The weather radio siren fuels my terror. Thunder claps and crashing tree limbs prelude the freight train roar of a tornado. Lightening illuminates a water spout endangering Charleston harbor. My heartbeat races as my eardrums pound with the changing air pressures.
While my trembling hand fumbles to locate a weather app, an outstretched paw touches my fingers. My anxious eyes focus upon his soothing face. He jumps towards me and flings his front paws around my neck. Stretching on tippy toes he buries his muzzle into my chest.
His eyes say, “No matter what happens, I am here to comfort you.”
He calms my mind and soul. As we cuddle, he wraps his body tightly around my torso, cooing in my ear. We collapse in tender hugs and drift off into deep sleep.
Tonight, my dreams imagine rumbles of thunder, flashes of lightning, sounds of pounding rain and the distant but prolonged wailing from my weather radio.