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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwoRs0VOUZv
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHX8RkAoeW
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsNIGShdlOh
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUP9ELCILQ
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgwRZWMV3fR
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1yKA07ZC0N
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo1o9EY0Dtt
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1j4njVq5a2
I was in clear sight of them now. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLIOwUxRYFw
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Y2weekLqO
"Soup!" the tiny voice blew on the breeze to catch my attention again. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBOxzVkhQRa
It was so faint, but it was the sound I was waiting for. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN6JWQAYtGg
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejPrS0UFsL
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Ov7yWfjzO
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr30b1QTMuM
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdz7RAbNoBw
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvC5VJeSSYR
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvV82sr1lCj
I used to call him Bartleby. He preferred Bartie.396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTHaqh0sAKA
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzSYd2M8RF0
"MISSY!" Bartie cupped his hands around his mouth before pointing them to me "you've got to stop feeding the beast!" 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWk571fYqWT
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1oAEJIMUqE
I snickered at his concern and walked past Bartie before he cleared his throat to halt me. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGA5dG0s99
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZhR084O6xL
"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!" 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUihs68ATuB
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWMaqSJ4W3
He had no reason to worry so much. It was the same empty threat he had been giving me for three months straight now. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaiUuBGcOi4
I just shook off Bartie's concern and raced for the woman waving for me to come. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9AJyBWFMff
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSsgkAw0yIt
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡubO5we7hR2
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPbr7AJcnF
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAoyJpkeSHe
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43mD2YpwfN
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrNa7IZ3q7X
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzG9vky7zFo
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAaU68rspF0
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHRJCd52vYN
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6XSX50yd7
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4b0DWCIDUB
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNFAcgUUUhg
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1SWf4f7FMH
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQiNPPV1r7v
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRAuTm73TKL
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHB7LMEjkq
"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." 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZvGPpQmCKb
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZOq1IHYP6
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwMTWCevafl
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYCzEJCKxZ
"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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRLXmYpdN2
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWMhzkmYnU8
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnrXMMZO1T
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNkOxuyS8W
She cradled her soup in her lap while I blew onto mine to try and cool it enough to scoff it down. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDMdAWNFcvW
My stomach was begging for the hot meal that little birds and discarded rubbish along the roads could never satisfy. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj4qY64WuKn
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh2hjRenRKG
"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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XQXTYKPt6
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RhoJv46U5
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfeMIb71fc9
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOmvgBp9p66
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZICQazj0jt
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdAj0YffRru
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1hT5gFQlSt
I placed the bowl beside her and lowered myself back down. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDtfaeY6j0
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeT41yW91S3
"More please" I pointed.396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKzHN83igL8
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfQQQifMVe
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡids68BjIgl
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIdgB3LGx5C
Missy liked it when I talked to her, and I liked it when I made Missy happy. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZ31oVCAXo
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtnMSR0Ild
"You're hungry today" she mused "did I not feed you enough yesterday?" 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrlaM4XCU3q
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc6TiD1LbKx
I just smiled and watched her retreat back inside, leaving her bowl on the stairs. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoyW8ykKB1c
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCMOcCOwFoM
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpJJ6iZzSR
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RABS0Wy3x
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaraDnDViLX
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTFGAYGaKjT
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCACJktMkW
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJ0qoTf08I
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnSZbug5bP
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpu4mzzPiHJ
I ate my soup and accepted her new name for me that spread through the town. It was simple and the way things were. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNa6kMaHkZi
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBIN8pOuWT
"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." 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9EiyNtO5f
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNKjcRziTk
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.396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCLuMvMt0A1
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmZruKNkR2p
I took the filled bowl to drop one of the slices of bread into her own before shovelling this one down greedily. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpF1Fz2mifc
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAiRWPoAM0r
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKRKBUXvklx
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Ei3gvXIQO
I snapped down the tough meat, licked the bowl, then headed back for the wall of grass awaiting me. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQq7wwAgxf2
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKTSR4eDIe
"See you tomorrow?" Missy called out with a worried frown. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvF61773lt
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgwTMViuIsf
Of course, she would. I would never leave her wondering where I had gone. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhMgwgCx6t
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvaEWzaHGfa
I nodded and disappeared into the grass to follow the train tracks back to the East. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDOJnSbVYCY
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWYrtVlhjQA
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJvKDoJCW1f
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGu0Xw6jsZb
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzMIArDudhD
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9OOeLi9Iq
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡphb6SKoJ7b
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69wVUfZ4Mf
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40PvERumqe
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61dEtxuo4p
One day I might go visit those places. For now, I had my reason to stay here. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPn12V1I3df
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? 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8xq6DpE5Dk
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcLLC1wXQso
I smiled at the moon and laid back, so I didn't have to take my eyes from it. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQR4vzIFLd
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. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡplVB7Fw2CA
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC3gzBZKxFx
The moonlit field of fireflies would be nice tonight. I could wait until Missy gifted me with her wonderful food tomorrow. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz5F0Ww14DW
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJAwMfTIFQ
I curled up with my hands wrapped around me, pretending they were hers cradling me and breathing warmth into me. 396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfMRRNK6HF
396Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcYTpGgeGt8
One day...
Penana
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