Jul 5, 2005

HR, 3

With his nose plugged and eyes open, Harlequin realized that he was not alone on the sidewalk. Stomping feet cascaded everywhere around him. He scurried to the nearest wall and flattened himself against it, watching a lady's pointed heel skewer the poor weed an inch in front of him. Breathing a sigh of relief, he looked down and did not see the glass door to his right open and swing towards. He let out an "oof!" as he was squashed further against the wall.

Through the glass he saw a man in black emerge from the building and move to the curb. Pushing the glass from his face, Harlequin peeked his head around the opened door to get a better look. The man wore shiny black pants and a black robe with a red dragon stitched onto the back. He had yellowy-brown skin in between his collar and a head of spiky black hair.

A quick sniff and Harlequin rediscovered the kung-pao: the scent surrounded the man.

A black van with another red dragon on the side, and a similar looking driver screeched to a halt in front of the curb. The van smelt strongly of all sorts of Chinese food. The driver and the man argued in Chinese for a bit (Harlequin did not understand Chinese yet) and Harlequin braved the rain of feet to get closer. He sprung to avoid a fast-diving loafer, landing on the kung-pao man's shoe. The man was stomping his foot in tune with his argument and didn't notice.

Before Harlequin could get off, the foot again went airborne, only this time it came down in the van. He saw the kung-pao man sit down heavily and slam the door closed. Harlequin's fur could have lept out of his skin; within his first five minutes in the city, he was already riding in an automobile like a regular human. And a Chinese food van to boot!

Hopping off the man's foot, he clung to the carpeting on the floor as the van squealed it's way down an unseen road.

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