the choice

“Why”, I asked. A look of confusion flashed across the wolf’s face before returning to one of content, not dissimilar to one held after a well enjoyed meal. “In past lives, I made a choice. I am now paying for that choice. Everything has a price” they dipped their head down. I could feel the breath from their nose, heavy and dry. “ The price of bread is wheat, the price of wool is sheep, the price of sleep is time, the price of love is empathy. For every give there is a take, for every take there is a give. I made my choice, something I do not regret, and now I give for what I took.” They raised their head back up to stare at the sky balanced across their back, paws sunk into the earth, pushing hard on desert sand with the weight of the night bearing down on sturdy spine and steadfast legs. Constant and unwavering.