Ashley Dan Meggy

There's still water after the rain. Reflecting the light from the streetlights around. Even so, these pools also pollute anyone who accidentally steps on them. It's getting colder and colder in the skin, which is why it rarely sees anyone wandering around. And, small streets away from the hustle and busts of the big city provide strategic crime.

Ashley's mother became the first most opposed to the boy's home when she found out where the chips were to be. I wonder how often I've forced Ashley to stay at Helena's. Of course, it was vehemently opposed by Ashley. Living with his older sister is like entering the lion's den.

That's also why Ashley couldn't get extra pocket money to pay the rent. He had to work, and the only place allowed was the sister's Cafe.

No matter his choice, he still ends up easy on the lioness.

Cpak... Cpak...

A splash of water could be heard whenever his foot accidentally stepped into the puddle. It's dark here, just illuminated by the faint light from the street lamp. Somewhere too unworthy even to be used with the visible nodes open and the flickering light as if it were only a matter of time before to die.

The uphill road put Ashley on his feet despite his desperate hurry. He struggled to keep his balance from slipping. Actually, Ashley wasn't avoiding the supernatural. He had no fear even as a child, though he had seen it with his own eyes or of being the target of a robbery. Ashley had already reached his black belt when he was in his second-level junior high — But there is the most important thing, more than two options above.

Two more turns, right at the turn and left at the fork. There was a pretty big building house, but it was a little old with some old green moss adorning part of the outer wall, and little cracks were running from down to up. The house has three floors of two rooms per floor. There was a large garbage can on the side of the house, now looking as if they were piled up and some fell out. Ashley picked up some plastic trash and old bottles to throw in the recycle bin before separating them from the regular plastic to the plastic.

The tall young man looked up, and from outside, he could see the Windows darkening as the rest of the residents were asleep. Except for one window on the left, it turns on itself and opens. Ashley suddenly closed his eyes, and without a second thought, it swooped in.

BRAK!

Ashley gestured, running up reflex slammed the front door. He grinned when he heard a loud bang behind him. If this is to be confirmed by tomorrow, there will be a letter of remembrance tucked away in the doorway, or he will be directly reprimanded by another resident.

It was too late, so there was nothing Ashley could do but run up the stairs until he got to the second floor, where his room was. Ashley's chest is pounding harder, with the sound of an apparent breeze and breath contrasting with the silence here.

He put his hand in the front pants pocket, pulling out a stainless iron key with a hook-faced turnip character —the gift from his uncle, a farmer— turned the lock bar until a 'Ctak' of his key sign was opened. Ashley turns the doorknob and comes in really excited.

"Meggy! ASHLEY blurted out —he really got reprimanded tomorrow —right after taking off his shoes.

"Meggy!" The footsteps of the young man's sloppy body, no matter how many times he had kicked the objects around him, from a small trash can to the foot of the table. The last one hurt so much that Ashley had to stop walking and stroke his little toe. "Meggy.." but he still doesn't despair to call out that name.

"Meoooww~~"

"Meggy..."

Ashley's sad face immediately turned as he saw a four-legged black feathered creature walking toward him. The name Meggy is inscribed on a red necklace around the female cat's neck. Animal instincts worked on meeting their owners, and she grated at the tall man's feet, occasionally nibbling at the tips of her trousers.

"I'm so sorry I came home so late you must be starving," says ASHLEY, rubbing the cat's face and neck.

"Meooow~"

Ashley chuckled when he got Maggy reply, feeling proud of himself for being able to communicate with an animal. Although the sound may have been a coincidence, no human being can communicate with animals until now.

Ashley walks down to a small shelf where he keeps some food. Meggy follows with her swaying tail and back, assuming she knows she's about to get a ration of food. Then Ashley crouched down and opened the drawer at the bottom, grabbing a plastic package with a come-eyed cat on the bag.

"Meeooow~ Meeooww~"

Meggy's voice gets louder as Ashley unsticks the tape from the plastic wrap. He heard the sound of a rustling, along with the contents of an orange container, where the black cat ate.

"I'll add more, as an apology for late feeding you~" The young man's big hand caressed the soft hairs on the cat's body.

Talking to animals like this has become Ashley's custom since childhood. Any animal, from the sound to the speechless, like the fish. Once, he spent a night talking with a blue guppy he named 'Tiger' —which is still the debate over why a fish is called a tiger— so that he can tell when a tiger sleeps. But Ashley fell asleep first. The point is the young man with large stature is very attached to animals. Even insects. Ashley wasn't particularly fond of the leggy little things with that hideous face.

Meggy's the one he brought back from home. That's why he needs help finding a place in this big city. Not a few places on rent forbid strict maintenance of animals.

It was a funny little story —but it's pretty fluid— that Ashley had when he had just got here.

With a darker build and darker complexion, ASHLEY was thought to be the maintenance man who owned the building a few moments ago. And ended up with his helping to fix the broken refrigerator, luckily because Ashley was quite reliable in this kind of mechanical matter. Then shortly after he had managed to repair the fridge, a call came in that said the repair services could not send the maintenance man because of a staff shortage.

With the help Ashley provided —also an apology— the landlord finally let Ashley rent one of the rooms here, even though he had a pet.