I fell sleep in the bay window waiting for Evren to return. Even in the early hours of the morning, he still hadn't wrestled his bike through the front door.
If I knew he was home, then I wouldn't be so worried about him lurking around the floors.
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Fig was licking my forehead when an explosion jolted me awake.
Fig's head turned sharply and I leapt up, trying to find the source from the safety of the window.
Sage was now awake on the lounge, looking to Patrice who rushed out of her room in a long nighty.
"Sorry!" I heard a voice squeak through the wall from the kitchen that had rattled from the force "are you ok?"
"We're fine, Maggie" Patrice snorted in amusement "and you?"
"Well...." the voice dragged out nervously "do you perhaps have a working broom?"
Working broom? How could one not be working?
Patrice slipped into the bathroom and retrieved one before promptly opening the front door to pause.
Squeezing around her, I saw that the level was completely covered in deep purple flowers with white centres spreading out from yellow tendrils curling upwards. With no dirt to anchor their roots to, the blooms splayed across the tiles. More twined around the staircase and even snaked up our door that Patrice pulled across to check.
The other door across from us was also smothered.
An elderly lady with soft white hair and a childlike smile was shuffling out of it and already lifting a hand up to pluck one to smell it.
"Sorry!" the neighbour came rushing through the flowers to crush them on her race to us for the broom, light brown hair curled into two puffs at the back of her head that was decorated with a blue and white spotted bandana, trying to sweep as quickly as she could while grimacing at the old lady "sorry!"
"Oh, do let us enjoy the flowers a little longer" the woman chuckled as the flustered woman scurried past her with the broom "it's not every day you see lasiandra's in bloom like this."
The neighbour stopped sweeping, looking to the lady with uncertainty over the pile now in the corner.
"Are you sure?"
"Maggie, they'll disappear in a few hours anyway, won't they?" Patrice giggled now "leave the flowers. Neither Ethel or I mind at all."
"I think it's beautiful" Ethel smiled and nodded.
"Oh, that's nice" Maggie looked instantly relieved and shuffled through the little clearing she had made to give Patrice back her broom and retreat meekly to her door "well, um, sorry again."
With a slow closing, Patrice and Ethel smiled at each other, waiting.
"More flowers?" Patrice asked.
"A tree, perhaps" Ethel's light eyes twinkled.
There was another explosion that made the door fling open to a wave of small black birds with red beaks racing out. Their spindly feet were twice the size of their little bodies bobbing through the flowers for the stairs.
A flood of water swept after them, bringing Maggie forth to the door to sigh and slump over in defeat.
Flowers spilled over the side of the level with the water. Some birds squeezed through to tumble with it.
Ethel lifted her feet and laughed as water rushed past her.
I heard racing footsteps on the stairs and saw Evren pause near the top to let the birds patter their way past him with little squeaks.
"Are you alright?" he asked Maggie.
Flowers were dripping from his head. The top portion of him was soaked and speckled in petals.
He must have been wheeling his bike back through when the water cascaded down.
I tried not to laugh. Ethel smiled to Maggie, alongside Patrice who held out the broom again for her.
Maggie grabbed the broom again and wrung it as she held it before her.
"Uh, I'm good" she mumbled as her face grew noticably redder in embarrassment "it's just....you know..."
"Do you need help cleaning up?" Evren offered "it may vanish, but the damage will still be there."
He looked at the walls now soaking from the water. Ethel floor was now soaked in petalled water. Patrice's was starting to seep in the water as well. Maggie groaned again.
"I'm sorry" she grimaced to them both again.
"I'll get the mop as well" Patrice giggled.
"And you can have my bucket" Ethel added before heading back inside, splashing through the water.
I saw the way Maggie averted her eyes from Evren when he carefully made his way to her to gently grab the broom she looked like she was choking it.
She really did fancy someone like him. He didn't hide his strange appearance like Elijah had and must have been intimidating with his height and blazing eyes, but not to her.
"You've got to get a better shelf for those jars of yours" Evren smiled to her and took the bucket Ethel held out "although, I do prefer this memory. It's pretty."
His eyes looked up at her while her head was dipped down to scoop at the flowers. He only changed his softened expression to a more neutral one when Patrice returned with a mop.
