She was beginning to be comfortable with this new man in her life. However, she was still guarded, still fearful of being abandoned, again. Her last master had cared for her, for several years. She had been faithful and true, and loyal, and he had loved her completely; at least she had always felt he had, until that day. Seemingly for no reason, he was gone. He had not said anything, no explanation, no indication that something was wrong, or different, or unusual. Just one day, he was not there anymore, and she was alone.
And then, here she was with this new man, with a new collar and new ways. Unlike her previous master, this man seemed to always say to her, "Good girl." with such pride in his voice. She loved how small, and cared for, and appreciated it made her feel. It gave her a warm glow all over; made her want to do anything, and everything for this man.
But, deep down inside she wondered if he would someday disappear, just as her previous master had. Every time she thought back on that, her heart ached. When he noticed her looking at the door, with that longing in her eyes, he seemed to completely understand. He would run his fingers through her wavy red hair, and tell her, "Everything is going to be fine. It will not happen again, not this time." It was as if he knew how she was feeling, even if she did not, or could not, say so.
This new man was so caring and warm. Sometimes in the night, she would wake up cuddled against him, and she would feel his touch. Often he would simply take her chin in his hand, lift her face up, look into her eyes and tell her what a beautiful girl she was. Then he would put his arm around her, rubbed her back, and they would both drift off, back to sleep.
Each week, each month, as her trust grew, more assured and deeper, she found herself beginning to forget about her previous master, more and more. She did not feel the longings nearly as often, and not for nearly as long when they did come to her. She compared the two men less and less as time went on. She realized she was trying to figure out if this man was going to treat her as the first one had; loving her, wanting her, caring for her, wondering and afraid that suddenly one day it would be over again, just like the last time. She began to see just how vulnerable a girl was to the whims of her owner. But, they were different in many ways; this new owner was much more gregarious. He took her out with him much more often, introduced her to his friends, and they were all so friendly, too. He took great pride in her, enjoyed showing her off in public. They always told her how beautiful she was, and how lucky he was to have such a lovely girl; with such a trim lithe body, and gorgeous red hair, and a charming smile.
Another thing she began to realize was the difference in her training. Her old master had always used punishment to reinforce lessons, to correct bad behavior or missteps when trying to follow directions. This new man would patiently correct her, repeating his instruction, showing her the proper posture or action, explaining very clear what his expectations were. And, when she would respond correctly, there would be that praise, "Good girl". It amazed her how much she loved to hear that, more and more she realized how different masters had different ways, and how much they affected her.
She truly hoped that this new master would be forever.
