HOME | DD

Description
  The cold persisted despite the oncoming spring. The sun shined, birds sang, but the cold remained. Rudi never minded though. Despite the pink staining his cheeks and the tips of his ears, not a single complaint of the cold escaped his lips. In fact, he appreciated it more than anything. His family would stay in the warmth of their home and Rudi had free range to roam as he pleased. He would explore the trailer park and the forest surrounding it. The sky always seemed stained with a color that never quite matched from one end to the other. Half the lot was empty since the circus crew was off in Europe or Kansas. While the absence of his neighbors saddened him, Rudi was pleased to find a fresh field of wildflowers grew in their place. It seemed as if overnight they had shot out of the ground, vibrant and alive.

Rudi would apologize silently to them as he picked them from their roosting spot.

The Walds are a big family. Verena and Fritz were the proud parents of six kids and one on the way. Fritz has a Ph.D. in Comparative Dead languages and does odd and end lectures at various nearby universities as he has been unsuccessful in securing a permanent position. Verena worked odd jobs here and there during the earlier years of their marriage but eventually delegated herself as fulltime mom and nanny for any children fortunate enough to come under her care.

The eldest child, Elissa, began working with the Peace Corpse a few months before the new neighbors arrived. At home there, was Hans, Vergil, Rudy, Max, and Lukas. Since their sister's abrupt departure, the Wald residence resumed a solemn silence within their walls, a silence that Rudi found unbearable. So, he would leave. For hours on end, he would explore the surrounding area. Occasionally, he would find a spot so moving it merited a replication in his sketchbook. He preferred biding his time outdoors and underneath the sky.

The only permanent residents of Madame Merci's Manor and Lot were the Wald family and the Madame herself. Madame Merci, also know as Madame Mercy, an ancient vampire, mainly keeps to herself and her manor. Of course, as a means of revenue, she rents out the vast lot behind her house to those in need of cheap real estate. The manor resides in a small and tidy dimension between three realms. It is said that Madame Merci was the beloved wife of a famous sorcerer who gifted her a realm of her very own. Undoubtedly, the sorcerer died some many years ago and the Madame now refuses to leave in fear that she will never be able to return to her home.

          Aloïs and his grandmother moved into the empty lot right next door to the Wald's when Rudi was just a little under nine years old. The remaining Wald family all remember the day quite clearly for none could believe their eyes when they saw a cottage balancing on four chicken feet walking in their direction. The cottage creaked and moaned as it progressively made its way towards the empty land beside the Wald's. Then, the house was still apart from the gently swaying above the chicken feat supports. Stairs suddenly sprouted from the porch to the floor, planks of wood successively suspended in the air one after the other. A jagged picket fence then erupted from the ground and surrounded the cottage. An apple tree emerged just as quickly.

All of these sights were amazing to see but nothing quite compared to the moment when the door burst open and a dozen geese ran out down the stairs and into the yard. Next, a dragon pushed its way through the door frame and swaggered its way to sleep underneath the apple tree. Two shepherd dogs followed suit, happily prancing around the honking and hissing geese. With all the commotion, no one noticed the black cat slinking out and suddenly appearing next Rudi, rubbing his head against the boy's legs. Finally, the witch appeared.

She stepped out, staff in hand. Rudi was surprised at her beauty despite her age. She was medium height but craned over her staff making her seem easily smaller. Her hair was a stunning silver that curled into the ringlets all over her head. Her eyes shone like one emerald and one sapphire side by side. She had two moles dotted beneath her mouth and eye. She opened her mouth and bared a gleaming smile that was startlingly similar to that of a wolf. She had a willowy frame that gave the impression that a strong enough breeze would carry her away.

The final member of this witch's caravan was a young boy with flaming red hair. He slowly exited his home with a scowl that looked sorely out of place on a face so young. His grandmother hobbled over towards her neighbors and introduced herself. This a cackly giggle she leaned on her staff and eyed the large family of wolpertingers," hope we didn't give you too much of a fright! Hehe, call me Oma." She gestured towards her grandson who stepped forward. With perfect posture and his chest puffed out, he proudly stated," I am Aloïs." He eyed Rudi for a moment before turning around and marching back towards the house. Oma sighed before looking jovially at her new neighbors," he's a handful that one." She turned to Rudi and winked at him before hobbling off to the house herself.

