On this cold autumn night, he could no longer feel his hands or feet. A light snow was slowly covering his shoulders, and the icy wind penetrated through his old, worn-out coat. He didn’t know how much time had passed since his son, with whom he had shared this house for more than forty years, slammed the door in his face.
— Emma and I don’t have enough space, and taking care of you is a big responsibility. You understand, don’t you, Dad? — said the son, avoiding his father’s gaze.
— I understand, — the old man quietly replied, though everything inside him screamed with pain. He didn’t understand. He couldn’t believe that his own son, whom he had raised and to whom he had given the best years of his life, was now saying such words.
The day he left his home would forever remain in his memory. An old bag with a few belongings, his gray head bowed in shame, and tears barely held back. He didn’t know where to go. Neighbors avoided eye contact, and the thought of going to a nursing home terrified him the most. The city had become so unfamiliar, so cold.
Sitting on an old park bench, he recalled his wife. How they had built that house together, raised their son, and dreamed of the future. She always used to say:
— When we grow old, we’ll sit together by the fire and remember our youth.
But she was no longer there. She had passed away two years ago, and since then, his son and daughter-in-law had looked at the old man as if he were a burden.
Closing his eyes, he felt his body gradually numb. His breathing became slow, his thoughts tangled. “Is this what dying feels like?” — flashed through his mind. And then… a gentle, warm touch on his face made him flinch. Slowly opening his eyes, he froze.
Before him sat an old, stray dog he had fed near his home for many years. Her kind, loyal eyes looked at him with concern. She licked his hand, whining softly as if begging him to get up.
— You came, old girl? — he whispered, weakly smiling.
The dog kept wagging her tail and began rubbing against his frozen legs, as if trying to warm him. From her warmth, tears rolled down the old man’s cheeks. No one else remembered him. No one, except for this stray dog.
Slowly, with difficulty, leaning on the bench, the old man stood up. The dog walked alongside him, glancing back as if saying, “Follow me.”
— Where should we go, girl? — he asked, bitterness in his voice.
She only wagged her tail cheerfully and led him through the empty streets. After a few minutes, they reached an old, abandoned shed that used to be a storage building. The dog carefully whimpered and nudged the door with her nose.
Inside, there was some straw, the smell of dampness lingered, but it was better than nothing. The old man sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, pulling the dog closer to him, stroking her dirty but familiar fur.
— Thank you, — he whispered, — at least you didn’t abandon me…
He closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the animal clinging to him. The past slowly faded from his memory, leaving only a faint hope that perhaps God still saw him and hadn’t forsaken him.
The next morning, on the porch of the abandoned shed, a passerby found the trembling old man and the loyal dog that had kept him warm with her body until the very end. The passerby called an ambulance, and the old man was taken to the hospital. When he regained consciousness, the first thing he asked was:
— Where is my dog?
The nurse smiled:
— She’s waiting for you at the entrance. She hasn’t left your side.
That day, the old man realized that true loyalty doesn’t depend on blood ties. Sometimes, even the closest people fail you, while those you considered strangers turn out to be your true friends.
He never returned to his home again. His son and daughter-in-law sold it shortly after the incident. The old man moved to a shelter where he was cared for. But the most important thing was that his loyal dog, the same one who came to him that cold night when he was ready to leave this world, stayed by his side always.