The Girl Who Calmed the Rottweiler and Discovered the Secret a Father Had Searched for for Three Years
Part 1: The Dog That Never Stopped Waiting
The sun was beginning to set behind the hills when the scream echoed throughout the farm.
—Maya, no!
Jacob Turner dropped the bucket he was carrying and ran toward the backyard.
Too late.
Little Maya was already standing in front of the enormous Rottweiler.
The dog lunged at the chain with such force that the steel post trembled.
His fangs gleamed in the golden light of the sunset.
His growl was deep.
Wild.
Painful.
As if she had been accumulating years of suffering.
Jacob felt panic rise in his chest.
I knew that dog better than anyone.
I knew what he was capable of.
For three years Buddy had rejected any human contact.
He had attacked veterinarians.
He had destroyed fences.
He had bitten workers.
And more than once Jacob had thought of sacrificing him.
But he was never able to do it.
Because Buddy was all she had left of Emma.
His daughter.
The girl who disappeared three years ago.
The girl everyone thought was dead.
The girl he had never stopped waiting for.
"Maya, walk away slowly," Jacob said, his voice breaking.
But Maya didn't move.
The seven-year-old girl watched the dog for several seconds.
Fearless.
Without nerves.
Without even understanding the danger that lay before him.
Then something strange happened.
Maya crouched down slowly.
And she began to sing.
A simple melody.
A children's song.
A song that no one had taught him.
A song that seemed to flow naturally from her lips.
"You don't have to fight, big guy..."
I'm here with you...
Everything's fine...
The growling subsided.
Jacob stopped breathing.
Buddy tilted his head slightly.
Her ears twitched.
The tense muscles began to relax.
And for the first time in three years...
The dog stopped looking like a furious animal.
He seemed sad.
Deeply sad.
Maya continued singing.
—You can rest now...
You don't have to be afraid anymore...
The enormous Rottweiler took a step towards her.
Then another one.
Jacob was prepared to intervene.
But the attack never came.
Buddy slowly rested his head on the girl's legs.
And he closed his eyes.
As if he had found something he had been searching for for years.
Jacob felt a chill.
Because I knew that song.
I knew her too well.
It was impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
-No...
whisper.
Maya stroked the scar that crossed the dog's forehead.
-What's happening?
Jacob could barely speak.
—That song...
—What's wrong with it?
—Who taught it to you?
The girl seemed confused.
-Nobody.
I simply know her.
Jacob took a step back.
That was exactly the same song that Emma sang to Buddy every night.
Nobody else knew her.
Nobody.
Emma had invented it when she was five years old.
It was his song.
Yours alone.
And now that unknown girl was singing it word for word.
Then Maya noticed something on the dog's collar.
An old metal plate covered in dirt.
She cleaned it with her fingers.
And he read the engraved name.
—Buddy.
The world seemed to stop.
Maya's voice became barely a whisper.
—Buddy?
Jacob felt his legs stop responding.
Because that name belonged to a ghost.
Something that had supposedly disappeared three years ago.
-It just can't be...
he murmured.
Maya looked up.
—What's happening?
Jacob had tears in his eyes.
—Buddy was my daughter's dog.
The girl frowned.
—And where is she?
That question pierced Jacob like a knife.
He looked at the old stable on the other side of the field.
The same stable that still appeared in his nightmares.
The same stable where it all began.
Three years earlier.
Emma Turner was seven years old.
Dark hair.
Bright smile.
And an obsession with animals.
All animals.
Dogs.
Horses.
Cats.
Even the most temperamental goats on the farm.
But no one held as important a place in her heart as Buddy.
He had been found abandoned when he was just a puppy.
He was injured.
Hungry.
And terrified.
The neighbors said he was too aggressive.
That he would never be a good dog.
Emma didn't listen.
He hugged him.
He fed him.
He took care of him.
And from that day on they became inseparable.
Buddy was sleeping next to his bed.
I used to accompany her to school.
He waited in front of the door until she returned.
And every night he listened to the same song.
The song that Maya had just sung.
Jacob remembered those nights with a sad smile.
Because they were the last happy memories before the disaster.
The night of the fire began with a storm.
Lightning illuminated the sky.
The wind was banging against the windows.
Emma insisted on going to the stable to check on a sick horse.
Buddy went with her.
As usual.
Minutes later, lightning struck.
Directly on the roof.
The fire spread in seconds.
Jacob ran.
The neighbors ran.
The firefighters arrived.
But the flames were too strong.
Too fast.
Too violent.
When they finally managed to get inside...
They didn't find Emma.
They didn't find Buddy either.
The investigators concluded that both had died.
There was no other explanation.
But Jacob never accepted that answer.
Because they never found any bodies.
Never.
Only ashes.
And silence.
A silence that accompanied him for three long years.
"My daughter's name was Emma," Jacob finally said.
Maya observed the stable.
—And they never found her?
Jacob shook his head.
-No.
Buddy suddenly raised his head.
His eyes were fixed on the old stable.
His whole body tensed up.
She began to moan.
First gently.
Then with desperation.
And then he flushed the chain.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
As if he wanted to get there.
As if he had waited three years to do it.
Maya stood up.
—He wants to show us something.
Jacob looked at the dog.
Buddy kept his eyes fixed on the stable.
Not for a second.
And at that moment something happened that made Jacob's heart begin to beat strongly.
Because for the first time since the fire...
She felt hope.
A small hope.
Dangerous.
But impossible to ignore.
Then Buddy let out a bark.
Just one.
Strong.
Urgent.
May you like
And he began to dig frantically next to the remains of the old stable.
Until something yellow appeared underground.
