Three lonely souls crossed paths on a bitter winters day.
A woman, no longer young but still striking, pinned another notice to a lamppost before walking away, her shoulders slightly hunched against the cold. Her slender figure had nearly vanished into the swirling snowflakes when a scrawny, freezing dogits fur a muddled colour, its breed impossible to guesspaused beneath the dim streetlight.
Shivering from hunger and the biting wind, the dogs eyes watered. With great effort, it rose onto its hind legs and read the notice: *”Lonely woman seeks a friend.”* *That must be me,* the dog thought. *Im the truest friend anyone could ask forloyal, devoted. I belong where Im wanted.*
It tore the paper free with its teeth and, mustering the last of its strength, followed the fading footprints in the snowtracks only a desperate creature could still see.
Day faded into an even colder night. The snow burned the dogs paws, its sparse fur grew stiff with ice, and exhaustion blurred its vision. Still, it stumbled forward, driven by the call of a woman who needed a friend.
Then, at last, its legs gave way. The snow was too heavy, the cold too deep.
Just a few steps away, behind a tall iron gate, the lonely woman stood awake, restless with a strange mix of hope and dread. She stepped outside in nothing but her dressing gown and slippers, numb to the chill, waitingthough she hardly knew what for.
Suddenly, a small mound of snow near her feet twitched. From beneath it emerged a half-frozen creature, clutching a crumpled paper in its teeth, eyes brimming with devotion.
The smudged words were just visible: *”Lonely woman seeks a friend.”*
Careful not to hurt it, she gathered the trembling dog into her arms and carried it inside. A quick internet search brought up the number for an emergency vet, and with a shaking voice, she called for help.
Thankfully, the dog survived. The kind but weary vet prescribed a course of injections and recommended proper food. With no other calls that night, he stayed for tea and homemade biscuits, chatting as the warmth seeped back into his bones.
Unmarried, he admitted women never understood why he preferred patching up animals to chasing nights out or seducing interns. Few cared to listen to tales of grateful petstheyd rather hear about jewellery than the joy in a rescued creatures eyes.
The woman listened, a quiet spark lighting her own gaze. “Do you have many animals at the clinic?” she asked.
“Oh, plenty,” he sighed. “Holiday season means accidents, poisonings, cruel people… Ive got rounds in an hourbandages, IVs. On duty all night.”
“May I come? Id like to helpI know how.”
A year later, a happy family lived in that cosy little housenow filled with the scent of fresh biscuitsalongside a pampered, beloved dog. And love, at last, had found them all.