  Later that night, the Wald's ate dinner and excitedly conversed over the small family next door. Verena sipping on her mulled wine, brazenly declared, "that woman looked beastly!" The table roared except for Rudi. Fritz chimed in," now I've met some ghastly looking witches but nothing like her. She looked like she's never seen a bath before." Max and Rudi looked at each other confused. She didn't seem dirty to them. She didn't even appear to be ugly. However, the rest of their family went through every one of her features. They couldn't believe the cavernous size of her nostrils or the jagged, yellow fangs she called teeth. Between her fits of laughter, Verena added," she at least seemed kind enough."

  Rudi excused himself from dinner and marched outdoors, exhausted by his family's incessant battering of an elderly woman's appearance. He peered over the picket fence of his neighbor's and saw Aloïs working on a garden. He must have plowed right after he arrived for neat rows had emerged on the previously flat, barren land. White chalk marked the grass with symbols Rudi was not familiar with. Later he would learn that they were incantations for growth and protection. Aloïs didn't notice Rudi or didn't care to acknowledge him. He simply kept working in the yard. Rudi was tempted to stay, tempted to start a conversation. Instead, he went and looked for wildflowers.

  With his relentlessness, it was no surprise that Rudi had managed to pick all of the wildflowers in Madame Merci's lot in no less than a month. He scavenged tirelessly but still was unable to scrounge up little more than a feeble remnant of a bouquet. Disheartened, Rudi monotonously managed through his designated chores. He mowed the lawn, pulled out weeds, and watered the garden. He exhaled, slightly exhausted by his labor, and then glanced over towards the yard next door. Beautiful flowers bloomed throughout their yard. Rudi approached the fence and peered over. Before he could even process it, he had launched himself over the fence and into his neighbor's flowerbed.

  It was beautiful. Any flower he could think of was seemingly there. Roses, marigolds, lilies, tulips, peonies, pansies: the list goes on. Very quietly, Rudi tentatively grabbed a few flowers before launching himself back over the fence. Rudi mumbled an apology and then set off towards his destination. This should have been the only time Rudi stole from his neighbor's garden. It wasn't as if he was unaware that stealing was wrong. But, of course, it wasn't the only time. Every so often, Rudi would hop the fence to steal some flowers. He would bring treats for the dogs, bread for the geese, and meat for the dragon. He started jumping the fence at night. It was easier that way.

  No matter the season and no matter the weather, the flowers in the garden were always in full bloom or budding and Aloïs always seemed to be scowling. He never talked much though Rudi guessed that was only natural since he also never talked much to him either. There were the occasional nods, the hellos, the poorly mumbled curse words directed at Rudi. Rudi couldn't say he was fond of the silence. He was a warm person, mainly mammal after all. Aloïs's cold exterior seemed so forced, so maintained. Kind of like the structure of the garden. Rudi never saw Aloïs play outside or read something that wasn't a textbook. Quite frankly, Rudi wasn't sure he knew how to smile let alone have fun.

  The two of them remember the day perfectly. Rudi quietly jumped the fence into the garden again. By now the animals loved him, even the geese. He softly strolled in the darkness, taking in the beauty of the night. The sky was clear that night and stars glistened above. Rudi selected a few flowers and was getting to jump the fence when he was suddenly pulled back and tossed on the ground. "So you're the little thief coming into my garden!" Aloïs was fuming, much to Rudi's amusement. "You caught me," Rudi sighed. He wasn't going to fight Aloïs, he didn't really care much for violence in the first place. "What are you going to do about it though?"

Him being a pacifist, however, did not make him any less of a smartass.

             Just as Aloïs was about to jump him, the black cat made its way into Rudi's lap and started purring. "Traitor," he mumbled looking at his cat's side glace thrown his way. Sighing and shaking his head, Aloïs redirected his attention towards his captive who was not only holding the stolen flowers but was also getting cozy with his cat. "Just what are you doing with all of those flowers anyway?" Rudi stopped petting the cat for a moment before looking up. "It wouldn't be an interesting story for you."

