~MILK~
~A Cottonfluff Story~
~By Oculus~
It is morning.
you usually go to the park for breakfast
the park is located not too far from the Hasbio headquarters, and thus, has a few of their genetic oddities
said oddities populate the park but, are neutered, or are usually incapable of reproduction in the normal way
you see children collecting cottonfluffies
cottonfluffies grow on the bushes
each cottonfluffy is a neutered “seed” of a cotton plant
due to genetic wizardry, cottonfluffies can be grown from these specialized cotton bushes, and are responsive semi-animals
they are similar in concept to Hasbio’s other attempts at working on the biotoy line, those being the garden fluffies
indeed, some garden fluffies can be seen growing potatoes and similar foodstuffs around what could be construed as “pubic areas”
the children collect the newborn cottonfluffies in their hand and then, in a quick gesture, blow them
and watch them fly in the air
“Wheeeeeee…”
the cottonfluffies enjoy this activity
due to their limited intelligence, they’re not aware that this act will lead to their demise, as they will often land in water, be eaten by a herbivore, or get trampled upon by someone else
you’re seated down, and are having breakfast at the moment
you see some of the cottonfluffies fly into the care where you are
a few land in the path of a waiter
“Huwwo! Nyu-”
The waiter’s foot squashes down on the cottonfluffies, silencing their tiny lives
they leave behind a tiny bit of blood and entrails, much to the waiters chagrin
“Damn cottonfluffies…”
the water goes out to the front and yells at the children to run off
You just finished your breakfast of pancakes and coffee, when you see a tiny little cottonfluffy land on your table
it looks at you, with its big eyes, as it innocently asks
“Huwwo? Nyu daddeh?”
usually you would just walk away. Or squash the thing like a little bug
but you remember something that your dad said to you the day before
“Have you ever tried taking care of a cottonfluffy?”
“No, why should I?”
“Try it.”
~8am~
you’re a little surprised by their ability to speak English, having been ‘born’ not too recently
each cottonfluffy is able to speak a few English lines not too long after birth, the most noticeable ones being ‘nyu daddeh’ or ‘nyu mummah’
these were the only lines that were programmed - any new words had to be taught by the owner to the cottonfluffy.
well, if they had new owners
15 minutes later, you’ve reached home
you’re new fluffy is mostly babbling, aside from saying usual fluffy lines like “wuv 'ou, daddeh!” and
“Babbeh ned miwkies!”
Huh, so these cotton fluffies do need milk
you go to get a saucer, and a milk carton
gingerly, you pour a little white puddle in the centre of the saucer
“Miwkies!”
the fluffy gorges on the liquid
being a babbeh, it can’t walk yet, so you leave it to lick up the little puddle of milk as you leave the saucer on the kitchen counter
You got a report to finish. It is, after all, Saturday. You already had a headstart on Monday, but you’re one to finish your work
you’re writing your report. So far, so good…
PING! PANG!
it came from the kitchen, that unmistakable sonoriety of knives and forks spilling about. You also swear one plate fell to the floor
you rush into the kitchen
you see your tiny little fluffy, now a bit grown up, wrecking havoc around the kitchen counter, as it screams in frustration
“Daddeh?!! Daddeh?!!”
he then sees you and screams in relief
“Daddeh!”
Sighing, you clean up the mess. You then place the fluffy in a jar
~
you’re back at the study table, with your cottonfluffy-in-a-jar. So far, he seems behaved
“Daddeh, babbeh wan miwkies again."
you sigh, and go back to the kitchen
~9am~
you’ve returned to the room, with a fresh saucer of milk
you now notice that your cottonfluffy is walking on its four little legs
as a babbeh, it was just a ball of fluff, but now, you can see the definite features of a Hasbio fluffy, but at a miniature size
it resembles a microfluffy, but with natural cotton fibres as its “fur”
“Huwwo daddeh! Can haz miwkies?”
you smile, as you gingerly pick the cottonfluffy up and place him on the saucer
you try to think of a name for him, as he laps up the milk
that’s it!
