After about 5 stops, the bus was noticeably emptier, as the majority of the passengers who were on the bus when she got on had gotten off at the previous stops. The reason was simply that her destination was relatively far from the city center and not many people lived there, nor were there many businesses or shops. Without counting exactly, there were fewer than 10 passengers. When someone new got on at the next stop, it was unusual. And so she looked up briefly. It was a boy. And he seemed to have a dog with him. She was sitting relatively far forward in the bus and both of them walked to the back, but when the dog reached her row of seats, he stopped briefly and looked directly at her, or at least that's how it seemed to her. But the boy made a short noise and then the dog continued walking. She didn't look after him, but judging by the noises, the boy sat down about 2 rows behind her on the other side.

As her destination came closer, she stood up and went to the back exit. The boy and the dog were already standing at that door. The dog turned his head towards her and looked at her again. The boy, on the other hand, seemed little interested in his surroundings. Only when the doors opened after the stop did the dog turn towards the exit and walk purposefully in the same direction she also wanted to go. It was a coincidence, of course, but after 4 cross streets and one turn, she found it a bit funny because it almost seemed as if she was following the two of them. But then, just before she reached her destination, they both crossed the street and walked towards the entrance of a house. She assumed that they had gone in there too, because when she reached her destination just 2 houses further on the other side of the street, she turned around briefly, but could no longer see the dog or the boy. It was not her house, she just attended a language course there every week. This course was relatively cheap, probably due to the remote location, but she didn't mind the bus ride to get there.

Unfortunately, she wasn't particularly diligent and the lesson dragged on. When she walked back to the bus stop, it was already starting to get a little dark. She was more than surprised when she saw someone standing at the bus stop with a dog and as she got closer she was sure it was the same boy with the dog again. She stopped at a distance. When she briefly looked in the direction of the two of them, she noticed that the dog was looking at her again. And then he made a typical dog noise. Not barking or whining. It sounded like a question.

She didn't know how, but the next moment the boy and the dog, who she would have sworn had been at least 4m away just a second before, were standing almost directly in front of her. He held out the dog leash to her and said as if it were something completely normal: "The dog has chosen you, now you have to take care of him." The dog made the same noise again and she took the leash in her hand without really being aware of it. When she wanted to ask if it was a joke or what the whole thing was about, the boy had disappeared. But she still heard the same voice saying: "I'm just a messenger, everything will soon become clear."

Then she was alone with the dog, who was looking at her again. The dog was a she. Laila, she thought, which was also her own name. But what would become clear and what should she do with the dog Laila now? She had no food or planned place for her. But the bus came and she got on. There was time on the journey to think about the matter.

The next day Laila still remembered the strange dream she had. But much more strange was that the dog and she could swear it looked like in the dream, sat in front of the door as if it had always been there. And because of the dream, she had not even thought a second about not to keep it, because well she somewhat in her mind had familiarized to have her.