"Fuck you, they're my flowers. The least you could do is show me what you're using them for."

      Rudi begrudgingly agreed to show Aloïs where he takes the flowers. He wasn't particularly happy about but he did feel bad after having stolen so many flowers from the garden. The two walked almost complete silence save for the occasion jabs from Aloïs. "I bet it's for some girl." "She better at least be pretty." "Clearly, she's not into if you need this many flowers." "This better be the most wonderful girl ever."

"We're here."

         Here was a simple cemetery out in the woods a bit. There were a few headstones, a small mausoleum, lots of weeds, and a very confused Aloïs. Rudi pointed to an unassuming plack on the ground with a small bouquet of flowers that have wilted. It read Marko Wald. There were no words between the two. There didn't need to be. Because, at that moment, all that was needed was silence and the implicit understanding of why Rudi had done what he had done.

          Rudi didn't tell Aloïs that Marko hadn't passed too long ago. It was just a little before Elissa left. Part of him thought that was why she went away. She and Marko had always been close and then he was gone. All three of them had. Rudi may have been young but he had an old soul. Marko was a poet and a musician. He would make the room cry with to most heart-wrenching ballads or die laughing to his side-splitting drinking songs. Rudi didn't tell Aloïs that his brother was his best friend. They shared everything with each other. Well, almost everything, Rudi reminded himself. Rudi didn't tell Aloïs that his brother had died of an overdose. He had been 17 when it happened. Rudi learned the details later on. He learned that his brother had been addicted for a while. He learned that his brother died in an abandoned apartment by himself. He learned that his parents knew. He learned that they couldn't help him.

        Aloïs remained silent next to Rudi. His face softened for the first time and he looked at the rabbit boy with a new set of eyes. He tried to find some words of comfort but Rudi stopped him first. Placing the flowers on his brother’s stone, Rudi looked at Aloïs stone-faced and stated, "Yeah, he was a wonderful girl."

Then he smiled.

Description
  The cold persisted despite the oncoming spring. The sun shined, birds sang, but the cold remained. Rudi never minded though. Despite the pink staining his cheeks and the tips of his ears, not a single complaint of the cold escaped his lips. In fact, he appreciated it more than anything. His family would stay in the warmth of their home and Rudi had free range to roam as he pleased. He would explore the trailer park and the forest surrounding it. The sky always seemed stained with a color that never quite matched from one end to the other. Half the lot was empty since the circus crew was off in Europe or Kansas. While the absence of his neighbors saddened him, Rudi was pleased to find a fresh field of wildflowers grew in their place. It seemed as if overnight they had shot out of the ground, vibrant and alive.

Rudi would apologize silently to them as he picked them from their roosting spot.

The Walds are a big family. Verena and Fritz were the proud parents of six kids and one on the way. Fritz has a Ph.D. in Comparative Dead languages and does odd and end lectures at various nearby universities as he has been unsuccessful in securing a permanent position. Verena worked odd jobs here and there during the earlier years of their marriage but eventually delegated herself as fulltime mom and nanny for any children fortunate enough to come under her care.

The eldest child, Elissa, began working with the Peace Corpse a few months before the new neighbors arrived. At home there, was Hans, Vergil, Rudy, Max, and Lukas. Since their sister's abrupt departure, the Wald residence resumed a solemn silence within their walls, a silence that Rudi found unbearable. So, he would leave. For hours on end, he would explore the surrounding area. Occasionally, he would find a spot so moving it merited a replication in his sketchbook. He preferred biding his time outdoors and underneath the sky.

The only permanent residents of Madame Merci's Manor and Lot were the Wald family and the Madame herself. Madame Merci, also know as Madame Mercy, an ancient vampire, mainly keeps to herself and her manor. Of course, as a means of revenue, she rents out the vast lot behind her house to those in need of cheap real estate. The manor resides in a small and tidy dimension between three realms. It is said that Madame Merci was the beloved wife of a famous sorcerer who gifted her a realm of her very own. Undoubtedly, the sorcerer died some many years ago and the Madame now refuses to leave in fear that she will never be able to return to her home.

