My long nails wrapped around the old wooden boards of the train tracks buried amongst layers of grey gravel. The steel beams running either side were boiled under the sun slowly cooking them and my own body. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0wIY1w48U0
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQxURbLCjvO
The sky was clear, as it had been for a week now, with not a grey cloud in the sky. It was the perfect temperature too. The air was cool but not cold enough to freeze me or hot enough to choke me. It was pleasant to idle in on my wander to the house in the distance. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMSj3mumGDZ
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi3EcNO2Y5A
I kept my eyes locked on the tracks running as far as the eye could see through overgrown fields of grass that rippled like water in the breeze. My pace turned to excited running and my heart gripped at my chest when I saw a flash of orange and blue emerge from the house in the distance. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7G9CBrvEJU
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbB1V928cc1
I bounded over the river and paused on the other side where people were moving across the empty road to the shops lined either side. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DwS9ij11o
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd58xegqPDK
I was in clear sight of them now. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07DncUrr4v
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7BGttaYSu
"Soup!" the tiny voice blew on the breeze to catch my attention again. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡULTNxYZYn5
It was so faint, but it was the sound I was waiting for. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YBFglwXl7
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPF32KwG8D
A portly man approached the tracks as quick as his waddling body allowed, placing distance between us so he could squint in the direction of the house. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4OldxWdWy
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbBZthINPx
He was the news agency owner here. His balding head with a halo of grey hair and leathery skin once roughed by laborious work in his youth was easily distinguishable. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24Ll4GB2MX
His corner-shop was only a few meters from the tracks so he could have the time to waddle out each afternoon I made my appearance to make himself known. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6KB8CFIkX
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAT4auezW4Y
I used to call him Bartleby. He preferred Bartie.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgENWa8Vrt5
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUL0WhSTNV
"MISSY!" Bartie cupped his hands around his mouth before pointing them to me "you've got to stop feeding the beast!" 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vNydUcaB4
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2RPf4ZbP8c
I snickered at his concern and walked past Bartie before he cleared his throat to halt me. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNTqY3T9QD
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Qsp2uXQal
"You be good to her, Soup, you hear?" he scowled and waved a finger to me "I'll know if you do anything to her!" 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ8MhmJW54T
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ4G8LLDBnB
He had no reason to worry so much. It was the same empty threat he had been giving me for three months straight now. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjT4HgPMJu
I just shook off Bartie's concern and raced for the woman waving for me to come. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFQxtJfSm2m
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhIHA8GvjTZ
I was smitten with her. She was so kind and had this wonderful light voice that was rougher around the edges. She had the most adorable freckles painted on her face and a lovely round body that she liked to swamp in knitted jumpers or flowing dresses she made. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDbQokqSlxa
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwmNZHw5UAA
When her features began to form on the figure bobbing closer into focus, I grinned wildly and pushed myself to sprint for her laughing face bent down to search for me through the sea of grass. I swam through it to break through to her open gate held back for me. Her scooter was heaved back into its stand here too. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7cLeefbmjf
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6OzpRf7cBx
Missy stood on the wooden stairs to her porch hugging the front half of her little wooden home. It was a very cost place made entirely of old wood painted in a muted green. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1LMjQee1dc
It had herbs growing in the windows glimpsing into her sewing room in the left where she had spools of fabric hung on the wall next to her machine and dotted cloth mannequins. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZjkrpTcBM3
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxqZystN1b
Her right window had parts of her kitchen on show. I had peered into it a few times when I had been too eager to wait, watching her cook on her gas oven nestled within stone countertops while she shooed me away with a smile. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppR3kDwqF2
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRTb5Ie2Hp
Missy had the window wide open to waft out the smell of the food she had been cooking. The rich beef spiralled around the earthy tones of stock and tangy herbs freshly plucked from her windows. I could smell the carrots and buttery pumpkin I knew were harvested from her garden nestled out the back. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCj1xHOhWM
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSkEFW5uKmC
That's how we had met. I had been raiding her gardens at night before she caught me and chased me off. After a few nights of futile attempts to stop me, and several vegetables left discarded in my escape, she started offering me her leftovers before it became proper meals. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnk3RnSgZrt
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOv26fKuIBr
She didn't know what to call me, so she called me Soup. It was her favourite thing to feed me, and the easiest on her budget made selling homemade dresses. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQwrWQBISp
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4iBkjroTjc
"Soup!" Missy cooed down to me waiting at the bottom of her stairs "I missed you! I'll grab your food. I think you'll like it today." 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGnBBWKQjvj
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSU189LL60u
I liked how her voice rose excitedly when she saw me. It sounded like she was greeting a lifelong pet dear to her heart. I didn’t mind that; I was just glad she loved me so dearly to put this much effort into caring for me. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KlnieNqRs
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJnmrXSv14l
"Beef soup with my own vegetables and the local meat. I cooked it with teriyaki before putting it in" Missy exclaimed as she returned carrying two stone bowls and carefully placing one down on the grass for me. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc68jnQDFCp
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzBdaeYIS8
My mouth was watering when I saw the mixture of colours beside me. Steam spiralled from the fresh meal Missy set down so she could fan out her checkered blue and white dress to sit on the stairs. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC7JhsT9k4S
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRfwFzBMzC
She cradled her soup in her lap while I blew onto mine to try and cool it enough to scoff it down. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9TkVavmAgO
My stomach was begging for the hot meal that little birds and discarded rubbish along the roads could never satisfy. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwItGAAGGY
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB82HDRK5Am
"Thank you" I grinned to her and wrapped my hands around the hot bowl so I could lift myself onto my legs and drink it down. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJZT3faaY8
