I awoke the next morning to a pleasent smell floating up from the kitchen below. Quickly I jumped out of bed and headed down the stars, my mouth watering at the scent. I slipped into the kitchen to see Carrie dealing with a few strips of bacon as some toast browned nicely in the oven. I walked up quietly behind her. She turned and prompltey dumped a handfull of dishes into my arms and pointed me towards the table.

"Set up the table there, that's a good dear, and when your done please wash your hands. I have a few things I need you to do for me as I get supper ready."

I laughed quietly to myself. I had not even been here a full twenty-four hours and all ready she was treating me like a mother would. "Yes mom." I said quietly under my breath so she wouldn't here and went to work on the table. I was done soon afterwards and began to look for the bathroom where I could wash my hands. It was a small house, Carrie had, so it was easy for me to find my way around. As I stepped back out, drying my hands off with a towel, a felt a furry little body rub up against my legs and glanced down. "Oh how sweet..." I bent to pick up the little black kitten at my feet.

"I see you have met Pagan.." Carrie came walking into the room, a plate of bacon in her hands. "That little ball of fluff appeared much like you did." She laughed. "Out of all the houses in the neighbor hood and she had to chose mine..." She snatched up a bite of bacon and held it out for the kitten that sniffed it greedily. "Now then," she said, plopping the bit of bacon in the cats mouth and I set her down on the floor. "Now then," she repeated, "make yourself a good girl and help me get these out on the table." I made my way back into the kitchen to get the bread.

I had a good supper that day, best I had had for as long as I could remember. The nightmare that had been a few nights ago was leaving me as I got used to Carrie and this new home. It was such a friendly place that it took me no time to get used to it, and by evening that day Carrie had quickly adopted me as the newest member in the house. She had already been running around buisly finding things for me to do.

"Take this," she shoved a sack of coins in my hands, "hand head off to the shop near here. I need you to pick up a few things. First, I need some eggs and bread, also a little milk, some butter, honey.. oh dear, is taht too much for you now? There is some more too.. perhaps I should write this down.. " She scurried off the get a peice of paper. I looked down at the money in my hands for a moment until she came walking back in with a piece of paper and a small pencil, scribbling a few things onto it.

"I added a few more things here, and just incase you cant get the milk I was hoping for I added on another type you can get instead of it. Now, make sure the eggs are brown and not white because the brown is better for you and the honey needs to be of this certain kind only, or else its too sweet and washes out the taste in the bread. Be back before dark." She called out that last part as I vanished out of the door. I appeared again after a moment with a sheepish look on my face and asked quietly, "Which way to the shop?"

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After about fifteen minutes of walking the streets and trying to read Carrie's scribbled map, I finally made my way to the shop and walked inside. The manillo at the counter glanced up casually as I entered. I picked my way through the shelves while trying ot find the things on the list. I brought them to the counter to let the clerk ring up the price and handed him the bag of coins. He counted out the change and gave the bag back to me. I turned to head out the door, brushing past a young Windian gaurd. He turned and glanced at me for a moment before heading up to the counter and began metioned something to the clerk. I left before I could hear their conversation.

I headed home, lugging with me a handfull of grociery bags and doing my best not to stumble over anything as I made my way to my new home. Carrie greeted me cheerfully at the door and I could smell the soup she had begun cooking for dinner, from the kitchen. I helped her put away the food and she patted me on the head thankfully like a mother would do to a young girl of about seven. I didn't mind, it felt nice to be helpful. Carrie sent me off to the table to be ready for dinner and I headed out of the kitchen, stopping to pet Pagan lightly on the head.

Dinner that night was as wonderfull as the breakfast I had had that morning, and as I slipped into my new bed, I began to think about Carrie and my new home here in Windia. I had begun to fit in so well already. Maybe, for the first time, things were going to be okay. I turned off the lamp by my bed and pulled the covers up around me, whispering a small and hardly audioble "Thank you," to the darkness around me. For once it was going to be okay...

e-mail author, talonr@hotmail.com