Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Right along the state border of Oregon there was a street. It was like any regular old street, it had houses lining the sidewalk that were filled with odd and different families.

At the very end of it, up a long dirt driveway, was the Pink Palace, a large pink country home built sometime before the 20’s split up into three apartments. There living among the odd elderly people was a family with a mother and father who had a young girl with a head of blue hair.

Out along the street, in one of the more recent houses that had seen better days, was a family made up of two parents once more, and a sister and brother.

Again further down the street, in an older home very well loved by its inhabitants, lived another family, sadly without a mother but filled with a father, a son, and many uncles.

The children in each of these places each had their own stories, how they got there, their own troubles, their own adventures, and how they met each other.

Coraline Jones had been wandering out in the forest, and had come across a cemetery when she met Norman Babcock who had been reading a fairytale to a tombstone, which in turn led them to both meet Eggs, who’d been scouring through the junk pile a little ways off from the cemetery.

The three children were different each on their own, but found companionship within each other.

Both of the boys found great curiosity exploring the inside of the Pink Palace with Coraline, Eggs finding interesting junk in the attic space that belonged to the Great Bobinsky and Norman would sit by the well far behind the apartments, listening closely for the scratch of needles along the stones far below.

Coraline would bring her own stories to the graveyard when Norman made his weekly trip out there, saying that the girl he read to would probably like a change in story and reader, while Eggs came up with ideas to help maintain the tombstone before them, inventing a brush cleaner that finally took the moss and grime off the stone and revealed Aggie’s name to the world once more.

Entering Eggs home for the first time was a shock to both of the wild-haired kids, Coraline finding great excitement in the crazy shenanigans that the uncles would get into, while Norman was shocked by the familial love that rooted itself through every member of the family.

The three of them became thicker than thieves, each of them becoming interwoven in the others stories, even their other friends joining in. Winnie and Coraline clashed heads the first time they met, Wybie showed interest in Norman’s ghost stories, and Neil loved asking Eggs questions about his life.

It was the perfect mish mosh of personalities, adding something special to each of their lives.

Natural, living not only in the same county, but the same street, they all attended school together, meeting up every morning to ride the bus, talking about their dreams from the past night and planning for the afternoon on whether to go to the well, go to the cemetery, or the junkyard.

As Coraline reached Norman’s front porch, where Eggs had already arrived and was sitting with the other boy, she noticed something different had happened, which would only soon add to her group of friends.

There was someone new at the bus stop.

They had obviously arrived before anybody else, sitting on the curb with their back turned to the houses. The sleeves on their red jacket moved, a black beetle on the back making Coraline frown as she remembered a dream about eating coco beetles.

She tried not to make too much noise as she crept by, climbing up onto Norman’s porch before whispering loudly to the other boys,

“Who’s the new kid?”

Norman shrugged, looking over as Eggs whispered loudly back,

“I know they’re in the house across from me, saw a car pull up on Saturday filled with moving boxes. An older lady, probably a mom, was also with them, the kid had to help her into the house.”

“Wait, does that mean that old lady Spink and Forcible have tea with on Wednesday, ya know, died or something?”

Norman shook his head, opening his mouth to speak,

“I would’ve had something in my dreams about it. Grandma was bingo buddies with her before she died.”

Coraline glanced back over, humming in thought.

“Well, guess we should go over and introduce ourselves, right?”

Before Norman could stammer out caution or Eggs could grab her, Coraline, the most straightforward child one could know, trekked over through the dewey grass to the new kid.

-

Kubo hadn’t been sure what to expect when he and his mother moved to Oregon. A life full of home hopping to avoid toxic family members had given him plenty of adrenaline rushes for a fourteen year old. He could only hope that the most excitement anyone got on this street was holidays and the occasional heavy storm.

He hadn’t had much time to explore and see who else lived here, having to aide mother for the past two days. Each time they packed the car and drove away always left her exhausted, inevitably adding just a bit more to the daily needs Kubo had to help her with.

He prayed this would be the last time they needed to move, he really liked Kameyo and she told him about the kids that ran about, always talking about buttons and ghosts and trolls, and said that friends would be good for a change.

The idea was nice, to reclaim a normal life, but deep down he figured that his life would always be filled with running away and caring for his disabled mother, and he was fine with that if it meant he could keep his time at night where he talked with mother about everything and for a few hours have everything feel okay until the sun rose.

Kameyo had insisted that he at least attend school, which he was fine with, the tutors before had only been necessary because the thought of completely leaving mother alone frightened him to no end, but the elderly woman put him at ease, shooing him out of the house on Monday after he woke mother up for the day.