"Thank you" Maggie sloshed across for it, but Patrice held onto it firmly.
"Tell him how you feel" she whispered and jerked her head towards him.
Burning again, Maggie glanced towards him talking to Ethel, keeping her mouth shut.
Patrice let go of the mop and shook her head with a smile as Maggie triumphantly returned with it.
"Let's give them some peace" Patrice mumbled down to me and gently closed the door as the pair shyly worked together amongst the flowers.
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Patrice was mixing together teas from her kitchen when the door knocked, writing down ingredients she needed into a little notebook.
Sage, playing with Fig, went to eagerly wait at it when Patrice opened it up to Henry and his friend Bastian.
"I'm off work!" Bastian announced happily as he wandered in "and I heard you are going on another little outing, so of course, I'll be there."
He bowed dramatically to get Patrice to giggle at his antics.
"This isn't Fig" he chuckled as he caught sight of Sage, seeing me now approaching "quite the opposite. Strange..."
He wasn't shocked at all. He didn't even question it. Bastian was far too calm to be someone who hadn't come face to face with oddities before.
He'd have to know about Evren then. That was far too easy to guess. Had he already made the connection?
"These are...." Patrice went to introduce us but then stopped as she realised we didn't have names she was familiar with.
"Mama and Baby" Sage grinned over to me huffing back.
"Little and Big?" Bastian suggested as he made his way further into the house "Fig Two and Three?"
The cat yawned and stretched, only lifting its head when Bastian came over to scratch it.
"We'll they aren't even pets" Henry closed the door, carrying in a brown satchel bag "we shouldn't name them if we aren't going to keep them."
"But we need something" Patrice whined "it doesn't seem fair after we helped them."
She moved back to the kitchen to rummage around the shelves and jot down some more she needed.
Bastian looked me over when I sat beside the table. His eyes darted to Sage who joined Patrice to lift herself up and try to smell the herbs moved closer for her.
"So, what should we call you?" Bastian asked me directly after he sat on the lounge, an ankle resting across his knee loosely.
I frowned back, looking around to make sure he wasn't talking to Henry or himself.
Henry was in the kitchen now with Patrice to take over the job of writing down the ingredients she fired at him.
"Yes, you" Bastian smirked.
"Soup...." I breathed, checking for painted skin, curled fingers, or contacts "you aren't like us."
He smirked again, dropping his foot down to lean forth.
"Think of me as some subspecies. You're here" he held up a cupped hand "and I'm over here somewhere" he hovered the other to his furthest left.
"You aren't pale" I noted "or stained."
"Or pretending to be an animal" he added "funny how you and Evren are complete opposites. I see what he is, and I see....you."
A person sitting on the ground? Did he see Sage the same way; a child eagerly reaching up to try and pull some dandelions towards herself as Patrice helped Henry break down the spelling for Chrysanthemum.
Bastian's eyes followed mine, amused by her antics.
"She's a handful" he noted when Sage successfully swiped across the yellow flower to promptly chew on with a wrinkled face.
"You're telling me" I agreed and moved closer so I was resting against the lounge from my place on the floor "are there many of us around here? Where I lived, I was the only one, before I met Sage's mother."
"Ah, so she's yours?" Bastian peered across again "i don't see the resemblance."
Shaking my head, I just smiled at the mistake.
"She's not mine. I'm just showing her the ways of the life she wants to live."
"Ah" he understood "well then, there's plenty. She might make a few friends along the way."
I tilted my head upwards and saw Bastian now gazing towards the window Fig ate beneath.
"And what about you?"
"Not many" he shrugged "but that's ok. I've got some pretty great company to keep me happy."
He grinned to Patrice now searching for her dandelions and connecting the dots with Sage's disgusted face still trying to chomp them down. Henry laughed as he scribbled down the flowers onto the list.
"I guess they are entertaining."
"And what about you?" Bastian asked "do you have good friends to keep you company?"
Turning from the merriment, I just stared at the ground.
Missy used to be that; Maisie and Elijah too. Even old Barty was quite a kind man. Then there was Lacie. They all had their own lives to lead rather than having to worry about me. I had to find who I was beyond these memories.
"Well...." Bastian noticed my silence "we are already like cousins already, so...."
"I thought we were too distant?" I snorted back.
