Chapter Text
Remember being a kid? The period in life where you're allowed to learn and imagine freely while absorbing all the newness that comes with being fresh to the world. Colors seemed more vivid and dazzling to the point children would reach their small hands for anything that had any sort of saturated pigmentation. Innocence and ignorance to the reality of life and how cruel it can be that's enviable to the older generations but also seen as attributes to protect at all costs for as long as possible.
Children had the ability to smile and laugh at the smallest amusements like they had just been told the best joke or received the most thrilling of news when it was just them hearing a nonsensical knock knock joke they had just thought about on the spot or told they could have a slightly larger piece of cake than usual. Friendship was easier to find; being able to bond over a favorite cartoon character or just simply going up to the other and declaring that they'd be friends and that was that. Whether the friendship would last is another story, but being able to sow those seeds when life is relatively drama free definitely bolsters the chances. If only adulthood carried all these delights, the world would probably be for the better.
Early life was precious and many look back on it with regret that they didn't relish it more or rushed in the growing up process. Didn't take the time to watch more of those fun TV shows that would come on while eating a large bowl of cereal on saturday mornings or rolling in the grass until whatever clothes you're wearing become splotches of greens and browns. Everything is about learning new and fun things and having simple fun. You certainly missed it. You think?
You couldn't remember.
There certainly had to be a time when you'd look back on your youth and sighed at the memories and wished to be back in the days of play and silliness with friends. Friends? Did you have friends? You couldn't remember any faces or names. Wait.
Who were you? Another question would be where were you? The only thing in front of you was a warm darkness, shadows tinged with barely there brightness. Oh. Your eyes were closed.
So open them, silly.
That's a pretty good idea. So you do; the darkness melts away and all that was left was a bright bleariness that had your vision misting over with the agitation and even after you peer to the side to get away from the brightness you're just met with colorful blobs. You tried blinking a few times to get the images to become discernible and just before the thought of glasses crossed your mind, everything started to come into focus; the brightness from before was the Sun and that's probably why it didn't feel too nice to a pair of freshly opened peepers. Now the blobs were a bit more welcoming to look at, turns out they were a bunch of brightly colored flowers. They were gorgeous with varying shades and hues. Turns out you were laying out in a small garden or a field. That answered a smidge, but there were still other questions coming to mind.
How did you get here? Why were you there? Why couldn't you remember who you were? Why did it feel like you were being watched?
All very good questions but that last one carried a little more weight behind it so how about focusing on that one? Maybe sit up and take a look around. So you did. There was a heaviness to your movements (seemingly falling asleep in a field of flowers will do that to you) and for a moment you thought about just laying back down in the grass for just a moment longer, but that feeling of a unknown gaze gave the right amount of incentive to at least stay sitting up and swiveling your head around to absorb more of the surrounding area.
It didn't look like it was just the flowers that had a pack of crayons tossed at them. Everything seemed to be brimming with such vivid colors that it was a bit disorienting, the buildings you could make out were gaudy but in a good, almost nostalgic, way on the other hand the only other thing you could make out is a treeline (also a punch of rainbow) that surrounded the apparent town. It completely encircled it and the trees were growing so close to one another that it made it hard to look past the first couple of lines to even guess how deep it went. Another observation you made was that despite the various buildings around it didn't seem like there was nary a person wandering around despite the fact it was clearly mid-day. Maybe this was normal? Just a lull in the bustle, the town (if it could even be called that) was small enough that really it couldn't be unheard of that everyone just could be out of sight at the same time.
Still…if you couldn't see anyone then why did it feel like someone was certainly seeing you? Maybe the vantage point you had now was too limited? Definitely time to get up and take a cautious gander; getting up on your feet proved to be a little more of a daunting task, the heaviness from your upper half traveled down to the lower as soon as you got up onto your feet and that led you to take a few tumbling steps forward before righting yourself. Take a breath. Ground yourself. Now take a step. Another breath. Another step.
Good job.
You were full on walking now. Your limbs still felt stiff, almost like they hadn't moved in days, but, to be fair, the ground probably wasn't the best place to fall asleep in the first place. Shouldn't be worrying about that right now anyways, instead you make your way up to the nearest building: A mainl blue, bricked storefront called Howdy's Place . The awning provided a much needed break from the light, your eyes would say thank you if they could, and you leaned your weight against the bricks and just let yourself almost sink down, but you didn't. Instead you moved so you stood in front of the glass door and this was the time you finally got an actual glimpse of yourself. Looks like you weren't as vibrant as the rest of this place but still pretty close. Your favorite color looked to be purple with the amount of it that made up…well you. Pastel purple complexion, a darker violet, puffed out pixie cut adorned with one single clip (it did nothing to hold any of the hair back) in the shape of a star. Your face looked more energetic than you felt; expressive eyes, a splatter of orange freckles that were covered by pink circles of blush on your cheeks, you stuck your tongue out and discovered it to be blue. The outfit you had on consisted of a white, short sleeved shirt with a big purple star on the front that was barely visible by the oversized pair of overalls you wore that was just a lighter shade of your hair, they were covered in stickers and buttons of various flowers, fruits and animals and looking down to the shoes revealed a pair of mismatched sneakers, one being a bright red and the other a bright blue but both had yellow laces that seemed to be on the verge of untying themselves.
