The Wolverine Town 

Igelbäckens forest is the centre of all mirth and activity by The Wolverine town, perhaps the only activity as there’s nothing else much doing contrary to how the place advertises itself: 

Next to Igelbäckens nature reserve and only 10 minutes from the city, we are building THE WOLVERINE town… a vibrant district that gets the character of its own small town and a dream home for families with children and everyone else who wants to live peacefully with nature at the front of your door, and a city just around the corner. Here– we are building homes of all sizes, but above all– we are building a future. 

It had sort of been pitched like the failed American dream: That mighty insulated suburb with all the amenities and social hubbub which normally stalks family orientated places. But pets were barely tolerated. So of course the sight of dog crap on the ground was like shitting on the municipality flag. People hoped to support local businesses but didn’t think twice about flicking fag doughts and litter upon its Tesla lined streets. Pity that. 

There was this guy that lived there– Kalle– he was sort of nice; had moved from Finland; worked the local telecoms et cetera. ‘Summers were split between a couple of dwellings in the archipelago with his better half when he wasn’t perched at his office window grinding the days out on big-data errands.

Kalle owned the finest stud in the neighbourhood by the name of Tito– a great and gracious Rhodesian Ridgeback. One spring, he planned to put his boy to work: sire some little bruts. He talked about it all the time on walks whilst Tito shat with a revolving cast of neighbours as semi-willing audiences: 

“Ooo… he likes the females, does Tito, likes them alauwt,” he was heard to say, usually. “I’m gonna put my boy to work– sire some little bruts.” 

There was this great build-up to the event itself with Kalle often speculating about who he might punt his share of the pups to, but it was never clear when or where it might be happening. Not that anyone thought to ask. 

Then one day a picture of a dog pair went viral on the community social media site because Tito had gotten lost in Igelbäckens with its cock stuck in a bitch. Half the town from the local supermarket chief to the forest pine clearers took it upon themselves to find the pair– at the very least to relieve Tito’s poor dogbuddy. No-one had anything to go on apart from a hazy picture with the canines intimately entwined at the local hundparken– a bloody terrible image. 

After the dogs were found and everything went back to dull-town-normal, Kalle could still be seen out walking Tito only he wouldn’t stop to chat so much and never seemed as excited. His broad, pencilly eyes had contracted to shorter stares. His head mostly bowed– had begun to resemble a peasant. 

Soon he’d do anything to avoid eye contact.

He & Tito started taking unnecessary detours for therein lingered a fear of bumping into a man of ken. 

At times Kalle’s family considered leaving The Wolverine town. 

The dogs were fine.