Vronsky wriggled in the fearsome grip of Johnson’s strength, having no choice but to elbow the older man in the stomach so he could be free. Balboa, the dog they had rescued and who had been watching at a distance, now ran into the fray, snarling and barking. The dog leapt at Vronsky, the man who’d struck his master. Vronsky screamed in pain as the dog’s teeth tore into his leg, and he whirled around, kicking the dog, who yelped, backed off, then attacked again, this time leaping onto the boy’s back as he crouched down, clutching at his bloodied pant leg. Vronsky spun about, moving across the platform, trying to keep the angry beast from ripping into his neck. Anna grabbed the dog’s back leg, yanking with all her might, and Balboa flew off Vronsky, skittering across the floor and dropping down onto the train tracks and out of sight.

Anna screamed and ran to the edge of the platform, and Vronsky watched in horror as she jumped down after the dog.

“Anna! Get back here!” Vronsky cried out, running over as she tried to approach the snarling dog, who stopped baring its teeth, sensing that Anna was a friend.

Vronsky felt a wind from the tunnel and looked to his left at the faraway headlights of an oncoming train. In a flash, he jumped down onto the tracks and grabbed Anna around the waist, but she struggled against him, screaming hysterically. “He fell because of me! How many animals have to die for us? A dog, a deer, a horse! Not another one!”

“The train’s coming!” Vronsky shouted. “I’ll get him, I promise.” He dragged Anna to the side where Johnson was waiting. The homeless man reached down, pulling Anna to safety. Vronsky saw his jacket, which was once on Anna’s shoulders, now crumpled on the tracks. He threw it over the dog’s face and in one quick motion, lunged at Balboa, scooping his wriggling canine body into the jacket and passing him up to his owner.

The train was close, and the unseen conductor laid on the horn, filling the platform with a deafening noise. Vronsky scrambled to the edge, but just before taking Johnson’s outstretched hand, he spotted the shiny silver heart charm he had given Anna for Valentine’s Day with the words YOU and ME engraved on either side. His heart filled with joy, as he realized Anna had been holding onto his heart all along, the whole month when he was wondering if she had given up on him. She had carried the silver charm with her always. Anna loved him. She always had. He had to get it for her.