>A New Home (Christmas, Romance, Hand-holding, Family)

Anon gets into a car accident after a series of unfortunate events. He wakes up with his car mysteriously undamaged and without a trail. Everything seems to be normal and exactly the same, that’s when he finds out his hometown population was replaced. Will he be able to cope with the new residents and be with someone on Christmas day?

>Be Anon
>Currently you are taking your baby for a little ride around the backroads of the shitty little town you live in.
>She is an old one, nobody likes her or her sisters, but to you she and them are really special.
>She is small, but can go on for miles with minimal amount of money required.
>She is reliable and thanks to her being small and lightweight she is fast just like a little rocket.
>You are of course talking about your car, an old turbocharged diesel hatchback.
>Many of people you knew disliked you for giving her so much praise, yet you know she could be surprisingly fast and agile.
>You never payed attention to things that did not matter, such as the exterior or climate control but damn making sure her heart, that being her engine, run as smoothly as it could.
>And her lungs, the turbo, always screamed to its full protentional.
>She is cheap, reliable and most importantly never lets you down.
>You loving a car so much is probably very sad, and you keep telling yourself that.
>However you know what the problem is, and that is your love life.
>While most of your so-called friends had a girlfriend or at least had sexual experience, you were basically at wizard status already, and getting more powerful each day.
>Being in low twenties made you feel like it’s already too late.
>Meanwhile the friends you thought were there for moral support were more like the sort of people to get with in order to drink and forget about life for a while.
>Not really friends that you could trust, just some people you had occasional fun with and not cared that much about.
>It also did not help that on many occasions their way of having fun was making fun of you and fucking with you in some pretty bad ways.
>There were many times where they just left, or made you just a third wheel in a conversation.
>While not hurting you per se, but hurting in a much more emotional way.
>Anyways enough of thinking about that right now as you are rolling at high speed through blind corners, adrenaline and huge amounts of blood pumping through veins and blasting loud music.
>It’s one of the moments that got you really alive, singing together with a song and just having pure fun, not the safest kind but you never cared, nobody will miss you anyway.
>And that is what you hate about yourself, being a selfish prick and not thinking of others, especially your mother.
>She is always there for you, cares for you and loves you.
>But you still feel so alone everyday despite that, blaming yourself for not showing the appreciation she deserved but there is no helping it, something is still missing.
>After a few more random corners, you decide that it’s time to go back home, it’s not like you want to go but the red light signifying low fuel suggested otherwise.


>After a short and quick drive you arrive in your shitty little apartment, still living with your mother like a beta virgin that you are.
>Your job is paying you below minimal wage, with the boss exact words being:
“Either you deal with it or you are fired.”
>Sighing as you put your keys and jacket in their place, you turn on your computer and sit down for another evening of doing nothing but throwing your life away.
>You spend the day browsing random websites and watching whatever stupid videos you could find that would try to brighten your mood.
>WATCH THIS! GUARANTEDD YOU WILL LAUGH XDDDD
>That sort of videos, but you watch them anyway while internally cringing at yourself for even clicking a title like that, just for a slight chance of getting at least a slight smile on your face.
>Sometimes despite you hating it, it did give you a few chuckles.
>After a few more of those you messaged your friend asking if he wanted to go for a beer, and waited.
>Waited, and waited for a solid hour before you finally get a reply.
“Now? The weather outside is horrible, I would rather just stay home then go with your sorry ass and get wet.”
>Maybe he did not think it hurt you when he was acting like that, but you kept your emotions hidden.
>What a way to ruin your mood even more.
>You liked to spend your time reading some stories around the places, mostly romances with a bit of adventure.
>A little part of you thought that maybe you will get inspired to act the right way and maybe get attention from a girl or even be bold enough to go try for one yourself.
>While not saying you have not tried, it had… not very good results to say the least.
>Starting good but eventually just running out of words and becoming… boring.
>That sort of thing made most of the girls lose interest rather quickly.
>Or you got too drunk and started talking absolute bullshit, also known as the first thing that comes to mind when you are drunk, not very smart things.
>Like saying you had a lot of saved money and could go on a vacation or something, god that memory still makes you cringe.
>You remember a few moments you had at a drunk party… ugh you still hate yourself for it.
>Following random people, talking about your car and a few crashes you had with it, dancing horribly, drinking way more than anyone else.
>You hate yourself for what you have done, and you lived in a small place in which everybody already knew who you are, so the chances of fixing it were… slim to say the least.
>Not exactly being considered fat, or ugly, but more like crazy, stupid and boring.
>You turn off your computer and head into your bed, the plushies of various animals and lots of pillows giving you the feeling of comfort
>They did however make you feel like a little bitch, but it couldn’t be helped so you held them tight.
>The floodgates have opened, and the waterfall of tears falls onto the soft plushies.
>There is a lot of sadness from what you have become, always being alone, no one to hold or to cuddle, you wish, you wish every day that things could change.
>Christmas was coming in just two weeks and you were too selfish to even buy gifts, and broke.
>Even spending your birthday alone with no one, but your family wishing you a happy birthday.
>You never showed this side of you to anyone, no one knew how miserable you were.
>Always making sure to look like you never cared about anything that people did to you.
>Always the bold, the crazy and the not caring person.
>Always happy and always occupied.
>To say you were incredibly good at wearing a mask was an understatement.
>Never shedding a tear, always giving a comeback.
>You imagine yourself just holding a hand of the one you love, no face, no actual body or features.
>Just someone that you would care for, and she would care for you, that’s all that ever matters.


