Chapter Text
Chapter 3: Green Eggs and Ham
Everything looked… So old and ancient… and yet, so beautiful…
Howard sat up as he stared at the pitch black sky. There were no stars or moon, but somehow, there was light as the place around him was still bright as though there was something lighting the place. He saw strange looking creatures inhabiting the old land, such odd, yet magnificent looking creatures.
He stood up and walked over to what kind of looked like a moose drinking water that looked so clean and crystal clear. It almost made Howard want to drink some. He gave the moose a small pat and looked up when he heard soft giggling…
There was a little girl in the distance. She was caressing some yellow creature with long pink feathers.
Howard’s eyes widened.
He ran straight over to her and stayed silent as she kept patting the creature’s head. Howard wanted to say her name, but something pushed him to not, at least not yet.
“Aren’t they adorable?” She soon asked, “Perfectly darling!”
“I suppose for a sterling,” Howard finally responded and patted the moose like creature. He looked back at her, “Is that… Really you?…… Katie Lou?”
Katie looked back at him and gave a small smile, “What do you think? Hard to let it sink?”
“I think that you shouldn’t be here right now and more visiting Phillip’s dreams!” Howard folded his arms and looked at her, sternly, “He wants to see you! He needs to! He needs to see you smile! See you beam!”
Katie frowned, “I can’t.”
Howard matched her frown, “You ain’t?”
“Howard, there’s some weird… Wall? I can’t get through it. Not at all…”
“A wall?” Howard raised a brow. He had heard plenty that spirits can visit their loved ones in dreams to check up on them, but… The idea of some kind of wall? That’s a thing? “How can we make that wall fall?”
“I can’t reach Phillip, so I came to you. Please tell him, oh please tell me you’ll do!” Katie Lou clasped her hands, “Give him a message from Katie Lou, I’m alright, and I want him to be too!”
“As do I,” Howard nodded and leaned against one of the walls and slowly slid down until he was sitting and hugged his legs. Katie Lou sat down next to him and leaned on his shoulder. “Please still try…”
“I will,” Katie looked up at the black sky and pointed up at it, “That’s what the wall looks like…” The sky now was covered in those glowing red eyes all staring down at them. Howard felt a chill run down his spine. Is that stupid rock still messing with his mind that much? Did it really not want to let him go? It filled Howard with anger. He felt protective. He wanted that damn monolith to leave his friend alone! It’s gotta be what’s secretly scaring him. He’s scared of what he did. Who he became for a while.
“Howard..? Please…”
Howard slowly looked at Katie and saw she had those eyes covering her and she looked so decayed just like… Like his mother…
“Please help him… Do it for me…”
Despite how disturbing Katie looked, Howard hugged her, tightly, “I will… I will… Anything… For you and Phil…”
…
Howard stirred a bit as he was starting to wake up. He was alone on the bed and saw that Phillip and Angelique had already gotten up. Phillip was outside on the balcony, smoking his pipe. Huh. So that’s why the room smelled like lavender. Phillip was always fancy with that. He didn’t like the smell of tobacco, he liked flavors in his pipe. Makes everything smell better, too.
Howard looked around, but didn’t see Angelique, but heard water running. She must be showering. He got out of bed and came out to the balcony.
“Morning,” Phillip said and blew out a puff of smoke, “sleep ok?”
“Yeah,” Howard responded, “uh, were you surprised to wake up to us both? Hope that wasn’t weird, eh?”
“Nah, quite comfy, actually,” Phillip looked down to see families swimming in the outside pool, “they all down there look happy.”
Howard looked down as well, “You always were a family man,” he said and frowned when he saw a mother teaching her son how to swim and being so proud of him when he managed to get to her, “see how well that kid swam?”
“Yup,” Phillip nodded and tended more to his pipe, “maybe one day I’ll settle down. I’ll have quite a lot of kids. Once someone comes around.”
“Would be nice,” Howard watched the happy families having fun in the water and enjoying themselves in it and adults lounging in the hot tub. Part of him wanted to be a part of that, but… He still felt he must be on some time crunch, and… His bathing suit is kind of silly since he hates showing so much skin. He’d get laughed at for sure!
