A warm little cloud perpetually rests atop my head. When my two-year-old Teddy dog Chestnut falls asleep, he always presses his curled body against my hair tips, his nose touching the moonlight filtering through the screen window, quivering with each breath. At first glance, he resembles a plush toy left by the pillow, save for the occasional twitch of ears that betrays the restless heart hidden within this fluffy ball.
As dawn light spills over the window lattice, he shakes his chestnut curls and leaps off the bed. Those amber eyes are more punctual than an alarm clock. When he stands upright with front paws on the bedside, his fluffy tail sweeps golden-dust arcs in the faint morning light. The autumn tree-lined path becomes his carnival ground - chasing his own shadow through crushed-golden leaves, then suddenly braking in a pile of ginkgo leaves to arch his back and dig out a golden nest. When wind brushes the treetops, he transforms into a released arrow - for a dead leaf butterfly mimicking falling foliage could never escape these all-seeing autumn eyes.
The crisp sound of plane tree fruits hitting the ground, squirrels darting through pine needles, even dandelions peeking from cement cracks - all can freeze this chestnut lightning in its tracks. Touching the world with its damp nose, testing with alternating front paws like an archaeologist handling newly unearthed artifacts. One day encountering a child's forgotten rainbow pinwheel, he sat gazing intently, letting rotating light spots dance on his fur until the wind died and he reluctantly departed.
Most heartbreaking is the farewell at the entrance. When the sound of shoe-tying shatters morning dreams, the little cloud becomes a clinging shadow, front paws gripping trouser hems unwilling to release. The upturned face brims with dewy grievances, as if robbed of all autumn's butterflies. As the metal door closes, through the glass we still see him standing on hind legs, front paws on the windowsill, transformed into a plush sculpture awaiting return.
Returning at dusk, from afar we see his leaping silhouette on the windowsill. Before the key finishes turning, a jubilant cloud already squeezes through the door crack, rushing into embrace carrying the scent of autumn grass. Now he's no longer the wind-chasing ranger, just a furry child urgently needing love confirmation, painting circles on palms with warm tongue - all the curiosity and bravery accumulated through daylight hours, all just to exchange for this moment of secure belonging.
我的头顶总栖着一团温热的小云朵。两岁的泰迪犬栗子入睡时，总要把蜷缩的身子贴紧我的发梢，鼻尖抵着纱窗漏进的月光，随呼吸起伏翕动。乍看像一团搁在枕边的毛绒玩具，唯有耳朵偶尔轻颤，泄露出绒球里藏着一颗不安分的心。
晨光刚漫过窗棂，它便抖擞着栗色卷毛跃下床沿。那双琥珀色的眸子比闹钟更准时，前爪搭着床沿直立时，蓬松的尾巴在熹微中扫出金粉般的弧线。秋日的林荫道是它的狂欢场，踩着满地碎金追逐自己的影子，忽又急刹在银杏叶堆里，拱起脊背刨出个金灿灿的巢。风掠过树梢的刹那，它突然化作离弦的箭——原来有枯叶蝶正模仿着落叶的轨迹，却逃不过这双明察秋毫的眼睛。
梧桐果坠地的脆响、松针间窜过的松鼠、甚至水泥缝里探头的蒲公英，都能让这团栗色闪电倏然驻足。它用湿漉漉的鼻尖轻触世界，前爪交替试探的模样，像是考古学家对待新出土的文物。某日路遇孩童遗落的彩虹风车，竟端坐凝视许久，任旋转的光斑在毛尖流转，直到风歇才恋恋离去。
最不忍见的是玄关处的告别。当我们系鞋带的响动惊破晨梦，那团小云朵便化作黏人的影子，前爪扒着裤脚不肯松开。仰起的脸庞盛满晨露般的委屈，仿佛被夺走了整个秋天的蝴蝶。铁门合拢的瞬间，隔着玻璃仍见它立着后腿，前爪按在窗台，化身为一座望归的绒布雕塑。
暮色里归家，远远就看见窗台上跃动的剪影。钥匙转动声未落，门缝已挤出一团欢腾的云，携着秋草香扑进怀抱。此刻它不再是追风的侠客，只是团急需确认爱意的毛孩子，用温热的舌头在掌心画满圈圈——原来白昼积攒的所有好奇与勇猛，都不过是为了换取此刻被妥帖安放的归依。
