Bodyguard Bear

TALA - SAFETY

The train jolted to a stop at the station in Toronto. Tala disembarked hidden amongst the crowd of other travellers still careful not to brush up against anyone. She made her way out of the station hidden among the throng of passengers and those meeting them and to the bus stop across the street. She was happily surprised how easy it was to remain anonymous here in the city with no one spontaneously introducing themselves or asking personal questions.

Her bus pulled up to the stop and she hopped on finding herself a seat near the back and hoped Penny would be at her apartment. She could not allow herself to relax here as she had done on the train and instead gazed out the window and watched the city pass beside her. The taller buildings of downtown giving way to smaller house and shops set on top of each other and areas that would have felt suburban if the houses and buildings were not clearly built so close together a person could barely pass between them. She shuddered at the scenery passing and her fox whined plaintively in her mind longing for the forests and open spaces she had once called home even if they were no longer safe. Tala seeing her stop approaching pulled the cord to signal the driver to stop. The bus slowed to a stop and she disembarked, alone this time and headed down the street towards Penny’s apartment with her bag slung over her shoulder.

The street was almost picturesque. The houses had trees in the yard casting a pleasant shade over the postage stamp front yards and street. The houses were greys, whites, and browns and she looked curiously at them as she passed by, checking the house numbers to make sure she did not pass by the one Penny’s apartment was in. Halfway along she saw a house startlingly out of place, it was a pale shade of blue with navy trim work. The blue was a pale periwinkle and dusty looking, yet it clearly did not fit in with any of the other houses in the neighborhood. To Tala it was not so surprising that this was the house she had been looking for as she could see it would match Penny’s personality and ability to stand out amongst a crowd. She slipped over to the navy side door, the entrance to Penny’s apartment and rang the bell. To Tala’s relief the door swung right open.

“TALA!” shrieked Penny, “Oh my god girl what are you doing here? I am so happy to see you! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? Are you alright? How long are you staying?”

Tala had covered her ears at Penny’s initial shriek now looked seriously at her friend. “Can we talk inside?”

“Of course! How silly of me to leaving you standing on the porch like this. Come on in, the place isn’t too big, but I have a pull-out couch in the living room, and you can put your things in my room through that door on the right. Good now why don’t you sit down in the living room and I will make us some tea and you can tell me why you are here.” Penny kept up a constant stream of happy chatter while she dragged Tala into her apartment.

Tala looked around her friend’s apartment curiously. The most shocking part of the apartment was the colour the entire main area was painted a vibrant sunshine yellow. Though the colour distracted the eye from it, it was not a large space, only taking up one half of the house’s downstairs floorplan and none of the upstairs. The door opened into an open room with a couch and tv set up in front of you as you walked in and a small kitchen and dining area on the left-hand side. The dining room table set up under the large window on the front wall and kitchen running along the wall towards the door. There was a wall on the right with two doors, one was ajar, and Tala could see a glimpse of turquoise tile and a white sink, leaving her to think the other door led to Penny’s bedroom. As Tala looked closer, she could see stylized bears throughout most of the apartment as decoration, cast iron bear coat hooks, bears on the oven mitts and even two bears as salt and pepper shakers on the table.

Tala could not help but to start to smile, Penny’s personality clearly shone through every aspect of her apartment. Penny always talked more than enough for two people and knew how to put her at ease. Tala sat on the couch while Penny made the tea and decided to give her friend the basic details. “I am running away from my Pack. I came here first to figure out where I am going to next and how to get there…” imparted Tala “…and how not to be followed or caught” added on a breath in barely a whisper. Tala saw her friend regarding her taking in the dark circles under her eyes she had tried to cover up, the slump of her shoulders, and the yawn she was now trying to stifle.

“Why don’t you go lay down on my bed for awhile and get some rest. You must be tired after travelling here.” Penny suggested. “I have the day off and won’t be going anywhere”.

With a quick glance around and a small smile at her friend’s perceptiveness Tala agreed. “That sounds really nice I will do that.” Tala walked over into Penny’s bedroom; which was surprisingly restful given the rest of the apartment, grey in colour with a queen-sized bed strewn with pillows and covered in purple sheets; and curled up on top of the blankets. Her fox settled being surrounded by the scent of the bear it had always associated with friend and safety and it took but a moment for Tala to start dropping off into slumber. As she did, she thought she heard Penny talking “… she needs help… I don’t know…you will or else…”