grinnin' guardian

She called him "Chomp, Chomp". He was a strange, magnificent little stone statue that sat by the stone walkway that lead to the old ruins just outside of town. Oh how Elaine loved that odd grinning statue. It's wide open mouth was curled in a smile. in the very center of that mouth sat an iron bell. His ears were forever perked up on either side of its rounded head.
To her parents "Chomp, Chomp was nothing more than a stone relic from a long, long forgotten past.
A symbolic guardian and nothing more.
But to little Elaine "Chomp, Chomp" was something much, much more. She was sure that he was alive! That he knew and remembered her. Even missed her when she was gone...