Fact

fact |fakt|
noun
a thing that is indisputably the case : she lacks political experience—a fact that becomes clear when she appears in public | a body of fact.

Consumed by the enchanted landscape of the South African veld on an overcast day in the summer, the boy wasn't surprised to find the slender soldier under a tree. The old doringboom whispered an inaudible warning as the boy and the soldier became better acquainted.

One afternoon, one thunderstorm and one promise of adventure later the boy skipped home, promising the soldier to return with supplies from the sparse kitchen without telling a soul about his new friend. Sadly, secrecy is not in the nature of little boys whose friendships with real soldiers are worth at least some bragging rights in a family of fourteen. Later the boy rushed to the tree with a fresh loaf of bread and some jam to find in the place of his friend the soldier an angry black dog with red eyes.