Waiting, and a Friend

You stand resting against the wall of your apartment complex, seeking the shade a few trees in front provide. It's the early afternoon and the heat of the sun threatens to cook you in your fur. Without even a breeze and that forsaken glass-building in front reflecting all the sunlight you very well might. What on Earth could your friend want with a trolley with this much urgency? You had no problem sharing it but he knew your car was getting fixed and that meant you'd have to take the bus. The damned late bus.

Nearly no one is out at this hour, it's so silent you swear you can hear the asphalt cracking under the heat. A lone figure accompanies you in your wait sitting on stop's bench in front of you. You can't make out who's there because of the frosted glass but whomever that is isn't from around here, their shape is big and you'd remember someone of that size. As an American Marten you've got to keep an eye out for big people if you'd like to not be stepped on. Bored out of your mind you wonder if you should say hi but it's way too hot to move from the shade. The windows on the opposing building are even reflecting light directly on the bus stop; you assume the stranger must be a dromedary or an elephant to be taking in the heat like that.

After a few minutes you give up and decide to satiate your curiosity. To avoid burning your hind paws you take speedy smalls steps pushing your trolley towards the stop with your muzzle facing down, and quickly hop on the seat. It's unbearably hot so you have to shuffle around to a more comfortable position, and you use the opportunity to sneak a glance at your companion. You freeze once you see that right beside you, slightly bending the bench, is an orca. A few moments later the orca turns and gives you a smile and only then do you notice that you've been staring. You quickly lift your now probably-burnt front paws from the bench and intensely focus on them, trying to ignore the burning shame and the orca's gaze.

You feel the bench wobble as the orca turns around to face you and offers his hand. "Hello, my name is Rodi," he says. You curse the late bus under your breath once more and with a sigh you turn smiling and say hi. You attempt to shake his hand but you're barely able to grab one of his fingers. Most people you know are bigger than you so your accustomed to this unbalance, but very rarely is it this much. His coarse hand is careful with yours though, undoubtedly also used to dealing with people smaller than him, you exchange a few pleasantries, and then fall silent.

The asphalt's crackling is all the sound left in the street. You think of remarking this to Rodi so you turn around to mention it but see that his eyes are half closed. "He's probably also bored," you think, "maybe he just wants to doze off a bit." But before you finish that thought he begins to rock side to side, and without a warning he topples over you. You barely manage to move away enough to not be squished by him but your tail is trapped under his bulk. You angrily scream telling him that this isn't appropriate behavior, but he doesn't budge. As you try to push him off you you notice again how coarse and dry his skin is.

"That doesn't seem right", you think, "aquatic species are known for their soft skin." Acting on a hunch you take your cellphone and dial the emergency cervices. Calmly but urgently the person on the other side of the phone tells you that your friend here was suffering from a severe heatstroke. They instruct you to take him to a cooler area and if possible dampen their skin while they dispatch an ambulance. After hanging up you holler for help but nobody hears you. Your mind races to think how to solve this problem or -at this point- how to simply leave, take your trolley, and tell your friend that you couldn't make it. The big stranger here wouldn't make it either, but then…

You pray to the winds that the idea you just had would work. You reach out to grab your trolley position it in front of the bench and whispering a quick sorry you maneuver behind him and push with all your might. Slowly but surely he rolls out of the bench and into your trolley which miraculously doesn't topple over. You breathe relieved that your tail is finally out (if a bit numb) and after catching your breath you start pushing the trolley back to your apartment. Under the scorching sun the small space between the bus stop and the building feels tortuously long, and when you finally reach it the doors slide open and you're greeted by sweet, AC-cooled air; you know it's not enough. You move towards the elevator and smile at the security camera. You'll probably have some explaining to do.

You barely manage to fit yourself into the elevator with your guest and squeeze back again to push the button to your floor. Once there you push your trolley out and into the corridor and leave him there. You make a run towards your apartment, fumble with your keys for a second, open it, and then dart to the bathroom to start filling the bathtub with water. You dash back to get your guest and start pushing the trolley again faster and faster. You're barely able to maneuver inside your apartment before crashing into the side of your bathtub, making the trolley tip over and dumping your guest unceremoniously into the half filled tub. You fall to the floor beside it panting, hoping this would be enough.

Damn bus.