>The next day you wake up to your normal day, and force yourself through it like usual.
>You hate your work, you hated the fact you made barely enough to eat.
>And the fact that the boss always found something for you to do, despite there being nothing.
>But you had no choice, so you suffered through it.
>After a long and tiring day of work you returned to the comfortable seat in front of your computer.
>You were amazed to see a message.
“Hey man, we are going to a town nearby for some beers, maybe go to the forest to BBQ or some shit u comin?”
>Heck yes you are!
“Alright, so start your car and come pick us up.”
>You hate that, you know they are just using you, but if you wanted no to be stuck at your home you had to comply.
>But just as you were starting to write a reply you remembered you had almost no fuel left.
>You write them that they are going to have to pay for the fuel if they want you to be their driver.
>You ask for exactly just the price of the fuel divided by the people going, even adding yourself to the equation.
“You serious? We are so nice and ask you to come with us to have fun and you ask as money? You know what? Fuck me for caring.”
>Well that’s one way to fuck up your day, you don’t even respond just continue to spend the day the exact same way as always.
>However later in the night you get another message.
“I don’t know why I am asking you again, so be happy. We are going using my car so if you wanna go pay for the fuel ye?”
>Alright that seems fair so how much does he want?
“Eh, about ten bucks, don’t even start with your BS about it being too much. I am already nice to you by even messaging you so it’s either yes or fuck off.”
>Except they are asking you to pay for all the fuel, why?
>You are pissed, so you try to explain it to them and let them know how bad they are acting.
>It is of no use and they kick you out of the conversation immediately as promised.
>What a big disappointment and a ruined mood as a bonus too.
>There is not much else to do beside go sleep into the comfort of the bed that is filled with soft furry creatures.


>You are awakened late in the night because of a sound coming from your phone, a message.
>All it is, is a photo of your… friends, sitting in a bar drinking.
>Soon after that you get a call.
“Yo, come down we wanna talk, maybe go for another beer?”
>You got to be kidding me, it’s like three in the morning, do they really expect you to just come down right now?
>Why don’t you just go to the window and talk?
“Fine you bitch come then.”
>You put on a shirt and go to the window, nobody is there.
>But very quickly you noticed a loud car, no doubt it is them.
>They stopped dangerously close to your own parked car and started shouting.
“We had so much fucking fun, too bad you did not pay for the fuel to go, and your car sucks so go back and rot in your home.”
>They clearly sound very drunk, but what gets you the most is one of them scratching your own car with a knife and promptly leaving shortly after that.
>This is just unreal… you were just dumbfounded.
>You slowly return to your room in the dark and return to sleep, this time not sad, not in tears… just… empty.
>With the hopes of sleep quickly taking you, the darkness comes fast.


>The sound of the door opening awakes you.
“Hello honey, sorry for waking you up, but we need to go shopping to day soon I need you to drive.”
>You are still angry from yesterday but decide not to blame her for it.
>She after all has nothing to do with your bad mood, and she is always only being nice, so you need to be chill.
>It doesn’t take long to dress and get ready.
>You get your baby started and set for a decently long ride to a shop in the next town.
>The place you lived in is rather small and had no real big shops, so you had to travel a lot to buy the things you needed. 
>Your mother never had a driving license and your father… well they divorced.
>You never particularly liked shopping, and today is probably not going to be an exception.
>And boy was that true, you are currently standing next to the fridges and are waiting for mother to finally pick the right one.
>This one? That one? Just pick one already, you started to get really pissed off.
>You hate the fact you, your mother did not deserve it.
>After all of that was finally over you decide you just must vent, you had to go for another joyride.
>Mother sees how you are acting and she knows something is going on, but you just say everything is fine.
>You help her take out all the groceries and bags from your car, and set off.
>At this moment you don’t care about the speed limit, the cops or not even the seatbelt.
>There is this nice blind corner you always like to go to, if done at proper speed it sends you into a nice drift which always made you get that adrenaline filled feeling.
>It drained all the blood and made the hands feel cold, it’s just what you liked.
>And here it is, most reasonable people brake but you don’t and stay at the speed limit, a little above actually.
>Wheels screeched, and the car slightly went into the air, perfect.
>You weren’t ready yet so no shenanigans with the E.brake for now. 
>There is an airport nearby, so you decide to go and practice a little drifting before going to that corner again.
>You put on some nice music and push the car as hard as you can, it makes the ride rather short and the airport soon comes to sight.
>There are some idiots in their BMW’s with fake M badges driving around, pff let’s see if they are up for a little drag race.
>No need for a fancy entrance so you just slowly cruise onto the end of the runway.
>They definitely notice you, so you ask if they are up for a little drag race.
>Oh and they are, and even laugh at what they think is your pathetic car.
>Just some teenagers thinking they are so cool in their BMW’s which their daddy has bought, you will show them.
>Your car has around 200 horsepower and weight around 2200 pounds with you included.
>You told them they could give the countdown, so they had a little head start.
>There is no helping them however, as all they are left with is your black smoke.
>You don’t even stop to talk with them, just continue to practice some drifting
>With each successful drift you add more and more speed.
>You are no drifting professional and never tried to be, you did it purely for yourself, for the fun and not to show off.
>You decide you are ready for the corner again, with the intention of doing it once at high speed and going home, you are already feel much better and that one corner would seal the deal.
>After another short ride the corner approached, your confidence is through the roof, so you push it even harder.
>More then you ever did, you know you are going to do it.
>The corner is here, you turn hard into it.
>Everything is going well, tires are screeching loudly, and your heart is beating loudly.
>That is until you notice you are starting to lose control.
>No worries just need to go to the opposite lane a little bit.
>Things at this moment slowed down, as halfway through the corner you see a truck approaching in the oncoming lane.
>You panic, you try to straighten the wheels and return to your lane, but the car is in the air.
>As soon as it slams down the car slides to the side and heads for a nearby tree on the side of the road.
>Time slows down as it is quickly approaching, all that goes through your head is… I am sorry mother, what have I done?
>All you feel is something lifting you up and a slight force on your head… then blackness.
>The blackness envelops all and all that is left is to do is to look around and ponder on what happened.
>How could you have been such an idiot?
>To let such stupid idiots and feelings get the better hold of you.
>Not only did you disappoint your mother but also went far to probably even get you killed.
>There is nothing left now, if you could cry there you already would have, but you cannot.

>That sudden thought is interrupted as something stars to call down upon you and forces you away from the darkness, something very familiar.
>Music, wait what? Music?
>And the song, you remember it, you played it before…no… you were just playing it, is this death making even more fun of the situation?
>A sharp pain and a bright light jolts you awake.
>You find yourself still sitting in the car, music still playing, engine still running.
>Looking around you notice you are in some kind of field, and a quick check also confirms there seems to be no injuries on your body.
>Not even bothering to turn off the engine or stereo you go outside to check the damage, perhaps you are lucky and there would be only minor damage.
>However you are surprised by what you see much more than you would have thought, not even a scratch.
>Everything is working perfectly… or as perfectly as it was.
>There aren’t even any tire marks on the field or anywhere else.
>It’s like you just appeared here before the crash.
>At the speed you were going at, you at expect there to be nasty skid marks.
>You went to check up on the road after you inspect it you notice the same thing, no signs of anyone even going slightly faster, let alone losing control.
>Strange, at least you can take this all as a nice lesson to your life, and you got a huge apology to give to your mother.
>First things first however, you need to go back to the road.

