Anonymous - She!

"Then I was there untying you," I added for her, petting her hair.

"Yes. I heard your voice and you told me to leave and get my clothes and I did."

"Yes, honey. You did it just right."

"And the lion went after the rest of them. I heard them screaming and crashing into things and running. When I opened my eyes, you weren't there. I just got my clothes and climbed out the window. That's how the police knew I was there. I cut myself and they said they matched the blood type."

"Uh huh," I said softly near her ear.

"And then I watched the back door. The… " She shivered hard next to me, breathing very hard, and trying to catch her breath. "Scorpion. The leader!" She spit the words. "He ran out and he looked at me and said he'd get me. He made… gestures. Stuck out his tongue. Rubbed his fingers together.

"And then the door of the house crashed open and the lion was there. He ran and the lion ran after him and caught him in the woods. I could hear him screaming." She put her hands on my side as if she could get me closer to her that way.

"And the horse came and waited for me to get dressed before I could get up and ride away on her. Beautiful, beautiful horse. And she brought me straight home across the fields. Right to the fence."

She burst into silent tears, a torrent that soaked my neck and the side of my face. Her body was racked with her sobs. My eyes stung with my own, still unreleased. I didn't dare let myself go or I'd be in as bad a shape as she was.

I felt her sobs passing.

"Oh, Sue. Do you know what they did to me?"

"No, baby. That's all right. You don't have to talk about that. It's all right now."

"They tied me up. Then Scorpion came in." I clenched my teeth with the rage I felt. "He looked between my legs while he rubbed me and rubbed me and rubbed me and I couldn't keep from coming."

"Oh, honey. I'm so sorry. It wasn't your fault. It really wasn't your choice. You couldn't do anything."

"I know. It made me feel like his plaything. It was awful but it wasn't the worst thing."

"Tell me if it will make you feel better. It's all right."

"There was a girl. She came to me and I asked her to let me go. I thought because she was another girl that she would. But she wouldn't.

"Instead, she made me turn over on my stomach because one of the guys had fucked me. That didn't matter. It didn't even feel good. I didn't care much.

"But she put her tongue in my ass. In my bottom. Right in my hole," she shuddered. I petted her hair as she talked. "And she sucked on it and kept telling me she wanted me to shit for her. That she wanted to eat all of me.

"My stomach… " she said and I could feel her revulsion even now. "How could a girl… get so…"

"How could anyone fall so low?" I said for her.

"Yes." I knew there was something more. Something she wanted me to know. I waited for her to continue if she wanted to.

"I liked it, Sue," she said. "I liked it when she licked me there. And I came again even with all those other people standing there in the room."

"You didn't want to be rescued?" I said then though I knew that wasn't the case.

"God, yes, I wanted rescued. What would have been next? I think the boys were going to do it in my bottom, too."

"Would you have wanted that?"

"I don't know," she said. "Maybe. I don't know. No, not with them. Never!"

"Well, you didn't want them to do it anyway," I said for her. "Maybe someone else will. But someone you want to and that has some control of themselves. Not them."

"No, not them," she said. "You're right."

This time she was quiet against me for so long that I thought she'd fallen asleep. I rather hoped she had. By tomorrow she would be much better.

"Sue? Where did the lion come from?" I didn't know how to answer. I don't lie. This was just one truth I didn't want to tell.

"It's a long story, Minni. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"I'm sure. I need to know I'm not crazy, Sue." I wondered if my story would help her.

"Do you love me, Minni?" I asked. "Do you trust me?" She nestled into my neck, holding me tighter to her.

"I love you more than anything, Sue. I trust you more even than mom and dad." I wasn't sure I wanted to hear that.

"Would you believe me if I told you I'm not quite what I appear to be? Would it make you feel safer, better, or would it make you feel worse?"

"Sue, I've always known there was more to you than you told us. I thought for a while that you were just hiding the things that happened to you in New York before you came here. But I've thought for a long time that there was a lot more.

"You're so much smarter than me. You know things. You can always answer every question." She fell silent. "Are you from space or something?"

"No," I laughed. "No, that couldn't be further from the truth. I'm less an alien than anyone on earth."

"Are you God or something like that then?" I was appalled that anyone could even think that possible until I thought about it for a second. In a way I supposed I fit many of the definitions of God. But there were some notable exceptions from the definitions as well.

"No. I'm not God and I'm nothing like him, I think."

"Were you the lion?" she asked softly. I didn't even feel her body tense at the suggestion. Instead I tensed.

"What gave you that idea?"

"It just seems to fit. I don't know how it could be, but it seems like the most likely thing."

"Would it frighten you if I said I was?" She moved her face away from me a little and I looked at her. Her face showed no fear. Just wonder and the hanging question.

"I don't know how but I think you were." I sighed heavily. How much could she believe? And how much could I tell her? "And you were the beautiful horse, too."

I nodded as I looked into her eyes.

"Can you be anything you want?" That seemed an awfully broad definition of what I did.

"I can be the animals I've lived," I answered.

"You've lived as an animal before?" I nodded again. "Many animals?"

"Yes," I answered soberly.

"Does that mean that you're pretty old or did you just start doing that when you were born?" This could prove difficult.

"Minni, I was born like this the morning I first met you."

"Really? Neat!" she said exuberantly. "What were you before?"

"A tiny microscopic animal."

"Oh yuck!" she said, wrinkling her nose.

"It's just a transitory body. A quick way from one form to another." She had completely forgotten her own problems now and was back to her normal self. I was happy about that even if I wasn't terribly excited about the reason for it.

"What were you before that then?"

"A dog," I said. That seemed to shake her a little. Her smile wavered. I just watched her to see what she'd make of it.

"A dog," she said matter-of-factly. She thought in silence for a long minute. I knew what she was going to say before she said it. "Einstein. Einstein left the morning you got here. You've been with us for two years!" She was smiling and looking over my shoulder in thought. Then her face flushed.

"You licked me, my pussy, when you were a dog." I smiled at her. Then I nodded. "I loved Einstein," she said wistfully. "I really miss him and so do the boys."

"I know. But I can only be one thing at a time and I like being Sue."

"I like you now too," she said and hugged me. Then she thought again. "God, what all have you been? I know a horse and a bug and a lion and a dog. What else?"

"Many things. More than you can imagine."

"An elephant?"

"Once." She grinned from ear to ear.

"What was your favorite?"

"All things are valuable and I gained learning from them all."

"But your favorite."

"Maybe a bird," I said wistfully. I thought about the flying. "Or a whale. I enjoyed that as well." She was awestruck. Her mouth was open in amazement. "Being a girl is one of the best and I've only just started this life."