Prologue
Night has again come without notice.
Drying the tearstains off of her face, her little feet continued their patter on the muddy road. The coat that she knew was white was covered in dust and almost dyed into a mixture of gray and brown, and the bottom of her soft feet were bruised and scratched, making every step painful. Walking on an empty stomach only increased the pain. But she's looked every place that she's passed. Other than reeking garbage and rotten meat, the only thing that she could fill at least a small portion of her stomach was wild fruit and some flower seeds. The world has abandoned her. Everything she's known was either dead or had disappeared. She looked about her; cars with their powerful headlights were dashing by in seconds, every time missing her only by inches. Everybody seemed to have his or her direction and purpose, only her, so helpless and lost.
This was England, with nights dark and freezing even before the first month of winter. But she didn't know this was England. She knew home, but not the name of home. She knew mother, but not father. She knew her name and age, but not where she came from or where she would go. Her only dependence in the world has just left her, now completely alone on this earth that she has yet to grow to know, but was already forced to confront all by herself.
She lifted her little head up and gazed at the sky. There was no moon, and no stars, only ominous clouds looking like giant phantoms gathering thicker and thicker in the dark sky. She gasped and looked back at the ground, shivering as the icy wind whipped at her flesh through her thin fur, as if attempting to cut her in half. The cries inside her heart only she herself could hear, and the cold tears rolling down her cheeks only she herself could feel. Another storm was coming; she seemed could sense it. What she needed was a shelter, at least a small place to hide until everything was over. But big this world is, there never appears to be a place that belongs to her.
The sky grew darker and darker, and the wind blew harder and harder. Her tears felt as if they could freeze into tiny icicles, and her paws felt as if they were stepping on an ice rink. The night immersed her, overwhelmed her. But she could not go on, nor could she go back...