>Getting back on the road from the field was a little challenging but you managed it, the ride was really quiet all the way, with you going particularly slow, but soon enough the familiar town is in front of you.
>You ignored everyone and everything on your way home, just sort of thinking about the events that happened today, your near death.
>You park in the usual place you always do, with a slight feeling of dread you hurry up and go to your apartment.
>It seems to be locked, while that’s not strange for obvious reasons, it's usually not double locked.
>Hmm you guess mother went somewhere, opening the door you notice everything looks to be… abandoned?
>It looks like nobody was here for months, everything is in its right place, but there is a thin layer of dust at every single thing you see.
>Even your room is exactly as you left it, only a lot more dust added.
>You try the computer, but it is to be no avail as it refused to start, how odd.
>Trying to turn on the monitor yielded the same results.
>Something is not right, what really seemed to get you to panic is the fact not even the light switches work, in fact nothing works.
>The electricity seems to have died.
>You try to snap out of your panic mode, it's only electricity after all, the damn electric company is probably doing some repairs.
>You do what you always do when something like this happens, time to ask the neighbor.
>Something that catches your eye is the fact that the name sign is nonexistent.
>But you know your neighbors well, they are nice people or well… person.
>You are not prepared however to what opened the door instead.
>A giant dog standing on two legs and wearing clothes.
>That’s as best as you can describe it while your blood pressure is going bananas.
“Oh, hello dear. What may I help you with?”
>All you can manage is just staring while your mouth is hanged open.
“Do I have something on my muzzle dear? Or is something on my clothes, hmm.”
>Just barely you ask her if the electricity is working, trying not to look frightened to death.
“Well of course it is, I see that you are looking at the other apartment, it would be reasonable that it it’s not working there. I haven’t seen anyone in there for at least a year.”
>A year? What did she mean by a year?
>And who is she?
>Where is the old lady that lived here?
>Where is your mother?
“Hold on there child. That is way too many questions for little old me. Why don’t you come inside for some tea and we can discuss a little, I haven’t had visitors for a long time.”
>So, there is an elderly dog looking thing here instead of your neighbors, your family is missing, and now she invited you for tea?
>If there ever was a time nope out of somewhere, it would be now.
>you slowly back away and get ready to just bail, but just barely you notice she stars looking really disappointed and sad.
“Oh, I am sorry dear, I know I was being too creepy. Please excuse me, it’s just that I haven’t talked to anyone in a while… oh just forget it, you have every right to go, I am so sorry.”
>Brain… brain please, don’t do this.
>Ugh… you are going to hate yourself for this so much.
>Having feelings against… that.
>Before she closes the door, you stop it with your foot.
>You tell her that you are sorry too, just in a bit of shock.
“Well don’t worry about that, we both are not very good at social interactions I guess, heh.”
>She invites you in and you notice that the entire apartment is exactly the way your neighbor had it.
>Come to think of it, your neighbor was a nice old lady, and did behave similarly, actually exactly the same.
>Her husband died, and they never could have had children, so you were there so she could talk to someone every once in a while.
>She always baked amazing deserts and even kept giving you gifts on your birthdays and special occasions like Christmas.
>She really did deserve more in life, so you wanted to at least make her a bit happy.
>Now she is… who knows where she is, and instead a human-dog is living here.
>And you can’t help but also feel the same, how odd.
>Usually you would not feel so connected to strangers but it’s like you talked to her a hundred times already.
“My name is Caroline, what would yours be?”
>Well that’s an easy question, your name is… it's… uhh… hmm…
>How do you not remember your name? What the hell is going on?
>You begin to panic trying to punch the answer out of your head.
“Oh, hey is okay, I umm… I guess you are having a little trouble with memory, that’s okay, I too have had this problem. Come sit down I will make some tea and I am sure you will remember then.”
>You did as she said, how strange… it’s she is acting exactly like the lady you remember.
>You try to take your mind out of the horrible reality of not even knowing your name, so you take a closer look at what she actually is.
>She seemes to be a dog mixed with a human, a Labrador to be more specific.
>She seemes to have a lot of human features, like proper hands but the legs seemed to be shaped like a dog, paws included.
>Her black coat had a graying effect to it, similar to an older dog.
>All in all… she doesn’t seem scary at all, in fact very friendly looking, just like an old lady mixed with a dog would have.
>You still cannot believe what you are seeing though, how can this be possible?
>It’s time to get some answers, first however, your name.
>You remembered you have a wallet with you, so you take it out and look at the first card you see, a driver’s license.
>Your picture, date and even the number all seem to be the same, except one major difference.
>The name… it's blank.
>Looking at your ID and various other random cards you had showed the same thing.
>That’s when you saw the picture you have of you and mother in your wallet.
>You take a peak however it turns out that’s a huge mistake.
>The face of your mother is… blurred and distorted… basically impossible to tell how she looked like.
>This is some horror movie shit going on… what the actual fuck.
“Okay the tea is ready, be careful though, it’s hot.”
>As she poured the tea, she noticed your confusion, and the cards scattered around the table.
“Is something wrong? Do you need some help?”
>Help? You got to be kidding, you need an exorcist by now.
>You show her the cards with the blank name and the photo.
>You don’t know why it, but you do.
“Huh that is strange, I guess they all made a printing error. Oh, I know, you are like one of the mysterious people on the TV that I saw. What were they called… I think it was… Anonymous.”
>Anonymous huh? Sounds appropriate… or at least good enough for now. Kind of a mouthful though, but Anon could work.
“Well nice to meet you Anon.”
>She beamed with a smile.
“And that picture, don’t worry about that, I have had many like that, sometimes the new technology with their digital cameras and stuff just don’t give it justice anymore, and things like that happen.”
>Well she is right on that, however there are still questions that need to be answered.
>First of which, you need to know where is your mother.
“Well I don’t know about your mother dear, but there was a nice family living there a year ago.”
>She starts looking little distant and looks in her cup.
“She was a very nice lady, and her boy... he was the nicest boy I have ever met. He always kept me company especially when my husband died and was always so thankful whenever I made him something. I remember one time I made him a sweater and he loved it to death. Used to wear it whenever it was cold saying that it always made him so warm.”
>Wait… a sweater? You remember that sweater. It was… yellow.
“Yes, that’s right dear, it was yellow. How did you know? I guess he had many friends, Anyways. A year ago, a terrible thing has happened, the boy was in a car accident and died. His mother and to an extend me were absolutely horrified. He really did not deserve it. His mother locked herself in the apartment for weeks, eventually she just… left. Come to think of it, it was exactly this day a year ago… just two weeks before Christmas.”
>Hold on what? Were you in a coma? Did you die? What did actually happen?
>Where is she?
>But… is she even the same person?
>You ask her if she remembers how she and the boy looked like.
“Oh of course, I will never forget that. The Mother was a Golden Retriever, with the boy being the same breed. They were very hard to be mistaken for someone else, as they shared eyes unlike any that I have seen, a mix of green and blue. Each part of the eyes was a different shade… hopefully it won’t sound creepy but… kind of like yours”
>Nope totally not creepy at all.
>This… boy… did he happened to have a silver car?
“Oh yes, it was a small gray one, he told me he was very proud of it.”
>Okay… now this is getting strange… let’s see how similar they really are.
>You tell her to take a look at your own car and compare.
“That would be no problem dear. Just a second these old legs take a while to get going.”
>You show her the car through her window, after which she became rather shocked.
“No way, that is exactly the same car, the color, the shape even the little dents. He always used to tell me how he had an accident here and there, so I clearly remember those dents. Where did you get this car? Did you repair it?”
>She looks better now, but still surprised.
>You determine a little bit of lying would be good, she doesn’t need to get involved into this anymore, you heard what you needed.
>You tell her you found it at a junkyard and restored it.
“Then I guess you must have gotten the one he had. Strange you even have the keys he used to have, don’t tell me you bought the apartment too? I guess that means that she is still fine, that’s good to hear, I was afraid she might do something bad.”
>After a few more just pointless questions you decide it’s time to go… home… and just… think.
“Wait Anon, before you go, just a moment.”
>A few more moments of waiting won’t hurt.
>After just a minute she returns with a wrapped gift and hopeful eyes.
“I wanted to give this gift to him on Christmas, as a thank you for how nice he was… but I never got the chance after. that happened. No matter, thank you for making my day a lot better, Merry Christmas.”
>Wait, a gift? But… you can’t… you were so rude at first, you don’t deserve this, she doesn’t even know who you are, and what just happened to you.
“Don’t worry about it dear, I can feel you are a good person at heart, and frankly I don’t have anyone else to give this to... so please take it.”
>All you can say is thank you, maybe she is the old lady you remember? 
>You go back to … your… apartment and take a more in depth look inside.
>Before you open it though you just sort of… ponder on what is going on.
>By all logic, you either have died, or been in a coma.
>Your life has been replaced by these… anthros?
>And by that you mean everyone; neighbors, family… even yourself.
>Your old family seems to be gone, some of your memories faded away.
>And there is a family exactly like yours, and the boy has… died.
>Scariest part is that he seemed to die the same way that you did… or didn’t… you don’t know.
>Is that what really happened to you? In that case… mother.
>You forget about the search and just lay on your bed, which was exactly as you left it just before the not-really crash.
>What will you do now? What can you do?
>At least that lady was nice, let’s see what she has given you.
>The gift was a hand knitted sweater… just like the one your neighbor gave you.
>Except this one is even more masterfully crafted with the softest blue wool you have ever touched.
>It even had a hood that had an extension for the ears… well dog ears.
>You put it on and right away you can feel the incredible warmth it gives, and how cute the hood with ears looks.
>Guess it was a knitted hoodie and not a sweater.


