A Rainbow for a Friend

Mikhail Samarsky

Trison is a golden Labrador retriever with an extraordinary calling. Trained to guide people who cannot see, he considers his work far more important than merely obeying commands: another person's life is entrusted to him. Intelligent, proud and sharp-witted, Trison narrates his own story, constantly observing the peculiar habits, prejudices and contradictions of the human world. He particularly dislikes it when the person he guides is called his “owner.” To a guide dog, a blind person is not a helpless master but a friend whom he helps to remain safe and independent.

Trison already knows the value of such friendship. His first partner was Ivan, a kind elderly blind man who treated him with affection and respect. Together they negotiated the difficulties of city life: impatient drivers, obstructed pavements, crowded public transport and the incomprehension of strangers. Once, on a railway platform, Trison fell into the gap between a train and the platform. Ivan, aided by a passer-by, barely managed to pull him out. The memory of that ordeal, and of Ivan's subsequent death, haunts the Labrador when he is returned to the guide-dog school. He remains a highly skilled professional, but he misses his friend and does not know whose life he will be called upon to share next.

His new partner is Sasha. A car accident that killed his father left the boy with severe injuries to his eyes and without sight. He lives with his mother, Svetlana, and his grandmother, Elizaveta. They love him deeply, but their determination to shield him from every danger sometimes deprives him of independence. Sasha has to fight for the right to do ordinary things: take walks, travel around the city and make decisions without constant supervision. Trison's arrival gradually changes his life. After learning to work together, they become a true team. The dog remembers routes, watches for traffic, avoids obstacles and guides Sasha through the streets. The boy affectionately renames the dignified Trison “Trisha,” much to the dog's initial indignation. The friends even invent a language of their own: a short bark means “yes,” while a prolonged sound means “no.”

Their bond transforms the family as well. Sasha gains confidence. His mother learns to trust his independence, while his cautious grandmother gradually understands that Trison is not a household pet but a working companion. Sasha reads and tells the dog about Braille and the history of education for people who are blind. Trison listens closely and reflects on what people with visual impairments can achieve, and how often society itself stands in their way. Everyday incidents become moral tests: strangers distract a working guide dog, officials fail to understand his purpose, and reckless drivers endanger pedestrians. Through Trison's wry observations, the novel explores human dignity, mutual respect and the right to a full life.

One day, their friendship faces a terrible test. During a shopping trip, a supermarket security guard refuses to let Trison enter. Sasha and his grandmother go inside without him, leaving the dog tied to a post outside. Two criminals seize the opportunity. They untie Trison, force him into a car and drive away, intending to sell the valuable, specially trained Labrador. Trison is less frightened for his own safety than for Sasha, who has suddenly been deprived of his “eyes.” A roadside encounter with a traffic police officer offers a moment of hope, but the officer fails to recognise the crime and lets the kidnappers continue on their way.

Trison is locked in a neglected shed and denied even water. The kidnappers discuss placing an advertisement to sell him. Unable to explain who he is or give his address, and trained not to attack people, the dog has only his patience, ingenuity and determination to rely on. He finds rainwater to drink and begins digging beneath the wall. After exhausting work, he squeezes through the opening and escapes. Yet the surrounding area is unfamiliar, and he has no idea how to find home. Every minute away from Sasha feels like a failure of duty, even though the separation is no fault of his own.

Hungry and exhausted, Trison comes across a group of holidaymakers. Unlike the kidnappers, these strangers recognise that the animal needs help. An elderly couple, George and Nadya, take him home, feed him and try to locate his family. Their house is safe, but a new difficulty arises: his kind rescuers do not immediately understand how urgently a working guide dog needs to return to the person who depends on him. They give Trison yet another name, “Clever Boy,” while his thoughts remain fixed on Sasha. Meanwhile, Sasha's family searches for their missing dog, and a television announcement is broadcast. Trison sees the report but cannot make the people around him understand that he is the very dog they are looking for.

The police become involved, and the confusion deepens. Instead of being taken straight home, Trison is brought to a police station and placed in a cell. There he meets a homeless man whose powerlessness before the authorities reminds the dog of his own predicament. The officers mistakenly believe they have found the dog's blind owner. On a journey through the city, Trison even catches sight of Sasha and his grandmother at a pedestrian crossing, but he cannot stop the vehicle. Realising that this official “help” is carrying him farther from his friend, he escapes again and searches for familiar streets and landmarks. A pack of stray dogs poses another danger. After overcoming one obstacle after another, Trison finally finds his way home. Sasha, who has nearly abandoned hope, greets him through tears and cannot bear to let him go.

But the ordeals do not end with their reunion. Trison develops pneumonia: he has a fever, must take unpleasant medicine and is forced to rest. Now it is Sasha who stays beside a vulnerable friend, terrified of losing him. The dog's heart is touched by such devotion. When Trison recovers and their walks resume, Sasha shares his most treasured memory. Before the accident, he once saw an enormous rainbow arching across the sky. More than anything, he dreams of seeing one again. Trison cannot understand what makes this apparently useless natural phenomenon so special, but he senses that for Sasha it represents the beauty and freedom of the sighted world from which he has been cut off. The boy asks Trison to bark three times whenever a rainbow appears. Trison promises that he will. Three barks become their private signal.

