My Special Muffin

by Neutralbrony

Fresh Start

Grey. Every different shade of grey fills my hometown, for this is the northwest and it is tradition that one should find himself walking in the rain to work when he cannot even afford his own vehicle mode of transportation. Since living in this wet town for all my life, my inner ego has always acted in a state of saturated liquid, and I find myself to rather enjoy the wet rain drops hitting my head. Even though I have a favorite hat to wear, I occasionally welcome them to rest with ease on my scalp. With my bag on my back, I begin the drizzly walk home.

Walks to and from the bus stop are always so peaceful and always in balance whenever there is an absence of sunlight on the creek path I take every morning. Sometimes the moonlight is polite enough to stay up still dawn and guide the path for me on my way to work. As I walk up down the creek trail, I can see the carbon leaving my lungs and collects to the additional fog that surrounds me. With every litter of breath I take, the same amount is given back to Mother Nature’s humid moisture atmosphere as I walk up the path.

It is not the cold itself that I love, but rather its character. Autumn and winter have less and less people walking around in the streets since most do not walk in the mildly uncomfortable cold. This affect produces a gifted and beautiful sound that many do not recognize. It is the sound of absence; the feeling you get when there are no birds chirping or cars driving on a nearby road makes it so silent and that it gets "too" quiet. A sound without a note or key that makes you feel as if you are the only person in existence.

We must be cautious however, as this affect can act as a wolf in sheep's clothing. For someone like me, the silence is a gift and allows me to have all my thoughts to myself, something that is needed occasionally when I am by myself; walking to the bus stop. To some people, this can make you feel isolated, cut off, alone and even depressed. Even worse is when you are cold, alone, hungry and scared. I think a lot about many people and pets who are without a home of comfort, like my cat Obleo. She passed away recently.

When we first met at the local animal shelter, she almost immediately snuggled into my lap and looked like she didn't want me to leave. I was told that she was left alone in an old rusted cage near the lake during a rainy day, without comprehension to me why someone would be so cruel to this sweet kitten. It even pained me more to imagine how many other animals suffered the same fate.

Burying her white fur into my legs, she convinced me that she'd always be by my side, to always be so adaptive at greeting me every single morning as I would rise from the cotton fields of my bed. A belly rub at any given time was more than enough to satisfy her needs. When it came years later that she needed surgery or risk a moderately painful death, I could not afford the coverage.

As much as I’d like to have another pet, it still feels too soon to have happen. Obleo was a constant reminder that no matter how harsh the day was, she would always just pop under my arm and nuzzle away my troubles.

By the time I reached my front door, I let the sensation of room temperature air hit my ears and drop my bag next to the door. Sliding off my boots allowed my hardened feet to touch the soft carpet as I would usually wait 10 seconds for Obleo to come running up to my ankle and greet me, but old habits like this are still hard to break.

I tried to not take it so hard on the day when I had to put her down, but I think it’s taken more of a toll on me than I’ve realized up until now. That comforting sensation of having a companion at the front door when I you arrive home eagerly waiting for you to arrive every 24 hour interval. Yes, that is what I will probably miss most of all. With a sense of urgency, I hurried to change into my cold weather running gear before the rain would stop.

I plop my butt on the couch and slip both running shoes on before tying them. Looking to my right, I expect her to be there, but again, like always, just ended up fooling myself. I am smart enough to know that she really is gone and that nothing I can do will bring her back. They say that ignorant people think highly of themselves while intelligent people tend to sell themselves short of their own capabilities. As far as intelligence goes, any smart person should have something to keep themselves happy.

I had the weekend ahead of me and always wanted to start it off with a good soaking run in the rain with the clouds would provide for me. The soaking always felt so magnificent and there was always enough light in the day to let me explore the old muffin bakery that had just burned down. On my own spare time I like to adventure around the neighborhood. I do it preferably with friends, but wanted to tackle this one on my own.

An article online I read reported a "spontaneous combustion of fire" that broke out in the front of the store and caused almost half of it to burn. Since the owner could not claim proper insurance coverage, it was immediately sold as a fix'er-up'er. It was deemed an accident but no one is truly sure about how it happened.

With keys in my pocket and a black thermal watch cap on my head, I closed the wooden door and jogged down the lowly elevated concrete steps and proceeded west, where a small pocket of the sunset could still be seen. The bakery was on my route as I would circle back east on another road further ahead.

Author's Note:

This is just your typical scene setting. I like to not just jump right into things and sort of have a brief background of our anon here before proceeding

Comments

[ZAKARI]

The part with the cat got me. As a cat owner, I love my little buddy with all my heart and soul.

And I can sympathize with the character. I cannot even begin to understand how or why people can be so cruel to animals.

[TerminalViscosity]

Espesially mine. She's missing her hind leg.

[Farista Sairuv]

This is interesting