>You spend a few hours just lying in your bed and thinking hard.
>Everything was just blank, 
>First thing that comes to mind is work, so you try to call your boss, the phone was working perfectly, and he picks up rather quickly.
>After a quick call you found out a few things:
-He was surprised by the number, as it was the same as a co-worker he had that died a year ago.
-He doesn’t have a spot open to work.
-Caroline story is pretty much confirmed.
-You got a death man’s number.
-You just replaced someone’s life, someone that is dead.
>You have read about parallel universes in the past, but you never though it could be real. 
>There is no way of going back now, so you have to look forward.
>Just being sad and depressed won’t solve anything.
>Life taught you to be strong, to not stop at anything, and so you won’t.
>Especially not now, you feel bad for mother, you feel horrible for what she must have felled and feel at this moment.
>But you are damn going to make sure that wherever she is… she will feel that you are alive, and you are going to make her proud.
>If there ever was a needed kick to the face that would wake you up it was now.
>And you got it, even bigger than ever before, and you are not going to waste this opportunity… not this time.
>You remember that back home… your old home… you kept a hidden stash of cash which was for emergencies only… you promised never to use it no matter what.
>It was only when things went seriously bad or there was a horrible injury or illness in the family.
>Not even mother knew about this, you wanted to keep it a secret, she did not need to worry.
>The stash is still right there… where you left it.
>It did not have much, but it was plenty to kickstart a new life.


>The next few days you spend making sure the apartment belonged to you, making sure it was payed for and that you had food and clothes.
>Surprisingly it all went super easy, with you having all the required papers and knowledge.
>It would be extremely difficult to find a job at this time of year, or so you thought.
>But a quick search and a call got you a quick interview.
>The job is actually very similar to what you used to do, so you hope you are going to make a good impression.
>And by quick interview you mean like right now, very unusual.
>It went over by quick and you are already back home.
>They deemed you as surprisingly skillful and knowledgeable about the work and even enthusiastic, so it was an instant hire with a little bonus pay.
>Most of the creatures you seen along the way there are these anthros, all kinds of animals mixed with humans.
>Even your boss is a rhino, pretty intimidating looking and has the same attitude of your old boss, a dick.
>There even are normal humans around they are just really rare.
>To say you are confident and a changed man would be an understatement.
>You are living life like it was something new that you just discovered.