“Wanna get food?” Phillip asked, “We can meet Angie down there, and I’m curious about their tea. Sound good?”
“Eh, alright,” Howard shrugged, his eyes still following that mother and her son and how she was showing him more ways to swim and… A man came over. He must be the dad… He too looked so proud of his son for learning how to swim…
He forced himself to look away and went to get his clothes and coat on. Phillip watched him hurry off and looked back down to see that happy family. Another kid hurried over. A sister… He forced himself to look away too and started to follow his friend.
…
“Wow! This tea is so… I didn’t expect this!” Angelique said as she gulped down her fifth cup of butterfly milk tea. Howard was rivaling her a little as he now started his seventh cup.
“You’re telling me,” he said and finished his buttercream donut and gulped down his cup, “this is… So exquisite!”
“You guys and your tea,” Phillip laughed, but couldn’t help himself with trying different flavors. He’s never seen a hotel that had a tea buffet! So many different types to try! He wondered if they were part of some tea company to have this. Smart move! “Gotta try the butterscotch one, it’s so rich, see?”
Howard and Angelique started trying more and more tea while Phillip decided to take a break and settle for some morning coffee, instead and happily ate a chocolate donut with it. A few crumbs got on his face and Angelique tutted him. “You boys always leave such a mess!” She grabbed a napkin and started to wipe Phillip’s mouth, making him get flustered. Howard just smirked at that. Angie sighed, “Don’t think I didn’t notice that small chocolate stain on your coat! Honestly, be slow and drink less!”
Howard huffed as Angelique now started to wipe his coat of that stain. Neither of the two would dream of arguing with her, though. She was the one who wore the boots in the group after all. Did she have to do this in public, though?
A waiter came by and took all the empty teacups and plates and eyed the two men, “Is it just hat season or something?”
“Huh?” Phillip looked at the man, “I, uh, we always wear hats. Nothing wrong with that.”
“Oh, I know,” the waiter excused himself, “it’s just lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of people come and go. A lot of them have been wearing hats. Just a bit ago, two who’s left with sorta matching hats. Them and someone who looked like a cat.”
“Cat?” Howard raised a brow.
“Anyway,” the waiter went on, “sorry about that. It’s just I didn’t know if a trend was going on. They’re all going past the big hills behind us, though I find it rude they’re going past our back lawn…”
The three immediately tensed up. That was where they left Nessie! They waited until the waiter was gone before they then got up and ran off out of the hotel and over to the large hills. “NESSIE!” Howard called, “If you’re there, say something or come out and let us see!”
Nessie made a noise. A rather pleasant one. She’s ok. Good.
That was when they heard a voice, “Who’s the cutest giant monster in the world? You are~”
Another voice, “Sam, stop petting that thing and hurry to the car!”
Howard felt his body become more pale. He quickly poked his head up from the mountains and… Sure enough, there were two fellows with Nessie.
One was short and had white and yellow fur with a large red hat. He was happily rubbing Nessie’s belly and she was kicking her back legs, one of them almost hitting the blue car by her. The other was tall and had beige and brown fur with a dark brown hat that looked like it was once purple. He had his arms folded and glared at his companion and telling him to stop and just get in the car already.
Phillip and Angelique reached the top and saw the two with Nessie. They looked at Howard and then back at them. The tall one then looked up and saw the three and tugged on Sam, “Sam, we have company.”
Sam stopped and looked up and gave them a cheerful smile, “Hello! Is this your pet?”
Angelique was the one to speak up, “Yes… She is…” She started to come down the sandy hill, “Nessie is harmless, she’s been to the vet.”
“What is she?” Sam asked, “If you don’t mind answering. She’s just so cute, see?”
Phillip then followed after Angelique, “She’s a Hullabaloo and she loves to say ‘How do you do?’!”
“Huh,” Sam looked back at her, “Nessie, huh?” He went back to rubbing her belly, “She’s so cute! A gentle giant full of love!”
“SAM!” The tall one finally spoke up again and gave the group an apologetic look, “Sorry, he loves meeting new people and animals. We saw her when on our way to the next city where the buildings are super tall!”
