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loloteheA writing exercise for me, a little biography, translated from some other language.
My first memories are a cramped and squalid room, which I shared with my mother and sisters. My mother's masters were not wealthy and the home was frequently overrun with visitors, the type that appear when the days start to grow long and leave by first snow. We were poor, but there was always enough to eat and I cannot say we were not looked after.
I first met my mistress when I was very young, just taking my first steps and eating solid food. I do not recall the particulars of that meeting, other than she said my name and placed her hand on my head. “When you are old enough,” she said, “you will come and live with me.” It was she who had introduced my mother and her masters many years ago.
When I did leave my mother and sisters and my mother's masters, my mistress first took me a short ways to a doctor. I had never left home before and suddenly, there were strange people examining me and administering a battery of injections. I cried at the newness of it all and was returned to my home for a few hours to rest.
Later that day, my mistress took me to her home. The journey was long and terrifying and I know I cried the entire time, my mistress repeatedly telling me I would come to no harm and should not be afraid. Even though my mistress had visited me many times while I still lived with my mother, I was not sure I could fully trust her yet. In my mind, she seemed too at ease with the journey; but, looking back on it, it must have been one she undertook many times.
My new home was much larger that where I had been born and I was afraid I would be lonely. I should not have worried about such things—loneliness may have been better! There was another like me: an older boy with a wild look to him.
He hid from me, cursed at me, and—in an unjust and uncalled for show of dominance—struck me. My mistress took him to task and instructed him to reform his behavior towards me in the future, as he would need to call me “sister” and I would call him “brother”. I do not believe that he took these words to heart and so I resolved myself to make him my friend. If this is where I was to live out the rest of my days, then it would be better to live amicably with those around me, rather than spend each morning waiting for the animosity of another.
Besides my mistress, there was her husband and a third gentleman who lived with them. I did not then know the relationship of the third gentleman, nor have I learned it since, but he was kind and my new brother spoke well of him. He did not share rooms with my mistress or her husband, but had his own quarters and ways. The three occasionally took meals together, but he did not seem like the visitors who frequented my mother's home as he actually had duties to perform in the upkeep of the residence. I do recall that he was similar in build to my mistress's husband, but he did not accompany us when the residence moved. It may be he was a younger brother, if not by birth than by the same arrangement by which I gained an older brother. Nature has had no firm rule in my life at any time, but I do not think that green goddess has been allowed to step foot in many a home, from what I have seen.
The last year in our old residence, my mistress traveled abroad for several months, without her husband. It was common for her to leave the home, as it was for the third gentleman, but my mistress's husband rarely ventured far. I thought at first that he had been tasked with maintaining the residence, but saw little evidence to support that theory. Instead, he would sleep or entertain himself in a variety of ways, little of which involved myself or my brother.
The summer of that year, there was another woman who would visit the home, usually while my mistress was absent. These two would spend long hours in the rooms that my mistress shared with her husband, or they would leave the home together, returning shortly before my mistress returned.
Come autumn, my mistress's husband did start to leave the home the same as my mistress and the third gentleman. It was shortly thereafter that the residence was prepared for relocation. My brother and I were locked in a room with our things while a great hullabaloo went on outside the door. It was after much noise and production that we were finally released to an empty home, then bundled up for a long journey to a new home. I feared that we would be placed with a new group of people, but relieved to see it was just my mistress and her husband. The third gentleman did not make the journey with us and I never saw him again. It may be that the old residence was on condition of his cohabitation, or there was a contract that reached its expiration.
By winter of that year, my mistress and her husband had frequent rows and the strange woman appeared more often. The new year brought little change and a chill fell over the house. Shortly thereafter, my mistress left the home less often and, a fortnight later, the husband stopped leaving the house in the usual manner. There was a re-arrangement of furniture and they took to sleeping in separate rooms. In less than a month, my mistress's husband left with the strange woman.
My brother and I could both see our mistress's unease and tried our best to comfort her. She took kindly to these actions and allowed us brief trips to the gardens that surrounded the residence, enjoying the warm sun and green growing things that sat silent in the face of certain turmoil.
A second woman joined the household, bringing with her an individual so singularly unpleasant, I took an immediate dislike to him. He was large and viciously corpulent, preferring to lay on his side to devour his victuals, rather than stand as my brother and I did. There were frequent disputes between him and my brother, the first gaining the upper hand by size alone.
It was at this time that I discovered my small size, speed, and agility were a kind of strength in such disputes, and I was more capable at keeping the bloated individual at bay than my brother, who had often relied on his own size and strength. My brother's disappointment in his own ability led to an illness whereby he lost a great deal of weight and bald patches began to form. I tried to comfort him and assist with his grooming, but to little avail.
The new individual's mistress was similar in appearance and attitude, complaining loudly and frequently and contributing little to the upkeep of the home. She disliked my brother and myself greatly, as we were unwilling to allow ourselves to be bullied and resisted such domination.
