Opossumcore | By Amber Grennan

Robbie stood at his bedroom window brazenly, his plush opossum toy resting tenderly between his hands. The older woman emerged from the screen door, into the garden backing his, with a tin of cat food already open. Amora’s evening ritual had only just begun, and he eagerly clutched his toy to his chest, hoping to soothe his urge to hop the fence in his garden to join her. He had to wait a few more weeks at least, his coat was not yet ready.

Amora took a fork and banged it against the tin, making kissing noises in the general direction of the bushes next to her garden. She scraped the contents of the tin into a few metal bowls dotted around her porch and then lay out her custom-made ramp on the steps so the creatures could easily climb up to her. The first one emerged timidly, sniffing the air before waddling excitedly to the porch. More followed, their grey-white fur glowed in the sunset, their long leathery tails trailing behind them.

Twelve opossums surrounded Amora, much less than the night before. She crouched down and they began to lick her palms, nuzzling into her like she was their mother. Robbie imagined they would gladly become her offspring and reduce themselves to joeys again and suckle on her breasts. She was too old now to rear children, but how he wished she could truly nurse the opossums as they deserved.

She picked one of them up, cradling it in her arms, cooing over its adorable face. He pressed his forehead against the window, envying the way she embraced it. He couldn’t tell if he wanted to be her or the opossum. He wished for her to hold him like that, caress his short fur and sing to him softly. Robbie would nuzzle into her neck and lick her wrinkled face tenderly. He could almost taste the lavender soap on her skin.

Amora soon retired for the evening, leaving each of her opossums with a cat treat. His eyes followed her as intensely as the opossums’ as she closed the back door behind her. He turned to the freshly skinned fur coats on his desk, still waiting to be sewn together. Soon he would have enough for a pelt of his own.

---

Amber Grennan has a mild obsession with all things opossum, frog, and cat.