“I’m Sam!” Sam pointed a thumb to himself, “Sam I Am!”
“And I am Guy Am I. Again, sorry about that.”
Howard finally approached, “It’s okay. Uh, have you seen a cat?”
“Cat?” Guy asked.
“Nevermind, uh… I’m Howard. And this is…” Howard trailed off when he saw Phillip rubbing his head and fanning himself, “Phillip, you okay? You’re stumbling backward…”
“Sorry,” Phillip panted and took his scarf off, “Angelique was right! It’s so hot that I’m getting a headache! Sorry to make you worry…”
“I told you guys it would be hot.” Angelique tutted them, “I said to get into some shorts, did I not?”
“You did…” Howard looked at his attire that kept him nicely covered. He really didn’t want to have to… But he guessed he could wear a regular short sleeved shirt and be fine.
Howard was really… Insecure on how his body looked. So he didn’t want the world to know how disgusting his figure probably was. He’s been doing a bit better, but a lot of times his ribcage is barely showing. He knows he needs to eat more, and he knows he’s gotta get outta that mindset, but it was hard… He just didn’t like showing skin. Thankfully his coat always kept it covered, but now the sun has other plans…
Phillip didn’t look so hot, either. He was considering taking his coat off, but felt he was being rude around Sam and Guy and he rubbed his head, trying to relieve this headache he had. Angelique handed him a bottle of water and he started to chug it down.
“Uh, well, it was nice meeting you two, but we have much to do!” Angelique smiled at them, “Please, uh, hope we’ll see you around! Maybe in another town!”
“Oh, yeah!” Sam laughed and rested his wrist on his side and waved his other hand, “Maybe in the next city! We’re on vacation and traveling, too, so you guys would be nice to see!”
“Sam, let’s get going,” Guy lightly pushed him towards the car, “before uh, Nessie kicks it and it goes boing!”
“Later!” Sam called again and they got in the car and drove off.
“Phew!” Phillip sighed and wiped more sweat off his aching head, “Those guys gave me a scare!”
“You’re telling me,” Angelique nodded before looking back at the sweating boys, “come on, let’s get you guys changed and head to the city.”
“I…” Howard was really hesitant on that idea, but… It’s either that, or die of heatstroke and right now he kinda needed to help the world…
He caved. Maybe he won’t draw attention like he thinks he would. A shirt would still keep things covered. It wasn’t like he had any scars to worry about aside from the tiny ones on his left hand from those flowers back on the island. And even then, everyone sees his hands. “I’ll try…” He finally answered.
They went back to the hotel and now the boys were wearing short sleeved shirts. Phillip put on a white T-shirt with a little pocket on the chest that had a little anchor on it while Howard just put on a short sleeved pink shirt that looked just like his longer sleeved one he normally wore. Both put on shorts, though Howard’s was a little longer as he kept letting insecurity control him. They headed back on out and hopped onto Nessie.
“Hehe, were those guys nice to you, Nessie?” Angelique cooed a bit and stroked Nessie’s neck. The tall yellow beast nodded, “Yeah? Hehe, I saw you kicking your legs! They weren’t scared, they called you a cutie!”
Howard gently patted Nessie’s back before looking at Phillip, who was still chugging water. “You, okay?” He finally asked.
“Yeah..” Phillip nodded, “The headache is fading at least… That stupid sun’s rays…”
Howard nodded and thought back to his dream of Katie Lou. He recalled now… She wanted to see her brother, to let him know she’s okay and to check on him, but… That wall she mentioned… Howard had to hide his shaking fist before looking back at Phillip. Phil took out the brochures and started to look through them again and listened to him tell Angelique about the Star Bellied Sneetches. How they looked so close to Nessie.
“Say… Phillip..? Uh..” Howard twiddled his fingers as he tried to word it the best he could, “I need to tell you something that I hope won’t make you quit…”
Phillip glanced at him from the corner of his eye, “What’s up?” He asked, “And I doubt it’s that bad.”