Okay. Well…you felt cute? Not sure if this is how you always looked but logic would say that it certainly was. Hm. Hopefully there wasn't anyone watching you gawk at yourself in the stoor door, that would be embarrassing, but you were assured this wasn't the case when you went to push on the door and it wouldn't budge an inch. Strange. The sign said 'Open' but maybe they just forgot to turn the sign before going on break or shutting down for the day! You decided to smush your face against the glass to take a better look; the lights were turned off and all you could make out, thanks to sunlight filtering in through the plentiful windows, were shelves and baskets of various goods and an unattended counter. Well, alright, not much you can do about that.
So if no one was in this building then maybe they're in their homes? There looked to be about half a dozen houses in the area and surely someone had to be in one of them. "Is one of them mine? Oh!" This was the first time you spoke openly, it startled you when you heard the lilting voice come out of your own mouth, it fell on your ears oddly. "Just have to get used to it! Gotta get used to a lot of things it looks like," You mumbled to yourself while making your way towards the closest building in sight. This house was using the same blue bricks like the store and had a cherry red roof and you couldn't help but feel amused when seeing the same colors on the door but in a polka-dot pattern. Whoever designed these building was a very fun person, you decided. With that you knocked gently, not wanting to startle whoever occupies this abode.
No answer.
Okay, then a little louder this time. Wait. No answer. Just one more time. More waiting. No answer.
This looked to be a bust as well! Couldn't really look into the windows of this place, that wouldn definitely be seen as suspicious and a definite disrespect of privacy and you didn't want that on your consience if you looked in and frightened some poor, innocent soul. Huffing, you decided to sit at the step of this house and bring your knees up to rest your chin on them while peering down at the walkway. There looked to be a couple of painted paw print trails leading up to the door and it kinda fit the dog like motif you just now realized this house had. Cute. You liked dogs. It's nice to know that for certain about yourself, there was even a doggy botton on the left strap of your overalls so it had to be true.
"Maybe this is a new town? I could be the first person here…or maybe there isn't anyone living here at all yet…or ever? Oh! A town for ghosts, that'd be something to see…or not see? What if I'm the ghost?" If you were a ghost it'd be easier to see if anyone were in these houses, but it probably wouldn't be polite to just phase into someone's home without being invited in, after all, not even Vampires could come in without permission so what would make a ghost any different? "I hope not, I don't think I could be very scary."
After a while of lamenting over the etiquette of haunting you decided to let yourself whine a bit while curling more into yourself so your forehead was now resting on your knees and your arms just sort of fell to dangle so your hands rested on the walkway. It was starting to feel a little lonely. You decided you didn't like being alone. Another certainty to added to your meager list. Even the feeling of being watched was being missed, you weren't sure when it had gone but sitting at the front door of this house let you focus on yourself and that tingly feeling wasn't present anymore. "This place has got to be a town full of ghosts after all…"
"No ghosts here, last I checked. Ha. Ha." The sudden, sleepy sounding voice seemed to be right in front of you and even if it wasn't loud or scary statement it made you whip back quick enough and without thought that it wasn't surprising that your head would smack against the door behind you. The Sting had you whining much like before as you closed your eyes and wrapped your arms around your head to try and keep the pain from spreading anywhere else, you let yourself bend forward like before and you just sat there hoping the sharp ache would go away really quickly. A pair of hands rested on yours and gingerly pried them away, and you didn't fight it much anyways. Maybe ghosts had some healing magic. But instead of magic you felt one of the hands holding both of yours while the other was busying itself giving a gentle pet to the sore spot forming. "There, there no more boo boos for you," The voice softly crooned.
Funny thing to say considering ghosts say ''boo". That must have been said aloud considering the next thing was the same punctuated laughter as before. "Barnaby will love hearing that," They said as they moved their hand away from your hand to place it atop of yours. The rubbing did help the stinging a little…maybe there was a little magic after all. You took the chance to look up to see what your healing ghost looked like and a tired but kind set of eyes were looking right back at your surprised ones that looked over the crouched being before you. He had a soft smile and you couldn't help but move your gaze to the brightly colored pompadour that worked well the equally bright shade of yellow of his face. The primary color scheme he had going on seemed to work really well for him.
You took back one of your hands from him and reached up to place it against his cheek, wanting to see if your hand would go through him if either of you were ghosts (even though he was holding your hands just find a mere seconds ago), and it rested there just fine and even more so when he leaned into the touch. All the while keeping his gaze on you. "See? No ghosts here~ Just neighbors."