Soup spilled down my chest to burn trails down my skin before I could swipe then up. The chunks of beef were chewy and wedged between my teeth. The bitter teriyaki coated all its layers to bring out the meaty flavour. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYV5UU1XV3U
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUUtq4lUuZ
It was the cheap meat again. I don't think Missy could afford anything like the ones that fell from the bone or had soft marbles of fat throughout rather than thick coats. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW16XAP1MeO
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6FZK52RgI4
She grinned and watched me try to keep my balance as I felt the meal burn a new hole in my stomach that growled for more. My legs trembled, not used to being so relied upon when I had all four of my limbs to power me effortlessly now. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQ5t1V9URV
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoTY2B8xwQH
I placed the bowl beside her and lowered myself back down. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnj5hyrv3t6
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkltlwyUTnK
"More please" I pointed.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIczpzh1d8
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjQbCo5BYV
She couldn't understand me but smiled like she had. All she heard were the same noises I did whenever I spoke in this form. It was just a mixture of growls and low snaps that I preferred to keep quiet, so I didn't scare her. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6uSOrPwjcw
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaTx8Ne3m39
Missy liked it when I talked to her, and I liked it when I made Missy happy. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVFjmuyjjl
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tXKlWYzZ9
"You're hungry today" she mused "did I not feed you enough yesterday?" 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7lILTRl8R
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUVA7GkImV
I just smiled and watched her retreat back inside, leaving her bowl on the stairs. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡABN0xs2rMp
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhTTD8IV3qg
Missy was the type of person I would grow old with as a human. I often let my mind wander to what we could be if I hid behind my skin again as a human and tried to form a relationship with her in this home built for two. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ1xdndzvVR
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZhfxz923O
Despite having a sunny personality and being loved in town, Missy liked her quiet life. She didn't want her heart to be broken or taken advantage of. She was worried she was too poor to ever please a man or mother children. She hated that she was too scared to reach out and form those connections. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDaYaQAwz4a
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpJenPrgCqR
She liked me because I was an animal to her. I had no commitments other than one hot meal a day. I wasn't going to make her sad or upset her simple lifestyle with big ambitions. I didn't drain her trickling budget or offer anything outside the trinkets of lost belongings or junk I presented her with. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcLopZJ03xY
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVADYrV1Py
I didn't want to ruin that. I kept in this form and didn't dare to try and act on my daydreams of being accepted into her life as her partner with open arms. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHJRkNwBIr
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvukeJ3x3Z
I ate my soup and accepted her new name for me that spread through the town. It was simple and the way things were. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3FhhoB0zUj
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjeMfyDEpX6
"Here we go!" Missy returned from the house along with two slices of crusty sourdough she had pushed into the bowl "buttered it for you too, you greedy guts. I'm surprised you didn't eat mine." 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpJ2MKSrgI
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2zAOgIZEXy
I was lucky to have her. She was too kind to be so afraid of life itself. Missy deserved more than it was handing her.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHybqhJUqY
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0x5vDQJcw
I took the filled bowl to drop one of the slices of bread into her own before shovelling this one down greedily. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyEKscOUNFz
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNjsOCf70Jk
I could feel the warmth of it leaking down my front from the inside and bubble in my gut gurgling from so much liquid drowning it at once. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrx8MWchYW
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZ44TUw6Hp
I snapped down the tough meat, licked the bowl, then headed back for the wall of grass awaiting me. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTnwRT248j
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6DRgQB8iP0
"See you tomorrow?" Missy called out with a worried frown. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ79vDmFVGe9
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPb9u8ts9n
Of course, she would. I would never leave her wondering where I had gone. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jNNipB0UH
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9dJDXLpBB5
I nodded and disappeared into the grass to follow the train tracks back to the East. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2cD0gRJYy
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGlJm2GeKDO
I stared up at the moon nestled in amongst the glittering stars from my grassy ledge curved over several meters from the tracks behind me. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOvoUCD9Jvv
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRDokd57aNB
The field surrounding me was dancing with wildflowers that stirred at the touch of glowing fireflies blinking through the air like showers of floating embers. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD0shxQoXKE
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9I4pllzHUA
They flitted like fire in the cool air and amongst the flowers. The fireflies reached for the stars themselves and I watched them ascend to the dusted void above. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejyLRFHT48
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLN3TJlVVh
It was so peaceful here with only the moonlight basking over the land. There was no artificial glow of streetlights or the sound of cars screeching on tar. The only sound piercing through the silence was the scraping of metal as the train thundered by on its nightly route to distant towns. Each lit window slashed over the grass below, reminding me of the loud and bright reality amongst the dark serenity until it was gone again. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi1H7d6Nrvw
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RzSZu4IGW
One day I might go visit those places. For now, I had my reason to stay here. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUQNOxOpEIx
I wonder if she just stopped to stare at the beauty of the moon too. Maybe she sewed in her room while wondering about things beyond her reach like I did? 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGl6iMBCSFJ
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlookjloiQf
I smiled at the moon and laid back, so I didn't have to take my eyes from it. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhBcrlTallc
The soft grass would be my bed tonight. Usually, I roamed for food or trash on the roadside for several kilometres to try and salvage something until sleep sapped my energy and I collapsed wherever I was. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ZjedwfEG4
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDXgfNQOvU
The moonlit field of fireflies would be nice tonight. I could wait until Missy gifted me with her wonderful food tomorrow. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ92uNg2OMKp
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1kDXG5ZzAe
I curled up with my hands wrapped around me, pretending they were hers cradling me and breathing warmth into me. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIlOA5bh6fN
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNjceHGhcoy
One day...
Penana
search
Loginarrow_drop_down
Registerarrow_drop_down