>You spend the next week just working your ass off making sure you have enough money.
>Building a good first-impression, working over time and all that jazz.
>Social life for you is still meh.
>Anthros and people are shutting you down left and right, trying to ruin your mood, but you prevailed and just went forward, ignoring them all.
>Christmas was in just five days, so you try to decorate and clean the entire apartment 
>You even bought a Christmas tree a few days ago.
>You made sure to visit Caroline a few times too, to repay her for her kindness.
>Somehow you are begging to feel like you are back in your old life, minus a couple of things.
>Like your asshole friends, as of now the only ones you knew are your boss and Caroline but that is good enough to you.
>The deep stab wound that is your mother being missing is still there, but you try to heal that wound by making sure she would feel proud, if she saw what you are doing.
>You don’t try to sound heartless or bad, you just know stopping and crying won’t help, and deep in your heart… you love her forever.
>Today was getting kind of boring, you did all you could at home, Christmas shopping, cooked food, cleaned the entire apartment, visited Caroline, a little maintenance on the car.
>How about going to see the world a little bit?
>Your car starts like a dream and you take a tour around the familiar town.
>Everything is just like you remembered it, there are anthros walking around doing every day and normal tasks.
>Slowly but surely you do begin to feel like this really is home.
>You decide to park near a park a take a nice walk.
>Along the way you see a couple of nice anthro woman.
>A tall giraffe, a very muscular lioness.
>Well let’s just say that compared to human women… the human women never stood a chance.
>You take a seat on a nearby bench and reflect some more on the new life.
>In the few short days you were here, you made sure that the necessities like electricity water and heat are working.
>That meant the Internet as well.
>The Internet was much of the same, with your favorite sites being like they were, except a few slight changes of course.
>You have read about anthro girls… and saw the porn, how could you not?
>It weirded you out incredibly… but not because it is disgusting or weird.
>Completely the opposite in fact, it is hot… super-hot.
>All the little things in animals that you never considered is what really got you going.
>The heat cycles, all the different quirks depending on the animal, such as purring from the cats, the constant tail wagging from the canines and a lot of other random facts.
>It was a lot to handle for your head, but it was all so exciting.
>As all the porn scenes play in your head, you decide you should try your luck in a club.
>You never had a good experience with these sort of things, but now this is a new life, a new hope.
>So why not give it a go?
>You went home and parked the car in front of the apartment, now it’s time to go to that club you occasionally visited or rather were forced to go in with your friends.
>It is a smaller place, not very popular but it has cheap beer, cheap vodka, some decent music and a cozy look.
>You never were a fun of clubs, bars were more your thing.
>Dancing was something you weren’t capable of, unless drunk and even then, it was just random sudden movements.
>It was much better to just chill in a bar drink beer and just talk.
>It is already very late in the evening, so you did not suspect there to be so many humans… or anthros.
>You were wrong, terribly wrong.
>The place is packed to the brim, finding a place to sit would probably be impossible.
>The stench of alcohol is strong, and puddles of spilled drinks littered the floor.
>There are bartenders running around everywhere trying to get the situation under control.
>At the center of the club there is a small stage for dancing where random types of anthros danced together in a clearly drunken state.
>You try to find a table by moving through the crowd which was not very pleasant, there are a bunch of random drunk anthros colliding with you while making excuses all the time.
>This was not exactly what you had in mind when thinking of coming here, but at least there are a lot of opportunities right?
>And it was a club after all, that’s what they do.
>After moving through most of the crowd you end up at the far end of the club.
>You find a smaller table that was free, it looks like the bartenders already took the empty glasses, so it looks free.
>You take the chance and sit down, taking in the spectacle once more.
>There is no real sight of any humans, just a lot of strange anthros drinking, dancing and talking loudly.
>The guy that tries to be DJ pretty much just plays random old classics that you are sure everybody heard at least thousand times already.
>The mood was kind of nice you got to admit, not even close to the horrible memories you had of it, you are starting to like it.
>You still hate clubs, and this was the one that gave you some bad memories, but something in you just kept rejecting that feeling.
>Sometimes you got to give your bad memories a slap and replace them with goods ones.
>You order a couple of beer with some shots, and try to spot a girl you could go for.
>One is already dancing with someone, a group that is already too busy by talking to each other and one that is sitting alone glued to her phone.
>Well that’s as good as it's going to get, so you go for it.
>From your untrained eye she looks like a black wolf, she looks kind of cute to be honest.
>She has nothing flashy on her, just a pure black dress that goes well with her fur and dark brown eyes.
>You slowly move through the crowd and approach her, you just barely manage to hold on to the beer you are still carrying.
>There are so many close calls, drinking and dancing don’t go very well together when you are trying not to spill someone’s drink, who knew.
>When you finally get to the table she is still completely ignoring you, that gets you a little worried, you hope she just didn’t saw you or didn’t hear you.
>A deep breath and a quick brainstorm of questions to ask and here you go.
>You sat opposite of her and tried to say some cliché pick up line.
>All you can sputter out is something among the lines of: “Hey why so lonely on such a busy night?”
>Or at least that’s what you hope you say, your mind was already a bit fuzzy.
>No response, well things just got awkward real fast.
>Your mind starts screaming what to do, it quickly becomes a civil war in your mind and you are left alone to proceed.
>You try again only this time trying to lean in more and being a lot louder.
>She looks up with an annoyed expression and locks her phone.
“Look, I know how your drunk mind works, a lady sitting alone a perfect catch ey? Well go look for another fish, literal or not I don’t care.”
>Ouch, your confidence just got decapited.
>You try to say something, but nope, no comeback, so you just stand up and leave, perhaps you can try again somewhere else?
“Oh, and just by the way, screaming is a terrible way to begin a conversation, work on your pick-up game or you gonna be jacking off alone today.” 
>She tries to hold in her laugh but can’t.
“Not like that would be anything special today eh? Probably doing that every day, how sad.”
>First she stabs you now she begins to pour salt in the wound, nice.
>Seems like this world still is the same, minus a few differences.
>You return to the table you were sitting on originally only to reveal a drunk couple already making out on it.
>Thanks life, you are such a dick.
>You go and stand at the counter to order some more drinks.
>By now it’s probably your…. Sixth? Who knows.

