Chapter Text
Olruggio stared blankly as he sat his briefcase down on the dewy grass below him. The twisted, brambled tree in front of him was almost staring back. The same tree that he had seen everyday for as long as he could remember. The same tree that sat in the park across the street, watching him from his flat. On work days, it interrupts his walk to the bus stop. Any other day, it taunts him.
Olruggio brushed off his clothes and swiftly crossed his legs beside the briefcase, flinching a bit as the damp grass covered his suit in the afternoon’s rain. He would have to bring it to the drycleaners in the morning.
He cleared his throat before pulling out a sandwich he had carefully wrapped this morning and had forgotten to eat at work. Well, forgotten wasn’t quite the right word. Saving was more like it.
He didn’t want to admit it. Eating with a tree was embarrassing enough to admit out loud. But, he looked forward to the early evenings spent near the same sturdy tree he always saw. It was close to the comfort of sharing a meal with someone. Close.
“Evening,” he started, feeling odd as he took a bite into what was supposed to be his lunch. “I-uhm. I’m not sure where to start today,” He backstracked, rethinking his day. “Not that it was eventful. In fact, it was actually as boring as can be.”
Olruggio turned away, feeling self-conscious about his conversation with the tree. “God, look at me.” He looked back up, as if it heard him. “Apologies. It isn’t you I am embarrassed of.” As if it would believe him.
He continued, pushing away the feelings of humiliation. “I got everything I needed to get done so I would have a free week. Or two. That way, me and the girls can actually have time to spend.
“Speaking of the girls-” Olruggio took a photo out of his wallet, displaying a photograph of three young girls, all around the age of twelve years old, “The twins, as I call them, decided to go behind my back and dye their hair.
“And if you are saying ‘Well, Olruggio, girls do such things all the time,” this is particularly outrageous. Pink and blue! Their entire heads, I dare say! What is their school going about it? They are strict enough as it is.
“And even worse, they roped their poor friend into it. I had to pay the price of that one with a long telephone call from the girl’s mother. I had to explain why she came to our place with a perfectly normal shade of hair and out with bright green!”
Olruggio took another bite of the sandwich, nearly done. “I mean, those girls are something else. They visit often, yeah?” The tree said nothing, even though Olruggio waited for a response. “Yeah, they tell me. Rascals sneaking their way past their nanny to my work. They say you're named ‘Mr. Silverhaired’ after their favorite nursery rhyme. Do you enjoy the name?”
The breeze shook the leaves in response, which he took as a yes. “Interesting. Perhaps I will have to start calling you that. I mean, I never had a proper name for you in the first place.”
For Olruggio, it had always been "Good Sir” since childhood. Though, he never said it aloud anymore. He had always told his mother, “Wave to Good Sir!” while passing on the walk to school. Perhaps Mr. Silverhaired was more fitting of a name.
“Mr. Silverhaired, huh? I remember that one. It was my favorite as well. Fairly old tale, so I’ve heard. But, I suppose you are a fairly old tree.”
Olruggio paused for a moment. He took in the breeze and the slight mist from the rain, which had begun picking up once more. He closed his eyes and allowed his face to be sprinkled with the small droplets of water. How he wished for some more company besides arbor before him.
He flicked his wrist to check the time. “Well, Mr. Silverhaired, it’s been a pleasure, as always. But the girls are waiting for me at the flat.” He hoisted himself up and stretched his legs before grabbing his finished lunch and briefcase. “I will be sure to visit, Mr. Silverhaired. Winter is usually the busiest season in my flat, but the girls love their time outside.” He bowed before the trunk, and for a moment, he almost saw it bow back to him.
“Farewell, Mr. Silverhaired. I shall see you once more soon.”
-
As he came upon the deep mahogony of the doorway that led to his flat, he heard giggles and shouts from the inside. The nanny would have to be paid double for this, he thought to himself. He unlocked the door with two clicks and entered the room. The moment he stepped foot indoors, he was hit with the warmth and smell of several baked goods, which collided with the cold and crisp weather just outside. “I see someone let you girls into the kitchen once more?”
Young Tetia perked up from behind the counter, her face covered in what was presumably flour. “Hi hi Olly! I made you some cookies!”
“Did you now?” He grinned slightly. He had told her several times that no one he knew had ever called him “Olly.” She took this as her lucky opportunity to be the first person to ever do so.
She ran over quickly with a pan filled with buttery, chocolate chip cookies. “I see Alaira helped you with this?” She shook her head. “I did it all on my own, Olly!”
