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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ13AVrYu6oX
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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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakGI34XCa8
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNOscZjF6UW
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVWag7GLOF
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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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RWPP7In9M
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I was in clear sight of them now. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdwg90fELan
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"Soup!" the tiny voice blew on the breeze to catch my attention again. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcjwOkPy7oJ
It was so faint, but it was the sound I was waiting for. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ipJDWqMwg
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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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYaUY5AeRGy
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNLWpffI5L
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHX0QKxjNu8
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6aH1uirnax
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I used to call him Bartleby. He preferred Bartie.228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDOKmXAyk5
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"MISSY!" Bartie cupped his hands around his mouth before pointing them to me "you've got to stop feeding the beast!" 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlNQJtrvFNR
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQff1HVLFmD
I snickered at his concern and walked past Bartie before he cleared his throat to halt me. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvu5qeadIuo
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJLvPkRpIHL
"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!" 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xgOknbGDu
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNsLGgHg0HM
He had no reason to worry so much. It was the same empty threat he had been giving me for three months straight now. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqXlu4WXgtq
I just shook off Bartie's concern and raced for the woman waving for me to come. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjqMIwRYuH
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMagIJc0UdS
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRFDVu6ApvG
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg08cyWYLw3
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5PdlKtFCUp
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcDXoSnZzQP
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwsrVmvQrDC
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVE5jtZ0P8
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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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTjVWK99OTh
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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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5LLrt9DRaF
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw7G2CdTvqn
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKqyANus45
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0iMwASMTl
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdby3M9Jn6d
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtq6QSexMJq
"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." 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡouNJxxIj7e
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQv3YHbjNkE
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRpowjPGso3
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHJBha8hAU
"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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKU83QDfZ1n
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85o3w4jqVq
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRscyoqLpTP
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6H0qNwfAk8
She cradled her soup in her lap while I blew onto mine to try and cool it enough to scoff it down. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslhtiK6v7Q
My stomach was begging for the hot meal that little birds and discarded rubbish along the roads could never satisfy. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZOrrL02cU
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ7Tytwit1h
"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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVTLkVBSqd
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vs76f8oQh
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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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ02hMRSd2rZ
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6a3BmoVJR
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7VYhaUKfq3
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I placed the bowl beside her and lowered myself back down. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAsU3qGdFc
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"More please" I pointed.228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2IlvIcS74o
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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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAxm7keMn4
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkT8PI7rsa
Missy liked it when I talked to her, and I liked it when I made Missy happy. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1pE9L6ry2
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCAwOelPXt
"You're hungry today" she mused "did I not feed you enough yesterday?" 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2i5sM7Ui4Y
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I just smiled and watched her retreat back inside, leaving her bowl on the stairs. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNLaN1cYUSn
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVsGsmB0lOT
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡefgAbwJFjS
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwwvMM5gjii
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD89WTjOR5W
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRPs3CT1RG
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHIInlpOI10
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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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmpGHzu5Hwr
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTFSjohzJan
I ate my soup and accepted her new name for me that spread through the town. It was simple and the way things were. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLmoTJh2Yr
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlaYFGHyDd6
"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." 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0OoIXNqsJ
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8c2IaGzHXD
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.228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkiFb4csiFf
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I took the filled bowl to drop one of the slices of bread into her own before shovelling this one down greedily. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0e1hhFSsd
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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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1daLdkFpG
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I snapped down the tough meat, licked the bowl, then headed back for the wall of grass awaiting me. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlpI057i5a
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7fqYcrmMEw
"See you tomorrow?" Missy called out with a worried frown. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2yHqoi6H6
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Of course, she would. I would never leave her wondering where I had gone. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡizOkN9SNch
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I nodded and disappeared into the grass to follow the train tracks back to the East. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3ZeyCfSeN
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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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7DUwJJKM1
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCaaeXimEkU
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGikwOsUX1
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbCiSDRWwQ
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZiBREK3Lag
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTfcaDDY2K
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwtgjhJ5Yg2
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One day I might go visit those places. For now, I had my reason to stay here. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSNFrVnuqq
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? 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK5D49TI3YF
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I smiled at the moon and laid back, so I didn't have to take my eyes from it. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgSFFl8YB6
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. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCAeIGF3Q9e
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWpmd0dpuI
The moonlit field of fireflies would be nice tonight. I could wait until Missy gifted me with her wonderful food tomorrow. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjouJQq6f3
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I curled up with my hands wrapped around me, pretending they were hers cradling me and breathing warmth into me. 228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGaNc8gNcbT
228Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡko5U2a5NO6
One day...
Penana
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