An Itsy Bitsy Strawberry

Panicked Panicking

Rocco burst through the tube, just barely landing on the cushions. Dashing through the vast field of flowers, he slammed into the cabin door.

Strawberry jumped at the sound of breaking hinges. "What the fuck are you doing here!?" she screamed before regaining her composure and following up with, "Ah, I meant, what's up?"

Rocco didn't answer, instead jumping onto the bed to check for the photos. He shoved the blankets away, peeling off the pillow to find a box full of pictures. Grinning manically, he ran into the cabin's separate room and shut the door. The click of the door's lock rang through the cabin.

Confused, Strawberry returned to a dusty sheet of paper she'd located in the cupboards. On the paper, she'd been scrawling out different fantasies of Starry dying and getting what he deserved. To her, he was nothing more than a character in her story, and she was the god that would crush his bones.

She knew very well that none of these plans would actually work, but the glimmer in her eyes shone of getting this job done. She wanted Starry dead as soon as possible, and she was willing to do everything possible to get rid of him.

Rocco knelt down on the moldy, wet bathroom floor, throwing the photos across from him. He spread them out so he could see each one clearly. He was sure that Cecelia was in the pictures. His next goal was to find Molly.

He skimmed through the pictures, trying to find another one of his missing friends.

Three people were enjoying a bunch of strawberries on a fine, clear day. He could recognize a few chunks of someone that resembled Cecelia. Next to her was a silhouette that, thanks to the watery floor, had been fully peeled away. On the other side of the silhouette, Rocco spotted someone painstakingly familiar.

"I got your nose!" Nana yelled playfully, holding Cecelia's "nose" as she ran off.

"Hey! That's not fair! Rocco, help me!" Cecelia whined. She gave her best puppy dog eyes to Rocco, tempting him into getting her "nose" back.

Silly young Rocco, being as naive as he was, ran after Nana, calling out for her to give Cecelia's nose back. He'd do anything for his crush at that time.

"I still can't believe I crushed on Cecelia...," current Rocco groaned quietly. He stared at the picture that captured his younger version's stature with a hint of anger. After a few more photos, he'd accomplished what he'd wanted.

The click of the camera breezed through the evening air as Molly stared away into the distance. The sound had caught her by surprise.

"A-Ah?" Molly stammered out. She turned to face the photographer.

"Sorry, sis, but you looked really nice!" Cecelia chirped out.

"She's not wrong, heh," little Rocco agreed. He was being honest.

Nana wasn't there that day. He couldn't recall why, though.

Something sat within present Rocco, telling him something was off. He had checked his own photos and matched them up with Molly, but where was Nana? Why wasn't Nana in any of these pictures?

Before he could find the answer to his question, Strawberry began knocking at the door.

"Hey, Rocco? Can you come out of the bathroom? I'm curious about something and I wanna ask you about it," she mumbled.

Shit. Shit. Shit. He shoved the photos back into the box and slammed the box shut before bursting the door open. "Yeah, what's your question?" he asked as smoothly as he could.

Little did he know, he was about to learn a lot and lose a lot.