The friends continue to encounter both kindness and cruelty. A group of teenagers mocks Sasha, questions whether he is really blind and makes fun of his dog. Soon afterwards Sasha is taken to hospital for emergency surgery for acute appendicitis. Left at home, Trison suffers because he cannot be with him or help; the family reassures the dog that the boy will soon return. Their enforced separation shows how deeply the lives of a person and an animal can be linked, not only through practical assistance but through genuine affection. Again and again, the story contrasts the indifference of outsiders with loyalty that asks for nothing in return.

After Sasha recovers, an ordinary walk in the rain confronts Trison with his most difficult moral choice. A girl they know, Irina, tells Sasha about a woman whose sight was restored after many years of blindness. Her story might have brought hope, but Sasha doubts that such a miracle could ever happen to him, and he begins to cry bitterly. Irina walks away. The rain continues, and Trison watches his friend's despair. Desperate to offer him some comfort, the dog barks three times, although there is no rainbow in the sky.

Sasha is overjoyed. He lifts his face towards the sky. An elderly man passing by stops, and the excited boy asks whether the rainbow is beautiful. Trison suddenly realises that his attempt at consolation may cause even greater pain. But the stranger seems to sense what the dog has done and confirms that the rainbow is magnificent. Sasha returns home convinced that his faithful friend has given him a wonderful gift. His grandmother kisses Trison in gratitude. The dog, however, is tormented by guilt: the first rainbow he has “given” Sasha was a lie. His love has driven him to break the honesty on which their trust is founded, and he cannot forgive himself.

There is more suffering to come. When Sasha and the adults are away, a group of boys finds Trison alone and begins shooting stones at him with slingshots. They wound his ear, paw and back. He does not chase his tormentors. Instead, he lies close to the ground, covers his eyes with his paws and endures the attack, because protecting his sight matters above all else: without it, he could no longer guide Sasha. When the family returns, they discover his injuries and care for him. The incident exposes a terrible paradox: an animal trained to protect a human being is himself defenceless against human cruelty. Yet Trison recovers without abandoning his calling.

The decisive turning point in Sasha's life comes not from a deliberate search for a cure but from an unexpected rescue. At a lake, Trison has a rare chance to swim simply for pleasure. Suddenly, he notices a little girl sinking beneath the water. The Labrador rushes to her, catches hold of her hair to keep her face above the surface and brings her back to shore. People nearby revive the child. Her name is Rada. To Sasha, even that name echoes the rainbow he dreams of seeing. Rada's parents, Lyuba and Boris, come to thank Trison and his family. What begins as a simple expression of gratitude leads to an extraordinary coincidence.

When Boris learns that Sasha is blind, he offers to contact his friend Nikolai Sobolev, an ophthalmic surgeon who performs complex operations involving damage to the iris and lens of the eye. There can be no guarantee of success, but there may be a chance to restore the boy's sight. Boris arranges an examination. A fragile hope becomes a concrete plan for treatment. By saving Rada from drowning, Trison has unknowingly opened the way to helping Sasha regain his vision.

The possibility of a miracle plunges Trison into a private crisis. More than anything, he wants Sasha to see the world again. Yet one day a terrible thought crosses his mind: if the boy regains his sight, he will no longer need a guide dog. Horrified to discover in himself a wish to remain indispensable, Trison judges his own selfishness as severely as he has always judged it in human beings. He would willingly suffer if that meant Sasha could see; he has no right to wish his friend to remain dependent on him. He struggles to banish the shameful thought and hopes with all his heart that the surgery succeeds.

The operation is successful. Sasha comes home able to see. The boy who once knew Trison through the feel of his fur, the warmth of his body and the sound of his breathing can now look into his eyes for the first time. But the fulfilment of his dream is almost immediately overshadowed by an unavoidable consequence: a professional guide dog is needed by other people who are still waiting for help. Representatives of the guide-dog school explain that Trison must return to work. Sasha refuses to accept it, clings to the dog, begs his mother to let him stay and, in his anguish, even says he would rather have remained blind than lose his friend.

Svetlana does not pretend that parting is a punishment. She asks Sasha to remember everything Trison has given him: safety, confidence, freedom and friendship. Somewhere, another blind person is waiting for exactly the same help. If Sasha keeps Trison only because he cannot bear to say goodbye, someone else will remain alone. Slowly, the boy understands that his love cannot take precedence over Trison's vocation. He asks the dog for forgiveness, accepts the necessity of their separation and chooses to accompany him back to the school himself.

The whole family arrives at the guide-dog school. Sasha embraces Trison for the last time and weeps; the dog places his front paws against the boy's chest. Trison cannot explain how painful the farewell is for him, too, or that his loyalty has not diminished in the slightest. Instead, he gives a signal whose meaning only the two of them fully understand: three barks.

Sasha turns around. A real rainbow shines in the sky. For the first time since the accident, he can truly see it. He gazes at the colours he believed he had lost forever. But when he turns back to his faithful friend, Trison has already been led away.

The ending completes not only Sasha's journey towards restored sight but also the moral journey of both protagonists. The dog who once offered a comforting illusion has finally kept his promise. Sasha has gained more than the ability to see: he has learned that love is not possession, and that gratitude can demand sacrifice. Trison loses the friend he most wishes to stay beside precisely because he has fulfilled his duty so well. His next journey will begin alongside someone who still needs his eyes. The rainbow is no longer merely Sasha's dream. It becomes a visible trace of a friendship strong enough to let go.