'Vanilla'

Edward Scissorhands

PG

One.

Edward sat quietly. The place was too big for one to live alone. That's how he always refered to it. 'The Place.' He missed Kim, but she had gone long ago. So long ago, in fact, that he had forgotten what she looked like. He had forgotten the person she was.

Edward didn't need them. He'd been sitting alone for so long, his thoughts occupying his mind. He had a mind. People doubted that, but his inventor had given him a mind. Edward never smiled anymore. He hadn't since he had smiled at something Kim had told him. That was the last time he was happy.

But sometimes Edward would talk to himself. He would talk to the wind and the trees and the shrubs he had shaped. By then, all the ice had melted. Nothing more to occupy his time. It had been raining outside, drowning all of the wildlife that he had come to call his family. But Edward still had one friend.

The dog had found Edward about three months ago. Edward was quick to name the dog, who was a dachsaund, Vanilla, because of it's creamy color. Edward had a fear of touching Vanilla, afraid he would hurt her. Vanilla was his friend. Edward could tell Vanilla anything.

"Vanilla?" Edward called, his voice low. Vanilla came running, panting, and barking up to Edward. She jumped on Edward and licked his face happily, then rested on his lap. He didn't move. "Are you hungry?" Vanilla got up and turned circles, indicating that she was hungry.

Edward stood up and walked slowly into another room, which had once been a kitchen. There were cookies, which his inventor had taught him to make, for Vanilla and water. Edward balanced the tray and placed it on the ground, then stepped back and watched Vanilla eat three of the ten cookies and drink some water.

Vanilla was a smart dog. She knew to save some of her food because Edward could only make cookies a little at a time. She knew that water would always be there, and drank more than enough for awhile. Vanilla was Edward's new love. And she loved him. Edward walked up the old stairs to look at the sky. To see if it was clearing up yet. Vanilla followed.

The rain poured down. You'd never expect that in such a sweet little town. Edward walked to one of the full walls and made a mark with his blade of a finger. That was the fourth mark in a row. Four days of rain. Edward liked to keep record of important things. This was in order for him not to forget. Vanilla always watched him keep record. It was their routine.

Edward looked at the carvings he had created on the wall. There was one of his inventor, one of Kim, one of Vanilla, and one that said 'cart' -- he wasn't sure what that meant, but he carved it, and it had some meaning to him. Some kind of odd meaning. Now it was time to go back downstairs and play. Edward and Vanilla went down the stairs quickly, but not too quickly. They loved to savor the moment. They'd learned to do that.

When they got downstairs, Edward slowly picked up a bone that he'd found outside once. There were dents in the bone from his hands and Vanilla's teeth marks, but neither of them had broken it yet. Edward threw the bone outiside and Vanilla rushed to get it. Edward watched, his eyes happy to see his dog having fun. Vanilla got the bone and brought it back to Edward. But Edward noticed something.. the bone was not the same bone he'd thrown.