Howard hesitated, but said, “Let’s just say… your… Uh… A certain someone appeared in a dream I had…”
Phillip paused his reading and lowered the brochure, now staring straight at Howard, his pupils dilating before he blinked and they were normal size again. A forced smile formed on his face, “Oh? Is that so? Well, I hope it was a nice dream, and not so mellow…”
“Eh, yeah,” Howard nodded and forced a smile back at him, trying not to mention the more scary parts, “I uh, am trying to word this right. I’m not trying to keep it sealed tight.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Angelique asked while looking over her shoulder.
“Uh… About dreams,” Howard answered, “and now I’m in the mood for sauerkraut.”
“I don’t think we have any,” Angelique responded, “but we can find some in the city.”
Howard just nodded and glanced back at Phillip and saw him return to reading, but looked a bit uneasy and clearly trying to hide it. Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything… But he wanted to! He wanted him to know that Katie wants to see him, but that… Wall thing she mentioned… When he thought about it, how was he supposed to explain that to him? Maybe later he can figure out how to word it better without it scaring Phillip. Though he doubted it wouldn’t…
…
“Oh, Guy! She was a gentle giant at best!”
Sam laughed as he drove the car towards the next city off in the distance. He was still happily chatting about how cute he thought that tall yellow beast was. How she was practically like a giant puppy!
Guy however, had his arms folded and sighed as he glanced back at the group from the rear view mirror. While he supposed Nessie was a sweetie, the way the three talking and how much they were all sweating bullets made him cautious. And whatever Nessie was, was not normal. He had never once seen a ‘Hullabaloo’ in his life nor has he heard of them! “It’s hard to give it a rest,” he finally said, “something was just… off… about them all…”
“How?” Sam asked, “They seemed fine enough from what I saw. Guy, you really gotta relax! We’re on vacation! Don’t step on cracks! You’ll break your back!”
“Whatever,” Guy finally shrugged and slumped back into his seat, “they just seem weird. And asking about a cat…”
“What’s wrong with that?” Sam asked, “The only cat I know is the Cat in the Hat! Haven’t seen him in a while, though… Hope he’s doing fine. Best to not weep what I don’t sow! He’s probably off enjoying some milk wine!”
“We might see them again. They’re going to this city too…” Guy mumbled.
Sam’s grin got wider, “I hope we do, Guy… I hope we do!”
Guy waved his hand, “You always love making new friends. Reminds me of when I saw your place literally begging for solicitors and robbers if it meant you could make a friend…”
“And then you came along and my sad days came to an end!” Sam bounced a bit in his seat in excitement, “Maybe they’re on a mission similar to what we did! We could help-“
“Not in a million years,” Guy huffed, “squishing that idea! I ain’t accidentally helping them sell that tall thing to the highest bid!”
Sam finally frowned and looked back at the road, “Alright…”
“Thank you,” Guy finally smiled, “now if that sun could just stop being so bright!”
…
The city the group had arrived in wasn’t really anything too special, though it was a bit odd to see some houses that didn’t have a bunch of outside stairs and three front and back doors. It didn’t seem interesting, but checking out and sight seeing were not on their list. They had a task to do.
“So basically we have to ask the locals about any religion from what I’m guessing?” Angelique asked, looking at Howard.
“About that yeah,” Howard nodded, “I’m uh, assuming…”
Phillip looked around this neighborhood they had all set foot in and noticed some locals were eyeing him a little funny. Was it because he was smoking? No one else at all had a pipe nor cigarette, so he assumed not and awkwardly put it back in his pocket. He couldn’t help it much, really. After what happened on the island, he’s been smoking a lot more than usual. Especially his favorite lavender flavor he got for it, it calmed his nerves and made him feel relaxed, especially when he would remember a bunch from it…
“Phillip?”
“Hm? Oh, sorry!” Phillip shook his head, “Spaced out for a bit.”
“You know what we’re doing?” Howard asked.
“Yeah, investigating or something…”
“Casually ask around about religion,” Angelique said, “don’t make things too obvious, though!” She noticed Howard staring at random people walking by, making them look at him, weirdly. “Howard, you look like a creepy crow!”
