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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANATC5HTa00Yi
42Please respect copyright.PENANAOZdG5rnLze
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANA8BFUWWKet8
42Please respect copyright.PENANAuCzYL8kpeG
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAjaJkore1hQ
42Please respect copyright.PENANAw6yCFeIlJ7
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAwbMEov5YQY
42Please respect copyright.PENANA4yURrj6Kpd
I was in clear sight of them now. 42Please respect copyright.PENANArupMgj0EhE
42Please respect copyright.PENANAQjA4mizfcH
"Soup!" the tiny voice blew on the breeze to catch my attention again. 42Please respect copyright.PENANA0GSHV9eQ5J
It was so faint, but it was the sound I was waiting for. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAIMvSv7F0CK
42Please respect copyright.PENANAfS95Pq5Pqd
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAPO91tMuuLf
42Please respect copyright.PENANAR7lRgsPey6
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANANQQQVf2gm1
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAJD8NQOkNFx
42Please respect copyright.PENANAZ1uswJEyaK
I used to call him Bartleby. He preferred Bartie.42Please respect copyright.PENANAP3VPHvKbC3
42Please respect copyright.PENANApHlYZEjlHz
"MISSY!" Bartie cupped his hands around his mouth before pointing them to me "you've got to stop feeding the beast!" 42Please respect copyright.PENANASKmCtOl88q
42Please respect copyright.PENANAPO7bY45fQR
I snickered at his concern and walked past Bartie before he cleared his throat to halt me. 42Please respect copyright.PENANA1YcnKc523L
42Please respect copyright.PENANAZLDiMrWEwb
"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!" 42Please respect copyright.PENANAPOhQgZpR1Q
42Please respect copyright.PENANACEbNKrn3iY
He had no reason to worry so much. It was the same empty threat he had been giving me for three months straight now. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAf0OHmWsXHu
I just shook off Bartie's concern and raced for the woman waving for me to come. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAdihwAxMieb
42Please respect copyright.PENANAksKOduMrVJ
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAgeWjIbejIP
42Please respect copyright.PENANAP6A66NgrRX
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAd6io9R7U52
42Please respect copyright.PENANA3bG1eMNoBv
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAQ57J60JArP
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAhjpNFfFtIE
42Please respect copyright.PENANAHjQti2YU5t
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANASqKYqepsuF
42Please respect copyright.PENANAbfzrM3CID7
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAM8POGYYvcP
42Please respect copyright.PENANA9BENsy9Jkl
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAqZufYfQ3vo
42Please respect copyright.PENANAPltZhWP1mO
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAOQ1jzYgPkP
42Please respect copyright.PENANAk0AKEc1112
"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." 42Please respect copyright.PENANArhC9Gym7VG
42Please respect copyright.PENANAC5L50cHlHT
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANA2RQt7bbKRP
42Please respect copyright.PENANAfSJzkWs5rB
"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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAxY6rbbKNyW
42Please respect copyright.PENANAm5K4PUIpYG
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAgcTJnXh8iJ
42Please respect copyright.PENANAh0XPom7M2b
She cradled her soup in her lap while I blew onto mine to try and cool it enough to scoff it down. 42Please respect copyright.PENANATwfNqcH748
My stomach was begging for the hot meal that little birds and discarded rubbish along the roads could never satisfy. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAS7jSh8R4FZ
42Please respect copyright.PENANASXpjRRMDfg
"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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANANVNCV7a91v
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANA9Y9tJX1JLX
42Please respect copyright.PENANA133q7q5zLj
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAfhelCfWYoM
42Please respect copyright.PENANAopESJp9RVg
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAS3Ca0QS1oc
42Please respect copyright.PENANA36OsKCgPdQ
I placed the bowl beside her and lowered myself back down. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAQ9p3D2z8PS
42Please respect copyright.PENANA2pOBtl0X49
"More please" I pointed.42Please respect copyright.PENANATgAbHmq3XJ
42Please respect copyright.PENANAR6Gcrv7X8M
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAnvWii0PpzD
42Please respect copyright.PENANAbntlgzvmW6
Missy liked it when I talked to her, and I liked it when I made Missy happy. 42Please respect copyright.PENANA8Sk4U8Bd4M
42Please respect copyright.PENANAuw1lzqjLv1
"You're hungry today" she mused "did I not feed you enough yesterday?" 42Please respect copyright.PENANAdcD41I5QOp
42Please respect copyright.PENANAEWLNUvRe0I
I just smiled and watched her retreat back inside, leaving her bowl on the stairs. 42Please respect copyright.PENANA5OCkbrnsKb
42Please respect copyright.PENANAIDO7g947J5
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANA9n9lU9T3lJ
42Please respect copyright.PENANAl5SW6qxbq8
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAWyOALNM8MI
42Please respect copyright.PENANAUhK3UAWgto
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAqq591JJmBN
42Please respect copyright.PENANAezuRUsMlbS
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAi2I3HoDkEI
42Please respect copyright.PENANAqfJB8Io0fF
I ate my soup and accepted her new name for me that spread through the town. It was simple and the way things were. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAVLHlXyEvAX
42Please respect copyright.PENANAVChHr0NEi0
"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." 42Please respect copyright.PENANA7hhTUJRavy
42Please respect copyright.PENANA6KCVITP3ig
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.42Please respect copyright.PENANA7orEglz3UQ
42Please respect copyright.PENANA806yXv4hLx
I took the filled bowl to drop one of the slices of bread into her own before shovelling this one down greedily. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAUmuNp68NBB
42Please respect copyright.PENANABkAnDJYb45
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAdaqwpChJlC
42Please respect copyright.PENANA3yVfWnV5Lh
I snapped down the tough meat, licked the bowl, then headed back for the wall of grass awaiting me. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAilTJn9rDxC
42Please respect copyright.PENANATeJ1eP91JV
"See you tomorrow?" Missy called out with a worried frown. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAWTfJEP0uX8
42Please respect copyright.PENANAclHpUUrpFm
Of course, she would. I would never leave her wondering where I had gone. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAjHWy0MLsLa
42Please respect copyright.PENANAMeVsH2VEVx
I nodded and disappeared into the grass to follow the train tracks back to the East. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAyZhTdfDt9P
42Please respect copyright.PENANAk5OBRinI7H
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAk1cIncufwX
42Please respect copyright.PENANA7SST4fSpWC
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAwFAsWtcFnc
42Please respect copyright.PENANAWQT1nLAt7I
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAqJYFE27nbN
42Please respect copyright.PENANATt0hiJvxnH
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAVZjypMucgA
42Please respect copyright.PENANAtzdESLZ7nl
One day I might go visit those places. For now, I had my reason to stay here. 42Please respect copyright.PENANA9u4a7Pbpdu
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? 42Please respect copyright.PENANABF0IchkSis
42Please respect copyright.PENANA29aiXiBBTw
I smiled at the moon and laid back, so I didn't have to take my eyes from it. 42Please respect copyright.PENANANK68AAY2Cp
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. 42Please respect copyright.PENANAenQVJIM5rg
42Please respect copyright.PENANA1DVai2ittq
The moonlit field of fireflies would be nice tonight. I could wait until Missy gifted me with her wonderful food tomorrow. 42Please respect copyright.PENANA8nG0d1FZcs
42Please respect copyright.PENANAPs1j4OpCVE
I curled up with my hands wrapped around me, pretending they were hers cradling me and breathing warmth into me. 42Please respect copyright.PENANATWpOvpFZdQ
42Please respect copyright.PENANAscG0rJrc2a
One day...