These Strangers - a flash fiction

These Strangers

Peter relaxed his palm so that the little critter shyly ascended. It was only a year old, the hedgehog not Peter who was in fact thirty-three years old and left to tend to the creature after his ex-girlfriend dumped him and her. He lifted the hedgehog so that he could see her pointed nose aiming at his eye like an arrow, and see her black little eyes soft and tender in contrast to the gruff spiked exterior.

It took some getting used to. Anna had bought it on a whim, called it Leroy after some internet meme, Peter was half listening. He hated the name, the hedgehog was a female and Leroy was traditionally not a female name. That didn't really matter, the hedgehog didn't mind, or at least. no one ever asked the hedgehog's opinion.

He slowly moved the index finger of his free hand closer to the creatures nose, and she sniffed, her entire proboscis nodding feverishly as it did so.

They were learning each other, hedgehog and human. Learning that the world isn't a fixed equation with a particular outcome but a choose your own adventure, but one you couldn't restart or cheat to see if the choice was right.  Not that Leroy had much choice, she was some pet store's merchandise, and Anna had cash to burn.

Maybe if Peter had been as patient with her as he was with Leroy, but that would only explain why she abandoned him, and not her.

Once upon a time the little thing would roll into its ball, and not come out till Peter had disappeared, and hidden himself away. Anna could never pick her up, but Peter could, at least now. Today was the third time, he tested it every day, and only until as many days ago was he able to finally succeed.

Leroy stopped sniffing and turned around Peter's palm as if searching for the button to bring the elevator back down and Peter obliged this fantasy. Back against its flakes of pine the hedgehog waddled off without hurry, and rattled at the dribbles of water that fell from her water bottle.

It was a miracle the thing was still alive; but then again, it was a miracle Peter was too,  since he often forgot to eat more than he forgot to feed Leroy. He read somewhere that hedgehogs could live up to 6 years and maybe more if they were taken care of properly. And Peter was properly taking care of her.

He closed the door of the cage, and sat down in the arm chair he positioned just beside her, and he opened his book. A novel recommended to him by Anna when they were first dating and he had truly meant to read before she accused him of not caring about her interests.

It wasn't his usual genre, some romantasy, but she had cared about it, and he had cared about her. Leroy seemed to position herself in her cage to read the pages with him. He read the book aloud, and they both remembered Anna in the act of it.

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