“...ey”
“...ey!”
“Hey!”
“Wh-” I open my eyes with reluctance to see Cry above me, shaking my shoulder.
“Look!” He shouts with enthusiasm, gesturing outwards. I sit up, body aching as I look around, a grin crawling onto my face.
It’s our city. And it’s untouched.
“It’s safe... We did it.. We did it!” I shout. Cry laughs and we wrap our arms around eachother, grinning as we hold eachother and laugh. We’re merry and joyous for a small while before something sneaks into my mind. Mum. Dad. Where... are they?
“Mum?” The word escapes me before I can stop it and Cry freezes. It clicks for me but takes a moment longer for Cry. I wrap my arms around him before he can react, holding him tightly. His arms lace around me and he begins to sob loudly. I bite my lip to stop me copying as I stand, lifting him and holding his quivering form as he did hold mine those weeks ago by my home ablaze.
“Come on Cry” I say as I begin to walk along, stroking his back. He sniffles as we stroll along and I can’t blame him. I wouldn’t dare. Perhaps after I’ll copy him.
“Found it” I say with a smile as I stop. Cry stops sniffling and turns around, a small smile appearing on his face before he nuzzles back into my shoulder. I open the old shed door and look in, seeing it free of any dust.
“At least it’s clean” Cry says quietly, making us both laugh as I enter, closing and locking the door behind us. There are two chairs and I set Cry down in one before sitting down myself. It’s silent for a bit before I raise my voice.
“What happened?” I ask. Cry shakes his head.
“I don’t know” Comes his answer and a sigh escapes my lips. “I don’t know...”
“Mum... Dad...” My breath hitches as I hunch over, whole body trembling in pain as I wrap my arms around myself. My mouth opens and a scream escapes me. My mind is full of nothing but memories of my parents. The birthday parties. The accidents where I made a mess with the milk. When they scolded me. When they hugged me. It’s all assaulting me and It hurts me so deeply that I scream again as I sob loudly. I feel arms snake their way around me and I lunge forward, wrapping my arms around Cry and burying my face in his chest as he tries to soothe me, hand rubbing up and down my back
“I-It’s okay Pewds” He tells me. “W-We’re go-oona be f-i-ine” His breath is hitching too but I can’t help him. I’m too busy drowning in my own screams and tears.
I wake up slowly, eyes aching with the tears I had shed earlier. I rub them away and open my eyes, seeing Cry asleep in the chair in front of me. I shake him awake before standing and stretching as I try and get the ache out of my bones. Cry copies, yawning and stretching. He rests a hand on my shoulder and we both shoot eachother reassuring smiles to try and comfort the both of us. We’re both still there. I move towards the door, holding Cry’s hand tightly as we exit, locking the shed once more and keeping the key in my pocket. With quick steps, we rush towards the town, eager to talk with someone, anyone and prove we exist. Our feet thunder loudly on the concrete as we run down the streets, looking for people to try and talk with. I hear a rumble and look back to Cry who blushes. I laugh but then I hear another rumble and he gently snickers at me. Our steps slow as we near the main town square and the murmurs of blended conversation reach our ears. This is it. This is our new life.
Or so I thought.
People swarm all around, shouting loudly as they trade goods, talk and yell at thieves. One runs straight through me and another brushes though Cry. We look to eachother, ill filling our minds.
We’re still fractured.
This isn’t our universe.
I’m on the verge of tears, free hand wiping at my eyes while Cry’s voice stammers nervously.
“It’s okay Pewds... We’ll find another hole. We’ll go to another place” His words were trembling and his voice was filled with fear but I could only nod.
“Yeah” I rasp out. “Let’s go”
I drag him along, down streets and alleys until we see something. A glimmer. Cry points it out and I look, seeing the little rippling space. Our steps are hesitant as we approach it.
“You ready?” Cry asks, looking at me nervously. His grip on my hand is tight but I only smile.
“Yeah, We’ll be home soon” I reply.
Yet as we stepped through, we both knew the truth.
We were never going home.