“You never know who could worship that- that… Monster…” He mumbled the last word a bit under his breath.
“It’s normally the ones people least suspect,” Angelique sighed, “so finding any would be torture… so here.” She reached into a shopping bad she had and pulled out three light brown satchels. “It’s if we by chance find something anywhere. Though you can also pack little essentials like wallets since you don’t got your coat pockets.”
“I was always prepared with those pockets…” Howard mumbled, “But I guess this is better than nothing. Though I don’t have my mother’s locket…”
“Oh, it’s in your coat,” Phillip realized. Howard always carried that locket his mom had. The only possession of hers he took with him before he left that old shack. It was a good luck charm! He never wore it, though as it was considered ‘too feminine’ at least in public. He’s caught him wearing it around the house a few times. A sentimental object. Just like the pillow Katie Lou made for him…
“Well, you can go dig it out,” said Angelique, “when you’re done, walk around and try to listen in or make conversation. Be very precise with observation.”
“Alright, come on, Nessie,” Phillip guided the tall creature over to what looked to be a dog park, “I’ll stay with her and look and see.”
“And I’ll go over by that fountain where a bunch are going by and look in the stores,” said Angelique before seeing Howard staring at people again, “Howard… You’re chilling them to the core…”
“Oh…” Howard looked at Angelique, “Uh… Before we go… Thanks for doing this and not calling me a psycho.”
“Well, knowing you fought a god, having a dream like that really could be a warning and I don’t wanna take chances,” Angelique gave him a small smile, “so I’ll go through with this and let you know if anything changes.” She then playfully pushed him towards the neighborhood, “And stop staring at people like they’re in a circus! You’re gonna accidentally cause a ruckus!” She laughed before hurrying along.
Howard watched the group go their separate ways before he then hurriedly picked the locket out of his coat pocket and handed it back to Nessie and placed it in his satchel. He already missed having pockets. Maybe he should find more pants or shorts that have them… No, he shouldn’t worry about that right now. He just prayed he won’t draw more attention than he already probably was. Blend in. Look like a typical tourist.
…
“Hey, mom? When school starts, can we NOT go and pretend we’re sick for ten months and they won’t be in the know?”
Joan Walden gave a sigh, but still had a smile on her pink lips as she started to take out her hair curlers and stir the creamer in her coffee with a spoon. She listened to her son, Conrad’s words as he ate his cereal and his sister, Sally ate her buttered toast and blueberry muffin.
“Conrad, you know you and Sally have to,” she responded, “you need the education or you’ll end up like that sad excuse of a man Larry was. School helps you get smart, it ain’t just because.”
“I mean I guess,” Conrad sighed, “I just wish it was at least more entertaining. Those teachers make it so boring and so… Uh… Not so comprehending…”
“Well, let’s hope the teachers this time are much better at that,” Joan gave a small laugh and sipped her coffee, “make you less of a brat… I’m kidding, Conrad.”
Sally giggled, “Don’t worry about school right now, come on, keep enjoying summer!”
“We haven’t even went on vacation yet and it’s a bummer,” Conrad drank the last of the milk in the bowl, “mom, when did you say you can take some days off?”
Joan sighed and finally frowned as she sipped more of her coffee, “The… Closest I can get is mid August…And even then, my boss gave me a scoff…”
“Where would we go?” Sally asked, “Hawaii?”
Joan laughed again, “Would love that and Tahini… No, I feel maybe we could just spend a few days near that beach that’s full of Star Bellied Sneetches.”
“Ah…” Conrad shrugged before nodding. He guessed that would be fine. Not the worst thing. Still, he wanted to escape boredom and he’s already done what all he wanted to do being finished a video game, watched the final episode of one of his favorite shows, baked cupcakes quite a few times with Sally and his mom. He didn’t know what else to really do.
“Hey, let’s play croquet!” Sally suggested, “That’s something to learn to play!”
“Eh, alright,” Conrad nodded again and got up from his chair.
