Guiltale

Chapter Four pt One: Heavy Punning

The toys were so old. Or at least, most of them; they didn't interest me at all. On the bookshelf there was a dusty, empty photo frame. Staring at it, I got the impression that Toriel took the photo out because it must have reminded her of someone she misses. Next to the bookshelf was a box of kids' shoes in a disparity of sizes – no consistency in style, either. Some boat shoes, some kid heels, some sandals – and one pair of worn black boots that looked almost familiar.

"...WAIT." I covered my mouth, anxious that Toriel might have heard my reaction. These are Chara's shoes, the ones I see her wear! They're practically falling apart in my hands though... perhaps when I eventually leave, I can try to sell these? I was thinking while holding the shoes when I suddenly stopped. ...can I leave? Will the barrier let me?

Shaking my head as I placed the brittle leather back into the trunk, I walked back out of my room. In the hall there were these swampy plants that I didn't remember the names of, but I still tapped with my fingers as I walked by. The next room was certainly Toriels – the bed was bigger than a twin and the journal on the table was filled with puns.

"I can see her making a ton of these." I mused to myself as I carefully flipped through the pages. The front of the journal was all torn out, but there was a name written in the cover that had been scribbled out – 'Gorey'. Weird name. Then again, Toriel isn't exactly... hmm, well I'd better stop reading her private diary, that's rude. Ignoring the bucket of snails, I turned back towards the room when the bookshelf reminded me of something.

In the bookshelf there was an encyclopedia of subterranean plants.

"Ooh, maybe I can find out what those hall plants are?" I said, searching the pages for a picture of the corndog plants. Ah, there it is!

"Typha – a group of wetland... ah, 'brown, oblong seedpods', these are them!"

The next room over was under renovations – I made a mental note to ask Chara to look inside later. Looking in the mirror, I saw how covered in debris I was – leaves, dust – and shook my head. Taking nearly five minutes, I attempted to get all the stuff out of my blonde hair and the fibers of my sweater, resigning to asking Toriel how she washes clothes and bathes later. My blue eyes were a little sunken, reminding me of all the sleepless nights I'd had since I decided to chase after H_____. It made me think about why I was here. Why I would throw caution to the wind and go to a place where I might die... but then again, nothing's been so lethal thus far. Maybe a little painful, but only out of fear for their lives, right? Completely JUSTIFIED. Turning around, I walked back towards the stairwell area.

"Chara? What's up?" I whispered, noting Toriel's footsteps in the room across from me. Chara was floating above an open drawer on the other side of the banister, a blank look on her face.

"I... didn't go any further. This... this is...!" she pointed in the drawer. In it was an old calendar from the beginning of 2019, a year ago.

"...oh..." was all I could say. Without another word, I shut the drawer.

"...Grace...?" Chara managed to squeeze the word out with some difficulty, "This has to be fake, right?"

"No."

A pause.

"...that means-"

"Chara... I gotta talk to Toriel now. Can we please talk about this later?" I said, feeling sheepish. I'd already felt enough today and could use some levity. Chara nodded, but didn't follow me into the living room.

There Toriel was, reading by the fire. The fire was obviously magic and I could even touch it – looks like Toriel was very good at control! – so I spent a minute staring into it, watching it twinkle with power. My face went dark for a moment, right as Toriel noticed I was there.