Furry Friend

In the early morning, a small brown fluffy, three-eyed creature opened its mouth for a deep yawn. It had millions of tiny razor-sharp teeth that covered the inside of its mouth. Its little light brown colored hooved legs were climbing tirelessly to Scarlet’s bedroom window, panting rapidly. While it climbed, its slender ears flopped around back and forth. The intense breathing eventually ceased and turned into excited jumps, tapping on her window. 

Every tap on the window, it let out a “Woo, woo.”

Scarlet was a heavy sleeper, still lost in her dream. She dreamt that she could see Rose. Rose was floating in her room, and she had two long braids in her hair. She was wearing a school uniform sweater with a long skirt, all gray in color except for the blue ribbon tied under her shirt collar.

“Rose?” Scarlet asked with a bewildered look on her face.

Rose’s eyes were distant, a reflection of sadness. She held Scarlet’s face with her two cold hands tenderly.

“Return home…..go home,” She said repeatedly with a weariness in her voice. Rose drifted backwards into the darkness.

“Wait, don’t go!”

Scarlet ran toward Rose, but her feet were stiff, and she could not run any further.

“Beware of those close to you.” Rose’s voice echoed.

Before Scarlet could say anything else, the darkness consumed her line of sight, and two rapid slashes cut through the air. Two big Xs gushed out in overflowing blood. It dripped all over her hands and face. The blood tasted salty on her dry lips.

She suddenly woke up with a cold sweat on her forehead. She covered her hands over her head, slightly relieved, realizing it was just a dream.

Why was I dreaming of Rose? Why is she telling me to leave?

She thought it was strange she was dreaming about Rose. Her train of thought was interrupted by a tap-tap-tap. Her eyes slowly wandered to the window. She saw a happy fluff ball panting with its small tongue sticking out. Droplets of saliva scattered as its tongue flickered.

“Aww where did you come from?” She gently tapped the window glass with her finger. 

The fluffy creature jumped up in an enthusiastic manner. She started to lift the window upwards to let it in. There was a tiny opening, and the creature snuck in quickly. Its behind was stuck for a little bit, but with a stronger forward push, it was able to get inside the room.

She took precautions when she saw the teeth it bore. She never had a pet before, so she was not exactly sure what to do. She stood silently watching it crawl around her bedroom floor. Since it was behaving and proved itself to be harmless, she became more comfortable around it. It nudged her hand over its soft head, and she gave it a little pat. The creature enjoyed the pats and whimpered for more. She then noticed the collar around its neck. There was a name on the tag, My boy, Pim.

“Ah, so your name is Pim!”

“Woo, woo!” Pim nodded his head cheerfully while lying on his back showing his fluffy belly.

“I’m not sure why you came to me though.” She muttered to herself.

“Scarlet, Scarlet... can you hear me?”

She was startled when she heard Theo’s voice.

“Theo, are you here?” She asked confused.

“Look at Pim, I’m talking to you through him. I placed a spell on him before I sent him to your place. This spell can only last for a short while. This is probably how we can communicate until I can find some time to breakaway without anyone knowing.”

Scarlet was pleased that she could talk to Theo again even if it was through a creature.

Her facial expression sparked curiosity.

“I’m glad I can talk to you like this. I was wondering if you knew someone named Rose?”

Theo paused, “She used to be a good friend of mine. Right now, I want you to focus on other things.” Scarlet found it strange, he wanted to switch topics abruptly.

He continued, “At noon, the Memory Bank will open and Pim will lead you to that building. When the bank teller calls you over, tell him you have a private appointment in Vault#3. He should let you in.”

Scarlet nodded but felt uneasy about what she would be doing.
“I will make sure, I will be there by noon.”

“Great! Hope you like Pim. He’s a very good boy! He is also almost always hungry! He will be your bodyguard for the time being. He’s very protective of his owner and can be a handful to anyone who is aggressive towards you.”

Scarlet glanced over at Pim.

He doesn’t look too dangerous.

Scarlet smiled knowing that Theo still thought of her and cared for her well-being. Her eyes started to water and her lips were quivering. 

I miss you, Theo.

“Thank you, Theo. I hope I can see you soon.” Scarlet said, tearfully.

“You will Scarlet, okay bye for now.”

A sudden thud and clatter from the kitchen distracted her from her inner thoughts. Interested, she investigated where the sound was coming from. As she walked closer toward the room, she could hear Grandmother Mimi scolding her oven and tools.

"No, no, I told you to go slower." Grandmother Mimi was telling her kitchen mixer to hook the dough at a slower speed.

The knives were cutting the vegetables on their own. The kettle was hissing at the Grandmother. The oven was happily baking some of the bread. Ding Ding The timer went off.

Grandmother Mimi saw Scarlet in the corner of her eye.

"Young girl! She waved, Come have a seat.”

Scarlet was startled by her excitement.

She sheepishly sat down on the hard wooden chair; it made a creaking sound when she laid on the backrest. She tried to adjust herself to lessen the noise.

Grandmother Mimi brought over a freshly made warm breakfast sandwich on a plate for Scarlet. When she turned around, Pim, with his little fluffy legs, jumped up and opened his mouth wide to swallow the food at once. Afterward, he leaped down on the floor with all his fours.

Grandmother Mimi turned around and stared at Scarlet’s empty plate.

"Oh my, you are starving today." She chuckled. "I'll get you another."

Scarlet just smiled and whispered to Pim.
"This one's mine silly." 

Once Grandmother Mimi placed another sandwich on her plate. She quickly shoved it in her mouth. Pim pouted.

She pushed her chair in and muffled with food in her mouth, "I'll…..chews… be off for a while."

"Where are you headed?" Grandmother asked.

"I'll be at the Memory Bank."

Pim led the way through the hustling bustling city. He stopped in front of the stone-bricked building with the words Memory Bank. Oddly enough, the words that she found foreign in the beginning were easy to read now.

When she peered through the front window, she could see tiny green skinned goblins with long pointy ears. Spectacles were resting on their long noses. They were very ambitious for their daily task of the day. Some were climbing on the ladders to lay books on the shelves and others were busy filing stuff away. The biggest goblin was at the center desk.

She was amazed by the sheer number of goblins.

Here goes nothing.