"Neighbors? So…it's not just you here? Well…us?" Sure you just met this fella, not even properly yet, but you needed to know you weren't just sitting in some lost landscape by yourself with little to no memory of how you got there. The question seemed to make the smile on his face drop just a smidgen, barely enough that you didn't catch it and he kept quiet for a moment before he shook his head your hand moving along with it.
"No, we're all here, we were waiting for you."
"Me? Why would you wait for me?" This got him smiling all gleeful like again, he began to stand up fully and you did the same and when he stopped you kept going just a little more so that the fact you were just some an apple or so taller than him apparent. He didn't take mind to this and instead grabbed both of your hands again while peering at your without a blink or waver of any kind, just constant, unbroken attention, your hands swayed back and forth.
"You're our new neighbor, silly! Who wouldn't wait for a new friend?"
New neighbor? So you lived here? That would make sense why you were here, starting new somewhere and the lack of memories of this place would make sense if you hadn't even made any yet but that didn't help with the beyond that point, still didn't know what it was like before the "move" and why you didn't even remember coming here in the first place... A question for another time, at this point you were ready to take any possible answers you can get, it was becoming tiresome not knowing what was going on. For now you kept your focus on the one-man welcome committee before you. "Oh well, where is everyone then? And who are you, if you don't mind me asking?"
The question had him perking up even more (if that was even possible, the guy looked absolutely gleeful ) and he began to introduce himself before answering anything else, "How rude of me! Certainly can't be friends without proper introductions~ I'm Wally Darling, but calling me Wally is just fine, calling me Darling all the time will make me feel mighty bashful." This newly dubbed Wally gave you a beat to respond before continuing on, "As for everyone else, that's a surprise, and as much I'd like to tell you it'd be better to show you. I'm not one to spoil surprises after all. But, you still need to tell me who you are, neighborly thing to do after all."
Suppose that was fair, he told you his name so it'd only be right to speak yours and you nodded and even opened your mouth to give the information but you found yourself looking at him like a fish out of water because as soon as you were about to speak you had realized something. You didn't rightly know who you were, certainly the name department was lacking. "Hm…just a moment I found out I like dogs apparently, but what to call me? I think the move had my brain all scrambled, I haven't a clue!" Amnesia shouldn't be the result of a move, at least you think it's not…people get homesick when they move, right? They gotta have memories in order to do that.
Wally pondered this, his eyes finally leaving you long enough to have a good think about this little pickle; it wouldn't be very convenient for anyone if you didn't have a name! How would the others or him call out to you in greeting or write letters and invitations to parties if they couldn't address it properly? "Eddie would have a right fit with that…" He lamented and before you could ask who that was his eyes snapped right back to you (causing you to startle just a smidge, but not enough to bonk your head again) and gave a cheshire smile. "Suppose we give you a name?"
"Can you just give someone a name? We don't even know what name would fit."
"We try some until something sticks, like those stickers you got on you!" Wally gave a short laugh while poking at a sticker of a smiling caterpillar. "How about Pooch? You said you liked dogs." The way your face scrunched up when he offered the suggestion gave him the answer he needed to that. "Button? You have lots of them too, plus you could say it's because you're as cute as one!" Not as bad as before but still a no. Suggestions kept coming; Dandelion (your fluffy hair reminded him of one), Star (hairclip), Violet (the obvious color scheme of yours) and so forth, but none really gave the right feeling for you. "Tricky, tricky…never had to name anyone before…how abooooout Nelly? You do seem like a Nervous Nelly! Getting spooked so easily~"
You mulled over the name; Nelly wasn't terrible, though you do feel rather silly at the context of what even made it a suggestion, but it did feel a little better than the others and honestly, it would be nice to just have something that gave you some sort of identity. You gave a small nod and offered an even smaller smile, definitely nothing compared to his. "Nelly will do. So, Wally, I guess you can call me Nelly…" Hearing this seemed to please him to the point where he proceeded to twirl the both of you, much to your dismay.
By the time he had stopped the twirling you were a little dizzy and had to grab his shoulder to keep from toppling over, this guy was acting pretty familiar to someone he had just met and definitely very energetic. "So very nice to meet you, Nelly! I can tell you'll fit right in!" There wasn't even time to respond because he was already grabbing your arm and starting off down the path that led to the house. "With that, come with me!"
"Where are we going?"
Wally looked over his shoulder at you and kept that smile going, but there was a mischevous glint in his eyes. "To show you the surprise, of course~ It's going to be the absolute most, I promise." Well, he hadn't done anything of ill intent towards you in like the twenty or so minutes of conversing. Sure Stranger Danger should still be a thing in this situation and definitely should never just go off with someone who you knew nothing about, save for a name, but you had the feeling that you could trust him? Maybe? He did give you a name, but anyone could give anyone a name…but it just felt like the right thing to let him drag you towards whatever this surprise was.
Might as well. Couldn't hurt. Right?