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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJP4kqW6k3h
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhnLKm999o
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGC5m0hmS5
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡObVoFnlPg1
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7i6DvFXiSR
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAyCbW3V0S
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuJjeXo4OzM
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHP9jkGxLV
I was in clear sight of them now. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3yRJUZ3fQ
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8BtsuF5r3H
"Soup!" the tiny voice blew on the breeze to catch my attention again. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHi6D5WVaKY
It was so faint, but it was the sound I was waiting for. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8JKE8uMkx
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPspT9nxWn6
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHRtqxkDiTh
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAD5bCW5Ng
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxuRJZwqbi
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKefCpzRYv
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDjKBL1H4Pp
I used to call him Bartleby. He preferred Bartie.351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGT4lDlL0dm
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxAa7RQAwmF
"MISSY!" Bartie cupped his hands around his mouth before pointing them to me "you've got to stop feeding the beast!" 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVAWgIqJ5Em
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4AOIYLnqMT
I snickered at his concern and walked past Bartie before he cleared his throat to halt me. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IP2zU1QoJ
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYQeC76GTf
"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!" 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxiNOSzZP1
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdBjzCvIIl
He had no reason to worry so much. It was the same empty threat he had been giving me for three months straight now. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9AiOAP854N
I just shook off Bartie's concern and raced for the woman waving for me to come. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ60GCyklnMy
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsDt5XDBYc9
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5fI8bSMYKp
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7L6unENqAZ
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlV3p3s48ZI
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinyIr8Kzxw
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQsCkVzqMb
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn8NlOeMOjM
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4W3X4nkf2
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTqV6g8nEN
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzVR9dlua9
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkihDSVeVZ
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7jZH7nMdm
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrrsfN3TmDx
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSFbJdOI5R
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLn6gl5xGpK
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHhYLkj1u8
"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." 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8b4ygS7XEv
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR1YF5VloxP
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFMvHLilsL
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLfMcHmeYE6
"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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1ZXPjtdKH
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYegwuvCM7
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOCo3GIiH6
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUGrZ2W8nv
She cradled her soup in her lap while I blew onto mine to try and cool it enough to scoff it down. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4RlYkLYpe
My stomach was begging for the hot meal that little birds and discarded rubbish along the roads could never satisfy. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczs7ncCKEK
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKAbdEvME8
"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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69JnkEcsPM
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPH9mZQBE6
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMym5DolNF
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzh1B1Vk5gn
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLtCIt1JFv
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNcYgVNb6L
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5XuOu833iA
I placed the bowl beside her and lowered myself back down. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVo5vcz4W8u
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRcSdhNtEGc
"More please" I pointed.351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBpKK23Kbbu
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeq8uxLaaQ5
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmvopwnCP1
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xAQcC4Ul4
Missy liked it when I talked to her, and I liked it when I made Missy happy. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBdSenyGTb
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJGR7iSec5
"You're hungry today" she mused "did I not feed you enough yesterday?" 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jJ4Cyzak9
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9svw9tFMTi
I just smiled and watched her retreat back inside, leaving her bowl on the stairs. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyf180mo1O
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZ9phyzFlD
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9YN4cZNPV
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdxj8ZxGjKc
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rL486qgDK
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkaEibamAPh
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVNkk5VHBt
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZgdexVdMG
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj4u0wNWGBX
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3xl8rYmdX
I ate my soup and accepted her new name for me that spread through the town. It was simple and the way things were. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03fcM8LaI6
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡus6ftHNIM0
"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." 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFIh09HdRq
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Um6ndGmxN
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.351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZXQEoIEYJ
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3avhFxsT8k
I took the filled bowl to drop one of the slices of bread into her own before shovelling this one down greedily. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd4CS73UU2j
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡak5AupMEHm
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohgY4w40we
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡimDnLxvNHd
I snapped down the tough meat, licked the bowl, then headed back for the wall of grass awaiting me. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnt1UiWZRA
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2cuT8ekKs
"See you tomorrow?" Missy called out with a worried frown. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtivXoXouNE
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEyKPOBF7GN
Of course, she would. I would never leave her wondering where I had gone. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nQTnWzDy3
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8xPCS46fbi
I nodded and disappeared into the grass to follow the train tracks back to the East. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBlJaQ0AZcr
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuB5nggR9vl
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOdd5Hm9zda
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGk9CjvddW
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPIvWcfozBH
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLowWPI2ekq
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3R3tDtGUR0
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCCbdoWiRJ
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8RcpkEG4b
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjsmjK1WT5
One day I might go visit those places. For now, I had my reason to stay here. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBmxOnbZXf
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? 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOJQ9AtZr38
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfRddrQbzrs
I smiled at the moon and laid back, so I didn't have to take my eyes from it. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JKTfjVdtg
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. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGO2sOMO0a
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPJ7v6EvWG
The moonlit field of fireflies would be nice tonight. I could wait until Missy gifted me with her wonderful food tomorrow. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH07OC817Ly
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡURGhsuGWCE
I curled up with my hands wrapped around me, pretending they were hers cradling me and breathing warmth into me. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwQRnSVhRP0
351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8YThS7Ggq7
One day...8964 copyright protection347ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJi0szdCbF 維尼

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