Agent Fluffy + Other Short Stories

Kyriosity

Cold air blew in through the cracks in the walls of a small cabin in the woods, The man who lives there had neglected going out to town to buy warmer clothes and blankets for winter. He'd do just about anything to avoid people, everyone thought he was a jerk anyway. He twisted and turned in his sleep but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fall back asleep. 

He got out of bed, his long black hair messier than usual, and checked his watch. "Only 4am…." He grumbled. He got up and threw a lavender turtleneck sweater and deep purple plaid trench coat over his pajamas. Not bothering to brush his hair, he went outside and breathed in the cool dry air and walked into the woods. It started out like a normal walk with the man admiring the little squirrels getting ready for hibernation and birds beginning to migrate. Winter was always a sad time for him as a wildlife enthusiast, there were always less animals around in winter. 

He walked and walked, not realizing that he had never gone this far in before. He traveled farther until the trees seemed to call out his name in a mysterious and eerie tone “kkyyy…” He stopped in his tracks and looked around in a state of panic. “Who's there?!” he yelled into the cold, empty forest. “Come closer ky…” they responded. He hesitantly stepped forward, feeling compelled by the voices to continue. He walked further into the forest for what felt like many hours until he suddenly tripped over something hard and shiny. “Ow…” he groaned while picking himself up off the dirty forest floor. He brushed the dirt off his pants and glanced at the object he tripped on. 

The way it shimmered and sparkled caught his eye instantly, and he felt as if it was calling for him, begging for him to pick it up, to fulfill his dreams of being loved by the world… the whole forest beckoned him towards it, he bent down slowly and picked up the glowing item. It felt warm and comfortable in his palm, he didn't know why but he never wanted to let go of it. The tree's voices disappeared once he was in possession of the mysterious thing. He stopped staring at it for a moment to look at his surroundings. The trees looked like any other, normal ol trees but they felt...different somehow. It was hard for Sky to put into words but the forest had an eerie feeling to it, the sky in this patch of the woods seemed otherworldly.

    As he walked home he tried to make sense of what happened but he didn't understand it one bit, but the forest had wanted him to pick up the shiny orange...rock? He still wasn't sure what it was. The voices told him it would help him fulfill his dreams, was that why it brought him there? Ky found himself thinking ‘good thing I don't have any friends, because they'd think i'm crazy!’ he stopped walking for a moment and looked at the shining stone in his hand and then back at the forest. ‘Maybe i am crazy…’ nonetheless, he continued walking home eager to examine his new prized possession. 

The door of Kys cabin creaked as he pulled it open, the room was lit by natural sunlight but was still quite cold. He stepped inside making sure to lock the door behind him and grabbed a small pillow and placed it on his desk. He gently laid the object on it and looked at it very closely. It had a kind of spiral shape and it looked oddly dried out despite its glimmer. For a moment, Ky thought about how glorious the object would be if he rehydrated it into its former glory. He walked over to his fridge and grabbed a bottled water and small glass bowl. He sat the bowl next to the pillow and filled it with cold water and plopped the small object in. 

Within minutes of Ky watching the shimmering item sink to the bottom of the bowl, it didn't get any shinier but instead it started wiggling and moving, it almost seemed alive! The dark haired man watched it closely as the spiral started to unfurl itself in the water. Suddenly a small face popped out of the water and looked Ky in the eyes. It appears the spiral was not an object, but some sort of undiscovered creature! It looked like a cross between a reptile and a canine but had smooth shiny skin that almost looked like jello, 2 thick pointed spikes on its head that resembled ears, small round black eyes and a jagged mouth. It was the same stunning orange color as the hard spiral it previously was. Baffled, Ky poked its forehead with his finger, it was squishy and unstable like gelatin. 

It was at this point that he noticed the creatures lack of front legs. He leaned forward to get a closer look and the creature blinked at him and grew 2 front legs, just like that. “Incredible!” he exclaimed. Ky had never been so excited in his entire life! Being a wildlife expert Ky thought that perhaps the creature was part starfish but no starfish lived in his area. Maybe it was a shapeshifter? That could explain the critters odd appearance…. But he'd looked into it before shapeshifting animals is scientifically impossible but then again, so were sentient forests. 

“I think I will call you...jello.” he told the creature. The creature “jello” made some odd gurgles in return and Ky brought out his notebook, ready to study this peculiar life form and figure out where it came from and why the forest wanted him to have it.