>Throughout the night you tried your luck with more ladies.
>Dogs, cats even an alligator girl, and still no luck.
>But at least most of them were nice about it, giving you excuses like:
“I gotta go home soon I am sorry.”
“I already got a boyfriend.”
>Or just straight up ignoring you.
>There was one that went particularly good.
>A slightly more drunk rat girl was eyeing you a couple of times, so you gave it a go.
>It all started pretty good she even seemed interested.
>Except after the initial “Hello” and “What are you doing here?” It kind of went downhill.
>You brain was pretty much in a meh state and you were just sitting next to her thinking what to say.
>She even tried talking about something, so you just listened and nodded.
>After seeing your amazing social skills she just excused herself to get a drink and never came back.
>Hey at least you got a free seat.
>looking around you notice even the bartenders have noticed your failures.
>One comes to you and asks if you want more drinks.
>Obviously he was not trying to be nice and just acted this way to get money from you.
>At least that’s what your mind keeps saying to you.
>A new world, a new chance yet you are still the same inexperienced idiot as always.
>After ordering some drinks a trio of hyena girls approach you.
>They show a huge interested in you and you even manage to start talking a lot more, while trying to be funny and not boring.
>Seems like the score of the day, that’s when one of the girls just can’t stop laughing and says:
“Oh man, I thought you were a boring idiot and we just wanted to have some mindless fun, but you do seem like you actually try I gotta admit.”
>That gives you a lot of hope, maybe you can at least get a number.
>You ask for it and all it got you is even more of those obnoxious hyena laughs and a quick reply.
“I said you tried, I didn’t say you succeeded, go home, you don’t have a chance here, you are alone and have nothing good to say, and you really, really aren’t attractive.”
>The second one couldn’t keep a straight face and just replied while laughing.
“Not attractive? His face looks like the first it saw when he was born was the concrete floor, as he slipped from the nurse’s hands, or she probably got terrified of it.”
>Okay.
>They got up and left, except the third one turned around and just quickly said:
“Look I feel really bad, we are not usually this heartless, you are just an easy target, honestly just go home.”
>Well that is the first hopeful advice you got all day.
>You open your wallet and find that there still are a couple of bills ready to go.
>A few more shots wouldn’t hurt, maybe you will forget most of this, then you will go.

>Time seems to go by rather quickly, a glance at your phone confirms your suspicion.
>It's almost three in the morning, four more days till Christmas.
>You already burned most of the money you had in your wallet, you curse at yourself for not taking more, while a small part of you is thankful you didn’t.
>Maybe looking at the phone will help pass the time a little bit more.
>You want this day or well… night to end more than anything, but you know that there was no way you were going to be able to sleep, and doing anything at home in this state would probably be a bad idea.
>Even ideas like taking your car for a spin go through your mind.
>A little guy in your head says it’s a bad idea and gets immediately smashed with a sign that has: It couldn’t get worse written on it.
>The place seems to be about empty, just a few completely wasted few and some that slowly get escorted out by security.
>Well time to go.
>Just as you stand up and turn a furry creature stands in your path.
“Uhh, Hello, nice to meet you, I saw that you were drinking alone. Would it be okay if I joined you?”
>Well that’s a first… nah no way, just another one that wants to play a joke.
>Before even answering she spoke again.
“Oh, I didn’t see you were leaving, I am sorry I should just go.”
>Maybe not a joke… or maybe just preparing for the backstab.
>Before she turns to leave your drunk mind tries to quickly tell her that she is welcome to join you, not like things can get much worse.
>She smiles and even manages a slight jump as both of you sit down.

