Melody hopped through the sun-warmed clearing. Then she stopped dead. A woven basket sat beside the strawberry patch, its rim spilling over with fat, jewel-red berries that glistened with morning dew.
She pressed her nose to the fruit and breathed in — a scent so sweet her whiskers trembled. She thought: Kuro would love these. Melody tipped the basket onto her back and waddled toward the great oak where Kuro napped, her paws heavy with berries.
Melody crept behind the oak trunk, the basket still clutched tight. She peeked around the bark. Kuro was curled on his side, one ear twitching in a dream. Completely unaware.
She took one step forward. Then another. But her paws froze when Kuro's ear flicked again. She melted back into the shadows, the basket pressing warm and heavy against her fur.
Melody retreated to a patch of clover and dumped the basket upside down. One by one, she rolled the strawberries toward the oak. They bumped against roots, rolled under fern fronds, and came to a stop right at Kuro's nose.
Kuro's eye cracked open. He sniffed. His nose wiggled. Melody held her breath, her paws balled into tight white knots against her chest.
Kuro sat up and picked up the strawberry. But instead of eating it, he hopped over to Melody and gently nudged the basket back toward her with his nose.
Melody blinked. She reached in, pulled out the plump red fruit, and held it out with both paws. 'For you,' she whispered, her voice barely louder than the rustle of leaves.
Kuro took it. And his whole face lit up into a wide, toothy grin.
Melody and Kuro sat side by side on a mossy log, each cradling a strawberry. Kuro took a bite. Juice ran down his chin.
Melody laughed — a bright, surprised sound that startled a butterfly from the patch. They ate in comfortable silence, the sweet juice staining their paws.
The forest clearing buzzed with the hum of bees and the soft rustle of wind through the grass. Melody leaned against Kuro. He leaned back. Neither of them moved.
One strawberry remained in the basket. Melody looked at it. She thought: maybe tomorrow, I'll bring him more.
The sun dipped lower, painting the clearing in stripes of orange and gold. Melody's eyelids grew heavy. She did not want to move.
Kuro's breathing slowed. Melody's ears gave one last twitch. The last berry in the basket rolled slowly to the edge and stopped.
Morning came. And Melody hopped back to the clearing — because there, beside the strawberry patch, sat a new basket. Full of berries. And beside it, Kuro, waiting.