The Countryside
My first real attempt at writing anything more than a few sentences (though not by much), being just shy of 900 words, but hey everyone has to start somewhere
The countryside anywhere is a wonderful place, even more so in Italy during the autumn. The rolling hillsides, blanketed by trees losing their green leaves in exchange for a pastel palette of reds and yellows. Within the pastel blanket there are bald patches where the forests break into the clean organized lines of the vineyards and spots of white where the villas overlook them. It brings peace to one's mind to stare out over the hills and the forest. This peacefulness is what made me want to move away from the bustling city and into the countryside. The calmness has an allure that the city can't match. In the city something is always happening, rarely is there a calm moment, whether that be from the vehicles or the people bustling around, there is always something happening. The distractions make it hard to truly relax the same way someone in the countryside might.
The countryside is where I met Elena. I had first seen her at Armani's, one of the few restaurants that existed here in the countryside. She had caught my eye since she first walked in. She stood out from the rest of the people in the restaurant, she was a weasel. Now weasels are not rare in this part of the country but they are most certainly not common. What was special about her though was that she was a pure snow white. Her white fur was pristine, no markings disrupting the waterfall of white fur. I had been so entranced by her that that's all I had noticed when I had first seen her. Over the next few days I found myself unconsciously going back there at the same time in hopes of running into her again. Eventually I succeeded in my attempt to run into her again and decided that now was a better time than never to introduce myself. I made my way over to her, I had thought about what I was going to say when I saw her again but when the time came to actually do something the only thing that happened was the twitching of my tail. After what felt like an uncomfortably long amount of time I was able to find my nerves and speak up. Things that night had turned out better than I had expected. We ended up talking for some time before I eventually ended up buying her dinner. Dinner ended with me getting her number. Following that night things went smoothly, we had started dating despite people's concerns about a mixed species relationship. I had never been one to give much thought to a mixed relationship, it never really concerned me, but other people were adamantly against it. They claimed that it was not the nature of things and that those kinds of relationships would never work out and that those in them would be less happy than if they were with someone of the same species. Not only were we different species but we were also predator and prey. There were always people talking behind our backs about when the first "accident" would happen. Over the course of a few months I was successful in getting to know her better than I could have hoped for. Much to some people's dismay, we were happier than ever and never had any of their so-called "accidents". We had kept together and continued dating for two more years before I had proposed to her. Now, a year after I proposed to her, I am able to look back and see how far we have come. I know Elena better than I know anyone else, even my parents. We had quickly moved in with each other and had bought a large house in the countryside that overlooks the picturesque vineyards.
It really is peaceful sitting, looking over the fields and rows of trees, knowing that you are content and happy with where you are in life. The rising sun gives everything a golden glow and nothing but the sound of the birds and the shower running in the background. The continuous drone of the shower suddenly stops and I can hear Elena step out of it. I hear her rummaging around in the bathroom before the fur dryer starts. While the fur dryer is great for drying your fur, its intended purpose, it is quite loud and ruins the peace and serenity of the countryside. I take a sip of the wine that I have been nursing, enjoying the flavor of it as it goes down. The dryer eventually goes quiet and all is peaceful again. Sometime later I hear Elena come up to the open door and stop just before coming outside. I can smell the lavender soap that I gave her for her birthday last month. I take another sip of my wine and take a minute before I turn around. I eventually turn around and look at her. She's wearing nothing and looks immaculate. Her snow white fur pristine from being freshly cleaned. Her body all fluffed out from the dryer. She turns and gives me a look, inviting me to follow her into the bedroom.