“Your cousin, Mayzie is stopping by later,” Joan said and pointed her spoon at Conrad, “and I want you to be extra nice to her! She’s going through a tough time right now. You know she’s got that weird daisy thing that loves to give you a bow…”
“Mayzie?” Conrad then remembered their cousin, Mayzie McGrew. How she became famous in the area for her weird flower that sprouts now and then. No one knew why that happened still, but eventually scientists around here stopped caring before they’d all go mad from guessing. “Ah, Daisy-Head Mayzie.”
“Shush!” Sally scolded him, “She doesn’t like that name!”
“Alright,” Conrad rolled his eyes, “let’s just go play our game.”
“I could be the referee!” The kids heard their fish say as they were getting everything to set up their game, “Or… whatever sounds good to me!” They carefully set the fish inside a jar to set down outside and placed him on the grass.
Joan walked over to the window and sipped her coffee as she watched the kids start to play and smiled. It felt nicer and calmer now that the kids were behaving better lately, how Conrad is no longer a big rule breaker and he and Sally get more along now. She never needed to send Conrad off to military school after all. It was even scarier finding out Larry wasn’t even her now ex boyfriend’s actual name! Everything about him was such a lie and had the audacity to almost convince her to send her own son who was warning her about him, away! Disgusting! She sighed. No more thoughts about that creep! Just focus on her happy family!
She drank more coffee and then noticed someone walking on the sidewalk that she never saw before, but thought he looked a little familiar. His shaggy black hair and the pink shirt and brown hat. He looked kind of goofy. He was looking around at everything, possibly looking for something and soon noticed her kids playing and was watching them. Whatever he was doing, Joan did not like it!
She opened her window, “Hey!” The man looked right at her in confusion. She snapped her fingers, “What are you doing?! Get away! Go! Shoo! And have a nice day!” She slammed her window shut and the man looked startled before waving an irritated hand and walked off. “Creep!” Joan glared at him as he left. No one is watching her kids looking like that! Misunderstanding? Maybe. Who knows and who cares. She sighed and placed a hand on her forehead. “Maybe an anxiety pill is what I need…”
Meanwhile, the kids were so focused on their game that they never even noticed someone was watching them for a second. Conrad was up and he started to carefully aim the ball with the mallet. He then heard his mom scream and slam the window, The thud was loud enough that it caused the fish jar to fall over, Conrad looked up as he was mid swing and…
“Conrad!” Sally yelled as his mallet instead swung and hit the fish, sending the poor thing flying and… Landed into a man’s satchel.
“Drat!” Conrad covered his mouth and his eyes widened.
…
Howard was doing what he was told and tried to not look too weird as he tried to feel like a detective and searching for clues. He saw two children and their pet fish playing croquet and briefly considered asking them anything as usually most kids are bad at keeping any secrets, maybe one could spill if their parents were followers, but then their mother screamed at him. Howard frowned. He didn’t mean to come off as weird.
The kids didn’t even seem to notice him, but the way they talked about the game, the son reminded him a little of himself when he was young. Back in the old days when he played with Phillip and Katie Lou. Once they played croquet and he remembered Katie drew hedgehogs on the balls and flamingos on the mallets to make it feel like an Alice in Wonderland themed one! She was such a creative girl… He couldn’t lie. He missed her… And he was reminded of that dream…
“Howard!”
Howard looked up and saw Sam and Guy. Sam was happily waving and running over to him. Howard briefly glanced back and saw the kids looking shocked. What were they shocked about?
Before he could ask, Sam jumped up and down, “So nice to see you! Where’s the other two?”
“Oh, Phillip went to the dog park, and Angelique is by the fountain and I’m just… trying to not feel like a lifeless spark.”
Sam laughed and wiped a tear from his eye, “You’re funny! Anyway, whatever you’re up to, don’t feel that way!”
“I’m just trying to figure out how to ask people stuff without looking odd…” Howard mumbled, “Just uh… about this town since I’m uh… Studying abroad!” He lied. He wanted to be honest, but he couldn’t trust anything or anyone that wasn’t Phillip and Angelique.
“So that’s what you guys are up to!” Sam nodded, “Me and Guy are just traveling! We wouldn’t mind going with you!”
“Yes we would!” Guy shouted back.
