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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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡogn0UZd6K9
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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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6MtK8MPBZ
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKjbH4sLiY
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGhyRKU15h
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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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfbXCFMoPV
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I was in clear sight of them now. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgj90uvgvXb
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"Soup!" the tiny voice blew on the breeze to catch my attention again. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0vPa4E9w6b
It was so faint, but it was the sound I was waiting for. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfdbRYCEYSl
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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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLUIy198gtN
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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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPX9eHN66jF
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGctoH1Cpbc
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I used to call him Bartleby. He preferred Bartie.371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWsnn5fkAG
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"MISSY!" Bartie cupped his hands around his mouth before pointing them to me "you've got to stop feeding the beast!" 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡebotm74PX3
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtybstK65a
I snickered at his concern and walked past Bartie before he cleared his throat to halt me. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6SqHebLfTx
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"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!" 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWWeYbDilMT
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He had no reason to worry so much. It was the same empty threat he had been giving me for three months straight now. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJooyU85TbR
I just shook off Bartie's concern and raced for the woman waving for me to come. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhPmcfsmkK
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9mlaoSdqQ
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCi4BbVUBs
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡld3PQDkWbL
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQbd7mxqcjI
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSCNU8mrsu9
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡao0cBbGjcw
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cDKoenO1F
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5y8aShQ9it
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6XjIuju4W
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJU42kbQhRb
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpS7h8mn4vx
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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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9kYDYncy9l
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqiyjhRo1Jo
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjcdFPFJON
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDT5JZbXPFX
"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." 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWtMSIbNQYm
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4hV2dfTcU
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRLFenZJh3v
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrnf0RfHZjV
"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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPXfSDGlnqB
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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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnb4l9RqptT
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She cradled her soup in her lap while I blew onto mine to try and cool it enough to scoff it down. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMwaNlHWs2
My stomach was begging for the hot meal that little birds and discarded rubbish along the roads could never satisfy. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jAHFJarM9
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIcgK2j25XF
"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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4mYW6ZXoB9
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlchShPTXVd
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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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl5UgRcctKY
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKBi2jK8ZZM
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbND2nydE21
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I placed the bowl beside her and lowered myself back down. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPIrixqv67s
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"More please" I pointed.371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVYy4AnKRn
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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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAwBf2D9isX
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojFNkWPpsB
Missy liked it when I talked to her, and I liked it when I made Missy happy. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdwJXEZMMBE
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNrGztHHOcB
"You're hungry today" she mused "did I not feed you enough yesterday?" 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ79Bj9rU2PJ
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I just smiled and watched her retreat back inside, leaving her bowl on the stairs. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5onKRN2tkf
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyoJgIa05bu
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrsrBndo8uD
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcg4dapuThl
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeBav6W9Wne
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHNlex5rsfN
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXJ18528i3
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX7hpg7KJzA
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKTTlBRFcw
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxAbAGrV1oC
I ate my soup and accepted her new name for me that spread through the town. It was simple and the way things were. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDaJARCQ2El
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUrkFmO5lRC
"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." 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKAEoceZLUg
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiMdhmwWfx
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.371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinfykwsPEY
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I took the filled bowl to drop one of the slices of bread into her own before shovelling this one down greedily. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgT7yPU5xZ
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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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnbyrAP6b2E
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I snapped down the tough meat, licked the bowl, then headed back for the wall of grass awaiting me. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKWNhEBpQ1
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyeiCtwEKCj
"See you tomorrow?" Missy called out with a worried frown. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0NThDCVjY1
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Of course, she would. I would never leave her wondering where I had gone. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQb21k2Pvj
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I nodded and disappeared into the grass to follow the train tracks back to the East. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaiGVmrIOkH
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYo4LM3KCg
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwJZnLrVqW
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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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjteNbuxFmM
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDf7Z7ywaq3
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt10RyQO4EI
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4mwW3JsTjj
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWaWJ9V57Oo
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One day I might go visit those places. For now, I had my reason to stay here. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡux8TewJ1Zp
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? 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaunOPvoCHG
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I smiled at the moon and laid back, so I didn't have to take my eyes from it. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTR0g005smy
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. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ226Uz1r2Lo
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The moonlit field of fireflies would be nice tonight. I could wait until Missy gifted me with her wonderful food tomorrow. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYUKWSTJlpG
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TOlxmxwHL
I curled up with my hands wrapped around me, pretending they were hers cradling me and breathing warmth into me. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdEEtY2Yk3G
371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe7KbneMipI
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