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The tigress has been fighting against the shackles for a while now.
Margio had managed to calm her down after Marian's death. He knew he had to go away, otherwise he would probably end up slaughtering his old man. Margio travelled, finding odd jobs, spending his time in various places, never staying in one area for more than two nights. He socialized, observed, did anything to take his mind off his mother, Mameh, his now dead sister and the bastard of a father he left behind.
The tigress quietened eventually. One day she showed itself for the second time. Margio opened his eyes at the crowing of a rooster at dawn, and there she was. She looked like a giant striped cat, licking her paws and staring at Margio with curious yellow eyes. He grinned.
"I missed you, you know," he spoke, reaching out to stroke her fur. "Did you get bored being inside all day?"
The tigress let out a low growl.
"Yeah, you're probably mad at me. Listen, I want to kill that man as much as you do. But we can't. I cannot betray my mother and sister like that. They would hate me forever."
The tigress lowered her head, settling into a comfortable position. Her tail swished lazily behind her.
Margio sat up straight, stretching his sore limbs. He massaged his neck lightly, then his wrists, then ankles, then finally rotated his neck to get the blood circulating. He had lifted sacs of rice for a farmer yesterday, and it did a number on him after a few days of working for a shoemaker.
He had slept in a surau that night. Margio was beginning to suspect that the tigress only shows herself in a surau.
"Do you have a name?"
The white tiger stared at Margio.
"Yeah, thanks, that was very informative."
Birds chirped in the distance. A squirrel found its way into a corner of the surau, where it scurried around before disappearing through a door.
Snow.
The sudden voice in his head made Margio jump, and he looked around wildly for the source.
Me.
Margio locked eyes with the tigress, whose yellow eyes now shone brighter. He titled his head in confusion, before his eyes widened as realisation dawned upon him.
"You're talking to me!"
The tigress rose and padded forward until she was inches from Margio's face, and licked his nose. Or rather, dragged her large tongue across Margio's face, leaving a streak of saliva on it. Margio laughed, the sound echoing through the empty sarau. He wiped his face with his sleeve, and reached out a hand to pet the animal.
"Snow," he muttered. "I like that name. I think grandfather gave it to you. He once had a white hen that he named Snow, then a white rabbit, and then a white mouse. Yes, a mouse, can you believe it?"
Eat.
Margio scoffed, throwing his head back to laugh again. "You ate the mouse?!"
Snow now looked like she was smiling, her sharp canines glinting in the sunlight that poured into the sarau. Better Snow.
"Ah yes, may the best Snow win. And all that."
Margio stretched again, and decided to get up. Snow followed, stretching like a cat.
"Time to find breakfast now," Margio spoke up, running a hand through his hair. "Maybe you should get back inside me? However you do it, you know."
Snow stared deadpan at Margio.
Secret.
"Well screw me for being curious I guess," Margio replied, shaking his head in amusement. He walked out of the sarau, squinting as the sun momentarily blinded him. He looked around, watching the world slowly wake up around him. He breathed in, filling his lungs with the morning air, his shoulders feeling momentarily unburdened.
He turned around, and Snow was gone.