Little Stories

''MISSING DOG'' It was the middle of the afternoon. A lazy weekend day. The reeds along the road to town blew gently alongside the Spring breeze. Making sure there was no one to see, I took human form. The form that was pushed upon me. I recall it. It was on an empty country road like this where I had awakened to my powers as a Henge, and where I was brought into town... Yes, it almost seems like a [[distant memory]] at this point. I pat down my skirt, and made sure my ears were hidden away, rotating my beret to make sure there was not a speck of dust. The Sakura flowers were in bloom, with their blossoming fragrance filling the air. I was brought by my Master to celebrate the [[flower viewing]] party the other day, but such a pasttime is not the reason why I'm here. No, I'm in town for a more... personal reason. See, there are these missing dog posters my Master keeps putting up. They've been plastering them all about town. There are a couple of issues with this "altruistic" act that they earnestly believe that they are doing in my favor. The clearest one is just the selfish fact that I don't want to leave their side. Not in the literal sense, of course-- I'm an honorary farmdog at this point and they let me roam free. I do believe that they are woefully unaware that this is usually something that is necessitated for larger dogs rather than a small Pomeranian such as myself, but I do believe my Master isn't one for critical thinking. The extent of this "roaming," that being, walking down to town by myself rather than frolicking amidst the livestock, is probably something that this lease doesn't warrant either, but as the saying goes-- ignorance is bliss. It's not like I can take this form to tell them otherwise, either. No, if that'd happen... I'd just be left to rot, I'm certain. No, rather, I don't want to leave their side in the sense that it is a... convenient position for me to be taken in by them. They leave me to my own devices, and a quiet life like this is a reprieve compared to the city and everything that brought to me. If one of these posters bore fruit and brought me back to the city, well... Perhaps the power that was behest upon me will be something I'll have to exercise for the worse. But I would rather not have it amount to that. Tearing down another poster, I notice that they just can't take a picture for the life of them. They know I'm shy about pictures so they feel the need to try to sneak them. I keep hoping I move in time, but I feel like this is just an innate lack of talent that prevents my visage from shining through. Honestly, I'm doing the townsfolk a favor. It's just a waste of effort to try to make out a "dog" from whatever blur on their century's-old dated phone's poor excuse for picturetaking. "Hey, little miss!" It's a woman's voice. Chirping with vigor and enthusiasm. I turn around. It looks like the local policewoman-- it's hard not to recognize familiar faces amidst the crowd in a town as small and rural as this. "Why're you taking down those missing doggy posters?" "Y'knooow, a very hardworking man has been putting up those posters for quite some time now~" "..." Shit. This is probably the last person I would have wanted to run into. I don't like talking with people her age. Or looking at them, for that matter. To be blunt, I despise them. It takes an intense force of will for me not to revert into something animal and bark at her, but that would definitely not be ideal when I am the one in question on these posters. A very roundabout situation, certainly. With an intense perserverance, I exert the force of will necessary (quite a lot) to unfurrow my brow and wipe the scowl from my face. I wore a smile, powering through this sickness welling in the back of my mind. "Well, miss officer~" "Y'knooow, the doggy on this poster was mine~!" "We found her the other day, and I was just soooo happy to be reunited with her again..." "I just wanted to help the ojiisan who found my doggy, and take all these posters down!" "They're just so nice, after all~" "They took care of her when she ran away, and they've still been taking such good care of her on their farm~" ...Something came over me. "I really wish that the other people in town could see that..." ... "Ahem! So! That's why I'm taking down these posters!" "I wouldn't want them or anyone to be troubled, after all, not after everyone has done so much for me!" I looked up at her with an unfettered, beady gaze. I clasped my hands to my chest, gripping them tightly-- hoping that I could put my form to good use to convince her to look the other way. For some reason, she started crying. The happy kind of tears, and made a big show out of it too. Ugh. "Oooh, your story just..." "It warms my heart...! "I'm so, so, SO happy to hear that you found your little doggy. She just looks like the cutest little thing, doesn't she?" She points to one of the posters I tore down. I shook in fright from her sudden movements and lack of personal space towards me, but again-- I perservered. Looking at the photo she was pointing at, I truly did not know what she was referring to. "Doggy?" More like a pixelated soup... "Y-yeah! "She's just so adorable... I was..." ...For some reason, I was choking up on the words. Knowing the form that I was taking. "I was... I was really worried I wouldn't see her again." "I..." I looked up, and the officer lady was looking at me with concern. With teary eyes. How could you look at me with such kind eyes like this...? Why couldn't it be like this before...?! It made me sick. I quelled my anger, and bit my lip. "...A-anyways, I'll be on my way now...!" "...Thank you for checking in on me!" I tried to wave goodbye, but she stopped me. "Hold on for a minute!" "Say, if you're going around town taking down posters, why don't I give you a hand?" ... Oh my GOD, no. I had to say something-- "W-well, I'm sure you have muuuch better things to do, r-right, miss officer~...?" "Well, it's my duty to help citizens in need! Especially such an upstanding kid like you!" "I can bring you home to your parents after, as well-- I wouldn't want to see you unsupervised!" "...Aha." My smile turns crooked. Like I want to laugh about the absurdity of this situation I have found myself entrenched in. "Yeah, that'd be great." "Just greeeat. Uh-huh." "Right! Then let's get going!" "I remember there being one on every telephone pole on the shopping street!" "...Uuu..." I let out a sigh. I'll need to think of other measures to take these posters down in the future. And to do everything in my power to avoid this woman, especially. It serves me right for being such a selfish dog.