“Your name is Milk now!”
he looks at you, puzzled
“Fwuffy name am Miwkies?"
“Thats right, Milk!”
he tries his best to say his name
“Fwuffy name am M-Miwky.
Fwuffy name am Miwk!”
~
Milk is sitting in his little jar, as you keep writing your report on your computer. At the same time, you write out some ideas you have on a piece of paper
without thinking, you place your pencil in Milk’s jar
Milk, having a bit of an appetite, tries to eat the pencil
“No milk! You can’t eat that!”
as you take the pencil away from the jar, Milk asks you
“Dat nu am nummie?”
“No Milk, it is not a nummie.”
Milk points out at the paper you’re writing on
“Dat am nummie?”
“No, that is paper.”
“Papew…”
he then points at the computer
“That’s not a nummie either, that is a computer.”
“Fwuffy nu understahn. Wut a ‘computew’?”
you sigh
you decide to google about fluffies and their owners, and also learning about the words owners teach them, as well as basic concepts
for a good hour, you spend your time trying to teach your cottonfluffy various things around the room, such as ‘baww’, ‘pway’, what can be nummed, and
“Fwuffy nee’ make poopies!”
… how to use a litterbox
which, in this case, is a tiny matchbox with some sand in it from the garden
“Fwuffy make good poopies for daddeh.”
you really want to do your report. You really do
but looking after Milk is far more interesting
~10am~
you’re still teaching Milk various things
but there’s something noticeable about Milk now
“Miwk wan nummies… nu wan miwkies…”
so he can eat solid food now. Which means kibble
but you don’t really have kibble - your house never had a pet before
you then have a brainwave
~
“Can I have a cup of kibble please?”
“Huh? What for?”
your neighbour has a puzzled expression
“I have a cottonfluffy, and I need to feed it.”
“Ah, I see. Then all you will really need is a small cup.”
She provides you with a small cup of kibble
“Thanks ma’am!”
just as you depart, she gives some advice
“Take good care of your cottonfluffy. They’re very precious!”
“I’ll try!”
you scoff at the idea little. They’re so fragile, but you’re only looking after this one for the fun of it
~
“DUMMEH DADDEH!”
upon returning, you notice that your cottonfluffy is a bit bigger now
you have food ready for it, but he seems to be rejecting your kibble
“Nu wan kibbow! Wan sketti! Gib skettis NAO!”
he then puffs up his cheeks, slamming his little cottonfluff hoof on the ground
“No. You be a good fluffy and eat your kibble!”
“NU WAN KIBBOW! SKETTIES! NAO!”
aside from the fact that your house doesn’t have spaghetti, you don’t really want to punish a little thing that could die from the slightest tap
you, instead, opt to cover the lid with a gauze
“DUMMEH DADDEH! GIB SKETTIES OR GET SOWWY HUWTIES!”
you put the jar aside, its muffled screams of little concern to you
you try to focus on your report for the rest of the hour
~11am~
You’re making headway into your report
so far so good. You’re about 3/4s done!
maybe you should take a peek at Milk, see what that little shit is up to
“D-daddeh…”
oh fuck!
Milk looks malnourished! His body is much thinner than expected
you quickly open the jar
using a pair of tweezers, you carefully carry Milk out
“I’m so sorry Milk!”
you keep apologizing
“It otay daddeh. Can fwuffy hav kibbow?”
you want to give him kibble, but, in his state, food has to be introduced to him slowly
you rush and get a saucer of water
“Wawa… mu’ dwink wawa.”
you were right, he does drink water
you slowly feed him kibble, his body slowly getting used to the food and water after being absent from it for so long
“Thanks daddeh.”
he then looks at you with eyes, a little more mature than the ones he had an hour ago
“Fwuffy am sowwy, daddeh. Am a bad fwuff.”
