Depth of love

Even though Zuma was a water rescuer, he didn’t really like cold water — his paws would freeze, swims were without pleasure, and anyway, how can you compare a warm sea and a frozen lake in the foothills? But Everest called the brown Labrador there. “You have to help me,” she begged with tears in her voice, approaching the hovercraft from which the puppy got out. “My snowboard fell into the lake — how can I be without it!?” “Whele did it fall?” rolling his eyes in surprise, the brown Labrador examined the already thick crust of pale bluish ice, even sprinkled with snow in some places. “When I went down on the ice, it cracked, I was able to get out on my own… But there was no time for inventory anymore… I’m sorry, I was scared,” she-dog lowered its ears, averting its face. Zuma quickly nuzzled her cheek. “It’s okay, I’ll help you! The main thing is that you got out on your own! " “But you’re not wearing any gear,” she said timidly, glancing around the cabin. There was no backpack or uniform. “It won’t take long!” the Labrador squawked with alacrity. “So don’t wolly! Just show me as accurately as possible the place where it fell!” “I’m going to bring the car over and drill a hole for us,” the husky said readily. “But won’t you be cold? Maybe you should wear at least a heated jumpsuit?” Evie ran to her car, but stopped and thought. “Wait… if the ice has collapsed under me with my snowboard… It’s definitely going to fall through under this pile of metal. No, it’s better with a picaxe!” Meanwhile, Zuma was warming up before diving into the icy water — having settled on the shore, he quickly shifted from paw to paw, waiting for Everest. She returned with the necessary tools — as a mountain rescuer, she had already had to work with ice more than once. Guided by the shore, the female identified the place of the fall as accurately as possible and set to work. The water in the flat hole that came out at Everest was dark blue, like vitriol. It was impossible to see to the bottom in the dark, especially since there were no objects visible on it. Husky was already doubting whether this was a worthwhile business, whether it would be easier to ask the owner for a new skate. But Zuma resolutely walked to the edge, pushing Evie aside a little and dipping his paw into the water to raise his fur, better protecting him from the cold. “It’s not warm,” he said cheerfully, winking at his girlfriend. “You stay here and back me up. I’ll look around and come right back!” With these words, the Labrador entered the water and dived. Everest closed her eyes and dug her claws into the ice-one way or another, her friend was taking a risk because of her, because of her stupidity! Hind legs and tail flashed, then the water splashed and agitated, splashing against the sharp edges of the ice hole. Zuma’s body was noticeable, but it became an almost black shadow, sometimes blowing bubbles. Some of them were stopped by an ice build-up, but some fell into the hole, spreading out in small ripples with a gurgle. Everest could barely keep herself from swimming after him. Fortunately, the water soon stirred up and Zuma with some difficulty got out onto the ice. “It’s okay,” he shook himself, dumping the water. “I’m going to take a break and dive again.” I haven’t found the snowboard, but I think you’ll have it in a few minutes. “Zummy…” Evie couldn’t continue, she just bumped into the dog’s wet chest, completely embarrassing him. And then she ran to her car and returned with a warm dog jacket to wrap her hero in it. “Here, so that it doesn’t blow through, and here’s another thing,” she handed over a thermos of warm water with the help of a manipulator. “Thank… you…” Zuma began to bask in the vessel like a hot water bottle, without taking his eyes off Evie. The husky turned away so that Zuma wouldn’t see the smile on her face. “Maybe I’ll swim too?” She suggested. “Why not?” Zuma looked into the water. “Just be more polite. If anything, just come up and I’ll get you out!” “Then watch out,” the husky winked, taking off her jacket and hat to put them next to the ice hole. Also being a northern subspecies, besides, already diving not suddenly, but on purpose, and not alone, but under supervision, Evie was not so afraid to plunge. And Zuma set an example with his bravery. She plopped into the water and gasped for a second — the water wasn’t as cold as she’d imagined, but it wrapped around the female anyway, washing her and freezing her. Everest restrained her feelings and made a semicircle over the water, giving herself time to get used to it, and then took a deep breath and dived. heading straight for the bottom. The cold took her breath away, but it was more of a plus when diving. Wool, fluffed under water, stored bubbles in itself, providing a slight thermal insulation. All the lighting was