          Aloïs and his grandmother moved into the empty lot right next door to the Wald's when Rudi was just a little under nine years old. The remaining Wald family all remember the day quite clearly for none could believe their eyes when they saw a cottage balancing on four chicken feet walking in their direction. The cottage creaked and moaned as it progressively made its way towards the empty land beside the Wald's. Then, the house was still apart from the gently swaying above the chicken feat supports. Stairs suddenly sprouted from the porch to the floor, planks of wood successively suspended in the air one after the other. A jagged picket fence then erupted from the ground and surrounded the cottage. An apple tree emerged just as quickly.

All of these sights were amazing to see but nothing quite compared to the moment when the door burst open and a dozen geese ran out down the stairs and into the yard. Next, a dragon pushed its way through the door frame and swaggered its way to sleep underneath the apple tree. Two shepherd dogs followed suit, happily prancing around the honking and hissing geese. With all the commotion, no one noticed the black cat slinking out and suddenly appearing next Rudi, rubbing his head against the boy's legs. Finally, the witch appeared.

She stepped out, staff in hand. Rudi was surprised at her beauty despite her age. She was medium height but craned over her staff making her seem easily smaller. Her hair was a stunning silver that curled into the ringlets all over her head. Her eyes shone like one emerald and one sapphire side by side. She had two moles dotted beneath her mouth and eye. She opened her mouth and bared a gleaming smile that was startlingly similar to that of a wolf. She had a willowy frame that gave the impression that a strong enough breeze would carry her away.

The final member of this witch's caravan was a young boy with flaming red hair. He slowly exited his home with a scowl that looked sorely out of place on a face so young. His grandmother hobbled over towards her neighbors and introduced herself. This a cackly giggle she leaned on her staff and eyed the large family of wolpertingers," hope we didn't give you too much of a fright! Hehe, call me Oma." She gestured towards her grandson who stepped forward. With perfect posture and his chest puffed out, he proudly stated," I am Aloïs." He eyed Rudi for a moment before turning around and marching back towards the house. Oma sighed before looking jovially at her new neighbors," he's a handful that one." She turned to Rudi and winked at him before hobbling off to the house herself.

  Later that night, the Wald's ate dinner and excitedly conversed over the small family next door. Verena sipping on her mulled wine, brazenly declared, "that woman looked beastly!" The table roared except for Rudi. Fritz chimed in," now I've met some ghastly looking witches but nothing like her. She looked like she's never seen a bath before." Max and Rudi looked at each other confused. She didn't seem dirty to them. She didn't even appear to be ugly. However, the rest of their family went through every one of her features. They couldn't believe the cavernous size of her nostrils or the jagged, yellow fangs she called teeth. Between her fits of laughter, Verena added," she at least seemed kind enough."

  Rudi excused himself from dinner and marched outdoors, exhausted by his family's incessant battering of an elderly woman's appearance. He peered over the picket fence of his neighbor's and saw Aloïs working on a garden. He must have plowed right after he arrived for neat rows had emerged on the previously flat, barren land. White chalk marked the grass with symbols Rudi was not familiar with. Later he would learn that they were incantations for growth and protection. Aloïs didn't notice Rudi or didn't care to acknowledge him. He simply kept working in the yard. Rudi was tempted to stay, tempted to start a conversation. Instead, he went and looked for wildflowers.

  With his relentlessness, it was no surprise that Rudi had managed to pick all of the wildflowers in Madame Merci's lot in no less than a month. He scavenged tirelessly but still was unable to scrounge up little more than a feeble remnant of a bouquet. Disheartened, Rudi monotonously managed through his designated chores. He mowed the lawn, pulled out weeds, and watered the garden. He exhaled, slightly exhausted by his labor, and then glanced over towards the yard next door. Beautiful flowers bloomed throughout their yard. Rudi approached the fence and peered over. Before he could even process it, he had launched himself over the fence and into his neighbor's flowerbed.