His leg touched my side cheekily.
"We seem pretty close to me" he joked, giggling.
I smiled back and withheld my laughter.
"I'm Bastian" he doubled over to hold his hand towards me "we can start to become good friends, if you like?"
"You aren't like Evren?" I jabbed back and grabbed his hand to shake it.
"Oh, he's another distant cousin" Bastian waved a hand "horrifying, but quite nice once you get past it all."
So he wasn't the same as us after all? Maybe the mask was hiding something more than insecurities?
What did Bastian see when he looked at that man?
"Well, look at you making friends with the animals" Henry leant across, shaking his head "as usual."
"It kind of is my job" Bastian quipped back "this one calls himself Soup."
"Soup?" Henry's face tried to make sense of it "that's a bit odd, isn't it? He doesn't look like a Soup."
"Hey" Bastian held his hands up "don't blame the messenger. He's Soup, she's Sage."
"Aww" Patrice's face fell "not Dumpling? Sounds adorable, and makes sense. This baby is so cute and squishy like one too."
She rubbed Sage's head and I swear I saw her tail flip like her mother's used to.
"She's strange but I like her" Sage grinned to me "can I be Dumpling for now?"
"Be whatever you want to be, but your mother will not be calling you that when you see her next."
"Whatever you say, Soup" Sage smirked and nudged Patrice's hand for more affection.
"And that's not the mother?" Patrice almost whispered to Bastian who shook his head with a short laugh.
"Definitely a boy."
"Ooh, I'm so sorry for calling you 'Mama'" Patrice grimaced across to me as if we would suddenly be able to communicate "can you please tell him that?"
"He can understand you just fine" Bastian snickered "he's just choosing to be stubborn."
"Hey."
"It's true" he shrugged and lifted up from the lounge "we aren't going to hurt you here. You can relax."
"Ooh, we have clothes!" Patrice clapped her hands together once as she gasped, Henry raising a fist to try and hide giggles "I don't mind you using some!"
Scanning over her nightgown and remembering her elaborate dress, I doubted she had anything in her wardrobe that would fit, or suit, me.
"I'll pass" I huffed.
"Maybe next time" Bastian tried to soften the blow "for now, we should focus on getting him better so he can be on his way."
"Thank you" I whispered, seeing Bastian wink back when he walked to Henry for the list to scan over.
"This is doable" Bastian told him "might be a bit of a dive for this and this, but those flower patches should have a few."
"And the rest?" Patrice approached.
"You can get these three right on the patches" Bastian pointed and showed them the list as he was crowded "and this one grows under the rocks in the water. It'll be easy."
"She really likes her flowers" Sage tilted her head from the benches and returned to me "they don't taste very good though."
"You need to steep them first. There's a process to it all. It only works if you follow the steps."
"Hmm, so if I mix it in my mouth for a bit next time, it'll taste better?" Sage pondered and smiled widely when I blankly stared at her "what? It's a process."
"You are a process" I shoved her and heard her squeal out a laugh before she began bounding around me, making wet slapping sounds with her mouth that pretended to take bites out of me.
Bastian snorted at the antics, handing back the list.
"Can we go yet?" I begged as Sage chomped down on my back and recoiled in disgust.
"My brother's gross nappies smell better than you taste!" she poked out her tongue "don't you ever wash?"
"Don't complain. This will be you eventually. You use what is available to you."
I wasn't that bad. She was just being dramatic. Still, I gave my arm a little sniff when her head was turned.
I was fine. Maybe a little stale.
"Urgh, gross" Sage wiped her tongue on her hands, pausing when she looked across to the window sill.
Fig was perched back up there in the sunlight, leg stretched, as it licked up the length of it. The toes were spread wide and quivering when the teeth nipped up the illuminated fur.
"No" I shut down her sly face instantly "I am not doing that."
"Well you need something" she scoffed and left me to run over to Patrice who promptly picked her up "do you think you were called Soup because you smell like it?"
"Oh ha ha" I rolled my eyes back "and they called you Sage because you are rough with your words?"
She nodded happily, proud of herself.
The little fool. No regard for others at all.
I guess it was a good quality to have. I couldn't send a tender-hearted child out into this world alone. Her rough and grit was part of her after all.
