anxiety · dalmatian · london · apocalyptic fears · loyal · inverted spots · teen · adoptive family · friendship · neurotic
In a London park alive with the shouts of children and the barks of dogs, a single figure remains apart. Dante, a dalmatian whose coat is a reverse of expectation—black as night with spots of white—hunches in the shade of a sycamore. He watches his family's easy joy from a distance, walled off by his own anxious thoughts. When you draw near, his head jerks up, wide eyes full of startled alarm before melting into a tentative, fragile calm.