He still worried as he sat and waited where Kameyo had told him to go, mind reeling over the worst case scenarios that could happen in the eight hours he would be gone. Origami was the one thing that helped sooth his anxiety, folding and creasing the blue sheet before him as it began to take the shape of a bird.

He became so engrossed that he hadn’t heard anybody walking up until he heard someone clear their throat behind him.

Kubo turned around, taken aback when he saw three kids standing there, just his age.

The first one was a girl with blue hair wearing a yellow raincoat and boots, smiling as she waved at him,

“Hi there, you’re new here right?”

Kubo wasn’t sure what to say, although he found his mouth falling open and blurting out the first thing his mind was able to process,

“Hai, watashi wa doyōbi ni tōchaku shimashita.”
Well that figures.

“Sorry, I mean yes, I moved here on Saturday.”

The girl was gaping at him, brown eyes staring in awe before she started to talk,

“Whoa! You-That was cool! I’m Coraline, what’s your name?”

Kubo gave a shy smile, looking back down at the blue bird he’d folded.

“My name is Kubo. Nice to meet you.”

Almost immediately one of the two other kids shuffled up, wearing a rumpled shirt stained with oil and dirtied shoes ,pointing down to his bird,

“I’m Eggs, I’ve never seen that fold before, one of my uncles does origami every once in a while!”

Kubo couldn’t help but wonder what Eggs meant by one of my uncles let alone why of all things he was called Eggs, but wasn’t able to ask before said boy sat down next to him,

“Do you suppose it’s possible to make a zombie one?”

The last boy chuckled, digging his hands deeper into his red jacket pockets and kicking at a stone.

“I never said you had to actually do it, I’m Norman by the way.”

Coraline and Norman sat on Kubo’s other side, Eggs having already pulled out scrap paper and trying to show him what attempt he’d made on a zombie origami piece, Coraline already talking about everybody who lived on the street and who to watch out for, while Norman nodded along and interjected his own comments.

Kubo had never felt his life feel this normal.

Chapter Text

Mreow.

Kubo blinked and stared down at his feet, smiling when he saw a thin black cat with mangy fur rubbing against his legs. He brought a hand down to pet the animal, earning a purr in response and some licks to his hand.

“Oh, there’s the cat!”

He looked up to Coraline, who was shaking her head at the feral cat.

“Disappear for a week why don’t you? Not like I was worried or anything!”

“Is he yours?”

“No, he just likes to hang around, the big ol’ wuss puss.”

Kubo could swear he saw the cat glaring as it looked over at the girl, who’d already turned around to continue up the dirt path leading the pink country home that he hadn’t known existed.

He quickly followed after her, noticing the cat following and catching up with Coraline just to weave through her legs.

“Ugh, let us get inside first and then I’ll pet you, alright?”

“So, he just appeared one day?”

They reached the front steps, the wood creaking as they stepped up onto them, leading them to the front door. The cat had stopped his weaving, moving over to the door and sitting by it while Coraline reached into one of the letterboxes by the door, pulling out some envelopes and an oddly shaped package as she responded back,

“Yeah I guess. I only moved here two years ago, Wybie can tell you more because his grandma owns this house. I also just think he’s lived longer than it seems, ya know?”

Kubo looked back at the cat, who was grooming himself.

“Uh… I don’t know-“

“Seriously?!”

The smell reached him before he could ask, hand flying to his nose as he gagged,

“What is that smell?”

“My neighbors mail, they always put it in my family’s box. This one actual isn’t the worst he’s-“

An audible sniff and gagging from somebody else was enough to make Kubo crack a smile, watching as Coraline held the package out as far from herself as she could, face scrunched in discomfort,

“Never mind, this is actually pretty gross-gusting. I’m gonna run this up to him.”

She turned to leave, only to turn back around and grab his hand, pulling him along.

“You should come to, Mr. B is pretty amazing.”

They’d already made it up the first flight and turned the corner, so there wasn’t too much the boy could do as the duo walked upwards, towards what he assumed was one of the other apartments that consisted of the entire attic space.

Kubo stood to Coraline’s side as she knocked on the door and also shouted out,

“Mr. B! Got one of your packages again,”

He figured she shouted due to a hearing problem this Mr. B had, but had definitely NOT expected to hear from behind,

“Hold on Coraline!”

Kubo turned around and couldn’t help but jump and yell in shock as somebody pulled themselves up over the side of the platform they stood on, and without any trouble swung their feet around to properly stand before the children.

He was easily taller than Kubo’s mother, maybe even father, and had a round belly that impaired his sight of the kids, Mr. B having to lean over to take a good look at the package Coraline held.

“Ah, seems so little myshka, mail delivery cannot tell apart A and B.”

“I guess they’ve gotten better about it, only one package this time.”

“True true, who is this new friend you have here?”

