Chapter 52

“Brilliant! I’m glad you feel better. How are you doing with the nightmares? Have you been out walking there again?”

I rubbed my paws on the fur on my chest and stomach, my ears going back reflexively. A primordial response to an unpleasant memory.

“No, I haven’t done it for a few weeks, but sometimes I still wake up like this.”

“It’s good progress, don’t pressure yourself. You will be able to do it,” she assured me, and I trusted her words because, until now, she had given me nothing but high hopes. “You will get through this, I promise you. Little by little.”

“If you say so...”

Later we stopped to eat in an area of rocks sheltered from the wind and prying eyes. Sebastian and his students joined us; the children sat together talking about the day’s activities and recounting the hunt. They did not ignore me, but they had understood that I was not there to be their entertainment, so they showed respect and spoke to me only if I said something to them. Th