Writing Prompt 4

Pigs are cute; piglets cuter. People count sheep when they can't sleep. Not her. Meg counts pigs. She imagine them with their cute little snout and chubby feet, frolicking across the walls of her bedroom. Her favourite movie as a child was Babe, the farm pig who wanted to become a sheep dog. Since then, she has had a fascination with them. She sees them in a different light. A pig's place is usually on people's plate but for Meg, they are her companions throughout childhood. She has watched countless of videos and documentaries on them that some can say that she is an expert on pigs.

So, fast forwarding into the future, we see a very grown up Meg, working at a well established company. She has turned out quite well as compared to her teenage years where she was gangly and awkward. Some may say she is even beautiful. With her chocolate brown eyes and wavy dark hair, she has had her fair share of suitors. However, at 27 years old, she is still single.

Yesterday, Kyle from the marketing department had finally worked up the courage to ask her out on a date. Since she started working here 6 months ago, they were always on friendly terms, flirting with each other but never anything serious. They went out with friends a few times but never just the two of them. Tonight could be the start of something new, thought Meg.

At 6pm sharp, Meg shut off her laptop. It was Friday night. The office was already half deserted as she put on her coat, her colleagues also taking this once in a blue moon opportunity to clock off early as their boss was not in. Mr. Kent is a great boss, but being a workaholic, he usually lost track of time and work like his life depends on it. He tried to encouraged this in all his employees but fortunately, no one takes after him. "We have a life outside of work." commented Janice, her desk mate during their break time in the coffee lounge. "If they wanted someone who will do anything at their beck and call, they should have hired a dog." Meg agreed with her. Life does not stop when you are working. Money is important but you need a balance, sort of like yin and yang. Too much of something is not a good thing.

Kyle was waiting for her in the basement. She got into his car and off they went. Meg didn't know where they were going as he told her that it was a surprise. They left the concrete jungle behind. Greenery started to lined the road on both sides. She wind down her window and breathe in the cool summer night. Ahead, she could see that they were driving toward the coast. It has been a long time since she came here. She looked over at Kyle. He smiled back at her. "What do you think?" He asked. She didn't know what to say. She thought back to a conversation that they had a few days ago, when she told him that she had not been to the coast in years, since she moved to the city. He remembered. "Thank you." And she smiled back at him.

About half an hour later, they reached their destination. The restaurant was a red brick building, remodelled to look like one of those old fashioned barns, with stacks of hay on both side of the entrance. They were greeted by the host, Shelly. Shelly wore one of those big cowboy hats and shiny pink cowboy boots. She looks like a bigger version of Tinker Bell, minus the wings, in cowboy costume. Kyle already made reservation, so she lead them to their table. Inside, the lights were dimmed and the high ceiling were decorated by murals depicting angels with harps, playing and singing. On the left was the bar, with rows after rows of wines and liquors on the shelves behind it, with glasses hanging from the metal racks above. We followed Shelly, turning right, towards a table set for two by the window. The view was spectacular, the ocean as far as your eyes could see. We sat down and Kyle immediately ordered a bottle of white wine to start while we looked at the menu. The hum of conversations and laughter floated in the air. Everyone was dressed to the nines. "I feel under dressed." Meg told Kyle as she contemplated between ordering the salmon or the roast chicken. Both sounds delicious. Kyle chuckled. "Well, I think we are doing fine. Look behind you at 2 o'clock." Meg discreetly turn around and glanced towards the target. There, beside the bar was an old couple, wearing what looked like matching bath robes, happily eating their meal as if it was perfectly normal to eat in your bath robe all the time. She stared, shocked for a moment and quickly collected herself. She turned back towards Kyle. "Well, next time I will be sure to pack an extra set of bath robe." And then they both laughed.

The waiter came over with their wine and started to take their order. Kyle ordered the rib eye steak while Meg decided to go with the salmon in dill sauce. The waiter asked whether they would like to start with the restaurant's famous appetiser as it is a delicacy here.
"Would you like that?" asked Kyle.
"Sure, why not?" said Meg. It was always nice to try something new.
"It is a secret dish here."
"What it is?"
"You'll see." replied Kyle. He tried to hide his smile as he took a sip of his wine.
"What aren't you telling me." Meg stared at Kyle over the rim of her glass, trying to tease an answer out of him.
Kyle just shakes his head and smiled like a little boy hiding something, which makes Meg laughed. It was just so easy between them. Conversation flowed naturally. She could discuss anything with him, from her biggest dreams to her greatest fear. Even when they paused between talking to admire the scenery, the silence between them was not awkward. It was a companionable silence, as if they have known each other for years.

The waiter appeared with their appetiser. Meg took a sip of her wine, paused and stared at the plate. It could not be. This was not true. It was not what she think it was.
Kyle laughed at the expression on her face, " Are you ok?"
"Errr yeah sure, I'm fine." Meg continued to stare at the dish. "What is that?"
"That is the delicacy here. It is said that it is a secret recipe, passed down from generation to generation. You cannot get this anywhere else." Kyle starts to unfold his napkin and places it on his lap.
I sure hope not, thought Meg. It was her worst nightmare! Kyle didn't noticed her distress, continue to pick up his fork and knife and dig in. The sound of him chewing and slurping the meat and juice off the bone was revolting. Meg could not take it anymore. She stood abruptly, scraping her chair loudly on the wooden floor. Kyle's fork paused mid air, the juice from the meat hanging on his fork dripped down to his plate. It was reddish, like blood. Meg immediately excused herself and rush to the bathroom. She slammed the door behind her and stood at the basin, facing the mirror. Luckily, there was no one inside, so she has a moment to herself. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, breathing in and out slowly.

Is that what I think it is?! Oh my god! She puts her hands against her cheeks. I can't believe he is eating pig's feet! I am not going to eat pig's feet! All thoughts of her favourite animal was running through her brain. She could not stop thinking about all those cruel videos that she had seen about the slaughtering of her favourite companion, all those nights when she can't stop having nightmares about them until her mom had to take her to the doctor for some sleeping pills. Did Kyle not know that pigs were her favourite animal? How could he eat them in front of her? Nearly everyone at the office knows this and they respect her for that.

There was a knock on the bathroom door outside. "Meg? Are you in there? Are you ok?" It was Kyle. He sounds concerned and worried. Well, he should be! thought Meg. He just ate pig's feet in front of me and looked so damn happy doing it!
"I'm really sorry. I just realised my mistake. It was unintentional. I.....I'm just really really sorry." He sounded so dejected that Meg finally composed herself and opened the door.
She looked up at him, "It's okay. I'm just gonna call a cab and go home now." She tried to smiled but it came out weak. Kyle tried to followed her but she stopped him. "I'm fine. I just need to be alone now." And then she walked out.

After she got home, all Meg did was crawled into bed and stay under the safety of her covers. Pigs are going to be the death of me. That was the last thought going through Meg's mind before she fell into a fitful sleep, dreaming about pig's feet stampeding across her body, crushing her, suffocating her.