FOUR
“It’s all relative"
Sussy had him sitting in a hat she'd found on her desk, while she fixed up an old shoe box as a quick area for him.
She lined it with sawdust, and made sure there were holes in the top so he wouldn't suffocate.
"There you are, little fella." Sussy placed him in the box. He slid out of the hat and sat in the middle of the box shivering.
"Poor little guy." She placed the box on her desk and looked in the drawers. She finally found a snack bar and broke off a piece for him. Then she put some water in a small dish in the box.
"Sussy, did you finish filing that paperwork for that showcase?" her boss called from the other room.
"Yes ma'am." Sussy picked up the files and hurried into the other room.
Matt sat there shivering. He thought back. He'd been walking down a dried river, then suddenly the river flooded and he woke up in the hands of a giant monster. He hugged his knees to his chest.
"o...k" He shivered and spoke out loud to himself. "I don't think this thing is going to eat me. It gave me water, and at least it didn't set me on fire." Matt stood up slowly and walked over to the water. It looked clean. He took a few sips and didn't realise how thirsty he was until he finished the whole thing.
Then he noticed the chunk of snack bar she'd left for him. It smelled salty, but it didn't look like an appetising colour. Matt nibbled at it, but decided he wasn't hungry enough for that yet. What water he didn't drink he used to splash on his face and gave himself a bird bath. Then he curled up in a ball in the corner and started to cry again
"Oh look! He drank all his water." Sussy said checking on her new pet.
"Wow, where did you get a lost soul?" Bertha asked.
"I just found him by the river on my lunch break." Sussy covered the box so that the soul could have some peace and quiet. As cute as she thought it was, it probably needs to adjust to being here.
"He looks kind of heavy. I think he's a new arrival." Bertha sat down across from Sussy. Sussy sat at her desk typing something and making notations in a calendar. "That's rare."
"I know." Sussy looked excited. "He's so solid, you can't even see through him like the lost souls in the river."
"Do you know how to take care of one of those things?" Bertha looked over at the closed box. "They can be pretty high maintenance, and they don't thrive well in our environment."
"I'll take him to a specialist tomorrow, tonight I'll do some of my own research on how to care for a lost soul." Sussy remembered seeing a few how to videos and blogs for a while now. Maybe it had all been a sign she was meant to find this little guy. She peeked on him in the box, he looked cute when he was asleep. all curled up in the corner. Making cute little whimpering noises.
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