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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡur5RrZCgft
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpJwnvKGns
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKfD2731HK
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtRl9znieTr
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5UrH5lnuqU
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkHIE7szVn
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZq1Mr2Ybq4
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsoKielhMhM
I was in clear sight of them now. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ2ZJR9POnv
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUF6FUXz0NG
"Soup!" the tiny voice blew on the breeze to catch my attention again. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡujKka4Bi0g
It was so faint, but it was the sound I was waiting for. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHB3Nprtkt
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7kYIE0b2K
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5zsXWbJx9
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPj4AJC4db
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKCnqgwPhV
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW2uWjMsOd1
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHkyMASX7oe
I used to call him Bartleby. He preferred Bartie.284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RdjidT5uz
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmnTzqszNg
"MISSY!" Bartie cupped his hands around his mouth before pointing them to me "you've got to stop feeding the beast!" 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpj1RjxE0zH
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCpJ6AqzM6J
I snickered at his concern and walked past Bartie before he cleared his throat to halt me. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBf7E3vbClP
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GxB0TRPeD
"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!" 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtwZmrdXa5r
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkANz6m7QBn
He had no reason to worry so much. It was the same empty threat he had been giving me for three months straight now. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKoseBYpQ0V
I just shook off Bartie's concern and raced for the woman waving for me to come. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznPzW9k2cx
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrcqoymHy7
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxoyvI43J6
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgeuhiEN54
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsEvABfEGA
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2u7sdrrdJk
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrskDmghJu
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJT2cs7a9MG
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNajpd4Yzrr
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMZdOSabwJ
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAFba5G0I0
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxl8OTF7yAS
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡly1GEI4uhW
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkXKvu2sjW3
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzaxatswul
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiNRGMahRA3
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAXJi8wVIw
"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." 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjxM9wClId
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIOMWzhCqty
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemPSrLYUmj
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqSJNcy6AP
"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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3F3Fbt1eVT
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfocIevGlW
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAM6i3kI16w
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUC876ifSvf
She cradled her soup in her lap while I blew onto mine to try and cool it enough to scoff it down. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmNNTp1D6h
My stomach was begging for the hot meal that little birds and discarded rubbish along the roads could never satisfy. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSipsYGc45y
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXpMXSKKxuA
"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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNK7mVJbSM7
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmkiAZJcOj
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQpaYFxzlH
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCUONwL46u
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ83vE1HtWb5
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNcaYk051k
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdBfz9Rr5H
I placed the bowl beside her and lowered myself back down. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKeCiNgdOFA
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmw6Y4nVjWz
"More please" I pointed.284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ79gmAc5Snv
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDeKHDPTH9
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRKgoJuv3zj
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2MoLfFFKzC
Missy liked it when I talked to her, and I liked it when I made Missy happy. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQkepoZssQT
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ewMeLGloM
"You're hungry today" she mused "did I not feed you enough yesterday?" 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvT2gQoRi8
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP86yMOHBAG
I just smiled and watched her retreat back inside, leaving her bowl on the stairs. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadxbFCZsAb
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3qfFsgwxP
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYYeWsF8Rp
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXW8FYHYRs
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAGEpHPiesW
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNh6rOLbCLp
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjoD5xoZmCq
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Gc7yJdAsp
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWd5xBKwos
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfeA9W2kdl
I ate my soup and accepted her new name for me that spread through the town. It was simple and the way things were. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡov6jw30FDF
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXGb3rz3v2x
"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." 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfUDgOR5ih
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEqXOdZbA90
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.284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnKoXB2F6p5
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqER95TvurE
I took the filled bowl to drop one of the slices of bread into her own before shovelling this one down greedily. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgduTOCn4Ar
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm489hvL8JK
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgv6JSwbV6d
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0p1evYp3Nm
I snapped down the tough meat, licked the bowl, then headed back for the wall of grass awaiting me. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPV01SZEPsf
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ02YI1CfAP4
"See you tomorrow?" Missy called out with a worried frown. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVhgbuY6f0o
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtP0xrzXvL
Of course, she would. I would never leave her wondering where I had gone. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XaL4V6OVT
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCv6CWc6SY
I nodded and disappeared into the grass to follow the train tracks back to the East. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡresBbjdotR
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwCtgtyEmlV
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8rOoonm7e
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYo74B1eBj
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGLZ9MgarR
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNGgtmgkeh
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc01k9Q7etx
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hzuhGVGaH
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpPnBpEgUN
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaP8HH3y2L6
One day I might go visit those places. For now, I had my reason to stay here. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Pm8G5Mxay
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? 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41cIxWGxGv
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSEJILBpvKC
I smiled at the moon and laid back, so I didn't have to take my eyes from it. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqpNZmzujAQ
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. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDgYoWn8y8
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDe5fDhQVrt
The moonlit field of fireflies would be nice tonight. I could wait until Missy gifted me with her wonderful food tomorrow. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3M8a2kQhW
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1oqOpmzTV
I curled up with my hands wrapped around me, pretending they were hers cradling me and breathing warmth into me. 284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9VQ7BhNxGk
284Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVhSslVjgj
One day...8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡXWorkiRQ5n 維尼

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