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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4z0UdVKOZw
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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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamZF7Q2r7R
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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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUKyelsR3y
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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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFtrSb6yHp6
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I was in clear sight of them now. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFjy7LpRyT
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"Soup!" the tiny voice blew on the breeze to catch my attention again. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNo17QTut0B
It was so faint, but it was the sound I was waiting for. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqH92Jr08Qz
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkmj38o0sGo
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDAfYDtnjaU
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgWN2NshDG
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaA8RCII6nM
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkLA50kTEpJ
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOslvGkYsZx
I used to call him Bartleby. He preferred Bartie.275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZbrMJN4Rd
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHOystYXaba
"MISSY!" Bartie cupped his hands around his mouth before pointing them to me "you've got to stop feeding the beast!" 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU6g5pK7ZZm
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DiYqbdevG
I snickered at his concern and walked past Bartie before he cleared his throat to halt me. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aotiTWNZZ
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9OpS69zXQo
"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!" 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuyeIAq0kkP
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJEmEfBUOia
He had no reason to worry so much. It was the same empty threat he had been giving me for three months straight now. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgyMvA3HiW
I just shook off Bartie's concern and raced for the woman waving for me to come. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ919N2e4Yia
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxI0ia9VIvE
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqFll9h339
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIE78FwEdAu
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYlcpoQ5JZ
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkWYU21IG73
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr7ka93QQHW
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOc9qvBOEGC
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt30IGKceta
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzizOX1wZP
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrzkc5RtQIN
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtxOTqtKH7V
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAo5BW0Ec77
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe20m6J8bpr
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡesujl5CjDq
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEI0sFarAu
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡij5Szin1YV
"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." 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnlDb51BW3
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzbSeEIqDp
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PqjnrLbQe
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB01dCgjWhW
"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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKitPxzbC5
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHcMrTDztDN
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTeoG5VSXMl
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNzVjiApQV
She cradled her soup in her lap while I blew onto mine to try and cool it enough to scoff it down. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNCKH8OD0e
My stomach was begging for the hot meal that little birds and discarded rubbish along the roads could never satisfy. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwaCupqWuu7
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdT2FrEuxYe
"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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHhneTvrvL
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEa3iZ72SnV
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNC5viPGy5
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedneA2Es9I
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTdI7F0h3vH
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo076aq22Jm
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I placed the bowl beside her and lowered myself back down. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjey4SpIVYi
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"More please" I pointed.275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnoLoDeceza
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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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkPWHHb4mZY
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREfCUYR186
Missy liked it when I talked to her, and I liked it when I made Missy happy. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡonUHUu0OzN
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAF0AMpQjf
"You're hungry today" she mused "did I not feed you enough yesterday?" 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPgGvCWzXRC
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHMEcafoaAA
I just smiled and watched her retreat back inside, leaving her bowl on the stairs. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZB7SBNx81
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡblS1Q7BquG
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsmldHyxr7
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFJnBYPWIxe
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYgYxfTJABc
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhV3mDcMZB
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcAnzB3rGN
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9lrqbsmKW6
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7Q8yCFJVb
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHRmvvrbZX
I ate my soup and accepted her new name for me that spread through the town. It was simple and the way things were. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3li5WiYTh
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxEWy1gba3y
"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." 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcXAbTNjvKp
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dSGC4fpK5
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.275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42sHkQ73HN
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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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs4q91BptuZ
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpCMDsB84i
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3sqsGZjejH
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMoX9RZwYeR
I snapped down the tough meat, licked the bowl, then headed back for the wall of grass awaiting me. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM5ilBdwFM7
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡATFn4D1QDd
"See you tomorrow?" Missy called out with a worried frown. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrri1lF4QMg
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Of course, she would. I would never leave her wondering where I had gone. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ82Mz7BHuq3
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmkDogGDovr
I nodded and disappeared into the grass to follow the train tracks back to the East. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6aHtv2UGs
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5TTHpm21wk
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi1O2eviXMb
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpkIYRouzoC
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2SS6xFaJjQ
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlh2goj55cR
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1MBlelGXU8
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3oze3BIf0
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtoNvhd9XWM
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One day I might go visit those places. For now, I had my reason to stay here. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRgKiAVkc0
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? 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQZJcackCH
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I smiled at the moon and laid back, so I didn't have to take my eyes from it. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvydfoybB3i
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. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNHgvjOEZFF
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The moonlit field of fireflies would be nice tonight. I could wait until Missy gifted me with her wonderful food tomorrow. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8QD3T009hx
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8G93CBlnmG
I curled up with my hands wrapped around me, pretending they were hers cradling me and breathing warmth into me. 275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIXIFXRisL4
275Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwmRuh3RLdm
One day...
Penana
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