>She is about the same height as you, mesmerizing blue eyes, and an amazingly fluffy coat which you immediately recognized as the coat of a cheetah.
>She did seem to stand out of the many girls you saw, she was slightly more chubby, but not fat by any stretch of the imagination however there was a slight visible pudge on her belly.
“My name is Andrea, nice to meet you…umm… again.”
>Normally you would put a lot more care and enthusiasm, but today was already so fucked that you just lost all your energy and hope.
>You shake hand and tell her you are anon and that you are deeply sorry.
>You had a day full of bad luck and weren’t quite sure if you could impress anyone at this point.
“Yeah I saw actually… sorry for being creepy...”
>Heh no worries.
>It’s kind of interesting seeing someone care.
“Why wouldn’t anyone care, you seem like a nice individual… heh.”
>Time to get all the bad things past you, let’s start again.
>You tell her that you are happy an extremely beautiful cheetah like her even got up to talk to you.
>You probably never even expected to go for such a high caliber.
>While a bit of that is of course just trying to make her feel better, but you kind of start to feel like it’s true.
“Nonsense, I am not that beautiful, no need to try to tell lies to start a conversation.”
>The deeper you look into her deep blue eyes the angrier you get for her thinking that.
>Her orbs are something you could stare into for hours, her long red hair matched perfectly with them.
>Her fur longer than you would expect, but looks so incredibly warm and soft.
>Those beautiful signature black lines under and around her eyes made the sky-blue jewels stand out even more.
>Her hand, actually a mix of a hand and a paw that looks like it could give the most amazing felling when held, and her larger self instead of being a turn-off was rather a big plus for when a hug was needed.
>You can already imagine how amazing she must feel.
>Hold that thought… why is her hand so close?
“Umm, Anon?”
>Oh no, you zoned out, quickly you try to explain yourself that you were just lost in how amazing her eyes look, no need to get creepy.
“Oh really? Well… thanks, your eyes are pretty nice too.”
>She seems to get flustered by this, like she never got a compliment like this in her life.
>You sort of point this out, saying how could she not be used to this by now.
“Well you see, not many other cheetahs… or other anthros are…. Well… interested.”
>Ouch, looks like you hit a weak spot.
>You try to explain to her that you didn’t mean to hurt her and that you really do mean what you say, you may be drunk and after quite a few shutdowns.
>But she still is the prettiest one of them all.
>You jokingly say that all the others were just like practice so that when you do get a chance you won’t let it go.
>And a chance like that is sitting right in front of you.
>That seems to get a little tear from her and a smile.
>You ask if it would be okay if you were to give her a little hug.
>With a little embarrassment you say that you can’t help but wonder if she is as fluffy and soft as you imagined.
>Maybe you said a little too much.
“Of course, I would love to hug you!”
>She was the one that started hugging you first.
>All your thoughts were confirmed, as the feeling of incredibly softness and warmness envelopes you.
>It’s hard to describe just how soft it feels, like the most expensive blanket yet even more… alive and with warmness behind it.
>You can even see her cute long and surprisingly fluffy tail swishing about.
>After the hug is over you try to back off, not because you want to, but you don’t want this to be a one-time hug.
>You ask what she is doing here so late.
“Oh well you know, trying to get some drinks, meet some company, got here with some of my friends for a little bit of fun.”
>Well you hope that she did enjoy her time being here so far.
>You got to be honest with her you hate this place, clubs in general.
>But someone like her deserve to have a good time, all the time.
“Aww, thank you. That means a lot to me, come to think of it, it was quite boring all day. I tried to get the girls to leave for a few hours now, heh.”
>Well good think she didn’t, cause then you would miss the chance to meet her.
>You ask her about some of her hobbies, or what she likes to do when she has some free time.
“Well I do like to cook for myself a lot of the time, I still live with my mother, so I like to cook for her from time to time.”
>Well that’s very nice of her, you must make do with cooking for yourself too, you don’t really have a choice as you lived alone.
>No more of the sappy stuff though, what about some fun, not that cooking isn’t fun.
“I understand don’t worry.”
>She adds with a little laugh… when did her laugh become so nice?
“I do also enjoy playing games, how original huh?”
>It’s no problem that she enjoys game, you love games yourself too, it’s a got thing to do to relax for a while.
“I agree, sometimes I enjoy just laying in bed all day doing nothing but listening to music or playing games.”
>That got her to look down and show a frown.
“That gets me really fat too, a fat lazy cheetah… I do enjoy hiking a lot, to sort of balance it out a little bit, but I still am no match for most of the girls here.”
>Oh come on, her body is beautiful, what counts is how nice you are.
>And she is the nicest individual you ever met, and the other girls are pathetic compared to her.
>Nobody could give such an amazing hug as her.
>Another smile, perfect… her smile just destroys any sadness you felt today.
>After that though you see that she takes out her phone, looks at it for a little bit and then the frown returns.
“Thank you so much for this talk, you are amazing, and you made my day, but I am afraid I have to go. The girls need a ride home and I don’t want to just leave them.”
>She made your day even more, can’t say you had a better talk than this in a long time.
>You ask if hopefully you can repeat it sometime.
“Well, of course, would you give me your number, so I can call you tomorrow?”
>Does she even need to ask?
>You take her phone and carefully put the number in.
>As much as the talk was amazing you were still pretty drunk and the tiny screen was a bit blurry.
“Thank you again for tonight, hopefully we can talk soon, sorry I had to leave this early.”
>You tell her not to worry about it, it was already almost early morning.
>Before she goes, she enters into a big depressed mode with and says:
“Before I go I have to be honest with you, I still don’t understand why you think I am so pretty, do you even know how old I am?”
>Why so sad that suddenly?
>Age is not important she is beautiful as she is.
“I am near my thirties, you should just forget about me, you are so awesome and cute, just find someone that is more worthy of you.”
>What? What made her act like this?
>You tell her to stop saying such stupid and nonsensical things, she is perfect as she is.
>That seems to make her a little happier, but you still see a dash of sadness in her eyes.
“Well so sorry but I do have to go.”
>A quick goodbye and a wave and she is gone.
>Wow, what a day, you though that it is one of the worst days of your life and yet there she was changing it immensely.
>Why did she become so sad at the end though?
>Did you do something wrong?
>Well no time to think about that, time to go home.
>With an ultra-fast tempo you leave and do so.
>You don’t even bother to change clothes or to shower or anything, you are already happy that your drunk self even managed to find its way home.
>But to be fair it became much less drunk after meeting Andrea.
>Her cute smile, the amazing and the super shy but adorable attitude made all the bad experience completely worth it.
>You just want it to be tomorrow already.
>You never even realize when you managed to lay down and doze off, but you did and rather quickly.

>You open your eyes from the deep sleep and you quickly realize several things.
>First of them being the fact you feel horrible.
>Secondly your memories come flooding bad and hit you with the fact that, so many girls rejected you.
>But most importantly you remember the cheetah girl, you pray you got her number.
>You take a good half an hour to look through your phone, clothes and everywhere to see if you have her number, address or anything but to no avail.
>Then it finally hits you, she has your number, strange but she was a little strange herself, in a good way.
>Even now thanks to her your mood just hit top gear and even made the hangover go away, mostly.
>You take a quick and nice shower, make some food and decide to just watch something while you wait for that call that would change your life.
>Saying you remember the whole conversation would be a big lie, but you do remember parts of it.
>You just hope you didn’t seem like a drunk idiot or tried to be overly funny.

>That thought drilled into your head for a long time and things started to get really blurred as the day went by.
>The call still didn’t come and as the day creeped forward it was begging to be night.
>Your stupid idiotic self fucked it up again.
>You probably did something stupid or acted in a bad way… or you just don’t know.
>You spend all day just sitting hoping the call would come and nothing.
>The girls were right, you never had a chance, and even when you had one delivered to you on a gold platter you managed to fuck it up.
>Poor mother… how could you ever make up all you did to her, how are you ever going to make her proud.
>You feel the waterworks come in and you just cannot handle it anymore.
>The feeling of dread, the existential crisis knocking at the door.
>All you can do is just cry and hope your bed and pillows are there for your comfort.
>Eventually you manage to just fall asleep hoping this was just a dream and maybe she was just going to send you a message.

