Pepe had been kept in a warm, dark but comfortable place for what seemed an eternity. Then suddenly a bright light appeared; his hitherto comfortable existence had ended. He looked around at all the masked shapes in wonderment -- flashes of light appeared before it went dark again. He wondered what on earth was going on as he lay there quietly, wondering what would happen next and as he did so, he took the opportunity to rest.
Little did he know, this was something Pepe would have to get used to. Then there was a bright light, a metallic flash which was followed by an intense pain. What had he done to deserve this, he asked of himself -- the pain was excruciating and then it went dark again. All he could do was to lie there and imagine what next and what would become of him. Again, he rested and healed; he gradually became a lot more sensitive to his surroundings - sometimes it was dark and sometimes there was light. He liked the light. Often times he lay quietly in a cushion of dry warmth, feeling at peace and suddenly, apparently without reason, his bliss would be shattered as the dry warmth disappeared. Strange smells appeared to surround him and the stench became over-powering. He was powerless to do anything about it. It would not be long before his discomfort would be replaced by the dry softness and clean scents and he would be returned to his resting place, he was most happy then. He loved to be dry. Although the periodic aromas seemed to be quite a regular occurrence, he grew to learn that they were to be short lived and he would soon be dry during which he would see the light again before being plunged into darkness once again. He looked forward to the light time. Pepe was beginning to understand this curious light and dark world in which he was living and as he was getting used to this routine until one day he saw himself in a mirror -- he was not alone!
He found something attached to him, an odd looking shape, of enormous proportions. It was Pepe's host. What was odd, was that it moved independently of Pepe and seemed to carry him around to wherever it wanted to go. His first sight of his host was very brief and unfortunately subsequent sightings were rare. Pepe lay there in his quiet darkness thinking; this 'thing' seemed to be harmless and it was not altogether unsightly, just odd looking!
Pepe's life soon entered a regular routine alternating between wet and dry, light and dark, unfortunately punctuated with brief interludes of suffocating smells which were inevitably and fortunately, a prelude to absolute luxury. This routine continued until one day Pepe's quality of life improved -- he was able to see the light a lot more often and now the claustrophobic darkness amid unpleasant sporadic odours soon became only a distant memory for him. Life was becoming pleasant as he often experienced the great outdoors, the fresh air and the sunny warmth of the big yellow light in the sky. He had accepted his host whom he often saw in the mirror and it seemed to be getting bigger each day ... but Pepe was not! He saw similar 'hosts' around and he began to learn quickly. Two large appendages below him seemed to be able to take him anywhere and everywhere. Pepe liked his adventuresome host. These idyllic moments of joy ended when Pepe was again plunged into, what seemed to be, interminable periods of darkness; he slept most of the time and only occasionally did he ever see light. He looked forward to these little events but they were always too short. Sometimes he would be plunged into warm sweet smelling water, which he loved -- it reminded him of his life before he saw the light for the first time. But it was also during this time he made some friends.
They seemed to hang around in groups and always five at a time. They sometimes wrestled with him and other times and smothered with a foam which smelled heavenly. He grew close to two of them in particular, Tom and Frank. They would regularly visit him and free him from his dank prison and gave Pepe a quick peek of the outside world. Pepe was always relieved to see Tom and Frank, but thought it odd their three other pals never came close, but simply stayed in the background. All seemed to be well in the world outside his confinement and he soon grew accustomed to this somewhat solitary existence.
As time passed, Pepe remembered little except the loneliness. He noticed that his host seemed to be getting larger and firmer but Pepe was not! Tom and Frank were getting bigger too and they weren't visiting him quite so often, adding to Pepe's seemingly solitary existence. He questioned his purpose in life or perhaps how he fitted into the grand scheme of things until he noticed that he was not entirely alone. They seemed to have sneaked up on him from below when he had least expected it. They too were small and appeared shy at first. One day, they introduced themselves as Bill and Ben and were twins. Pepe explained much of what he had learned over the years to Bill and Ben and over the ensuing years they soon became close friends. Pepe became their window to the events going on outside their world; the twins hardly ever saw the light. Tom and Frank came to visit occasionally but as always, their other three pals still kept very much too themselves.
Pepe grew slowly and imperceptibly. He enjoyed the company of Bill and Ben who were also growing slowly but most of all he looked forward to the daily visits from his friends, Tom and Frank, when they would take him out for a breath of fresh air and see a whole new world of light and sound, of different smells and climate changes. He was not fond of the cold and when he was forced into an icy world, whether it was under water or simply in the open air, he shrunk away, preferring to cuddle with Bill and Ben who were similarly inclined to avoid the low temperatures. Bill and Ben were meek and were glad that Tom and Frank always selected Pepe when they visited and introduced him to the wide open spaces outside. Pepe was sometimes handled rather brutally, as Tom and Frank seemed to be growing at a faster rate than Pepe; they were getting to be quite large in comparison to Pepe's diminutive stature.
Pepe did not know how, or when, he first began to notice the change to his appearance, but suspects that it was when he saw his reflection one day when he would be doused in the sweet smelling foam, which had become a regular routine. Pepe noticed that he was acquiring a new look that included some sort of fur jacket! It was dark and soft at first but after a time, it became less soft but always dark. It seemed to be confined to the area where he was joined to his host. Curiously, Bill and Ben were also taking on a completely new look. They were getting larger now and becoming covered in this furry mass of hair. It did not seem to bother the twins as they were shy and kept very much to themselves. The twins never seemed to care about their appearance, their hair was always messy. Pepe became aware of their heightened sensitivity, particularly to the occasional bumps and knocks that sometimes occurred and whilst Tom's whole gang of five often came to the rescue of Bill and Ben when they were suffering -- they were always kind to the twins.
It happened during the dark time, when Pepe's host was comfortably resting. Something stirred within Pepe. He awoke to find himself substantially taller than his usual stature. He had strength and body, he was firm and ... erect. He felt good, although he did not quite understand why this was so. Then almost as suddenly as his new 'persona' appeared, it was gone, he was back to his usual self. As he lay they and wondered, the whole episode repeated itself. He certainly liked the feeling but was still a little concerned as to what was happening; until he was sure, he would keep the matter to himself. These little 'firming' episodes began to occur quite regularly and he was becoming more confident. He was not sure, but he was sure that when he stood erect, he would be bigger than Tom and Frank, and certainly of greater girth. He concealed his inner excitement and each day brought an added confidence and cockiness. Bill and Ben noticed the change in Pepe too and were becoming just as excited about their new-found secret. It was not long before their heightened euphoria, that they issued a proclamation of their undying bond; so powerful was the issue and the subsequent euphoria that Bill and Ben dropped exhausted. Pepe reveled when the issue spurted and his head was set spinning - he had never before had such a climactic experience. He became totally weak, if not a little wet, but this did not stop him from enjoying this wonderful interlude. How did this happen and will it happen again? He hoped it would.
Pepe's life was about to change in a way which was to be considerably more than he could ever have expected it possible.