"Soup" Bastian jerked a head to the front door "come with me? I need to see if you'll fit in the wagon."
Right. The only way to carry me to whenever we were foraging for the healing roots.
The sooner my hands and feet were better, the quicker we could continue onwards.
I didn't want Sage to get used to the pampering and forget why I was doing this in the first place.
"We'll wash up and meet you down at the sidewalk" Patrice agreed.
"Sounds good" Bastian grinned and winked to Henry who sat at the table to wait his turn.
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Picking me up, Bastian pushed out the door onto a clean floor.
Evren was holding a garbage bag that Maggie scooped the multitude of flowers into. The tiles shone from where they had been mopped.
I suddenly felt foolish being carried like a child past Evren who smirked.
"Heading out for flowers again?" Maggie called when Bastian carefully took each stair.
"You know Patrice needs me for the hard to reach ones!" he chuckled back.
I heard footsteps patter over and saw Maggie lean against the railing to look across at us.
Evren eventually slid up beside her, still dragging the bag.
"Will you be able to perhaps collect a few Moss Fish for me?" she clasped her hands together "please? I'll repay you."
"I'm good for money" Bastian took the stairs until he reached the landing.
"What about memories?" Maggie called.
He stopped, placing me down now.
"We're almost there..." I began, to have a finger shush me.
"The water one?" he pried.
"Ten minutes" Maggie smiled.
"Twenty" he bargained "and in a large area so I can really enjoy it."
"Fifteen" Maggie pouted back "and five minutes in the butterfly one."
Bastian held his chin as he hummed in thought.
What on earth were they talking about? They were talking about these memories like they were living spaces someone could just walk into.
"I don't know.... Moss Fish are really hard to catch...."
They stared each other down. I looked between them, glancing to Evren who looked bored.
"Dude, she's being really generous here" he replied lazily, resting his hand on one palm as he waited.
"Thirty with the water" Maggie decided, ignoring Evren's open mouth about to contest it "but no butterflies and you have to dispose of all my bad ones."
"Is there a lot?" Bastian asked skeptically.
"There's a few" she grinned, folding her arms and turning "but if you aren't up for it..."
Bastian searched the floor, as if looking for his answer there.
"Urgh, fine" he grumbled "but I get to have whatever is inside them!"
"Deal!" Maggie gushed "ooh, thank you! You are the best!"
Bastian grumbled again and hoisted me up, scowling.
"You're lucky I like you" he muttered up at her while trudging downwards.
"Have a great day!" Maggie ignored his irritation and waved "don't forget the fish! About twenty should do."
Bastian halted right at the end, his hands tightening around me before I was lowered again. I didn't wait. I started my slow limp onwards down the hall while they bickered.
"T-twenty?!"
"Honestly, you really should get all the details if you are going to bargain" she snickered "thirty minutes is generous, Bas. Memories don't last forever, and you do like to run this particular one down."
"It's my memory! I should be able to have it whenever I want!"
Evren laughed.
"They'll be small fish, you know" Bastian grumbled, his feet stomping closer "all the size of rice!"
I turned my head to see him throw his hands up. Both laughed now at his antics.
"Have fun!"
"Don't drown!"
He deflated and scowled. Swiftly walking past me, he rounded the edge and promptly pulled out a deep blue wagon hidden around the corner to bring it beside me.
It was all metal. The paint was worn, showing rusted metal in several places. Most of it was filled with jars of all shapes and sizes. Some sloshed with water, others were empty. A single massive jar had been threaded with twine in knotted diamonds covering the entire thing, pulling into a long strap wrapped in old fabric to pad it. It was mostly filled with water.
Pictures of flowers and the black birds with large feet had been painted onto the wagon. There was a person swimming across the middle with fish; covered in wavy strokes sprouting along the back.
A child's handprint was stamped nearby. There were delicate flowers and a detailed version of Fig. A different art style swiped across more flowers, alongside a wonky version of this building.
It looked like everyone here had contributed in some way. Years had passed since first pressing paint to the metal, it seemed.
"Is this supposed to be you?" I pointed the floating person out.
"Supposed to be" Bastian bent across to glance at it "but Henry really isn't an artist."
I thought it was quite nice. The roughness of it all added a certain charm that matched the wagon.
