𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 || Karl Heisenberg

Chapter Fifteen: Oddities and Bad Luck

Ésme huffed impatiently as she shut her book with a snap. The plot was unfolding at a glacial pace, testing her patience. Despite the factory being almost tolerably clean, Ésme found herself yearning for other activities to occupy her day. Scrubbing floors was not among them. Naturally, the factory seemed to harbor endless rooms in need of cleaning, but Ésme drew the line at five o'clock. Eleven hours of relentless cleaning with scarcely any breaks took its toll on her body, yet she remained surprisingly unexhausted. Restlessness plagued her nights, driving her to seek distractions and hyperfixations to ward off boredom. When a plot dragged on, her mind wandered, and her restless hands strayed to the edge of her sketchbook, producing grotesque doodles instead of her usual portraits.

With a frustrated huff, she tossed her book onto a nearby side table, her gaze drifting to the crackling fire. Unbeknownst to her, Karl watched her from behind his glasses, apparently engrossed in tinkering with a small trinket. As she glanced in his direction, he appeared to be absorbed in his task, the tension in his body easing only after she looked away. Returning to his work, he deftly wielded a tiny pointed tool to adjust the gears. The music abruptly ceased, the record scratching to a halt. Ésme rose from her seat and ambled barefoot over to the record player, her movements fluid and confident, as if she had lived in the structure her entire life. With a casual flick of her wrist, she flipped the record, cocking her hip and resting a hand on it as she did so.

The melody continued to fill the air as Ésme turned her attention back to the fire, prodding it gently with the fire rod. It crackled and danced in response to her touch, its flames momentarily disturbed before settling into a steady rhythm once more. Satisfied with its size, Ésme rose from her spot, her gaze flickering briefly to Heisenberg, who had returned his focus to the small trinket in his hand.

Ésme approached him with the curiosity of a dog, her head tilted to the side inquisitively as she walked over to the rocking chair. She lifted her skirts delicately as she perched herself on the arm of the wooden seat, peering down with interest at his work. Karl glanced up at her, adjusting his glasses so he could see her face more clearly without the tinted lenses obscuring his view.

"Do you need something, buttercup?" he asked, catching Ésme slightly off guard with the question.

"What's that?" She pointed a slender finger at the peculiar toy he was tinkering with.

"I stumbled upon it among some old things. I used to play with it as a child. It was completely broken, but I'm nearly done fixing it," he explained, his attention returning to the mechanics at the toy's back.

"A horse," she remarked, studying the toy's odd appearance.

"Family crest and all," he confirmed, looking back up at her. "I often come across such items scattered around the factory—things I once hid or lost as a child. I repair them when I find them.":

"An unusual hobby, but I suppose everyone has their reasons," Ésme chuckled softly, her laughter melodic and pleasant—a sound that Karl oddly found himself not minding as he worked.

"Here," he said, placing the toy in her hands. "Could you scratch off the rust from the gears? It's too tedious for my liking."

"And what makes you think I enjoy tedious tasks?" Ésme retorted with a grin before rolling her eyes and gesturing for the pick in his hand. Karl handed it to her with a smirk, and she set to work.

"Be gentle, though. We don't want to damage any of the mechanics," he instructed.

Furrowing her brow in concentration, Ésme meticulously scraped away the weathering accumulated over years of neglect. It was indeed a tedious task, but she persisted, her determination evident in the crease of her brow and the press of her lips. Karl observed her with keen interest, a peculiar sensation stirring within him—an almost sense of pride? It was a feeling he wasn't quite accustomed to, unsure if he liked it or not.