“Well, how self-sufficient are you?” He responded, grabbing one quickly and shoving it in his mouth. He shrugged off his suit jacket and placed it on the sharp, iron coat hanger beside the door. “Where is Alaira, anyway?”
“Just over here,” the woman came stepping out of the main bedroom where the kids slept. Her spiked hair covered in a hat as she prepared to step out into the cold. She smiled at him, full but filled with exhaustion. “Poor Richeh got a bit tired. Couldn’t wait for Papa to get home.”
Ignoring the comment, he fished through his pocket for a couple hundred dollars. “Thank you again, for the work. I really do appreciate it.”
“I do as well, Olruggio. Don’t think I don’t. I love them dearly.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Have a good break, Alaira.” He handed her woolen coat and purse to her.
“You as well,” She placed the coat over her shoulders, preparing for the rain. “Take this time for yourself too. You deserve it.”
“Believe me, I’m planning on it.”
“Bye bye, Miss Alaira!” Tetia yelled back at her from behind Olruggio. Alaira gave a quick nod before seeing herself out of the flat and into the hallway. Olruggio shut the door behind her and made sure to give it a quick lock.
He turned back around to survey the area for any messes. The kitchen was surprisingly scrubbed clean, no sign of flour on any surface, and the living room beside it put together nicely with a small fire lit. Only Agott sat perched with a book in the corner of the L shaped couch, illuminated by the fire’s light.
“Tetia, dear, why don’t you start getting ready for bed. We can have cookies in the morning.”
“But Olly,” she whined, “They’re fresh out of the oven! They’re so much better this way!”
Olruggio narrowed his eyes in an intimidating manner. Tetia only stared back, eyes sparkling, silently pleading for her treat. He sighed and pointed his thumb towards the bedroom, “You can have one when you get your pajamas on.”
The girl lit up and immediately jumped towards the room. He turned his attention to Agott in the corner. “Agott, dear, that means you as well.”
She seemingly ignored him, turning the page without a second thought to his demands. But he knew better. He quietly snuck over to her and swiped the novel out her hands. The younger girl scoffed, “Olruggio, give it back.”
“Absolutley not. Get your pajamas on.” Agott turned her head away from him and huffed.
“I am not playing this game this late, Agott,” She glanced over, eyes glaring, but finally rising from her spot. She motioned for her book. “Not until you get ready,” Olruggio scolded.
“I promise I will get ready, Olruggio.”
He hesitated, but finally handed over the book. The girl quickly snatched it and walked off into the bedroom with the rest of her sisters. He let out the air he had been holding and made his way to the kitchen to pour himself a quick glass of wine. As he stared into the glass of the thick, ruby red beverage, he quietly began to ponder back to the night before. To the illuminated restaurant amidst the pouring rain.
The cherry haired woman. How beautiful she had been. And charming as well. A few dinners and dates around the park, he had thought he had to be way over his head. Work days and nights alone, she never left his thoughts. He, strangely enough, really has been considering something of a life with her.
Perhaps it was the possibility of children that scared her? That was always a switch up on dates. The person across from the table would always drop their previously welcoming expression, politely continuing the dinner, but never bothering to contact him once more. However, she was different. He had told her from the get go the situation. She knew.
Before we continue, I would like to mention something important.
Well, alright, Mr. Olruggio.
Girls. Three of them. He stared deeply into his freshly poured glass, still waiting for a sip to be taken.
I wished she had just told me why, he thought. Just when I was considering her meeting them as well.
“Olruggio?” Agott stood silently in the hallway. She no longer had a book in hand and, finally, dressed in her nightgown.
“What is it, Agott, dear?”
“Just…goodnight.”
Olruggio stared, perplexed. In all the years she stayed with him, she never so much as cared to say a hello in the mornings. He smiled slightly at her. “Goodnight. Sleep well.” He responded. She nodded swiftly and retreated back to her room, shutting the door on her way in.
He turned back to the window to see the rain pattering down once more. This winter break was to be a long one.
-
In the cold of the night, just down the street, the clock ran through twelve strikes, symbolizing a new day.
A day that, 100 years before, entrapped one man’s life. A day that, 100 years later, freed him anew from the prison that had stolen him.
From the bark of the tree, a hand emerged, grasping for anything in reach. A torso came next, in which a heart beat alive once more. A mouth and head followed, gasping for a breath of air that they had lacked for so long. The legs last, crumbling to the ground as they struggled to maintain upright.
In the pouring rain, upon the sodden grass, lay a man, pale as snow, alive again. His hair, the same as his skin, shone brighter in the pouring of the rain. It was there the man laid until he saw the morning’s sun peaking just above the clouds. He smiled to himself, and laughed at the fact that he lived yet again.