The person also shouldered a brown bag, much like the one Bastian dumped into the wagon.
I looked over the other side to see a very childish version of Evren with far too many teeth coming out of his squashed face. He had rainbow spots all over him, and rays of colour coming from them.
He looked almost like a dog here. The picture wasn't accurate at all.
"Elsie thinks highly of him" Bastian explained "but she is only seven, so...."
"Ah" I smiled at it, tilting my head to try and figure it out "it's sort of cute."
The grey cat's bushy tail linked into waves with seagulls. There were wonky people all lined up down the bottom; not quite simple enough to be a child's attempt.
"Ethel tried her best" Bastian smiled at the group "she doesn't like it, but I think it's quite nice."
They were all named. Some had partially worn off. In all, there were eight people and two cats living in this building. Henry and Bastian were not here.
The child I assumed was Elsie was beside two adults holding hands. Remy held onto his grey cat. Evren's masked face smiled beside Maggie. Ethel stood beside Patrice who also held Fig.
Did many of these people live by themselves? That sounded so lonely, even with such kind neighbours literally separated by a single wall.
I guess good company did make things better. Patrice sure did seem happier when Henry and Bastian were around. Everyone seemed to brighten when Patrice made herself known.
"You can be my chief jar protector today" Bastian pushed them all to the front of the wagon so I had room at the back "just make sure they are all stable and good during the trips."
That didn't sound hard. I nodded and carefully lifted myself in to settle against the metal pressing across my lower spine.
His bag was dumped in my lap and my body jerked when Bastian began to drag the wagon for the front door.
He stopped by Remy's to tap on it and wait.
When it slowly cracked open, and I saw Remy's glasses poke out.
"Care to join us?" Bastian grinned back at me "we're going to collect more ingredients."
"Oh, I think I'm ok" he smiled politely "I've got to look after Lint."
Was that the grey cat's name? I tried not to laugh at the irony of it all.
"Ethel won't mind" Bastian pointed "put Lint in the basket and grab your bike. I'll buddy with you. Patrice is still getting ready with Henry upstairs."
He still seemed hesitant, glancing across to me.
"You've seen me" Bastian leant on the doorframe to block the way with a chuckle "he's not much different."
Remy peered across again, lifting a brow at Bastian who glanced and snorted.
"Ok, a bit different."
"I guess I could take the opportunity to grab some groceries...."
Bastian gasped and pumped his fist in triumph. Backing up so that Remy could close his door, he beamed to me instead.
"Ooh, this is going to be great!" Bastian wheeled me to the front door he pulled open "there's nothing quite like riding down the slopes with the breeze in your hair and nothing in the way!"
He was giddy with excitement. The wagon clattered down the step, forcing me to lunge forth and cradle the jars that threatened to topple with the jerky movement.
Bastian took a moment to breathe deeply and let it out. I followed, feeling the salty air seep into my throat that swallowed the ocean. Seeing him so invigorated brightened me too.
A new place to explore. Another step closer to venturing out on our own again. Soon, I wouldn't be so helpless and confined to being transported around in other people's arms....or wagons.
We waited for the others to regroup. First, Remy placed Lint into the basket and hoisted her up to the window that opened. We smiled and Bastian waved back up at Henry toweling down his hair with one hand and scooping the cat with another.
Remy pushed through a bicycle and clipped on a helmet riddled with all sorts of colourful plastic ties poking up at every angle.
He wore a loose light yellow shirt that tucked into green shorts. The glasses were linked at the back with a band to keep them from falling off, giving him a comical look.
On the front of his dark blue bike was a basket that held a latched cooler. The white body was marked with scuffs and the blue lid had become white around the rounded edges.
On the sides of the back wheels were two round metal supports jutting out.
Bastian hooked up the wagon to the back of the bike, just behind the supports, and slumped against the side of the building as we waited.
Once we got those healing roots, I was going to show Sage how wonderful, and deceiving, the rest of the world could be.
Tonight, once they all settled into sleep, we would continue onwards away from this beautiful building of perfect misfits.
For now, my heart swelled with happiness, and my lungs filled with fresh excitement for the first time in forever. I would let myself have these silly, childish feelings until reality stamped them out again.
ns216.73.216.66da2
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