It was a dispute between this bloated bully and my mistress that resulted in him being sequestered to his mistress's quarters. He frequently cried behind the locked door, but there were fewer disagreements in the home as a result.
Although, I will recount, there was one sunny afternoon as my brother and I played in the garden, that my mistress allowed the spoiled monster out of his rooms and into the courtyard. I feel little shame—and a disproportionately large amount of pride—that I gave him such a trashing that he never dared to leave those rooms again. See what happens to a bully when he is beaten!
As it turned out, our stay in this home was short-lived, and we prepared to move once more. The woman who had lived with us took her belongings and entourage to some location unknown.
My brother and I were forced on another journey, longer than any we had undertaken before, and to a much larger estate owned by my mistress's parents! They had their own servant, similar in appearance to my brother, but with longer hair and much older, who sighed upon seeing us and had a few choice words with my brother before retiring to his own rooms. My mistress informed us that we would be staying there a short time while she prepared another home, and to be on our best behavior.
My brother, upset at this apparent abandonment, ran to the woods surrounding the estate, and spent several days living as one wild in the undergrowth until hunger drove him back to the house. I am embarrassed to say, he struck my mistress's mother upon the hand one afternoon with such force as to leave a mark. She, being more kindly than most he had encountered, did not strike back, but she allowed a distance between them that shamed him into submission, and he shortly thereafter apologized to her and allowed her to place a hand upon his head. I will say that this experience tempered him greatly and helped to soothe what wild passions he kept inside himself. Since that time, I have not seen him strike out at my mistress or her guests without cause.
As for myself, I greatly enjoyed the time on the estate, running in the woods and climbing trees. Since then, I have had a lifelong love of wild places, far beyond the garden and its warm sun. This was the closest to nature I have ever come in my life, and I welcomed her like an old, forgotten friend. I shall never fail to run on green grass when presented with the opportunity, as she is nourishing and delightful, and we worship her with our unbridled joy.
After a couple months, my mistress returned and took us on a long journey, maybe as long as the one prior, and took us to a new home that overlooked a vast expanse. She often left the windows open for my brother and myself, to see, listen, and smell the delights of what happened around our new home. People came to and fro, often with squealing children in tow, and bustled below us, hurried in their own busy schedules.
With this new home, there was also a new gentleman, but not similar in relationship to my mistress's husband. He reminded me greatly of the third gentleman who had lived with us in our first house, as he had his own quarters and kept mostly to himself. My brother took an immediate liking to him and tried to spend as much time in his company as possible. The gentleman also took a liking to us, gently tousling our heads and making sure we were well fed. I wondered if he were my mistress's brother, but history had taught me to not expect such simple links in this unnatural world.
Sadly, despite the excitement of the hurried populace surrounding us, there was no garden or wild woods in this new home. My mistress was gone for long periods at a time, leaving my brother and I to our own devices. Our boredom manifested itself in great chases and wrestling matches, but we all longed for greater. After two years in our city quarters, we prepared for another move.
Again, the journey was long and terrifying. I do not mind admitting such a thing, as the sights and sounds of such trips unnerve me so. I am not young and so should be used to such events, knowing that they hold no harm at the end, but my own base instincts take hold and demand I should escape such situations. I am the type who prefer to find a place, know it is mine, and be happy with it. Such changes in venue only serve to exhaust me and I do not find them invigorating in the least; on the contrary, they upset my stomach and leave me exhausted.
I must say, I do not understand my mistress or her kind, as they are a strange people with strange desires that force them to uproot frequently, looking for some kind of happiness. They change their clothes and furniture, or their diet shifts with all its accompanying smells. My brother and I, and those like us, know that happiness is more easily found in a patch of sunlight or a satisfyingly soft cushion. A good meal, good company, and a nice bath are better restoratives than any amount of noise or flashing lights could hope to offer.
This new estate—and I will call it that due to the grounds it occupies—where my brother and I now serve, is where we have stayed some seven years. I like to think that there shall be no more moves, after so long a period, and that this is our final home. Please, do not think me morbid as to say “final”, but perhaps I should say “penultimate” instead. My mistress seems most happy in this place, and the gentleman who comes with her is still as kind to us as before. We have no strange visitors and there are no rows to upset us.
The grounds are well-kept, and I enjoy them more often than not, running across the green grass and climbing trees, only to look down on things below me and observe them, unseen. We are close enough to nature here, I feel, as there are windows that overlook the mild bustle outside, without letting in more obnoxious odors and cacophony.
And, most importantly, I feel my mistress is happy here, who has finally found her own place. She is much like us now, satisfied to stretch out in a patch of sunlight and enjoy its warmth. We are well cared for, my brother and I, and have found our place as well, at our mistress's side, curled against her when it is cold out, satisfied and purring.
