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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAzHw4rjcp
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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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0Sq5m2xQv
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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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWOc7mgiai
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjzIAhSe8y
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgA1cpNCiGP
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXFQ7SM2Cn2
I was in clear sight of them now. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzwpkyfDvT
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXFBk1JqJk
"Soup!" the tiny voice blew on the breeze to catch my attention again. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡigikSMzcPM
It was so faint, but it was the sound I was waiting for. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBkFNrCZRk
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOc74CTYgJv
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrG0iG2nGt
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI7hojtsvwt
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC97TzEtdA0
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdV46wtcERH
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfggPwK9jZv
I used to call him Bartleby. He preferred Bartie.303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtRxIdEFpGA
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4z5aCMFOSq
"MISSY!" Bartie cupped his hands around his mouth before pointing them to me "you've got to stop feeding the beast!" 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLxRqUYnLWA
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBLnpU8iSQ
I snickered at his concern and walked past Bartie before he cleared his throat to halt me. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbNaztoSDh
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvBPNhICbGW
"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!" 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPfGFZBIL8O
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1IwbhVv7ZS
He had no reason to worry so much. It was the same empty threat he had been giving me for three months straight now. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7sVllSFNI
I just shook off Bartie's concern and raced for the woman waving for me to come. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfVvEJZzlAh
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUykz3w1hEz
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3u9KStKMj
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡybI1fCV0Gr
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9yn8CYGiA
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xtVKbJJpZ
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQzqyygu0p
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGpsx013EQn
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOE0XH5aFK2
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjuQwi5s5x
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUwwCK9rgWI
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw8oHzGils3
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiDcvkwIJB2
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOwFPP367R3
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtAOyGSMsE0
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGeLgSV9Ot
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXjrXgrKxNd
"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." 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNRL7iHvNda
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡps4uTpbM8D
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRL20iDr0S
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80u35ueXqW
"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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3SPPxChRN
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq27kIDQIxJ
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgz3PKnj2x
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6WgG16O9S
She cradled her soup in her lap while I blew onto mine to try and cool it enough to scoff it down. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdR17XfIaac
My stomach was begging for the hot meal that little birds and discarded rubbish along the roads could never satisfy. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0m3k9Pchv
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡunlioE2YQa
"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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftytDi9fXy
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjQpoE30EE
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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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfk6s6pGuu
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdeoe42SMKx
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYijpic5FaA
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I placed the bowl beside her and lowered myself back down. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7msLNXaAz
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"More please" I pointed.303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6tdigl762n
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3ch0sdcRW
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KTmY6yO0F
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvuBzI8RF0
Missy liked it when I talked to her, and I liked it when I made Missy happy. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡueb5N15WDH
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcnE9PWw7w5
"You're hungry today" she mused "did I not feed you enough yesterday?" 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡySyRoxkyU5
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I just smiled and watched her retreat back inside, leaving her bowl on the stairs. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ843NuwZMCD
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjjQDQf9bbl
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTMi737tySq
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnOtOk8GWdR
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCS6HnetdBF
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7eXApZ2Py5
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUAj47kXKX
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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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAP9FtuoTze
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkWwaWWFFFI
I ate my soup and accepted her new name for me that spread through the town. It was simple and the way things were. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcnrsTq6Tw4
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfsvx3UoyvL
"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." 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7bE4Ew3ML
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5wnWhgiUv
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.303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfuoomXmVKh
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9B7WX9tE7
I took the filled bowl to drop one of the slices of bread into her own before shovelling this one down greedily. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgDtMnXBkv
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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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxjn69lRrPJ
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5bdqWeUqiU
I snapped down the tough meat, licked the bowl, then headed back for the wall of grass awaiting me. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWjU2E2Ebr
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5VnGjFI6tW
"See you tomorrow?" Missy called out with a worried frown. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMulL3qM63
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOhgkfZp1x
Of course, she would. I would never leave her wondering where I had gone. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARdw1Bd7Bw
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I nodded and disappeared into the grass to follow the train tracks back to the East. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZZ3pvOlLs
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAzg4jSs2PY
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5y9u7LwFEh
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWee1fkQaVs
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tQrPjQOHX
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOohbb3kEjj
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDqjC1ru0Y
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡek5S2bvrQ3
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVT8GqyLCap
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One day I might go visit those places. For now, I had my reason to stay here. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrptHrxhbZ7
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? 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7BJxKfJE5
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I smiled at the moon and laid back, so I didn't have to take my eyes from it. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPiMx2gTvMC
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. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILjtjaxg5l
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wdRKTBfNL
The moonlit field of fireflies would be nice tonight. I could wait until Missy gifted me with her wonderful food tomorrow. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXeVE4L131G
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7BKfKsQp0f
I curled up with my hands wrapped around me, pretending they were hers cradling me and breathing warmth into me. 303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtSRl4GdVVd
303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfWJYeyRpV1
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