provided by a hole — cone-shaped illumination resembled the beam of a theatrical spotlight. Exhausted by the stuffiness, Everest imagined the gaze of the audience beyond the edge of the world, in the deep frosty darkness. It was as if her feat was being watched for the sake of leisure… Deciding not to be distracted by trifles, Everest looked around. The snowboard was supposed to be here somewhere! She began to swim along the edge of the light circle, peering into the darkness and trying to make out the silhouette of the necessary equipment in it. Where is he? The bubbles began to wash out of the wool and they rose up in a beautiful dance, but Evie was in no hurry to catch up. The warmth in his chest gave her the illusion of warmth, but her paws were starting to prickle from frostbite. Is it all worth the pain?.. However, if it hadn’t been her snowboard, but some other person’s, Everest would have answered — definitely yes! Why not perform the feat for your own sake? Suddenly it seemed to her, that she saw it — to the left, in the distance, there was an object lying on the bottom that closely resembled it in shape… Anyway, Everest hoped it was her slate, because she wouldn’t have enough air for a long time, and Zuma would worry. With some trepidation in her chest, she left the illuminated circle and swam towards the object. The goal was clearly visible, and it added determination and determination to the dog. It is often possible to act only in spite of danger… But only if you know that everything will be resolved in the end, everything will be fine. But when Everest had sailed far away, and the object she had mistaken for her board turned out to be just an old, rusted piece of debris, the puppy panicked… She began to turn her head, trying to determine which side she had come from. Fear got in her way and confused her thoughts, not letting her figure out which way to swim. To get out! The female bubbled, rising almost vertically and releasing several bubbles from her mouth in fear, but she came to her senses and hastily clenched her teeth. Sparks and flashes of bright colors in her eyes made it difficult to isolate the way back even through the light. The theater lights turned into the crazy flashing of a disco. The dog’s body was twitching as unnaturally and inharmoniously as a drunk at a party. Despite the cold, it was actively twitching and shaking. Then the puppy ignored everything and just floated up to the ice in a stupid attempt to break through it and get out. But it was pointless — the thick ice reliably blocked her escape route, preventing her from climbing out of the trap! Everest whined and lost some more air, but she didn’t even pay attention to it. How! How can she get out of here?! Fear pierced Evie even more, forcing her to let out all the air when she felt someone grab her by the scruff of the neck and drag her somewhere… Everest spun around in a frenzy, kicking her paws and rolling, making it difficult for Zuma, the savior, to pull her out from under the ice… Evie’s eyes rolled back, the bubbles flew up with great speed, but Zuma grabbed her by the neck and bit her ear. A slight pain prevented the husky from completely losing her mind — she clenched her teeth and looked back at the savior, and he began to rise to such a distant polynya. Evie felt like she didn’t have the strength to swim out, and that fear made her heart almost stop beating in her chest. It was no easier for Zuma right now. Dragging another puppy was not an easy task! It quickly consumed energy, making movements jerky and forced. But Zuma had a purpose… And not one, but two — to save lives… So he overcame both the cold and the stuffiness, which made Evie’s ear tickle with a scattering of bubbles and whine. At the moment when she was ready to take a sip of water to extinguish the fire burning in her lungs, Zuma threw her out of the ice hole with a strong push and the coughing female began to beat the ice with her paws until the Labrador pushed her and finally helped her to get out onto solid ground. "A cold welcome…" Handing the clothes to Evie, Zuma tried to joke, but the danger he had experienced and the adrenaline that kept the puppies from collapsing made Zuma look serious and scared. Evie’s jaw was shaking and her eyes were watering, but not just from the cold… She clung to the puppy as tightly as possible and the warmth of their love spread through the two bodies, filling them with calmness and removing the imprint of the danger they had experienced. Zuma stood up on his hind legs and wrapped his arms around the female’s neck, rubbing his muzzle against hers, and Everest just stood and accepted his caresses, only occasionally running her nose over her wet brown fur. “We’d better get warm.” the Labrador muttered, slightly reducing the strength of the hug. "We need it now."