My first memories are a cramped and squalid room, which I shared with my mother and sisters. My mother's masters were not wealthy and the home was frequently overrun with visitors, the type that appear when the days start to grow long and leave by first snow. We were poor, but there was always enough to eat and I cannot say we were not looked after.
I first met my mistress when I was very young, just taking my first steps and eating solid food. I do not recall the particulars of that meeting, other than she said my name and placed her hand on my head. “When you are old enough,” she said, “you will come and live with me.” It was she who had introduced my mother and her masters many years ago.
When I did leave my mother and sisters and my mother's masters, my mistress first took me a short ways to a doctor. I had never left home before and suddenly, there were strange people examining me and administering a battery of injections. I cried at the newness of it all and was returned to my home for a few hours to rest.
Later that day, my mistress took me to her home. The journey was long and terrifying and I know I cried the entire time, my mistress repeatedly telling me I would come to no harm and should not be afraid. Even though my mistress had visited me many times while I still lived with my mother, I was not sure I could fully trust her yet. In my mind, she seemed too at ease with the journey; but, looking back on it, it must have been one she undertook many times.
My new home was much larger that where I had been born and I was afraid I would be lonely. I should not have worried about such things—loneliness may have been better! There was another like me: an older boy with a wild look to him.
He hid from me, cursed at me, and—in an unjust and uncalled for show of dominance—struck me. My mistress took him to task and instructed him to reform his behavior towards me in the future, as he would need to call me “sister” and I would call him “brother”. I do not believe that he took these words to heart and so I resolved myself to make him my friend. If this is where I was to live out the rest of my days, then it would be better to live amicably with those around me, rather than spend each morning waiting for the animosity of another.
Besides my mistress, there was her husband and a third gentleman who lived with them. I did not then know the relationship of the third gentleman, nor have I learned it since, but he was kind and my new brother spoke well of him. He did not share rooms with my mistress or her husband, but had his own quarters and ways. The three occasionally took meals together, but he did not seem like the visitors who frequented my mother's home as he actually had duties to perform in the upkeep of the residence. I do recall that he was similar in build to my mistress's husband, but he did not accompany us when the residence moved. It may be he was a younger brother, if not by birth than by the same arrangement by which I gained an older brother. Nature has had no firm rule in my life at any time, but I do not think that green goddess has been allowed to step foot in many a home, from what I have seen.
The last year in our old residence, my mistress traveled abroad for several months, without her husband. It was common for her to leave the home, as it was for the third gentleman, but my mistress's husband rarely ventured far. I thought at first that he had been tasked with maintaining the residence, but saw little evidence to support that theory. Instead, he would sleep or entertain himself in a variety of ways, little of which involved myself or my brother.
The summer of that year, there was another woman who would visit the home, usually while my mistress was absent. These two would spend long hours in the rooms that my mistress shared with her husband, or they would leave the home together, returning shortly before my mistress returned.
Come autumn, my mistress's husband did start to leave the home the same as my mistress and the third gentleman. It was shortly thereafter that the residence was prepared for relocation. My brother and I were locked in a room with our things while a great hullabaloo went on outside the door. It was after much noise and production that we were finally released to an empty home, then bundled up for a long journey to a new home. I feared that we would be placed with a new group of people, but relieved to see it was just my mistress and her husband. The third gentleman did not make the journey with us and I never saw him again. It may be that the old residence was on condition of his cohabitation, or there was a contract that reached its expiration.
By winter of that year, my mistress and her husband had frequent rows and the strange woman appeared more often. The new year brought little change and a chill fell over the house. Shortly thereafter, my mistress left the home less often and, a fortnight later, the husband stopped leaving the house in the usual manner. There was a re-arrangement of furniture and they took to sleeping in separate rooms. In less than a month, my mistress's husband left with the strange woman.
My brother and I could both see our mistress's unease and tried our best to comfort her. She took kindly to these actions and allowed us brief trips to the gardens that surrounded the residence, enjoying the warm sun and green growing things that sat silent in the face of certain turmoil.
A second woman joined the household, bringing with her an individual so singularly unpleasant, I took an immediate dislike to him. He was large and viciously corpulent, preferring to lay on his side to devour his victuals, rather than stand as my brother and I did. There were frequent disputes between him and my brother, the first gaining the upper hand by size alone.
It was at this time that I discovered my small size, speed, and agility were a kind of strength in such disputes, and I was more capable at keeping the bloated individual at bay than my brother, who had often relied on his own size and strength. My brother's disappointment in his own ability led to an illness whereby he lost a great deal of weight and bald patches began to form. I tried to comfort him and assist with his grooming, but to little avail.
The new individual's mistress was similar in appearance and attitude, complaining loudly and frequently and contributing little to the upkeep of the home. She disliked my brother and myself greatly, as we were unwilling to allow ourselves to be bullied and resisted such domination.
