Bà
by
Akai


The rain fell in the late autumn evening. The little patters of their feet on the ground could be heard from inside the little shop. The little shop in contrast to the night was bright and warm. People inside chattered and talked with delight as they sipped on warm soup and tea. Behind the counter stood a large fat panda with a small mohawk and a gold earring. He wore only some underwear and an apron, leaving the majority of his body open.
“I’ll never fully understand you Bà. You could at least cover those moobs of yours.” a badger named Brad said.
“Hey hey he doesn’t need to do a thing. Bà does what he likes.” argued a canary named Phil. Bà simply smiled as he stirred a pot of soup.
“Anyways, Bà you must’ve spent a lifetime to perfect this cooking! This soup is darn good.” said Brad.
“Nope. Our friend Bà here was once a legendary wrestler.” Phil said.
“No way!”
“Way.” Phil smiled. Brad looked with giant eyes at the blushing panda behind the counter.
“Yup. Bà was one of the best. Able to lift a ton above his head and has won over 50 gold medals!” Phil bragged, making the Panda blush more. Brad was dumbfounded as he looked over the panda.
“How did a legend go from that to… well fat?!” Brad asked. Phil opened his mouth to speak but Bà coughed. He smiled and undid his apron and hung it up. His exposed belly and moobs jiggled as he walked around the counter and plopped down next to the two.He smiled and then he began to speak.
“Because of family of course.” he said. His voice was bass and hummed as he spoke. He rarely talked, he always expressed himself with his smile, and his food.
“Ah I see now. You and the mrs and that little rascal of your’s.” Brad said. Bà nodded.
“When my wife told me she was pregnant my world flipped. Suddenly I wanted to not fight, for my child’s sake. So I stopped and now here I am.” Bà said with a soft smile. Phil smiled and so did brad, but the badger then frowned.
“Still how did you get so...fat?” he asked, not wanting to upset the big loaf. However, Bà simply smiled.
“Well the stresses of raising children can go to ya.” Bà gave a low chuckle.
“Yeah, straight to your stomach.” Phil patted the panda’s belly. Bà blushed brightly at this and gave a little small smile. Brad took a swig of his soup bowl and set it down.
“Speaking of which, ho is that little ankle biter?” he asked.
“Akai’s doing fine. He’s hanging with his friends as he works and goes to school.” Bà pulled out a picture and handed it to the badger.
“Wowzers he’s as big as his old man!” Brad said with a laugh. Bà smiled and nodded as he stood with a jiggle and picked up the bowls.
“Once again thanks for the meal Bà!” Phil said with a smile as he and Brad left. Bà waved and smled as he put up the picture on the bar again. The picture showed a large smiling red panda standing with a group of other large people. Bà smiled and closed the shop. He kissed the picture and then turned off the lights. The patter of the rain and the snoring of a panda filled the night as the day was over.