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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhTugKOlJ5E
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqRSxOUOE9
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDJ9HU4yA7M
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVC05zXhXHf
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj18SNgWmDb
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYAUcuQMmOS
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYiuyvk87TT
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9iQodJ4ZCy
I was in clear sight of them now. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU5NZVWqZKD
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcjcFj2gZn
"Soup!" the tiny voice blew on the breeze to catch my attention again. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZQNICAoyH
It was so faint, but it was the sound I was waiting for. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFoTFjtBJH8
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSo5JPSHT1K
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡifo8SuN1iQ
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2MrqTZfviv
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdKmGRNoxsH
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59ELsOlSRv
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMhK4IoJg4K
I used to call him Bartleby. He preferred Bartie.192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbB96NnyvL
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFEXvmIRxRJ
"MISSY!" Bartie cupped his hands around his mouth before pointing them to me "you've got to stop feeding the beast!" 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wcJSF2x1W
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhhO13aHlp
I snickered at his concern and walked past Bartie before he cleared his throat to halt me. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj05OeKwiyn
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVDPootFtj
"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!" 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkMHRxD5R8F
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡETODzUNm7C
He had no reason to worry so much. It was the same empty threat he had been giving me for three months straight now. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeZDMwoHcKh
I just shook off Bartie's concern and raced for the woman waving for me to come. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIeMLm8U5ao
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5npuCsGGn3
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzsfkIJutA7
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVK5bxqiAL1
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsyzGfxm6nq
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTs8FRZFKMH
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zM0rGpcKt
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkPMTK0qOhM
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEXQWsfrw8p
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJJhvvbMcy
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnxsuOanOf
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8sLp8lQw6v
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfvnO5Gso6A
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡATREUxG6ED
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLqw6RdsMg
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7N6U37EuS
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFafvbQaTfm
"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." 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmS53Uk0RSt
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68Az9VJo5t
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9c2Nmqn6J
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO67pibRi15
"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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6oetOddsel
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡylT4WsXyBw
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2me5EU48hM
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmgdPTfXJWg
She cradled her soup in her lap while I blew onto mine to try and cool it enough to scoff it down. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1gFah9I9xk
My stomach was begging for the hot meal that little birds and discarded rubbish along the roads could never satisfy. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeixIlv2imx
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbiXuDHAa8g
"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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNRYwyRDFCi
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcF5JlwO9BS
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡveJVTYeoDl
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRN0GskEQvs
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIujtvnEBIZ
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRhLERXKgh
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9yt0vu3To
I placed the bowl beside her and lowered myself back down. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9214RLRoju
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81XAL4XtPS
"More please" I pointed.192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtOK0p1MFlB
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffzk1BAvIq
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7WLXZUCmZm
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Edi50eoee
Missy liked it when I talked to her, and I liked it when I made Missy happy. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95IV0S0Bn8
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu4WcggX8Tf
"You're hungry today" she mused "did I not feed you enough yesterday?" 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlggNRrbWrv
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJr4wRzoZ9u
I just smiled and watched her retreat back inside, leaving her bowl on the stairs. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKIaV61vpYX
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOI5wKGwEo
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqZvOLv65k
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVLaVJ5a9az
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbf9CRPR8Sx
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKzuH95SuN
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGlLRpwOyH
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0cI5a6eCu
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6m7YQ6uRW
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXqKs13hzP
I ate my soup and accepted her new name for me that spread through the town. It was simple and the way things were. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUx4jOMbVsc
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdsXtOHIZK
"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." 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMJe1j0ox2
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw421qDcNth
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.192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Z9RrH223x
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8mS09iknf
I took the filled bowl to drop one of the slices of bread into her own before shovelling this one down greedily. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQab1GmKMU
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrsmuJ7bEBX
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSk7IJwyF8j
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9KDSpj7MQ
I snapped down the tough meat, licked the bowl, then headed back for the wall of grass awaiting me. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0lH726N8OM
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8IS8z3Tcue
"See you tomorrow?" Missy called out with a worried frown. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSeT4v7ozl
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP7U8eDro8Q
Of course, she would. I would never leave her wondering where I had gone. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGQAFbuQTz
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGFFrb9rFz
I nodded and disappeared into the grass to follow the train tracks back to the East. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfx7G1yLqcu
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmq6LHwKuni
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpL0rQ2LniY
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD9x3IU3DVs
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlnWMT44Z24
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSCbmMIXOeA
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfzgxodwczK
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Ooxn0TSID
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSTZtQJ3jUU
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN6ZSAli9Hq
One day I might go visit those places. For now, I had my reason to stay here. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgza8NQfakW
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? 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzBeiebXi2i
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4bkIsP134P
I smiled at the moon and laid back, so I didn't have to take my eyes from it. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFmMJDRSDD
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. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6gd28bvyb
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqlxIX699j1
The moonlit field of fireflies would be nice tonight. I could wait until Missy gifted me with her wonderful food tomorrow. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsue54e9czq
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ITGB7i7VS
I curled up with my hands wrapped around me, pretending they were hers cradling me and breathing warmth into me. 192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfMDa4d11d
192Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqh2PxGs0f
One day...
Penana
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