“Its alright, Milk. Besides, you’re a cottonfluffy. You’re too small to eat spaghetti, and your body wouldn’t be able to appreciate it.”
“Miwk am sowwy. Miwk wiww wisten tu daddeh and be guud fwuff for daddeh.”
You didn’t intend to punish your cottonfluffy, but, looks like ignoring it did work
you look at the computer
you’re so close to finishing up the report
“The next thing you should teach your cottonfluffy is how to play blocks, as well as jigsaw puzzles…”
you can always finish the report tomorrow.
~Noon~
the video mentions getting your fluffy to play with building block or jigsaw puzzles
it also recommends slowly working the cotton fluffy up until it can manage lego pieces
“Of course, fluffy legs and fluff can get jammed on tiny lego bricks, so you got to supervise them and make sure they play safely!”
you’re not sure if you want to work your way up to legos just yet
you currently have a 300 piece jigsaw puzzle of two anime girls
you bought it at an anime convention a few years back but you never opened it
deciding to keep your fluffy occupied, you lay it on the ground
Milk studies the image on the cover.
he then picks up a piece and compares it to the cover
you yourself try to look for pieces with a straight side, indicating an edge, putting them together until they form a perimeter
as you do this, Milk keeps searching for pieces that connect to the side
within 20 minutes, your fluffy and you are halfway through the puzzle
“Bwockie go dis way, daddeh!”
as Milk keeps instructing you, you follow along.
You never touched the puzzle before, as you felt that doing a puzzle with so many pieces would take too much time
but, true enough, you managed to beat it
“Fwat bwokie game done! Wets twy anudda!”
Right, another game…
you don’t really have blocks other than,
Jenga!
you’re not going to play a ‘proper’ game of Jenga, lest the wooden skyscraper falls on Milk and squashes him like a bug
instead, you put two of the blocks together. then, using a small triangular prism that you have as a paper weight, you place it on top of the two wooden blocks
“There we go, a housie!”
Milk is not impressed
“Bowing!”
he sticks out his tongue
“Fwuffy wan biww big bwockie! Like on boxxie!”
he wants to build the full jenga tower, oh dear
you got to distract him
you then remember the lego pirate ship, one of many sets you owned
there was one you never got to finish due to school
“Hey fluffy, how about we try building this instead?”
~1pm~
its been a while since you last built a lego ship
but Milk is eager, so you want to help him out
“Owies daddeh! Fwuffy floof am stuck!”
maybe a little too eager
“Alright Milk. I got a simple job for you.
Read the instructions there, and help me find the pieces.”
“Otay daddeh!”
unlike normal fluffies, cottonfluffies can’t read
but they can understand pictures
and the lego instruction booklet gave clear instructions, using images, on how to put together a lego ship
Milk is fastidious
“Dis bwockie! Daddeh, wook! Bockie go dis way!”
he helps you find the pieces you often lose track of
and within an hour, you manage to finish the ship
~2pm~
“Huwway! Big boat!”
Indeed, the pieces is finished. but it needs something
and then, you had a brainwave
using paper, a black marker, and liquid paper to make the skull and crossbones, you fashion a tiny pirates cap for your little admiral
“Yarr! Fwuffy am piwate!”
you spend about an hour playing pirates and musketeers with Milk
you then have a devious idea
you get a basin of water
“D-Daddeh? Fwuffy nu wike wawa…”
you place the ship, with Milk on it, on the water’s surface, letting it float
“Daddeh, fwuffy am scawed. Nu wike wawa…”
With a little flick of your finger, you send Milk to Davy Jone’s locker!
“Aaaaah!”
And Milk is floating on the water
little bits of brown feces can be seen coming from his rear, a sign that, in his fear, he had literally shat himself
“Unlike normal fluffies, and due to their light weight, cottonfluffies are surprisingly buoyant, and thus, will not drown!”
As you remember the video, you laugh, as Milk gets a little angry
“Daddeh am meanie! Make Miwk poopie in wawa!”