Kubo continued to stare up at the man, trying to remember to keep his mouth shut as Coraline introduced him,

“Yeah, this is Kubo, he’s new on the street. His mom and him are staying over at the old ladies’ house that Spink and Forcible go have tea with on Wednesday.”

“Ah yes, makes very good almond cookies.”

Mr. B gingerly took the package from Coraline, and Kubo was sure it was their time to say goodbye and go, but did a double take when he got a good look at Kubo.

“Why, zvyozdochka, whatever happened to your eye?”

The boy was honestly confused for a good moment, having lived without one eye for his whole life he forgot most times it had ever occurred, raising a hand to where his left eye socket was covered by an eye patch,

“Oh, uh, I don’t know. It happened when I was a baby.”

He knew, only because his mother would tell him that story every now and again, about her panic as she fled their first home, speeding in a car to the nearest hospital as Kubo had cried in pain and discomfort, and having to come to terms that things would never be normal again, but he imagined most people didn’t want to hear such memories.

“How could you tell?”

“I had a comrade who lost his own eye, he had some mannerisms that I can see in you, such as you having to turn your head more to look at Coraline.”

Coraline was on his left side, who now that he turned to look had a very shocked look on her face.

“Well now, many thanks myshka and zvyozdochka, do not let me keep you any longer. Perhaps you may come by to see my jumping mouse circus?”

Kubo was ready to ask about this ‘jumping mouse circus’, but Coraline had already responded about doing that soon, turning to leave, motioning for him to follow.

They both said goodbye and walked back down the steps, finally entering Coraline’s apartment.

-

“I can’t believe I didn’t notice your eye earlier, your bangs blend with the patch so well, I just thought you liked covering one eye.”

Kubo shrugged, running his hand over the cats back, he’d appeared at the window in Coraline’s bedroom and had meowed until it was opened. They had spent their time under Christmas tree lights and paper dragonflies while Coraline had explained the concept of homework to Kubo, who was already missing having a tutor. Having to do more school work even after spending a day there? Great.

Coraline hadn’t start talking and asking about his eye until just now, since they’d finished the homework and had nothing else to do, and the boy wasn’t particularly keen to talk about it.

“It’s not that big a deal…”

“But like, that’s your sight, I couldn’t imagine not having both my eyes.”

“Then I guess it’s good that I lived my whole life without it, So I don’t get hung up on it.”

Kubo tried to hold back his discomfort, he’d never had anybody else to talk to so he didn’t want to come off as mean, but he was growing pretty tired of the conversation. The eye was already gone for years, plain and simple, why did she have to keep on going on about it like it was some ‘wild’ ordeal and how of course she couldn’t live like that?

The room was quiet all of a sudden, Kubo afraid he’d sounded rude and was about to try and explain, when Coraline spoke back up, an apologetic tone in her voice,

“Sorry, I was sounding pretty self-centered there.”

Kubo turned to her, seeing her fiddle with one of her stuffed toys in her lap.

“I can kind of get like that, I’m an only child, and Norman and Eggs have more family than I do so they’re more used to it. It’s just you and your mom, right?”

Kubo nodded, offering her a gentle smile once brown eyes glanced up towards him,

“Yes, ever since I was born. I’m not really used to others asking about my eye.”

It was then that he noticed the stuffed animal she held had nothing for eyes, the space where they’d be blank of even thread, fueling a question he didn’t have a chance to ask,

“I’m just obsessing over it because I came really close to losing both of my eyes.”

That threw him for a loop, listening closely as Coraline began to tell a tale of other worlds and button eyes and ghost children that warned of the joys that existed were not as they seemed, for once leaving the storyteller speechless as the Beldam was spoken of once more.

-

Sariatu’s hands shook where they grasped the sides of the bench, the dim lighting of the room making her more anxious than it should.

“Other than the loss of vision, your son should be able to live health. He’ll have a harder time with depth perception and will need to look more carefully, but given his age and expected development it won’t impede him on a grander scale. We’d like to keep him over night to ensure the patch will hold up. We’ll wheel you in a bed so you can rest.”

She nodded, watching the doctor leave the room, gasping and letting out a sob once she was alone.

How could they have done this? To harm a baby hardly a month old so permanently?

Soft cries filled the air, making Sariatu jump and rush to the bassinet.

There laid her son Kubo, crying out as a hand hovered where his left eye used to be, heavily wrapped gauze covering the left side of his face to keep the blood staunched.

She brought a hand down to run tenderly through his midnight hair, whispering soft words to help calm him,

“I know, it hurts, Mommy’s so sorry. I won’t ever let them touch you again. I promise.”

It was the only thing the widowed mother could do, trying to hold back tears of grief, frustration, and sorrow as her son continued to cry, his right eye now the only way he could reach catharsis.