on the lake now. The voices
    make him uneasy. He wants to get away from them but the
    heat in the clearing is so intense he's forced to turn back.
    There's no escaping them by the shore; the voices even
    punctuate the night.'
    He hunts in the early morning when there's still a trace of
    cool night air, going down to the lake to drink while it's still
    quiet along the shore. The goldeneyes dive for food, pulling
    up strips of vegetation that quiver on the smooth surface. He
    listens for the sound of the beavers.
    Everything is familiar. He hears the same sounds he always
    does, but beyond them are the voices. They're present even
    when they can't be heard. The activity along the shore has
    scared off the otter and her young. Their scent gradually
    fades away. The fox enters their den and roots around. Soon
    his own scent has wiped out every memory of the timid
    otters.
    The shore belongs to those who dare to live with the
    voices of human beings. The dog is one of them, but he's on
    edge, his body tense from the plague of gnats and from listening.
    There's no restfulness in the light, warm nights, no
    deep sleep. In the pasture the valerian shines so brightly that
    the opaque bells of the flowers seem to contain a white light.
    The sickly smell reaches him in little bursts. Nothing is forgotten.
    One
    morning he was out at the point, digging for mouse
    nests under the spruces. He let down his guard for a
    moment, not listening around him, attuned only to faint
    sounds under the moss. Then the voices swept over him.
    There was barking and a creaking noise. He heard a smack
    and water splashing, then wood scraping against stones. He
    was so close to the shore he could glimpse the boat and all
    the people in it through the alders.
    They came ashore without noticing the dark mask in the
    speckled shadow of the alders, but he couldn't escape from
    the point. Their sharp voices and careless movements were
    all around the cabin. He crouched in the blueberry brush.
    No matter how hard he listened he wasn't sure where they
    were. They tramped around the pasture and slammed the
    cabin door. Windows flew open. Rugs and tablecloths
    snapped in the air. None of these noises were familiar. He
    was completely bewildered by them, lying with his head
    cocked, ears perked to pick up the sounds. Even if he'd been
    able to see what they were doing he couldn't have made
    sense of it. Axes chopping. The screech of a saw on wood.
    The clattering of a bucket. Last of all the smell of smoke
    pouring out.
    Lying there in this chaos of sounds and insistent scents, he
    waited for a chance to get away, but the people were unpredictable.
    The smallest ones hollered and flattened the grass,
    throwing an object that kept landing near him. When they
    fetched it he could pick up their smells, which were very
    concentrated and seemed to burn and sting.
    He withdrew farther out on the point. Although he was
    lying still, he was agitated. All other creatures were in
    motion at specific times. They hunted and searched and
    then they looked for a den or a branch. But the people at
    the cabin didn't leave, allowing him to sneak away. It was
    impossible to outwait them. When they'd been quiet for a
    few minutes the noise and activity started all over again,
    without warning or respite. Their chaos was between him
    and the forest. Each time they came in among the trees on
    the point he grew more terrified. He was prepared to
    defend himself.
    Towards dawn he broke out. By then it had been calm for
    quite a while after the last one had returned from the