You were mean. But at least you know that Miwk can have fun by himself for the next hour.
~3pm~
“Yarrr! Fwuffy am piwate! Saiw da sewen seas!”
you place a little barrel of kibble in your admiral’s ship
you then take your cue to go for lunch
~
“You’re eating rather late. We all finished before you.”
“Sorry about that mom. I was looking after a cottonfluffy.”
“Oh.”
your mother looks at you. Its not a look of disappointment, but there is a tinge of sadness to it
“Don’t get too attached, okay?”
“Why mom? Its a pet, like any other. Its just like having a fluffy.”
“No son. A normal fluffy is a proper pet. Cottonfluffies are something else. Take care of it, but don’t get too attached.”
“Whatever.”
~
You return the room
Milk is lying in the water. He is not moving.
“MILK!”
You rush to the basin. You use your fingers to carry Milk
he hasn’t drowned, thank god. And he’s not weak either
“Daddeh.”
his behaviour is not as hyperactive as it was earlier in the day. His voice sounds a bit deeper. His cutlass is at the bottom of the basin
“Fwuffy am tiwed. Nu wike dis gaem nu moar.”
you remember what your mother said. And, you’re starting to get a sense of the situation
“I understand Milk.”
after drying him off, you decide to do something simpler with Milk
perhaps two episodes of your favourite cartoon would suffice.
~4pm~
You just finished an episode of your favourite show
since your house doesn’t have FluffTV, you decided to go for your own cartoon, based on the premise that a fluffy can enjoy a human cartoon without much difficulty
“Fwuffy wuv kartun!”
even if Milk doesn’t understand the intricacies of the plot, the visuals and action are enough to keep him entertained
“Yee! Gib munstahs sowwy huwties”
the first episode ended on a cliffhanger. The hero was in the midst of fending off an invading army which was attacking a land he was visiting. In the cliffhanger, he was caught by a surprise attack
“Nuuu!”
Milk is really getting into the story
so its now Part 2
at one point of the story, the villain manages to infiltrate the palace, and mortally wound one of two guardian creatures within the palace
“Nuu! Nu huwt fwuffy!”
enraged, the hero merges with the other guardian creature, to become a super massive equine spirit
“Yee! Gu supah fwuff! Kiww munstahs and gib foeba sweepies!”
as expected, the villain is defeated, and the army retreats
but there is the fact that the one of the guardian creatures is dying
The princess of the land, whom the hero had develop a relationship with over the course of the two episodes, decides to give her life for one of the two creatures
the kingdom is saved, but at a loss. And the hero continues his quest, broken-hearted
~
“Miwk am sad, daddeh.”
“That’s how it goes, Milk. The princess dies, and the hero goes on another adventure.”
“Bu’ speshul fwen! An’ Pwincess need not foreba sweepy…”
feeling a little inspired, you then suggest something
“What if the princess didn’t die? What if the two seafluffies in the pool were always safe? What if the princess lived and went with the hero on his adventure, as his special friend?”
“Ooh! Me wike! And den, mebbe, guud hewwo give huwties tu… tu… piwates!”
looks like that previous play session rubbed off on him
“Okay, so the princess and hero go to fight some pirates…”
~5pm~
as the two of you bounce ideas off each other, the story starts to involve a whirlpool, followed by a big scawy munstah (a dwagon)
you use two spare lego pieces to represent the hero and his princess, his special friend
Milk however, is not interested in playing with the lego pieces
he wants to keep telling his story
after a while, you decided to type it out
the story becomes a little convoluted, but increasingly interesting
it turns out that the princess had a love affair! with another man!
“Special fwen am bad fwuffy!”
“She’s not a fluffy, Milk.”