It was a dispute between this bloated bully and my mistress that resulted in him being sequestered to his mistress's quarters. He frequently cried behind the locked door, but there were fewer disagreements in the home as a result.
Although, I will recount, there was one sunny afternoon as my brother and I played in the garden, that my mistress allowed the spoiled monster out of his rooms and into the courtyard. I feel little shame—and a disproportionately large amount of pride—that I gave him such a trashing that he never dared to leave those rooms again. See what happens to a bully when he is beaten!
As it turned out, our stay in this home was short-lived, and we prepared to move once more. The woman who had lived with us took her belongings and entourage to some location unknown.
My brother and I were forced on another journey, longer than any we had undertaken before, and to a much larger estate owned by my mistress's parents! They had their own servant, similar in appearance to my brother, but with longer hair and much older, who sighed upon seeing us and had a few choice words with my brother before retiring to his own rooms. My mistress informed us that we would be staying there a short time while she prepared another home, and to be on our best behavior.
My brother, upset at this apparent abandonment, ran to the woods surrounding the estate, and spent several days living as one wild in the undergrowth until hunger drove him back to the house. I am embarrassed to say, he struck my mistress's mother upon the hand one afternoon with such force as to leave a mark. She, being more kindly than most he had encountered, did not strike back, but she allowed a distance between them that shamed him into submission, and he shortly thereafter apologized to her and allowed her to place a hand upon his head. I will say that this experience tempered him greatly and helped to soothe what wild passions he kept inside himself. Since that time, I have not seen him strike out at my mistress or her guests without cause.
As for myself, I greatly enjoyed the time on the estate, running in the woods and climbing trees. Since then, I have had a lifelong love of wild places, far beyond the garden and its warm sun. This was the closest to nature I have ever come in my life, and I welcomed her like an old, forgotten friend. I shall never fail to run on green grass when presented with the opportunity, as she is nourishing and delightful, and we worship her with our unbridled joy.
After a couple months, my mistress returned and took us on a long journey, maybe as long as the one prior, and took us to a new home that overlooked a vast expanse. She often left the windows open for my brother and myself, to see, listen, and smell the delights of what happened around our new home. People came to and fro, often with squealing children in tow, and bustled below us, hurried in their own busy schedules.
With this new home, there was also a new gentleman, but not similar in relationship to my mistress's husband. He reminded me greatly of the third gentleman who had lived with us in our first house, as he had his own quarters and kept mostly to himself. My brother took an immediate liking to him and tried to spend as much time in his company as possible. The gentleman also took a liking to us, gently tousling our heads and making sure we were well fed. I wondered if he were my mistress's brother, but history had taught me to not expect such simple links in this unnatural world.
Sadly, despite the excitement of the hurried populace surrounding us, there was no garden or wild woods in this new home. My mistress was gone for long periods at a time, leaving my brother and I to our own devices. Our boredom manifested itself in great chases and wrestling matches, but we all longed for greater. After two years in our city quarters, we prepared for another move.
Again, the journey was long and terrifying. I do not mind admitting such a thing, as the sights and sounds of such trips unnerve me so. I am not young and so should be used to such events, knowing that they hold no harm at the end, but my own base instincts take hold and demand I should escape such situations. I am the type who prefer to find a place, know it is mine, and be happy with it. Such changes in venue only serve to exhaust me and I do not find them invigorating in the least; on the contrary, they upset my stomach and leave me exhausted.
I must say, I do not understand my mistress or her kind, as they are a strange people with strange desires that force them to uproot frequently, looking for some kind of happiness. They change their clothes and furniture, or their diet shifts with all its accompanying smells. My brother and I, and those like us, know that happiness is more easily found in a patch of sunlight or a satisfyingly soft cushion. A good meal, good company, and a nice bath are better restoratives than any amount of noise or flashing lights could hope to offer.
This new estate—and I will call it that due to the grounds it occupies—where my brother and I now serve, is where we have stayed some seven years. I like to think that there shall be no more moves, after so long a period, and that this is our final home. Please, do not think me morbid as to say “final”, but perhaps I should say “penultimate” instead. My mistress seems most happy in this place, and the gentleman who comes with her is still as kind to us as before. We have no strange visitors and there are no rows to upset us.
The grounds are well-kept, and I enjoy them more often than not, running across the green grass and climbing trees, only to look down on things below me and observe them, unseen. We are close enough to nature here, I feel, as there are windows that overlook the mild bustle outside, without letting in more obnoxious odors and cacophony.
And, most importantly, I feel my mistress is happy here, who has finally found her own place. She is much like us now, satisfied to stretch out in a patch of sunlight and enjoy its warmth. We are well cared for, my brother and I, and have found our place as well, at our mistress's side, curled against her when it is cold out, satisfied and purring.
