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They had lost. They lost the land that they once had. They lost it all! All of their possessions had fallen into the hands of the enemy. They knew that they shouldn’t have blown up the nation that they created, but they were too late to understand. They were too late to realize the fact that it was already lost many months ago.
***
“Phil?” Tommy asked the mourning father. The mourning father whose own son begged him to kill him. The mourning father whose son destroyed the nation that many wanted and/or loved.
Philza sighed and looked at Tommy. His eyes were glistening as usual. It’s been like that for months. Philza smiled at Tommy. His smile was filled with mournful cries that haven’t stopped. Philza wondered why his son, the nation’s first leader, threw everything that he had all away.
“Yes, Tommy?” Philza sniffed as the tip of his wings twitched. He was tired. Very tired. So tired that him being tired isn’t the best way to describe what he looks like. The dark chocolate colored half circles under his eyes grew like the veins that run deep in his skin.
“You good?” Tommy knew the answer to that question, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask him. He’s been silent to the world for many months.
Philza chuckles, stretches, and says, “Ahh… what do you think, Tommy? Do you think I’m happy?” as the smile slowly configures into a frown.
“Well, being fine doesn’t always mean that you’re happy. So, what do you think, Phil? Are you happy, or just plain fine, or are you feeling nothing?” Tommy asked.
“I… I don’t know, Tommy. I’m feeling so many things, yet nothing at all. It’s hard to explain, you know?”
“I understand, Phil. I know how it feels to lose something that you love. Man, did I love those discs, but look at me now! I’m thriving like the grapes on a vine!” Tommy laughs out, his smile brightens up Phil’s day just a bit and Phil smiles back.
“Did you just… isn’t that from-”
“Shush! I need the spotlight on me for a couple of more seconds.”
“Tommy, you are and were such a-”
“Good man to society.”
“N- no. I wasn’t going to say that…”
“Well then what were you going to say?”
“You are and were the best friend that Wilbur could have had. He loved you, you know that, right?” And suddenly, the sunny atmosphere was darkened. However, like they always say, there is peace in the eye of a hurricane.
“I believe that what he did was wrong, but if he comes back, I’ll never forget and forgive him.”
“Oh…”
***
“Niki! What are you doing right now?” Jack asked Niki.
“Well, I’m trying to back my worries away,” Niki said.
She liked to bake whenever she got stressed. Her bakery was destroyed ever since he blew it all up. She was truly angry at him when he did it. She didn’t think that he would do it. She loved him as a great leader and friend. She hated him for a suitable number of months, but she soon had the courage to somehow forgive him partially. She was sad however at the fact that the bakery that she built with her friends was not demolished by a simple push of a button.
“What are you worried about, Niki?” Jack asked. Niki and Jack were good friends, best friends if you wanted to say.
“I saw something today. It reminded me of what had happened,” Niki paused to take a deep breath. She stopped kneading the dough and closed her eyes. She took deep breaths, and it was total silence in the room until Jack said something that warmed Niki’s heart once more.
“If making cookies helps you remove your worries, then I’ll help you. You should never do things alone, and that certainly includes making cookies. I also just want to know how you make such delicious treats!” Jack laughs.
“Ha, Jack, I would love some help, but don’t you want other things to do that are more important?” Niki asked.
“No, I don’t think I do. I’m not the one that forgets everything, remember?” Jack raises his eyebrows and Niki laughs.
“D- don’t say that! Ranboo is a great friend, by the way,” Niki says in a motherly tone.
“You know I was just joking, Niki!” Jack scoffs jokingly.
“Sure, you were. However, do you still want to help make cookies?” Niki asks.
“Of course!” Jack exclaims and the two started working on the dough. After a couple of minutes passed, Niki asked Jack an unsettling question that one wouldn’t dare to ask.
“Jack…?”
“Yeah?”
“What if… W- Wil- I’m sorry, I can’t…” Niki says as she stumbles upon her words. Who knew that saying a name could destroy someone? It’s like saying Voldemort.
“It’s alright, Niki. Just take your time. I know who you are talking about, just say 'he' if you need to. There’s no need to hurry, okay?” Jack was always so nice to Niki. He was so patient with her, and she appreciated him for that.
“Okay… well, then I’ll start this all over again. Jack?”
“Yes, Niki?”
“What if he comes back?”
“Now, why do you ask that, Niki?”
“I saw something, Jack. It was scary. I followed the path to the berry trail, right?”
“Okay, but what happened there?” Jack asks anxiously.
“I saw another form of him. It scared the life out of me, and… and… it…” Niki says as she starts to tear up.
“W- what?! You saw another form of him? Niki, what are you saying?” Jack yells.
“I’m telling you the truth, Jack! I saw him in a ghostly appearance!” Niki screams as tears stream down her face. She starts to breathe uncontrollably, and Jack takes her into his arms, hugging her. He rubbed on her back, in an attempt to calm her down.
“I… Niki, just don’t focus on that traitor. He didn’t deserve to become a leader in the first place, but please, don’t die on me,” Jack says. He thought that she was hallucinating. She sometimes did that during incredibly stressful times.
“I w- won’t, b- but I- I’m not lying, Jack. This w- was r- real!”
“Now, now, Niki, it might have been real, it might have not, but we needn’t it get into your mind. Just focus on the baked goods, ‘k?” Jack says.
“A- alright…” Niki says and the two go back to making cookies.
“Good.”
More minutes passed and Niki asks, “But do you believe in me, Jack?”
He was silent.