I never called him out on it. We had a silent understanding, and I’d just show up for dinner, afraid that the tiny spark of hope in his eyes would be snuffed out if I said “no.”
e of his treasured honey–flavored beer.
One day, feeling good, Arthur and I shared some of
His face flushed a deep red, and his eyes were glistening with a hint of tears.
“They all forced me to eat meat, but I was scared. I couldn’t, and I didn’t want to.
“But they laughed at me, called me a freak, said I wasn’t worthy of being a bear, and chased me out.”
I listened silently, those words about my short stature and inability to bond with a snake–shifter piecing together like shattered glass, pricking my heart piece by piece.
I gently patted his back, comforting him.
“You’re the only one who said you didn’t see me as any different,
I paused, and he sat up abruptly.
that I wasn’t a freak.”
“Audrey Miller, I can earn money, buy groceries, do laundry, cook, clean–I can do anything.
-Will
you be my good friend?”
He made me giggle. At first, I just thought he was a silly bear, easily flustered, his ears wiggling when excited and drooping when sad, a complete contrast to his bulky appearance.
But I never expected him to refer to human–shifter pairing and bonding as merely “good friends.”
Seeing me laugh, his expression shifted.
“Is there something I’m not good enough at? Tell me, I’ll change.”
I looked at him and slipped off my high heels.
“If I’m also a freak, would you still be willing to be my good friend?”
He paused, seeming
g to not quite understand, but still gently lifted me onto his shoulders.
“I would.”
It was a simple statement, but his head rested closely against my waist, and his fluffy bear ears wiggled back and forth, saying more than a thousand words ever could,
He whispered, “Should I stand up now?”
I smiled and said yes. From his shoulders, I saw a world I’d never seen before.
When I was little, I always wished I could be taller, just a little taller, so i wouldn’t be called a freak, so I could properly bond with a snake.
My eyes stung a bit. I rubbed them, wiping the tears onto the back of my hand.
His bear ears twitched again. Arthur tentatively asked, “Good friend, what are your instructions? Where to next?”
I patted his back and pointed towards my house.
“Next stop, let’s go
Arthur nodded, steadily carrying me towards our destination.
Each steady step he took felt like a gentle stride across my heart, as if he were carefully licking away the tiny scars within me.
So what if I was a freak? If someone understood your quirks, that was enough.