“Daddeh knu wut fwuff say.”
to keep track of the story, you keep typing it out
you have saved and closed your report, and opened up a new word document
as you beat your fingers at the keys, your story starts to take shape, and becomes a wild ride between Milk and yourself, as the hero and his princess go on adventure, after adventure
most of the stories involve fighting pirates, though, since it is one of only two villain types your fluffy knows
but it is fun. And with a little tweaking, you can see the makings of a good story in there
as the hour ends, you’re a little astounded. You have reached about 2000 words, albeit with some corrections.
“An’ Hewo and speshul fwend wiv happee in castwe!”
“The End.”
“What ‘end’ mean?”
“That means the story is over. There’s nothing after that.”
“Bu’ hewo nu foreba sweepies.”
“Yes, but the hero is with his special friend. And there was nothing else.”
“Bu’ Daddeh, hewo stiww nu die. No forevba sweepies. Can stiww pway an’ ha’ mo’ fun!”
seems to be the concept of “happily ever after” is foreign to Milk
but then again, he does have a point. No story ever truly ends until a character actually dies
“Alright, so one day, a new pirate force comes in. But this, it wasn’t pirates, it was aliens.”
“Ayywiens?”
“Big scawy space munstahs!”
and you show him a picture of some random aliens from science fiction
“Scawy! Gib sowwy huwties!”
~6pm~
Your version of the hero and his princess has gone on some really wild adventures
they have fought aliens, demons, even more pirates, astronauts, knights, Rambo, mummies, robots and so on
finally, the hero is, based on a rough estimation, really old. At about 120 years old
after many adventures, he and the princess have had 4 children, of which they had their own grandchildren
but even the hero himself was getting tired
in their castle, in the empire they had built, the hero, now a king, and the princess, now a queen, lie on their bed. Way advanced in their years, and no longer able to adventure
but they have family, and they are happy
and then, one day, the hero and the princess die on their bed, with their family by their side
“An’ hewo forevba sweepie.”
“The End.”
“Fwuffy am tiwed.”
you’re starting to notice that your cottonfluffy has stopped growing. Milk is as large as he can possible be
his reactions are a lot slower. He can still move about, but at a much slower pace. And, from the looks of it, he is less interested about games and stories now.
you have managed to finish the rough outline of a big story with Milk, but he lacks the enthusiasm that he did about two hours ago
you’re wondering whats going on. and its getting to be dinner time soon
you place Milk back in his jar. Maybe its about time your family meets Milk
~7pm~
“He’s getting old.”
the dinner table is a round affair, and you are seated opposite of your parents
“What do you mean, old?”
“Cottonfluffies only live for less than day. Sometimes a full day, if you’re lucky.”
while this is going on, your cotton fluffy is eating some kibble
his tiny mouth chews on the morsel of kibble blissfully
with the humans outside of his little glasshouse speaking only in inaudible mumbles, he has no idea or understanding of the current conversation
“What time was he born?”
“Well, I was at the cafe at about 8pm, thats when some children ‘harvested’ the cottonfluffies, then blew them into the air.”
“I see. That means he would be about 60 years old now, in human years.”
your mouth is agape in a mixture of confusion, horror and surprise, as your father continues
“Cottonfluffies age at about 6 human years an hour. He would have been a newborn in the morning, and a teenager around about noon.”
well, that explains the ‘smarty’ phase he had at the time
“Now he should be way past his prime.”
the realization hits you like a brick
“But that means…”
“Yes son. Cottonfluffies act like fluffies, but their lives are a lot more brief. Its why most people just squash them. At most, they are used as educational aids, as a means for people to learn how to take care and raise an intelligent being for only one day.”
“But that means-”
neither of your parents are crying. Rather, they are resigned to a fact they had known before, as your mother speaks first
"I took care of a conttonfluffy once, when I was your age. I thought it was like having a microfluffy for free. I had the most fun I could have with it for a whole day
But I learnt that it aged faster than any other animal known to man. And within a day, my little Diamond died."
in your frustration you stare at your father
“Why did you do this to me? Why did tell me to look after one?”