“Oh, pay no mind, Guy can be rude,” Sam laughed again, “anyway, I’ll let you get back to what you’re studying! See ya later, okay?” He ran back to Guy and the two headed off. Howard just sighed and shrugged before he went back to walking around the neighborhood.
Meanwhile, Conrad and Sally were in shock and not knowing what to do. The fish… Is in that guy’s satchel! What do they do?! They looked at each other and felt anxiety go through them before Conrad placed his hands together, “Okay, let’s lie to mom and say we’re gonna head to your friends’ house and we’ll uh, chase that guy and grab the fish and head back home and eat sauerkraut.”
“Get here before Mayzie comes over,” Sally nodded, “go as fast as our old dog, Rover!”
…
In the dog park, people were staring in wonder at Nessie as she was rolling around in the grass and loving Phillip rubbing her belly and feeding her a bunch of lettuce. They were asking him questions and Phillip gave the same answer, “She’s a Hullabaloo, and loves to say ‘How do you do?’.”
He informs them that all she eats is veggies, fruit, and fish. Strictly fish and no other meat. Nessie was super friendly and even licked some people’s faces to show affection. She was being nothing but a cuddle bug! Some dogs were nervous while others befriended her. She was having the time of her life!
“Who’s a silly girl?” Phillip cooed and fed her more lettuce, “You are!”
“She’s so cute!” Some people said, “A gentle giant! Not a brute!”
“Is she a Star Bellied Sneetch?” Asked another, “Too giant for the beach?”
“Maybe related, but she isn’t one,” Phillip answered, “she’s more like a big dog! And her excitement is never done!”
“We’ve never seen something like her, before.”
“Ah, don’t know much of her uh… Lore.” Phillip waved a hand, “We’re just tourists and I’m curious about this town and its origin! Maybe culture? Religion?”
“Eh, the majority of us are sorta,” replied someone, who went on about their own, but it wasn’t what Phillip was looking for. In fact, it was the religion he more used to follow before… Katie’s passing…. He just gave them a thank you and they went about their day.
Soon, Howard showed up and watched Phillip play with Nessie, “You find out anything?” Howard asked.
Phillip shook his head and stood up, “Nope. Nothing.” He sighed, “What about you?”
“Same story,” Howard replied with a frown, “though a woman thought I was being rude.”
“What did you do?” Phillip asked.
“Nothing!” Howard held up his hands in defense, “I was only tempted to ask some kids what they knew and I guess the mom thought something else…” He sighed and sat down on the bench, “I’m too paranoid…” He rested his face into his hands as his elbows rested on his legs, “It’s times like this I wish I was just some emotionless android…”
“Howard…” Phillip sat beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder, “So you’re not good with being social, that doesn’t mean you’re bad at talking to these locals. Have you even said anything yet?”
“No…” Howard replied, “I fear I’ll say something I’ll regret…”
“Like last year when you said all those things?” Phillip asked, “Those things you didn’t mean?”
“Don’t bring that up…” Howard glared at him, “I’m still mad you never wrote what was up! Made me feel like a sad pup!”
“I said I regret that!” Phillip argued, but his expression softened, “I’m just saying that even if you regret it, you shouldn’t feel like you should shut down and act like a robot. I’d rather you act like a hissy cat!”
“Am I a cat or a dog?” Howard decided to more playfully ask, “Or a more sentient robot?”
“You’re a turtle,” Phillip replied and leaned back on the bench, “slowly making it through every hurdle.”
“What kind of turtle?” Howard looked at him and batted his lashes, “A box one? A painted one? A super cute one?”
“A snapping one,” Phillip answered.
Howard glared at him, “The cute one was a joke, by the way. I thought you would say yes to that one.” He looked back at Nessie, “as a joke too… As if anyone would find me cute, anyway.”
“Maybe someday,” Phillip shrugged, “anyway, just don’t worry about things. They don’t know you. Know nothing!”
“I guess,” Howard sighed and stood up, “let’s go find Angelique. Maybe go somewhere that’s gonna provide cool air and leave quick.”