  It was beautiful. Any flower he could think of was seemingly there. Roses, marigolds, lilies, tulips, peonies, pansies: the list goes on. Very quietly, Rudi tentatively grabbed a few flowers before launching himself back over the fence. Rudi mumbled an apology and then set off towards his destination. This should have been the only time Rudi stole from his neighbor's garden. It wasn't as if he was unaware that stealing was wrong. But, of course, it wasn't the only time. Every so often, Rudi would hop the fence to steal some flowers. He would bring treats for the dogs, bread for the geese, and meat for the dragon. He started jumping the fence at night. It was easier that way.

  No matter the season and no matter the weather, the flowers in the garden were always in full bloom or budding and Aloïs always seemed to be scowling. He never talked much though Rudi guessed that was only natural since he also never talked much to him either. There were the occasional nods, the hellos, the poorly mumbled curse words directed at Rudi. Rudi couldn't say he was fond of the silence. He was a warm person, mainly mammal after all. Aloïs's cold exterior seemed so forced, so maintained. Kind of like the structure of the garden. Rudi never saw Aloïs play outside or read something that wasn't a textbook. Quite frankly, Rudi wasn't sure he knew how to smile let alone have fun.

  The two of them remember the day perfectly. Rudi quietly jumped the fence into the garden again. By now the animals loved him, even the geese. He softly strolled in the darkness, taking in the beauty of the night. The sky was clear that night and stars glistened above. Rudi selected a few flowers and was getting to jump the fence when he was suddenly pulled back and tossed on the ground. "So you're the little thief coming into my garden!" Aloïs was fuming, much to Rudi's amusement. "You caught me," Rudi sighed. He wasn't going to fight Aloïs, he didn't really care much for violence in the first place. "What are you going to do about it though?"

Him being a pacifist, however, did not make him any less of a smartass.

             Just as Aloïs was about to jump him, the black cat made its way into Rudi's lap and started purring. "Traitor," he mumbled looking at his cat's side glace thrown his way. Sighing and shaking his head, Aloïs redirected his attention towards his captive who was not only holding the stolen flowers but was also getting cozy with his cat. "Just what are you doing with all of those flowers anyway?" Rudi stopped petting the cat for a moment before looking up. "It wouldn't be an interesting story for you."

"Fuck you, they're my flowers. The least you could do is show me what you're using them for."

      Rudi begrudgingly agreed to show Aloïs where he takes the flowers. He wasn't particularly happy about but he did feel bad after having stolen so many flowers from the garden. The two walked almost complete silence save for the occasion jabs from Aloïs. "I bet it's for some girl." "She better at least be pretty." "Clearly, she's not into if you need this many flowers." "This better be the most wonderful girl ever."

"We're here."

         Here was a simple cemetery out in the woods a bit. There were a few headstones, a small mausoleum, lots of weeds, and a very confused Aloïs. Rudi pointed to an unassuming plack on the ground with a small bouquet of flowers that have wilted. It read Marko Wald. There were no words between the two. There didn't need to be. Because, at that moment, all that was needed was silence and the implicit understanding of why Rudi had done what he had done.

          Rudi didn't tell Aloïs that Marko hadn't passed too long ago. It was just a little before Elissa left. Part of him thought that was why she went away. She and Marko had always been close and then he was gone. All three of them had. Rudi may have been young but he had an old soul. Marko was a poet and a musician. He would make the room cry with to most heart-wrenching ballads or die laughing to his side-splitting drinking songs. Rudi didn't tell Aloïs that his brother was his best friend. They shared everything with each other. Well, almost everything, Rudi reminded himself. Rudi didn't tell Aloïs that his brother had died of an overdose. He had been 17 when it happened. Rudi learned the details later on. He learned that his brother had been addicted for a while. He learned that his brother died in an abandoned apartment by himself. He learned that his parents knew. He learned that they couldn't help him.

        Aloïs remained silent next to Rudi. His face softened for the first time and he looked at the rabbit boy with a new set of eyes. He tried to find some words of comfort but Rudi stopped him first. Placing the flowers on his brother’s stone, Rudi looked at Aloïs stone-faced and stated, "Yeah, he was a wonderful girl."

Then he smiled.