>Looking at the clock revealed it's 10 pm.
>You don’t feel the need to eat anymore, or to do anything.
>You try to sleep again but you can’t, there was only one thing you could do now.
>Drink to oblivion… again.
>This time no stupid clubs, you plan on going to a proper bar.
>Well as proper as it gets, you used to go to this small bar next to where you lived called The Savannah.
>Usually empty, but they had great and cheap beer not to mentioned cheap vodka.
>You throw on some warmer clothes and you go to go check it out.
>After a short walk you enter the familiar bar.
>You only see two dog anthros drinking a beer and having a conversation.
>Oh, and the bartender.
>Just like in your old world.
>You order a beer and some shots and quickly down them.
>Some say how could you just sit alone and drink in a bar while doing nothing.
>Just wasting money… while true the biggest answer to that you had was:
>What else were you supposed to do to not get bored?
>You make sure you have something to drink constantly so the bad feelings wont return.
>So you managed to down five shots in under half an hour while mindlessly playing some games on your phone.
>You are about to go and order some more shots, but you spot a familiar girl sitting alone in the corner.
>Is that… Andrea?
>You quickly rush to the counter, order a beer and return to your seed.
>Maybe she didn’t see you?
>Why do you even want her not to see you?
>You are not so sure, you just want to avoid even more embarrassment.
>Not exactly who you were looking for when you wanted to calm down.
>It is because of her you needed to calm down in the first place, she should have just said she did not care and not lead you so far.
>Yet you still feel her touch, her nice words and your mind refuses to let her beautiful eyes slip your mind.
>You did not drink that many shots, so you are still kind of sober, but you fear that it still plays with your head.
>Eventually the beer arrives and quickly disappears as you gulp it down.
>What to do? What would anyone else do?
>Should you go talk to her?
>Has she even noticed you yet?
>Why is she here and alone?
>Maybe not as alone as you thought, maybe someone is here with her.
>The only reasonable thing you can do now is order more beer, the answer to all your problems.
>You stand up and go order, however you notice her seat is empty… she is gone.
>Well at least you no longer have to worry about that.
>That is actually very disappointing… yet you don’t know why.
>As you continue to the counter there is a slight problem.
>She is standing there, and has direct eye contact.
>No avoiding it now, and leaving is not an option… you haven’t payed yet.
>She looked in a bad shape too, she wore just a plain hoodie with sweatpants.
>She obviously has not showered since you met her as evidenced by her greasy fur.
>As soon as she spots you she turns around.
>Okay, no more thinking.
>You want to find out why, you want to find out why you were not good enough.
>You stand next to her and casually order another beer.
>Time is now, you turn to her and say just a simple hello.
“Oh... hi Anon.”
>Well that sounded a lot softer and quieter then you though it would.
>What is she doing here now, is she alone?
“Yeah, nobody else is here don’t worry about that.”
>Worry? You don’t want to sound like an ass, but what happened to her?
“I… I just…”
>She turns towards you and you can see one thing instantly… she was crying.
>Why was she crying? Did she forget? Did something happen to her?
“No Anon, I did not forget about you, and nothing happened. Why do you care?”
>She does not sound angry, or annoyed, just super sad.
>This… you expect her to backstab you, or to laugh in your face, instead she is crying?
>Why did she not call you?
>Lost number?
“Anon, oh you silly silly Anon. Do you really care about me?”
>Well of course you do, you spend the entire day waiting for the call.
 “I am sorry, I just though… that you didn’t care about me, like I was just sort of game.”
>She begins to cry even more.
“I thought that you were just so drunk you didn’t care who you were speaking to. I am old Anon, I am not like the young girls that you sought the entire night, I am fat, my fur is too thick, and all my black markings are horribly asymmetrical.”
>After that, she just buries her head into her hands and just… sits and cries.
>No, how could she think that about herself?
>She was the prettiest girl you ever saw, and that’s not an over exaggeration.
>That’s not just a drunk mind speaking, it’s true.
>Old? Are you kidding?
>Too thick fur? Ugly spots?
>All of that makes her… her.
>Amazing eyes, the softest fur you ever touched, the most beautiful face you ever saw and a body that all the other girls could only dream of.
>You try to unravel all the feelings you have to her, to show her you care.
>You have spent the entire sad, blaming yourself because you thought you fucked up, because you thought you lost your chance at someone as amazing as her.
>You would never get another opportunity like that, and you were too drunk to act like a real man.
>Please stop being sad, stop blaming yourself, the only one that should be blamed is you, to even dare to make her sad.
>As you pour your heart and feelings out on her, you notice her crying gets even stronger.
>Don’t cry anymore, you are sorry, so sorry, let’s just start again.
>You wipe away her tears and try to smile as best as you can.
>She just looks and smiles, well… a smile is not enough.
>You ask if you can give her a hug, and if she would be willing to start again.
“Of course, Anon.”
>That’s all you needed, you give her the biggest hug you can, after which you move your hand through her amazing long hair and even dare to give her cute ears a little scratch.
>You invite her to the table you were sitting at and order some coke, no more alcohol.
“Thanks Anon, but don’t blame yourself, I am the one that let you be alone all day, all because I was being selfish.”
>She begins to look sad again.
“I have to be honest with you, I never was with anyone, never even dated. I guess others found me… repulsive.”
>You refused let her just say things like that, so you stand up, sit beside her and hug her.
>She looks directly into her eyes and says:
“You are the first one that said things like that to me, and I thought it was too good to be true.”
>She is not the only one that has some secrets hidden.
>Do you trust me Andrea?
“Without a doubt.”
>Should you tell her?
>Yes, and so you do, you spend a good few minutes just explaining your story, from when you were alone all life, to when you had the crash and appeared here.
>The fact you never saw anthros before, and how confused you were about all of this.
>After it was all told, you just hoped you didn’t come off as an absolute psychopath and a drunk idiot.
>You hoped showing her the picture and the ID, would prove it.
>Throughout the story she kept asking questions, being rather suspicious at first but slowly starting to believe you.
>You even saw genuine sadness in her eyes when you told her how your life was.
>After the story was done there were no more tears, no more sadness, just a mutual understanding for each other.
“What you told me is really hard to believe Anon, usually I would never even consider it, but something tells me to trust you.”
>She takes your hand and holds it with her both of hers.
“Even if you are a psycho, even if you are acting crazy. I would not care because I trust you, and I really do hope you trust me.”
>There is feeling of warmness in your heart, is it… what you think it is?
>You intertwine your fingers with hers and just look into her eyes once more.
>Both of you get quickly interrupted though, as the bar is about to close, and you need to leave, after paying that is.
>You tell Andrea to wait for you outside.
“Wait Anon, I need to go pay too.”
>Once again your repeat for her to wait outside.
“But I ordered...”
>You just want to do this to her, to show you are not joking around
>Maybe it is just paying a tab but that’s only the beginning.
“Thank you.”
>You go pay both tabs and rush back outside.
“Once again, we stand here, just about to go home.”
>Only this time you will not let it slip away.
>Before she says anything this time you ask for her number.
“Alright, just don’t forget to call me okay? Please?”
>You move your hand through her long hair and scratch her behind those cute ears of hers.
>You already done that, but you just can’t get enough of it, you can’t even begin to imagine how she must feel late night after a shower and…. stop it brain.
>There is no way you are going to forget.
>You save her number and even call her right away to clarify its hers.
“Not trusting me already?”
>She laughs with an adorable laugh.
>You just don’t trust yourself for typing it right that’s all.
>There is no room for mistakes, and you want to be sure of that.
>One final goodbye, a hug and she is gone.
>But this time, in your possession you have a phone that holds the key for a new life… her phone number.