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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDx0X7v6KqH
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡej4tFweqLJ
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGIvN5GtdF
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4EEyazxJ4N
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSHi0V2Asu
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY49RYVnKwA
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJlhOPXPv2
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV5BlWNyesk
I was in clear sight of them now. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfLtENdF7eG
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkjLeyivby
"Soup!" the tiny voice blew on the breeze to catch my attention again. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwdYmAyhc2
It was so faint, but it was the sound I was waiting for. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXf2xkcFhfE
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3lW0HFw1j
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOYOBjKp0Y1
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3prxCyOsNM
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZhvXS182YC
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugtQ0p9XQo
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTLQey13pAS
I used to call him Bartleby. He preferred Bartie.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTib0sgxksF
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAmQCojl54I
"MISSY!" Bartie cupped his hands around his mouth before pointing them to me "you've got to stop feeding the beast!" 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT3pMftPjSl
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkRjQKCJjjA
I snickered at his concern and walked past Bartie before he cleared his throat to halt me. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLzp0geG17u
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJBLXT3qsv
"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!" 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8tolNXEMd
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFlFLfB1Jd
He had no reason to worry so much. It was the same empty threat he had been giving me for three months straight now. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPcxxtlFJN
I just shook off Bartie's concern and raced for the woman waving for me to come. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJxfJWWViY
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7fojlFQrR
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvJy7YiE1q
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1t0i2mqAt4
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyuwLSA3MSi
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDjY0u13hzV
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8HjXw5BUTK
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibuyLKk2Kl
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFybV7jcyMA
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQg5f53T1x
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYncBjmoUZ
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2Iw1TLl81
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU52MNPuI7c
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuVnyStIUk
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlViTWQ5Qa8
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2OoQ2WKKTs
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYbWoowsV6
"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." 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXpGFWDJYX
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBxwdPbSfCD
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSGFUXsKWu
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkFyxYOuVM
"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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUhSE5V1IMC
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP1NTW7Oqtv
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbt3vaIsuW
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuncjcOrL8R
She cradled her soup in her lap while I blew onto mine to try and cool it enough to scoff it down. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtyCTv0EZbY
My stomach was begging for the hot meal that little birds and discarded rubbish along the roads could never satisfy. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSm4fAKv15K
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ53f2YTYmC2
"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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPCwcxqCtlR
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPAj5PRo3i
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMHOStHAKd
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9A2QoYAzS
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIOpmm050d
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxsLEwFLHmE
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv1xCkwZxYN
I placed the bowl beside her and lowered myself back down. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZqzPD83WMT
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7SYQiSjEt0
"More please" I pointed.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDXOODqAqjK
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmrKaHwyQH
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqX3sQXS8N8
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqt0fv7CG7
Missy liked it when I talked to her, and I liked it when I made Missy happy. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRxkzvYrmFJ
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs225MoBiXr
"You're hungry today" she mused "did I not feed you enough yesterday?" 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHlofwUZQEZ
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfmzrn39ViI
I just smiled and watched her retreat back inside, leaving her bowl on the stairs. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHh22MKs7tY
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHR4gp7SdJ
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6YTD4WNN8q
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLHVEB1xrr
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwUGnXPQc1c
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuO61k4QQZa
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRofKGMXk08
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFae8x2RoA
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQ3uuqxiIo
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHkHWBVcws
I ate my soup and accepted her new name for me that spread through the town. It was simple and the way things were. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTdYcI3czLe
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH1MTMY6dSe
"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." 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJ6g7gqJUI
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT20UHdWB35
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.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufuMoAZFkC
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVNQxLEc5H
I took the filled bowl to drop one of the slices of bread into her own before shovelling this one down greedily. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9I7ajljSr
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3Y7Jl7A1J
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjEOR2ZthrU
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8LZ64uzO3v
I snapped down the tough meat, licked the bowl, then headed back for the wall of grass awaiting me. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1hpRjuqCL
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUdns8Cgu6c
"See you tomorrow?" Missy called out with a worried frown. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0ntd0QJI0
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNxPzqKgHY
Of course, she would. I would never leave her wondering where I had gone. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvI02dGlsq
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2lu0neg7J
I nodded and disappeared into the grass to follow the train tracks back to the East. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsGy4eN3M1
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHWeTBvC0w
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ852DKIHs9X
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwVYMr9Hqn
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslviCsQ8Fv
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg98MjGgB1x
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71AmPWqKXU
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lgY55uIzZ
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWwdv9Q7uiP
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡewCkQ6Dfcb
One day I might go visit those places. For now, I had my reason to stay here. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFTKqfrgL1U
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? 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffg3ipE4av
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOY5afM36bZ
I smiled at the moon and laid back, so I didn't have to take my eyes from it. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡumXK6sDjy7
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. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPvFATxFGq
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX09Uz5sXBa
The moonlit field of fireflies would be nice tonight. I could wait until Missy gifted me with her wonderful food tomorrow. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmxTPShHYx
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGbMwx96cK
I curled up with my hands wrapped around me, pretending they were hers cradling me and breathing warmth into me. 299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJw6joCwWE
299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYyLcSo6lZj
One day...
Penana
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