You were playing by yourself the first time you saw it, right behind your mama’s nestie.
You thought maybe it was a new friend. That maybe it wanted to play with you.
Until it got closer.
Its face was heavily scarred and its jaw didn’t sit right when it breathed, big barrel chest heaving under the weight of its winter coat. Its ears were alert, listening. Its eyes scanned the pretty meadow you and your herd called home, until finally landing on you.
You don’t think it liked being seen, because the monster seemed to swell, and dozens of long pointy spines stood up from its fluff. You’re probably lucky you were too scared to even peep. You did make bad scaredy poopies, though.
“Twig!”
“EEP! You made more scaredy poopies as your mama scolded you for making scaredy poopies.
“Twig sowwy, mummah! See munstah in tree-pwacie…”
You turned to point out the monster, but it was gone. Disappeared without a trace. Naturally.
Your mama looked at you for a very long time, her eyes unfocused and her whole body radiating exhaustion. She didn’t even make sad wawas like she used to.
“Babbeh nee’ tu cwean up bad poopies.”
“Buh mummah, babbeh nu wan num poopies! Why hab tu num poopies?”
Your mummah sighed from the very bottom of her soul, “Babbeh nu hab choicie. Nu wiww be babbeh foweba. Soon, mummah wiww nu hab miwkies nu mowe. Babbeh nee’ tu num big-fwuffy nummies.”
“Why big-fwuffy nummies am poopies? Babbeh see big fwuffies num pwetty nummies an’ gwassies an’ flowahs aww da time.” Your mouth watered as you remembered the smell of the fallen winter apples you watched Smarty bring to his special friend. Neither you nor your mama got a single bite.
Your mummah looked over the mess you made with a conflicted expression you couldn’t quite place, but you counted two more of her ribs than you could yesterday. Eventually, her stomach won out and she stood, defeated.
“Mummah wiww cwean babbeh’s poopies. Aftew aww, 'ou nu am big fwuffy yet.”
You thanked your mother profusely and promised to never ever make bad poopies again, but the image of her pained expression was burned into your memory. You didn’t know what it meant, but you knew you never wanted to see your mother make that face ever, ever again.
((I feel kinda bad that the first 2 chapters are so short, but this is just how they came out ig, im thinking the last one will be significantly longer bc im describing a much longer scene))