At just eighteen, Daniel found himself caught up in the monotony of a dull, unglamorous warehouse job. He spent most days on the late shift, often lifting heavy boxes off trucks or sifting through countless stacks of inventory in a chilly back room. Each morning, he dragged himself out of bed as the first light broke, hurriedly shoved some breakfast into his mouth, and hopped on a bus for a thirty-minute ride to the industrial area of town. There it was, the enormous steel structure he referred to as \u201cthe warehouse,\u201d nestled among the broken sidewalks, dim streetlamps, and deserted shops that whispered tales of a more prosperous past.\n\n\n\n

He had grown accustomed to the desolation of that area. Many of the shops have shut down over the years, leaving behind dusty windows and worn-out signs. Every day, Daniel found himself drawn to one particular storefront: a bike shop that used to shine with bright neon letters proclaiming \u201cMorgan\u2019s Bikes.\u201d Now, the windows were covered in dirt, and a crooked sign reading \u201cCLOSED\u201d dangled from the door. There were whispers that the owner, a guy named Morgan, had suddenly packed up and left town. Some people claimed he just decided to retire. Regardless of the details, the bike shop had been closed for months.\n\n\n\n

Daniel had never given it much thought until one chilly, overcast morning when he noticed something out of the ordinary\u2014a small, scruffy Shiba Inu dog sitting at the shop\u2019s entrance. The thick fur had a reddish-tan hue, with darker shades around the ears and muzzle. It remained completely motionless, as though it were on watch, staring at the locked door with a serious, anticipatory expression. The dog had its ears perked up, its dark eyes locked onto the dusty glass, as if it were in anticipation. Daniel hesitated, a sense of curiosity bubbling up inside him, but he knew he had to rush to work and couldn\u2019t linger. He reminded himself to keep an eye out for that dog again.\n\n\n\n

In the days that followed, the dog showed up every morning. It was a familiar sight: The Shiba Inu, which Daniel had taken to calling Koda in his mind\u2014just to give it a name\u2014sat by the door, as if waiting for it to swing open. Then, around midday, it would stroll away, trotting down the sidewalk until it vanished around a corner. It never barked or pleaded for scraps from those walking by. It simply kept its quiet watch. Every now and then, Daniel noticed it pressing its nose against the glass, curiously looking in. He thought about whether the dog was searching for the shop\u2019s owner. Perhaps the dog was Morgan\u2019s. Perhaps it was simply drawn to the empty, shadowy space for some unknown reason. It\u2019s tough to determine. Daniel looked on, feeling a mix of sadness and curiosity.\n\n\n\n

He reached out to a few colleagues at the local warehouse to see if they had any information. \u201cYeah, I saw that dog,\u201d Hank, a forklift operator, said. \u201cThat poor guy is always around.\u201d I heard it used to belong to the guy from the bike shop. That store has been closed for quite some time, so I\u2019m not sure who\u2019s taking care of it anymore.\n\n\n\n

Daniel found it strange. The dog looked pretty good\u2014its fur was fairly clean, and it wasn\u2019t thin at all. Still, it wandered aimlessly, lacking a place to call home. Is it possible to be out on the streets, getting by on whatever scraps you can find? Daniel couldn\u2019t shake the puzzle from his thoughts. He couldn\u2019t understand why a well-groomed dog would be hanging around outside an empty store. One day, during his lunch break, Daniel made the decision to go up to the dog directly. He had a half-eaten chicken sandwich from breakfast, so he strolled over to the dusty storefront, paying no mind to the light drizzle that began to fall.\n\n\n\n

Up close, the dog looked even more handsome, though he had a few signs of wear and tear. Her brown eyes sparkled with a keen intelligence. \u201cHey there, buddy,\u201d Daniel said softly, extending the sandwich towards him. \u201cHow about grabbing some lunch?\u201dThe dog\u2019s tail wagged slightly, yet it remained firmly in its watchful position. Daniel gently set the sandwich down on the sidewalk in front of him, taking a step back to allow the dog some room.\n\n\n\n

To his surprise, the Shiba Inu, whom Daniel had mentally named Koda, sniffed the sandwich but chose not to eat it. Koda carefully grabbed the whole sandwich in his mouth and sprinted away, rounding the corner with unexpected quickness. \u201cHold on!\u201d\u201cDaniel shouted, following it with a few quick steps.\u201d But when he finally arrived, the dog had vanished. \u201cThat\u2019s strange,\u201d Daniel said quietly. \u201cPerhaps you\u2019re just holding onto it for a bit, my friend.\u201d\n\n\n\n

That evening, the dog was missing. The following day, Daniel gave it another shot, presenting a little bag of leftover beef strips from his lunch. Koda mirrored the action\u2014he grabbed the bag with his teeth, shot a quick look at Daniel that seemed to say \u201cthanks,\u201d and then took off in a flash. The dog\u2019s behavior was the same each day. Daniel had a feeling that the dog was stashing the food away somewhere. At first, he considered the possibility that Koda was feeding puppies. But then it hit him\u2014Shiba Inus, especially the males, just wouldn\u2019t do something like that. He thought to himself that perhaps the dog had a secret spot where it kept all its food. But if Koda was taking the sandwich for himself, why wasn\u2019t he munching on it right then and there? Why did the dog seem to get thinner and more tired with each passing day?\n\n\n\n