“I thought it’d be a learning experience. I myself looked after a few cottonfluffies back in the day. Their lives are brief and short, and many people tend to not have too much attachment to them.”
“But Milk is something special! I did so many things with Milk in the past few hours!”
“I’m aware son. That is why you had a late lunch.”
you start to feel pensive. You’re not sure what to say. You can think of only one question, as you ask your father
“What should I do with him for the rest of the day?”
your father sighs, as he gives the advice he can draw on, from a similar experience he had as a young man
“Spend some time with your little Milk. I’d say go for a walk. Go to the town area and see the night lights.”
~A Night on the town~
the sun is starting to set as you get dressed
switching from your home clothes to your outdoor clothes, Milk keeps watching you, trying to understand what he is seeing
to him, his cotton “fur” will be the only body he ever knows, the cotton protecting his body, and the goods within
as you carry the Milk jar, Milk looks at you rather innocently
though his body is mostly fluff, you can see the light in his eyes getting dimmer, the cotton getting more and more mellow, and his movements, much slower
“Where am daddeh goin’?”
“We’re going to the town, Milk.”
“Town? What dat?”
“Its a place with many lights.”
you walk all the way to the bus station, carrying your Milk jar
some people gawk at you, wondering why a man is holding a cottonfluff in his little jar
you pay them no mind
the bus arrives
“Scree! METAW MUNSTAH!”
“No Milk, its not a monster. It’s a bus!”
“B-Bus?”
the two of you are aboard the bus now
while on the bus, you sing a song from your childhood
as you hum and teach it to Milk, he too learns to sing it
"Da wheew on da bus go wound and wound
wound and wound
wound and wound
da wheew on da bus go wound and wound
Aww thru da town"
within moments, your bus leaves the residential area, and starts to enter the commercial sector
or, as some would call it, 'Downtown"
and, as customary with any city in the world with an active night life, the lights go up
as the bus goes through the city, with its skyscrapers, shopping malls and other facilities, Milk gapes in awe at the sights
the jar he is in shields him from hearing the noise of the bus, as well as the music and noise of the crowd in the area, but the lights overwhelm him
like an eternal child discovering a city for the first time, the sight of the town sparks his imagination, making him feel like he had stepped into a world of a fairytale
you’re not planning to make a long trip. You already have an idea of where you want to go, and what you want to show Milk, before you head home.
~
“Can I have this please? With this.”
The cashier raises an eyebrow
“Sure.”
the mall you are in has a ferris wheel, which, at its peak, gives a good overview of the commercial area
Having bought your goods, you decided to go up the ferris wheel
Milk looks at it.
“Big wheew munstah…”
He’s a lot older now, and the thought of going up such a large round thing, scares him
you whisper to him
“It’s not a munstah, its a ride.”
“A wide?”
you pay the ticket. The line is not very long
within moments, you are aboard the ferris wheel
as the seat you are in ascends, your fluffy starts to feel a little giddy looks down
“Fwuff haz scawy poopies….”
“Milk, look at me.”
you ask Milk to look at you
a he does so, he stops defecating in his litterbox, and starts to calm down
at the peak of the elevation, you then whisper to Milk
“Look, Milk.”
Milk turns around, and sees the town in its magnitude
to any human, it would just be atypical bustling town in any successful country, on any continent
but to Milk, a fwuffy who has only known the boundaries of your house, and the tales you have seen, this to him is the epitome of human civilization, a glimpse into the creator species that made his kind
“Pwitty……”
the two of you look around, and notice a couple in an adjacent pod behind you
the two of them nuzzle each other, as they enjoy the sights
eventually, they connect their lips to each other
and kiss
“Speshul fwends…”
you think back about the hero and princess
you fear that Milk may start to get lonely
after all, cottonfluffs are social creatures, even though they don’t reproduce
“It otay daddeh. Miwk am not awone. Miwk hav daddeh.
