Never Trust The Alleyway Pet Seller

There are times when you really want a pet, but can't really afford one. Pets are expensive, you know? So, when I saw a little pet seller in an alleyway, I couldn't help but look. You might know the type, shady little man with exotic pets and a little whisper of how hard it is to find, how affordable their wares are, and how you'll never find a similar opportunity. All just talk to entice you to buy.

Well, these were definitely quite exotic. There was an octopus in a jar, spiders jumping around in a display, and even a snake that looked at me with venomous eyes. I swear those eyes could kill. All of those were far beyond my price range, but it didn't cost me anything to look and look I did.

You see, I love seeing the real versions of things I read in books. There is just something magical about meeting the real thing. There was just one thing that seemed off to me. A small little ball that looked at me with pitiful eyes—a little creature that I just could not identify for the life of me.

You might be thinking that I should have avoided the creature as if my life depended on it. My life was changed by this creature and would never be the same. The little crest on its forehead piqued my curiosity; peaked it even. So, I had to ask.

“What is that thing on the head?”

“Oh, that you must never take off. You are interested, yes? I see you are poor, but no worry. I give you a good deal. Fifty for that one and I even include that talisman for free.”

Huh, so the talisman wasn’t actually part of the creature. Fifty for the pet seemed affordable enough. I still had questions though.

“I’ve never taken care of a pet before, what does it eat? How do I need to keep it?”

“It eats anything, so very easy to care for. You can let it roam free or keep it secured. It will return to you so long as you keep the parent talisman. Very important. It never gets sick and will live very long.”

That seemed very convenient. I doubted that it was really that easy to care for, but fifty was cheap and why not? That is honestly what I thought.

“Will you be here tomorrow?”

“Only today, my dear. Today is a special day. A very special day, my dear.”

Indeed, it was a special day. I suppose I could splurge a little and get a little pet to commemorate this day. I had asked all the questions I wanted except for one. If only I had remembered to ask that one critical question, but I didn’t. Well, I doubt he would have given me an honest answer even if I had.

It didn’t take me long to decide and I pulled the money out of my wallet. I had… exactly fifty in my wallet. That was quite the coincidence, wasn’t it? Well, I had the right amount, so I handed it over to the man and received the critter in exchange. I wrapped the adorable thing in my arms and turned to leave.

“Just remember, never take the talisman off…”

I wondered why, but if it was that important, I guess I could do that.

“And happy birthday.”

Cool, that was nice of him to wish me a happy birthday. I even made it out of the alley before it hit me. When did I ever tell him it was my birthday? I turned around, but the man was already gone. I couldn’t even see a trace of the carpet or any of the animals.

I probably should have ditched the pet and ran then, but I didn’t. I just couldn’t let it go. It needed me. Oh, he did mention that I needed to keep the other talisman on me. I suppose I could keep it in a pocket or something for now. Maybe I’d put it on a necklace. I doubted that I’d lose it though.

I hurried back home and by hurried, I mean I practically sprinted back home. I couldn’t tell you why, but I just had this extreme urge to show my pet its new home. Come to think of it, what gender was my pet? I tried to lift it up and look, but I honestly couldn’t tell. Not that I really cared, but I figured it would be important if I ever found a second one.

Imagine an out-of-shape girl just huffing while collapsed at her doorway with a little creature dancing around her. What a silly sight, right? Well, that silly sight was me regretting running halfway across the city and up three flights of stairs. Yes, I lived on the fourth floor and yes my room number was 404, so I had to run halfway across the floor to get my room.

As for my place, it was a small little abode only big enough for a small kitchen, a bathroom, and a living room that doubled as my bedroom, kind of. Even so, it was my home and I loved it. As for doubling as my bedroom, that had been an issue for a long time now given the stacks of books covering the walls.

Given that I was now a proud owner of a mysterious pet, I needed to clean up a little. Especially given the state of my room, I questioned my decision to buy the pet, but what was done was done. I had quite the mess to deal with.

That said, I hadn’t eaten and I figured I might as well make something. The seller said that the little creature would eat anything, so maybe it was okay to make two? I wondered if I should avoid onions and grapes, but I really didn’t know what the creature was, so I needed to make do for now. As for lunch, we had hamburg steak.

With a good meal filling my belly and a bit of rest to clear my mind, it dawned on me that I never did name the creature. Given I didn’t know the gender, I supposed that a more neutral name would work best. I may have never raised a pet before, but I knew that changing a pet’s name would confuse it.

“I wonder what would be a good name. How does Peko sound?”

I swore that, for a moment, the markings on the talisman flashed, but I must have been seeing things. Peko seemed to like the name though, so I lifted it up.

“Okay Peko, my name is Mirai and we’ll be living together for now on.”

I put Peko on down for the time being as I went to tidy up my room, but there must have been a book or something in the way, so I tripped. Crashing into a pile of books left me quite dazed and, while I was reaching for something to help myself up, I grabbed onto something small and pulled it off.

“Huh, isn’t this that talisman? Well, nothing bad seems to have happened—"