One Night Amongst the Stars

 “Have you eaten this mornin’?” I asked, hoping that breakfast would give us a chance to talk more.

“ No.”

“You hungry?”  She nodded.  “All right.  Well, come back with me, and I’ll get you some food.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem,” I replied.

***

I followed the human.  We walked through the woods on a pathway while his dog followed us, sniffing the ground we just walked on.  I was somewhat afraid that the dog would hurt me, but he must trust his master.

This human seemed really nice, nothing at all like what I’d seen.  They were all angry and controlling beings, but Blake was nice.  It was quite refreshing to meet another human, one who wasn’t trying to kill me.

Rocks bruised the bottom of my bare feet.  I would have to find something like Blake was wearing on his.  Maybe that would help. 

The air smelled fragrant.  I wondered what that intoxicating scent was.  I had never smelled anything like it before.

“What is that smell?”

“Hmm?” he asked stopping and turning around to face me.

“I smell an unusual scent.  What is it?”

He sniffed the air and said, “Oh, that’s honeysuckles.”  He laughed.

“Honeysuckles?” 

“You’ve never heard of honeysuckles before?”

“No.”

“Come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“Just follow me.”

He turned to the right and walked off of the path.  At first, I didn’t know what to think of this human.  Maybe he wasn’t as honest and kind as I first thought.  What if he was directing me off of the path to kill me?  My heartbeat accelerated, and I shouldn’t have been scared.  He seemed like a harmless human, and I had been trained.  I knew how to handle myself against assailants.  In the end, I followed him. 

It wasn’t long before we stopped in front of a plant.  It was about waist high, had green leaves with some white and yellow blossoms.  They weren’t quite flowers, but they kind of looked like them.

“Pick one,” he said.

I picked one like he did.  He pinched the end off of his and pulled out what looked like the center of it.  He licked it.  I was confused but imitated him.  I licked the middle of it, and it was sweet.  It wasn’t much, but there was enough to taste what caused the fragrance in the air.  It was amazing.  I laughed and so did he. 

***

“I hope this is all right,” I said, spreading the old quilt my great-grandma made over the bed. 

“This is fine,” she answered.  A smile spread across her face.  She ran her hands across the double wedding ring pattern on the quilt my grandma received on her wedding day.   

“This is beautiful,” she said.

“Thank you.  It’s been in the family for a while.”

She looked sad, and I wanted to say something but was at a loss for comforting words. 

“Well, the bathroom’s right down the hall.  I’ll work on gettin’ you somethin’ to eat.”

She smiled and said, “Thank you.”