Miwk’s bestest fwend.”
once the ride ends, you proceed to leave the mall
and get back on the bus
Milk can be heard singing that song again
"Da wheew on da bus go wound and wound
wound and wound"
however, his singing is even fainter than it was on the earlier bus trip
you wonder if you have enough time left
~10pm~
The two of you have reached home
Milk can hardly hear you
he looks a lot more frail, and a lot more tired
every time he tries to walk on his little legs, he ends up falling
Judiciously, you pick Milk up from his jar with a pair of his tweezers, and place him on a saucer
“Daddeh, am fwuff home?”
he doesn’t seem to be aware of his surroundings
“Yes, we are.”
“Fwuff am happy. Fwuff see-pwaces not werry guud."
his vision is weakening. it must be a sign of his advance age
“Milk, I have a surprise for you.”
“Suwpwise?”
You bring out a surprise
A small cupcake
with a candle on it.
something you bought from the bakery earlier. The cashier was surprised you would ask for a birthday candle to go with a cupcake
“Happy Birthday, Milk!”
Milk fails to understand
"Wat am "berfday’, daddeh?
“It’s the day you were born, which is today.”
“Oooh! Fwuffy wike berfday!”
you cut out a small piece of the cupcake for Milk to eat, then soak it with milk
Milk proceeds to chew the morsel
he is happy and enthusiastic, but even the morsel proves too much for his tired gums
“Fwuffy wuv cupcake”
as he slowly eats his morsel, you stroke Milks tiny, cotton-covered body, as you give your blessing
“Happy birthday, Milk.”
~the Eleventh Hour~
Milk is breathing heavily
his body is getting colder
he can no longer walk now
“Daddeh, Miwk su tiwed.”
you place Milk on a pillow
you then play some music
you not sure what to do
“Daddeh.”
“Yes, Milk?”
“Fwuffy am scawed. Miwk feew cowd.
Bu’ Miwk nu wan foreba sweepies. Miwk nu wan die.”
you’re not sure how to console him, or what to tell him
you’ve never been with a dying animal before
let alone one that talks
you have been to funerals, and you have seen cottonfluffies die
but you had raised this cotttonfluffy for most of its mortal life
and now it is at death’s door
“Do you remember the story of the hero and the princess?”
Miwk tries his best to answer, each breath more difficult than the last
“Fwuff ‘memba. Hewo an’ speshu fwend foreba sweepie.”
“Yes. But there is a place after foreba sweepies. A place of a bigger adventure. Forever sleep is a path we all, mummahs, daddehs, hummehs, speshul fwends, fluffies, all must take.”
“Bu’ where do fwuff go afta foreba sweepies?”
“You may go to meet the hero and the princess. You may get to meet the Greatest Daddeh. Or you may have a new adventure. But you will go somewhere. And you will always be Milk, the Milk I know and love.”
Milk looks at you, the fear on his face gone, replaced with one of peace
"Fwuffy nu scawedy nu moar.
Daddeh?"
“Yes Miwk?”
“Be a guud daddeh. Fwuffy wuv 'ou.”
And Milk closes his eyes, his mind drifting to sleep, his breath weaker
~Midnight~
And Milk was no more.
~Epilogue~
ever since that day, you frequent that cafe less often
the thought of raising another cottonfluffy is too heartbreaking for you
nor can you bring yourself to squash another cottonfluffy
you look back at the story that Milk and you worked on
it was childish. there were plot holes. and a lot idiosyncrasies
but it had charm
over time, you worked on that story
and you started pursuing a career in writing
and then, one day, you finally published your fantasy novel
the start of a successful series
which had its genesis, in a fairytale Milk wanted to see continue
And in your garden, there is a cotton shrub
After Milk died, you planted his body in the pot, and everyday, you watered it, and let it grow
and to this day, it is still alive
and produces the finest cotton
(though it doesn’t produce cottonfluffs)
but for as long as it lives, you keep it, as you remember the day you, met, raised, and watched over Milk.
~The End~
Cover art by Red
