Bella was still sitting, unblinking, and sometimes looking at me, sometimes sharply throwing her gaze somewhere down, to the pedal area. – What, is there something down there?
– I mechanically looked down, although from where I was sitting I couldn’t really see anything. She barked loudly again, then turned her gaze to the road ahead, as if she was rushing me to make a decision.
It was the first time I had seen her so persistent.
– Okay, okay, – I muttered and carefully pulled over to the side of the road. Having stopped, I got out of the car and opened the hood, but at first glance everything was in order. Then I looked under the bottom.
There, under the front wheel, a cloudy liquid was slowly dripping onto the asphalt.
— Brake… — I exhaled. I sat down, ran my fingers over the drop — the smell confirmed my fears.
One of the brake hoses was torn, and the fluid was leaking right onto the road. A thought flashed through my mind: if I had continued driving, especially on the highway, the brakes could have failed completely.
I raised my head and looked at Bella.
She was sitting in the passenger seat, slightly leaning out in my direction, and calmly but attentively watching me. — Well, girl, you are my guardian angel today, — I said, stroking her head. And only then did I realize that this strange bark and look were not a whim at all — she was simply saving our lives.
