The dog wouldnt let the doctors near the boy, refusing to let him be taken into surgery.
The boy lay in the wardpale, barely breathing. The doctors were preparing him for emergency surgery. Every minute counted No one knew if he would make it.
Just before they wheeled him away, he whispered weakly:
*”Can I say goodbye to my dog?”*
How could they refuse? The dog was let in immediately.
He dashed straight to the boy, licked his hands, then settled on his chest, staring into his eyes for a long timeas if he understood everything, as if he felt more than any human could.
But the moment the nurses stepped closer, the dog changed. He positioned himself between them and the boy, growling, then barking sharply, as if guarding him. The doctors froze. Something wasnt right.
Minutes later, shouts echoed down the corridor. The door swung open, and the boy gasped when he saw who walked in
The dog wouldnt let the doctors near the boy, refusing to let him be taken into surgery.
A man stepped into the wardexhausted, covered in dust, his face marked by the road. His coat was caked in mud, and he clutched a worn-out rucksack.
He could barely stand, as if hed crossed an impossible distance without stopping. It was the boys father.
He had arrived almost miraculouslythe moment he heard about his son, he dropped everything. Work, debts, distancenone of it mattered. His heart led him, and he couldnt be late.
The dog wouldnt let the doctors near the boy, refusing to let him be taken into surgery.
The dog had sensed his approach. Just before the man appeared in the doorway, he stilled, listened, then gave a soft bark and fixed his gaze on the corridor.
He was buying timenot out of fear, but because he knew someone vital was coming. Someone the boy had waited for his whole life.
When the father entered the ward, time seemed to stop. The boys eyes fluttered openweakly, but clear. And in his gaze was something deeper than surpriseas if the world had finally come together.
The dog wouldnt let the doctors near the boy, refusing to let him be taken into surgery.
Quietly, the dog stepped back. His job was done. He had given them that moment.
Minutes later, the doctors returnedit was time for surgery. But now, the boy didnt go alone. He knew he hadnt been forgotten. His father walked beside him.