''DISTANT MEMORY'' I ran as far as my legs, as small as they were, could take me. I found myself on a road I didn't recognize. In between each bout and burst of energy I would fall in collapse. I would get up then fall down again. Over, and over. Over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again-- It might have been days that had come to pass. Fatigue, and the curse of a Summer night, alone on a road with no end in sight. From there, there are only brief fragments. The sound of a vehicle engine. It went by me at first, but it stopped. I remember, the pitter patter of rough boots. Rugged hands picked me up off the cold pavement. A fragment. I remember being wrapped in a pair of strong arms, hearing slamming against a door. Yelling. "Please! You have to help me!" "What? What is it?! It's 3AM! Can you be considerate for the neighbors...? Ugh, of course. It's you. I don't have half a damn to give for you." The door was about to be shut, I remember seeing the one who cradled me so gently wedge themselves inbetween. "Sensei, please...!" "I'm not giving you any goddamn handouts again if you're just looking for an excuse to roam around town being a bother--!" "No, please... It's not that. It's not that." "Just leave already, damn it! I'll call the police!" "It's... It's this dog... She's not looking so good, I just..." "I'm a doctor! Not a vet, you're the one working a farm, can't you just--" "I can't. If I could, I would." "..." "She's severely dehydrated. Malnourished." "..." "Look at her, sensei. She doesn't even have the energy to drink. Help me. Help me, please. You're the only one I can turn to. Please. Help me...! Help her...!" "..." It was vague. The sound of crying. It went on for a while. The next thing I knew, I came to. An unfamiliar environment. It was a rustic home. Small, quaint, with a warm, analog fire in an old fireplace. Splayed on the floor was the person who I imagined saved me. They smelled wretched-- there were empty cans of alcohol strewn about. Looking around, I found a well kept foyer. Two bowls were lined next to one another. Water in one, and scraps of meat in the other. I ate slowly, still intensely fatigued. I wasn't used to something that wasn't the taste of dry cereals, but for some reason, what I ate then and there was probably the best thing I had tasted in my entire lifetime-- even if it had only been something short of 6 years. I looked around. In that foyer, a small shrine-- it was kept in pristine condition. There was a portrait. A candle was lit. I looked at the girl in the portrait intently, craning my head. I didn't understand back then. I still don't understand it now, but even then, just looking at it-- it filled me with something intense and sorrowful. It was like my heart was about to beat out of its chest. Something was unfurling. I heard a voice, I felt a warm embrace. I was standing on my own two feet, suddenly. And the shrine was now at my feet. There was a mirror in the foyer. I saw myself in the mirror. I saw you in the mirror. I held out your hand to touch your face, running it down the glass, your little fingers, now mine, moving them with a nimble grace, hoping to feel your warmth again. But it was cold. I fell on my knees, and cried. I'm glad, then, that I was able to turn back into my old form, lest the one who saved me saw me. They held me as I whimpered, shivered, and cried into the night. I wondered if whatever God that shrine belonged to was making a mockery of me.

''FLOWER VIEWING'' Even if humans celebrate flower viewing as a sort of... revered, transient occasion, I can't say that I care much for it. For one, well... My species of animal leaves me inherently a bit more sensitive to the smell. It's more of a bitter, biting scent rather than the "sweet gardenia" or "fruity blossom" I overheard one of the folks speaking of at the picnic. It almost feels as if I have to stifle my own breathing just to be able to stay in this space at all. Second, I was never one for a big crowd. I will admit that is the exact reason why I feel more at peace in this countryside town as opposed to the city, but sometimes a crowd is just unavoidable for an event like this. Most pertinent, the sight of these flowers, so unfettered, so beautiful, it makes me feel ill. Like with each passing second of watching them, stones drop into the pit of my stomach. I think of the past. The time I've been brought to this same ritual, elsewhere. The more that I allow myself to cling to these memories, the more I hear whispers in the dark. So for now, I furl up by my Master's lap as they sat and enjoyed a cup of sake. They gazed at the sakura flowers, and offered me treats-- my favorite dried jerky-- periodically. It quelled my anxieties for now. A dog of my size or breed isn't one you'd often see in a town like this, I imagine-- what, with children from the town coming up to me. My Master welcomed it, as did I-- playing with the children was something brought me great joy. It did seem like the people of the town, particularly the adults, still look down upon my Master. I hear their whispers. Some of the children that come up to me are held back by their mothers. Despite this, when I look to my Master's face, they smile, still. But I imagine that's only because they're used to it. It used to be something that my Master took to heart. I would know-- they would often use me as an excuse to vent about their day to day. I admire that they can stay smiling, despite it all. I wonder what you see in those flowers? How can you look at them with such a dignified look in your face? Maybe if I came here out of my own volition with my friends one day, I'll see the same thing that you do. I started sneezing, though. That ended up cueing you to pick me up and leave. The children weren't too happy about it, but I think we both got what we came here for.