“Guess we’re done walking about,” Phillip stood up and whistled, “Nessie! Come on! We’re heading out!”
Nessie stopped rolling in the grass and stood up, shaking the leaves and sticks off before she leaned down and gave the two a long lick on the face. “Thanks,” Howard groaned, “we smell like saliva now.”
“At least she loves you,” Phillip laughed, “instead of a lick, she could’ve given you a growl.”
“Whatever,” Howard rolled his eyes before giving Nessie a little face nuzzle and a little whisper of, ‘Who’s a good girl? You are!’ And pulled away. Phillip laughed again at that and they walked off to where Angelique was.
…
Angelique meanwhile, was also not having too much luck. She tried to ask around in the most casual way she could about anything, but nothing at all… She sat on the fountain and stared a bit off at the water from it, hoping the boys had better luck.
She went into some of the shops in the area too and asked some customers and then the next thing she knew, she already had some to go boxes of food, so at least dinner was covered, she guessed. It didn’t stop her from feeling upset she got nowhere with all this!
She stared at her reflection in the water and just sighed again, feeling down in the dumps. She wanted to do this. For Howard! And it feels like she did jack!
She was taken by surprise when she then heard a soft voice say, “Are you okay, lady?” She looked down to see a little girl with short blonde hair and wearing a cute pink dress with a light pink ribbon, white socks, and pink shoes.
“Yeah… I’m just waiting,” she answered.
“Waiting for what?” The girl asked.
“Well… Anything really and whatnot,” Angelique gave a shrug.
The girl sat down on the fountain next to Angelique, “You just seemed upset, so I thought I would ask. I’ve never seen you around here before, you and your unfinished task?”
“Me and my friends are… Tourists… Uh, business trip if you will! Uh… Don’t you know not to talk to strangers? Sorry, I don’t mean any ill will…”
“Oh, my folks are nearby, we just got into town. They’re over there by the pawn shop, Sell and Buy!” She pointed over to where her parents were and they were now carrying a bunch of shopping bags.
“Ah.” Angelique nodded and was about to end the conversation there, but then wondered a bit. “Say, uh, by chance,” she twiddled her fingers, “um, there’s something about the culture in this whole area me and my friends have been curious about. What’s the religions, you mind whispering and not shout?”
“Huh? Uh… well…” the girl scratched her head, “I know there’s talk before about some sort of being older than us. He’s called the Oncelor, but I know nothing other than he lives in a barren wasteland near a well. There’s an old woman around here that knows some things, but she’s uh, kinda a wacko who can’t sing.”
“The Oncelor…” Angelique mumbled and rubbed her chin with her finger, “Maybe… Wait! Isn’t he connected to the legend of the Lorax?! Yes? It’s not a rumor from some old story teller?”
“I uh, think so?” The girl gave an awkward shrug, “She hangs out at the Casino.”
“Oh, thank you!” Angelique thanked the girl, “I’ll get to work and- Oh!” She spotted Phillip, Howard, and Nessie, “Yoo Hoo!”
The boys looked up and saw Angelique waving at them and they hurried on over to her. The girl excused herself when she saw Conrad and Sally nearby and hurried over, briefly stopping and all three kids looked in horror at the sight of Nessie walking with them.
“What… is that thing?!” Sally gasped.
“Stay behind me, Sally..” Conrad mumbled in fear at Nessie as she pranced along and noticed the girl, “Over here, Mayzie!”
Mayzie looked at them in confusion, “What’s wrong? She’s cute!” Her daisy briefly popped out of her head and nodded in agreement before going away.
“That thing looks like a brute!” Conrad argued, “But anyway, look!” He pointed over at Howard’s satchel, “Our fish is in that bag!”
“How did that happen?” Mayzie looked over and saw the fish trying to climb out of the bag and mouthed a ‘Help me!’, but then fell back in when Howard moved and followed Angelique and Phillip off to the casino and were discussing what to do with Nessie.
“We gotta get him back from that- that old hag!” Conrad squinted his eyes at Howard, feeling some strange boiling anger he hadn’t felt in a good while and didn’t know why. Either way, they had to get that fish back! And do it before mom finds out!