"Hey.
I entered the cell, and sat on the bed, next to Ruby. She was wearing a stained tank top, and tight shorts.
"So, you're gonna talk about your transformation?"
She shifted uncomfortably. "Rick, can we talk a bit before I start?"
"Uh, yeah, why?"
"Rick, I know how I... Seem to you. I know I'm hard to deal with. But, the things I'm going to tell you, well, they're things I try to forget. Painful things."
"Trust me Ruby, I won't hurt you."
She sighed deeply, held her head in her hands and began.
..........
I don't remember how old I was.
I was in Australia. Near a highway, with my mother. I was still in the pouch. I was happy.
I don't remember how it happened. I think it was noon. My body had been aching. Mother was trying to feed me, but I wouldn't take anything. Everything hurt.
Then, I felt it. Pain, a horrible, searing pain. My bones were splintering. My skin was being torn apart, and my blood was boiling.
My mother bit my ears, and picked me up, placing me on the ground.
I don't think I realized what I had become. I screamed, but she didn't help. Instead, she turned around, and hopped away.
I never saw her again.
I was on my own. Afraid. I walked down the empty highway, nowhere else to go. The wind stung my eyes. The sun beat down on my face. My feet were fried by the asphalt. And the thirst. I was so, so, so thirsty.
A group of men found me. They took me to a city. I don't remember its name. There, I was brought to alot of rooms, and eventually placed in an orphanage.
The children all hated me. I was always playing with them, but I guess I was too rough, or maybe too different.
They played mean tricks on me. Horrible tricks. Once, They covered my bedroom floor with tacks. If I were human, I might have gotten out unscathed. I'm not human, though. I'm a kangaroo. And I still have those scars.
There was only one other anthro at the orphanage. A dingo, Anthony. He got adopted. I never liked him, anyway.
I think the date I was looking forward to most was my 18th birthday, when I could leave. Be my own person. Find love.
I woke up on my birthday. I smiled, knowing I could finally live my own life. Then, I looked in the mirror.
All my fur was gone. I was completely bald.
I lost track of all the people who stared, who pointed at the naked wonder prowling the streets. I wasn't sad. I was angry. I truly hated everything. The people. The children. Anthony. The sun. Even myself.
I stole a ticket, and boarded a ship for America. Three years later, I got drunk in Vegas. I married a man named Rick. Six months later, I arrived at his home. And a few days later, he had become like me, and I was sharing a cell with him.
And now I'm here.
...........
"And, you know what?" She said, looking at the ground.
She choked up. "I still hate them. I hate everything. I hate whatever it was that did this to me. And I hate you, and Jack, and Mary. Everyone. That's all this world has given me. That's all it's getting back. Hate." She began sobbing.
My eyes watered as the impact of her words hit me. I kicked myself, unable to believe that I had been so mean to her in the past. She deserved better. And I promised myself to make sure she got better.
"Ruby, I want to give you something." She tried to stop crying. "I don't want anything."
"Too bad." I wrapped my arms around her body, squeezing her tight. Her sobs stopped.
I let go, expecting her to lash out. But she just turned around and said "Do you think you could give me another one tomorrow?"
I nodded. "Whenever you want."