The sound

Moonlight streamed through the window, making its way through the open curtains and casting the bedroom in an amber glow. Silence blanketed the room with its thousand hands, each one feeling like it was holding a breath of expectation. The mists in the window blurred out the moon's rays, only for them to refract and shine brighter at the next second. The silence remained as heavy as the clouds that had covered the moon's light all night long.

The eyes of the guard dog lay wide open on the floor, his pupils constricted as he looked around the silent room, as if trying to find something other than the empty bed. Smell of wet soil and mud clung to the dog’s fur like sweat, giving him a sour tang and making his skin itch. His paws ached from standing at the door all night, and every once and awhile, he would let out a small whine to relieve the pressure building inside his lungs. The sound of the small whine broke whatever tension held the room. Sound of a car  driving past, or the sound of footsteps passing by, were enough to distract the dog's ears into being occupied with something else besides his own breathing. Every once in a while, the sound of a door closing would make him stiffen up even more, but as soon as that noise disappeared, the weight would return to his legs. A howling  gale blew through the window and knocked over the lamp on the table beside the bed. It fell to the floor without any noise, shattering the glass and sending shards flying everywhere. A small gasp escaped the dog's lips as the noise shattered, but he didn't dare move. As long as he didn't move a single muscle, none of the debris that littered the floor could hit him. Even though he knew he was going to get punished tomorrow morning, he didn't feel fear. The pain felt distant. His body ached because it wanted something he couldn't have. He wanted to feel pain, but not because it hurt. No, the reason why he felt pain was because it made him feel alive. If there was another emotion inside him besides fear, maybe he'd be terrified. But he wasn't. Fear wasn't what kept him awake half of the night.  It was hope.   Hope that someone cared about him enough to take away the pain that plagued him everyday.