Cocoa Tales

Episode 26

She enters their home without knocking. Today, her hair is red. He never really liked it red. He preferred blonde. So most days she was blonde. Today, like the day she left him, it is red. She runs her hand along the backside of their couch. It is covered in cat hair. The cat is nowhere to be seen, but that's nothing new. The cat always runs when the door unlocks. Unless he comes home. The cat always knows when he's home.

She steps through their apartment feeling wave after wave of nostalgia for the good times. That's the reason she's here. The nostalgia, the pleasant memories. As she passes by the kitchen table where they had breakfast countless times, uncontrollably her hair glistens and turns blonde. A reflex, and she doesn't even know she's doing it.

He's not here. She didn't know if she wanted him here when she came by, and now that she knows she won't see him, she's sad.

Movement catches her eye. The computer is on, the white page of his word processor visible. Though no sound is coming from the computer, she crosses the room and watches letter after letter, word after word slowly appear in the ever-growing manuscript. The page count is high. The words are appearing fast. And he's nowhere to be found.

Her hair trembles and turns black. She mutters, "Oh no..."

Faber's body, steered by the re-embodied spirit of Nibbles, crossed the cell and grabbed Floyd by both shoulders. Nibbles said, "Detective Floyd, please, for my sanity and the floor of this cell, please stop pacing."

Nibbles stepped back to the bunk and sat, Floyd frozen in place with a scowl on his face. "I'm trying to figure out a way to get us out of this," he hissed.

A sudden crash of glass startled him, and then footsteps commanded their attention. From the corner of the jail cell, out of sight, they heard fast-paced steps loudly approaching them. Around the corner a young balding man rounded and approached the cell. "Faber," he said, "there you are. What day is it?"

Faber and Nibbles exchanged glances. "Who are you?" Floyd asked the man.

He glanced askance at Floyd and said, "You don't know who I am, Floyd?" He didn't wait for a response. Just raised an eyebrow, and then he looked around. "Ah, yes. I'm in the prison. Of course. I'll be going now. None of you should be here right now."

As the balding man walked away, Floyd hollered, "Who are you!? How do you know who I am?"

"I'm Domino," the man replied without turning around. "Hang in there, Floyd. You'll be out of there very soon."

"Domino?" Floyd sputtered. "You know Monty Gerald is looking for you!?"

Rounding the corner, Domino disappeared from sight but hollered back, "I imagine he is." Another window smashed.

The Sandman said, tilting his head to the side, "Why would he break two windows to get in and out?"

Pounding on the cell bars, Floyd shouted, "What the hell is going on!? This is the worst Storyteller in the world!"

Hurrying through the gray, poorly described, and curiously ever-changing per the whims of the Storyteller hallway, Cocoa and Harold ran. "We don't have much time," Cocoa said. "I bought us some time by running away from him, but he could catch up to us at any second."

"Just hang in there, Cocoa," Harold replied. "Give me time to do my part."

And what part would that be?

They skidded to a stop before me. I was leaning against the wall, my eyes half-closed. Like I knew full well what they were up to.

I didn't.