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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGqaTDcPb1
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsNKwM0bdBx
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8IYQxuhr4
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmEtQbxYSlR
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5MdNMiYxEQ
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡomek6NAclj
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc49mDpi6Ai
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjsIqA6Rp3b
I was in clear sight of them now. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2tOdvgrqb
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnOt2bNRdH
"Soup!" the tiny voice blew on the breeze to catch my attention again. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr22UitFRuq
It was so faint, but it was the sound I was waiting for. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKrqT3woQv3
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gQTGdSjQc
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNlmlWH38L
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmnjh5UPlh
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNuCL9ihDw9
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpRAf7vrKk
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOWQCMDY3u
I used to call him Bartleby. He preferred Bartie.395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIvt5s0MjxJ
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCRX3WesOiB
"MISSY!" Bartie cupped his hands around his mouth before pointing them to me "you've got to stop feeding the beast!" 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSeIc86uyPM
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPpJ6r5Ypv
I snickered at his concern and walked past Bartie before he cleared his throat to halt me. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvERgucNNy
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTIhnBPatU0
"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!" 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYG79JawgBw
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxRnu6QwIV
He had no reason to worry so much. It was the same empty threat he had been giving me for three months straight now. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuojnSaigt2
I just shook off Bartie's concern and raced for the woman waving for me to come. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ010MlmOvQq
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsvC9jucCl
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIc6FD63aXu
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgfLdXVK8az
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNl62dcGsVl
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ321xKUx6bP
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgo2KSwnCqd
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡozyH8kxugg
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8M6rxeu1MS
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl5wPcbOujH
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtwfnbXsnHl
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYXTBucaD8
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsfVcs3nKd
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXN3aORUzRl
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGlsFfYzBC
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFV87EEJ73S
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDU5AvYuGq6
"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." 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgFR0CHcpQ
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0t72KfWyN
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJoLLuW1zV
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCgGyLCB3Jd
"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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡud69urujvu
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1YEP3qoo7
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDx0k5YK1Ww
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXWFXOnX5R
She cradled her soup in her lap while I blew onto mine to try and cool it enough to scoff it down. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVuMs5boYve
My stomach was begging for the hot meal that little birds and discarded rubbish along the roads could never satisfy. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtGq5PHTG6
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUqffK8NoS
"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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHYMovnJ3F
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCunNMLhO3
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRNVQWe0dPt
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiDFdtyYZGA
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf3LBswYgwz
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpwS9Wclm8
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR66G732AwV
I placed the bowl beside her and lowered myself back down. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahw6f9Dc2n
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNFNejRbsV
"More please" I pointed.395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiufL4qBqxq
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwLoleCTeN
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYqf8YXHmu
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBz9jGWoXV
Missy liked it when I talked to her, and I liked it when I made Missy happy. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ggPXaVcVd
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDzc5dZmsP
"You're hungry today" she mused "did I not feed you enough yesterday?" 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVoAZdNJUT
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1g1CU8ASq
I just smiled and watched her retreat back inside, leaving her bowl on the stairs. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgzPURhJNY
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQNlzJ9DoA
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ZKvkCtuVL
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡayJ7Ku8J0B
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkv3L8Uni3h
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3fK6gez1rJ
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9bzvCoxLNm
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHkJB60beqz
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9GMn0DoCLz
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHsNWDb74Pw
I ate my soup and accepted her new name for me that spread through the town. It was simple and the way things were. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeC7mlThwRm
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9hsnowpsj3
"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." 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KLz7sQ6e5
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ERSJ02dY4
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.395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNYoGbrcQy
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUBDWAEgaS
I took the filled bowl to drop one of the slices of bread into her own before shovelling this one down greedily. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ynLveBKTC
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXWIH2dZh2p
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jVHkkQpq6
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5MmTgvBLYO
I snapped down the tough meat, licked the bowl, then headed back for the wall of grass awaiting me. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1SF04clYXn
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZFcZfN79e
"See you tomorrow?" Missy called out with a worried frown. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrRJRrsd5NI
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhtBP0lVByF
Of course, she would. I would never leave her wondering where I had gone. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARLUcKwqXD
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbRRHo26ciK
I nodded and disappeared into the grass to follow the train tracks back to the East. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7DEuPcDAs
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5YAG5xfbk
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoo0Oq9zxy9
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVbH9fkKO8I
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ZzOszMMqK
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeXbi55aNOD
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmwforM1D5
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkGFbgQSxbj
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1becQU5RQ
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrqx4NqoByj
One day I might go visit those places. For now, I had my reason to stay here. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZDEBevakl
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? 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Y6ZTx5gVC
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtr2PookAYd
I smiled at the moon and laid back, so I didn't have to take my eyes from it. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYzCw4XtI4
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. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFEZhdFEn0
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj7BhxDuIEg
The moonlit field of fireflies would be nice tonight. I could wait until Missy gifted me with her wonderful food tomorrow. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6GHQlnzHsD
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7b06hg95jU
I curled up with my hands wrapped around me, pretending they were hers cradling me and breathing warmth into me. 395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8TJwgsnr2a
395Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtIzj34eUiB
One day...8964 copyright protection391ＰＥＮＡＮＡS61fm1UmjD 維尼

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