“Circles; I’ve been walking in circles for hours now!” My knees buckled beneath me, dropping my body to the damp cold ground below me. The world around me was alive with the noises of the jungle, but my mind trapped me in a state of shock, a state of silence, methodically interrupted by the pounding of my heart. In front of me was the tree, it had caused all of my emotions to be let out into a single wail that rung with defeat. “I'm never getting out of here, I'm trapped in this GOD forsaken jungle.” The more I thought of my grim fate, the more my fear turned into resentment. “They caused this, my supposed friends, my supposed brothers, left me to die out here!" A sharp stab of pain too my stomach quickly changed my priorities from cursing the “soldiers” who left me, their own comrade behind, to survival.

Slowly rising up I scanned my surroundings for the first time, taking in every last detail, until I saw that tree. It stood out against the dark gloomy atmosphere of the jungle surrounding it, its trunk was rich mixture of gold and brown, seemingly radiating light to the foliage that surrounded it, almost as if the tree itself was a light source. Scanning from the base of the tree, up I noted that it was rather small compared to the other trees that towered over it, competing in a never ending war for the nutrients the sun provided, choking away the sunlight from those below them. Though the tree didn’t look like any of this affected it at all, its leaves were a wondrous shade of emerald green, showing the health of the tree did not seem to be affected by the lack of sun. Then I saw it, my salvation, hanging above my head, the real beauty of the tree, fruit. It reminded me of peaches but the color was off, it looked almost red like an apple. Again a sharp pain coming from my stomach snapped my mind back to reality to start to formulating a plan to get the fruit. Slowly I approached the tree, scanning for footholds in the bark to aid me in my assent.

The moment my hands reached towards the tree I heard a soft rustle in the overgrowth behind me, but when my head snapped towards the noise, my panic was eased when I saw that it was not the soldiers I feared were stalking me, but a wolf. A puzzling thought came into my head, “What was a single wolf doing in the middle of the jungle, and why was its fur white?” It’s coat seemed to be such a white that it seemed to radiate light, reminding me of sunny winter days from long ago, simpler days of running through the snow. Yet another sharp pain snapped my mind back to reality, away from those nostalgic memories, back to the predator that stood before me. My training started to take over, I crouched low to the ground, planting my back foot deeply into the dirt, readying myself for the beast to charge at me, but it just stood there standing its ground. The wolf coked it’s head to the side as if to say, “Even if I did want to attack you, what makes you think you would have a chance?” The longer I waited the more suspicious I became, “If the mutt was going to attack me, it would have done it by now.” Slowly standing up I realized that I was right, the wolf just continued to stand there staring at me. “ I'm not going to stand here with you and waste away from hunger,” slowly turning my back to the wolf I returned to the tree to complete my original task. Upon touching the tree I realized my goals was impossible, like what I had just touched. The base of the tree felt as if it was made of polished marble, not even a single imperfection to provide a foothold could be found on it’s base. My grip failed me during every vain attempt to climb, depleting the valuable little energy I had left.

Exhausted, I slumped down and leaned back on the tree, trying to contemplate my next course of action. A quiet yelp escaped my lips when I saw the wolf sitting no further away than 10 feet in front of me. For the first time I saw the wolf clearly, it looked thin, almost starved, it’s thinness covered up by a thick coat of fur. “What makes you think even if I had any food, I would give any too a mutt like you?”, I said with venom coursing through my voice. The wolf didn’t seem to notice I said anything, it just continued to stare, almost as if it was judging me. My anger started to rise, “What made that dumb animal think it could judge me, it’s subhuman. I hate that wolf, it couldn’t even be compared to me, comparing it to me would be like comparing a god to a mouse. It just sits there, watching me fail over and over, tormenting me because it has nothing better to do."

My scowl soon turned into a sinister grin as my hand found a stone laying beside where I was seated. “Walk away now mutt, this is your last chance.” My grin widened, and to my satisfaction the wolf stayed right where it was seated. “Looks like I’ll finally have some fresh meat,” I chuckled to myself as I raised the stone, aiming it at the head of my tormenter.  With a grunt, the stone sailed through the air, directly at the head of my target. Just before the stone hit, the wolf's formed shimmered, almost like a mirage, allowing the stone to pass through it, unhindered. I stared in disbelief as the stone continued to sail over the jungle floor and crash into the foliage that surrounded me. My stupor was interrupted by the wolf; who finally rose and slowly trotted off to the edge of the clearing. “What are you?” I whispered, the only word I could manage to choke out.

The wolf stopped and turned around, and for the first time I found myself staring into the eyes of the white wolf. Their soft golden amber color seemed to almost radiate kindness and understanding, making me forget of my troubles. The way it looked at me made me feel like the wolf somehow knew me, it made me feel like it was an old friend.

Again, slowly the wolf turned its back on me, continuing its journey to the edge of the clearing. I wanted to shout to it, plead with it, just do anything to make it stay. The eyes I had stared into belonged to someone I knew, a friend that I had failed not long ago. Turning away for the final time the wolf exited to the jungle, seemingly merging with the foliage around it.
Sitting there all I could do was stare at the spot where the wolf disappeared, my mind race to try to make sense of what I had just witnessed. "This can't be real, I watched him die and now that wolf, that thing shows up with the same eyes as he had, with the same emotions held within them. A lonely howl broke me from my trance and made me finally succumb to the waves of exhaustion that had slowly been sweeping over my body. The later it got, the more the jungle seemed to come alive, but the foreign sounds began lulling me into a restless sleep. That night I didn't dream, my mind wouldn't even allow me a chance to go over what I had just witnessed.
Upon waking, I felt just as tired as I had the previous  night. Still groggy from sleep, I tried to regain my bearings. As soon as I came to my senses, I realized I was being watched, not in ill will, but in interest, almost wonder. The wolf was back, sitting, staring at me. I dared not move in fear of the supernatural powers that were held by the beast before me. Noticing me rise, the wolf's ears perked up and its tail started to wag, kicking up a cloud of dirt behind it. "Why are happy to see me? I have only given you reasons to hate me." I muttered, leaning against the tree, trying to stay away from the cloud of dirt that still lingered. Bending down the wolf picked up something that he was guarding between it's legs. The dust, still obstructing my vision, didn't allow me to make out what it was. While the wolf slowly approached me, I noticed things about it that had changed since the previous day. The form of the wolf almost seemed to shimmer and sway, making it impossible to focus on its entire form, just its hazy outline. Finally reaching me, the wolf gently dropped what he had been holding at my feet. Slowly, my gaze shifted from the mesmerizing creature, to the object placed at my feet.

I couldn't believe what I saw, the wolf, the fragile wolf who looked starved the day before, had dropped a single piece of the tree's fruit at my feet. Tears started to well up in my eyes, with this act of selflessness, this act of friendship, that it wasn't a wolf standing before me, but my companion in war, my friend in hard times, my brother that I thought I had lost from what seems long ago. Somehow I managed to choke out two words that didn't even begin to describe what I felt, " I'm sorry." By the look I received back, I could tell that he never blamed me in the first place. He was just happy to see that I was ok.