hey carried me for a long time.
The alley was gone.
The bright places were gone too.
Everything around was tall, dark.
Wind blew through cracks and made strange sounds.
I didn’t know where this place was.
It wasn’t the alley,
and it wasn’t like the bright places outside either.
Then—they put me down.
I curled up in a dark corner right away.
There was no smell of garbage here.
No sound of rats.
No flickering lights.
Everything was clean.
Quiet.
The floor was soft.
It didn’t hurt my hands or feet.
The big and bright ones started doing strange things.
They took out things—hot, soft, not smelly.
I stared at them.
These things weren’t black.
Weren’t tough.
Weren’t furry.
They didn’t even move.
But they put them in their mouths,
bite by bite, and ate them.
The big one took a bite,
then held it out to me.
I stepped back.
Too bright.
Too clean.
Nothing like what I’d ever eaten.
I was afraid.
I didn’t know what it was.
I’d never seen food like this.
The big one took another bite,
then offered it again.
I looked at him.
Then at the thing in his hand.
He didn’t die.
He was still alive.
He ate it—and didn’t die.
…Can I eat it?
I moved closer, carefully,
and took a bite.
It was soft.
Warm.
No need to tear it apart.
No rotting taste.
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There was a flavor I’d never tasted before.
It slid quickly down into my belly.
And then—my body lit up.
Hungry.
So hungry… It hurts.
So hungry, till I couldn’t stop myself—
I lunged forward, grabbed the food with my hands,
shoved it into my mouth,
bit fast, swallowed hard.
Almost bit my fingers too.
But I ate too fast.
My throat got stuck.
It hurt.
I coughed.
Still—I wanted more.
The man placed a bowl in front of me.
There was warm water inside.
He scooped some with his hand,
put it in his mouth,
then offered it to me.
I stared at the bowl.
Hesitated.
Then reached out,
cupped it,
and drank.
Warm.
Not cold.
Not dirty.
No strange taste.
Just warm.
All the way from my mouth down to my belly.
I drank more.
Ate more.
Until my stomach stopped hurting.
Until my hands stopped shaking.
But—my stomach felt weird.
—
Later, they gave me a soft thing—big.
I didn’t know what it was.
They told me to sit on it.
I was scared.
If I lay on it, I wouldn’t be able to see anything.
Darkness was safer.
Hiding was safer.
So I crawled under the soft thing.
There were shadows there.
I couldn’t be seen.
Wouldn’t be found.
It was hard, dark—like the alley.
But—the big one lay outside.
He didn’t leave.
Didn’t force me to come out.
Didn’t make a sound.
He just lay there,
with the soft thing between us.
I could see his shadow.
He didn’t disappear.
Didn’t get closer.
Didn’t go away.
I kept my eyes open,
watched his shadow,
until my eyelids got heavy.
And then—I knew nothing.
—
Then they did something else—something strange.
The bright one brought a huge bucket of water.
More than what’s on the ground.
More than what falls from the sky.
More than I’d ever seen.
She told me to go in.
Water.
So much water.
I could drink it.
I jumped forward,
wanted to drink—
But the bright one held me back,
pushed me into the water.
I struggled.
I was scared.
I didn’t know what she wanted to do.
But she just held me,
rubbed my skin,
kept pouring water on me.
Water got into my eyes,
my ears,
my nose,
my mouth—
everywhere.
I choked,
tried to break free.
But the bright one didn’t let go.
Then—
the rat smell on me disappeared.
She washed it all off—
all the smells on me.
The warm water stung my skin a bit.
But not like hunger.
Still—she wouldn’t let me drink it.
She made me wash with it.
No rat smell.
It felt strange.
I didn’t understand.
Isn’t water meant for drinking?
