#2

It was either the best decision or the worst decision she had ever made, taking up with a stray. Oh she knew him from around the island, he was always friendly, nice teeth if that meant anything. But allowing him into her life was a split second decision she hoped she wouldn't regret.

That first night he spent hours bathing her, brushing the knots out of her coat, untying the strings that those rotten juveniles had tied to her. Not that she was vain but she would not have gone back to sleep outside after that for an entire souvlaki. Ok, well maybe for and entire one she would have, but not just for a bite. But he cleared some space in that cluttered room and gave her some old T-shirts to lie on and she slept indoors for the first time. It would have been the best night of her life except that her stomach started rumbling before the sun was even up. She was used to scavenging at night to fill her belly and now her belly was telling her to find food but she was trapped inside. She got up to see if she could find something that would allow her eat enough to get back to sleep.

There were more smells in that cluttered room than behind the fish restaurants down by the bay. She carefully dug through piles of clothes that smelled of endless nights, empty cans, empty bottles, empty boxes and so many things she couldn't identify. She finally found one stale crust to chew on and then she continued to chew through the paper plate it had been sitting on, her stomach still rumbled. In front of her she saw a tube and in her hunger decided it was worth tasting. Ugh the awful acrid taste, it filled her mouth immediately. She thrust her tongue forward over and over trying to get rid of it but she couldn't get it out of her mouth. She needed water and she ran frantically around the room trying to find some, finally she found it in the small room off to the side. She drank and drank and drank until that foul taste left her mouth.

In the morning he found her sleeping there beside the toilet. He looked so worried and he ran around almost as frantically as she had after she had bitten that tube. Finally he found the tube and walked over to her, laid his hand on her head and said, "red paint". He then brought her big bowl of water and some food although she had no idea where he had managed to find food when she couldn't. He washed her again and when he was done he made a big deal about throwing away almost everything in the room. She cowered in the corner wondering what would happen next. He turned to her and said, "Come Jackie, let's see if we can get some real painting done today".