Little Keeper of Secrets #YoungAdult

CHAPTER 9- Two Drunk Dwarves

"I have a friend who's an artist and has sometimes taken a view which I don't agree with very well. He'll hold up a flower and say "look how beautiful it is," and I'll agree. Then he says "I as an artist can see how beautiful this is but you as a scientist take this all apart and it becomes a dull thing," and I think that he's kind of nutty. First of all, the beauty that he sees is available to other people and to me too, I believe. Although I may not be quite as refined aesthetically as he is ... I can appreciate the beauty of a flower. At the same time, I see much more about the flower than he sees. I could imagine the cells in there, the complicated actions inside, which also have a beauty. I mean it's not just beauty at this dimension, at one centimeter; there's also beauty at smaller dimensions, the inner structure, also the processes. The fact that the colors in the flower evolved in order to attract insects to pollinate it is interesting; it means that insects can see the color. It adds a question: does this aesthetic sense also exist in the lower forms? Why is it aesthetic? All kinds of interesting questions which the science knowledge only adds to the excitement, the mystery and the awe of a flower. It only adds. I don't understand how it subtracts." - Richard Feynman

"Jeez Cent! How long has it been since ya went out? Ya literally shine!"

I haven't been out since my mum got sick, which is probably four months ago. I guess Julie was kinda right. Although it was cloudy you could still see how pale I was and to be honest, I wasn't proud of it.  

"I kind of feel like Dracula, melting because of the sun."

"Actually Dracula doesn't melt genius, He..." And she went giving me a lecture about Dracula

 and how I should know this stuff. This is really typical Julie so I can't say that I'm not used to it. 

We went on talking about what has happened the past few days and what has happened. I didn't tell her yet about that I found my mums diary, just about how empty I've been feeling and that loneliness has been slowly devouring my soul, piece by piece. 

"Yanno, ya should just raise yer head and take a walk. Go buy some cake or ice cream. Get a little air. Do the stuff you and yer mum used to do although she isn't there with ya. It will help ya accept that she's gone and that ya just gotta learn how to do stuff that makes ya happy without her. The sooner ya do that, sooner ye'll be okay..."

I looked at Julie and she smiled at me. Julie has always been much help to me. She knows exactly what to say and when to say it. I was about to say something but then I heard this weird voice coming from the corner that we just passed. 

"THAT PRETTY GIRL KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT SHE'S TALKING ABOUT BOY. YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO HER!"

Me and Julie turned around and we saw a man. He was wearing a white shirt that maybe once was white and it seemed like he didn't care much about his hair. His cheeks were red which would have seemed weird if it wasn't for the fact he was holding a bottle of something that seemed alcoholic to me. 

Julie took control.

"Hey there and who are ya?"

The man looked at her maybe a little surprised. "I am... I am..." He suddenly raise his voice and started imitating some kind of weird accent. "I AM PETER SWIFTAXE THE DWARF, AT YER SERVICE MA'AM!" 

We heard another voice from the shadows. "HA! IF YER A DWARF THEN I'M THE SWORD MURDERER JACK! YA BETTER FEAR ME!" A man stepped forward from the shadows. He also was wearing a shirt that might have been white once but his hair seemed smoother, he's face a bit rounder and his voice darker.

Julie seemed to know exactly what to do so I just let her do her thing.

"Nice to meet ya." She gave them her brightest smile. 

"OH LOOK PETER DID YA SEE THAT? I THINK I HAVEN'T SEEN ONE IN YEARS!"

"SURE I DID JACK! THAT WAS A SMILE INDEED!"

"ALMOST FORGOT WHAT THOSE WERE!"

"IS IT EVEN REAL YA THINK?"

Julie smiled even brighter. 

"OH YES PETER THAT IS HELL OF A REAL SMILE!"

Julie sat beside the man that called himself Peter. I tried to tell her that wasn't a good idea but she just did as she wanted.

"So how are ya two gentlemen doin'?"

"SHE ASKED HOW WE ARE PETER DID YA HEAR THAT?!"

"SURE THING I DID! AND SHE CALLED US GENTLEMEN!"

"YER A PECULIAR LITTLE BEAUTIFUL CREATURE AREN'T YA?"

"CHEERS FOR THAT!"

"CHEERS MY GOOD MAN PETER!" 

And they started to drink. 

The men started to dance around and Julie joined them and they all laughed. They sang as loud as they could. The one that called himself Jack decided that he needed more to drink so he went and bought some. While he was away, Peter suddenly changed his mood and started to talk seriously to us.

"Julie Gargoyle DasMontagne you sure have the most beautiful soul. Just like your mother..."

Julie looked confused and shocked. 

"How do you kno..."

"And you, Vincent Clarescense Winters, you are just like your mother too."

The man looked at us with a really sad face. He drank a little more from  his bottle and then spoke again.

"In fact, you two remind me of the times when your mother were young and were best friends and healthy..." 

Those words made me want to scream. Scream as loud as I can. I was so shocked, I felt the panic flow. I looked at Julie to see her reaction. She just grabbed my hand and we ran. We ran as fast we could. We passed through the shop but she didn't even stop.

"Julie? Weren't you going to buy ice cream?"

"Forget that stupid ice cream. We're going to my home and read that god damned diary..."