“This is such a huge and unusual dog – but it may exist. It just may,” I repeated to myself and tried to stay calm. When I smiled at the giant, its massive tongue licked my entire face, leaving it quite damp.

No one in my group knew if the dog busts protecting the place were just well-made sculptures or actual living creatures, but something told me they had consciousness.

While I played with my long parted pigtails, I noticed I had five ears; two on my left side, and three on the right side, with one ear growing out from a stem.