Three Little Misfits

In Loving Memory

March 15th. A sunny, yet chilling spring morning. Just one day after the triplets' sixth birthdays. Johanna tugged at the bows on her ears as she ate fry after fry. Alex glided his action figure through the air as he took another sip of his soda. However, Peter just held his burger in his lap and looked towards his parents as they drove through the traffic. He was the only one of the three to notice their mom dressed up just a bit more fancy than usual, especially on the weekend. A white blouse with a beautiful flower trim along with some black dress pants. His father, Nick, also sporting a more dressy attire with a nice plaid shirt and some slacks. Although, it was more typical to see him in such clothing.

"Mama?" He asked leaning his head in to try and see his mom better.

"Yes Peter?" Judy asked.

"Where are we going?"

She hesitated for a bit, and her smile left for a moment. "W-we're going to go visit a place." She then replied.

Peter turned his head a bit in confusion, but soon disregarded it as he sat back in his seat finding something to do to pass the lingering time. He soon pulled out the five dollars from his pocket, examining every detail closely, wondering what he would buy with his allowance.

Distracting himself seemed to make everything go by much faster, until Peter saw something that caught his eye out the window. It was a place unlike any he had ever seen before. There were white stones on the ground everywhere, all in neat lines, and animals were just looking at them. Some were dressed in fancy clothes while others strolled through with bouquets of flowers in their paws. His eye was caught by a little elephant placing a flower by the stone. Peter was thoroughly confused. 'What was this place,' he thought. He then sees a sign at the entrance gate. He squints his eyes and silently mouths out the words.

'Forest Floor... C-ce...-m-me..t-tary...'

The word clicks. Cemetary. He had no idea what it meant though, and he would soon forget about it as he watched it fade out of sight as his dad drove higher and higher up the road. They were heading for the canopy, and soon enough, the car came to a slow halt.

Nick unbuckled his seat opened the door. The triplets all watched him as he walked to the trunk to get the umbrella just in case.

Peter's eyes returned to Judy who was just staring straight out the front window at something he couldn't see. He hears her take a labored breath before unbuckling her seat belt. Alex and Johanna rushed to get out of there booster seats, but Peter took his time, still wondering what was clearly upsetting his mom. He follows after his brother and sister, making a small splash as his feet met with the puddle formed on the asphalt.

He didn't really like the feeling of it. Just his feet, all wet and cold. Playing outside in the rain was not as much of his cup of tea as it was for the other two. He was like his dad in that way. Dry was better.

Nick flung open the umbrella with a swift click of the button. Alex and Johanna giggled at his slight struggle to hold onto it as it opened, and in return he smiled at them. The two huddled close to his legs and followed his every step up the hill.

Peter stared off into space for a bit, not thinking about anything. Just staring at the puddles, watching them vibrate with every subtle drip that landed in them. His attention is brought back to the sound of another umbrella opening above him. He looks up to see Judy looking down at him with that motherly smile she always wore. She holds out her paw and Peter grabs hold, following her up the hill behind dad, Alex, and Johanna.

Once again, he stares off into space as he walks in sync with his mom. Letting every idea flow out of his mind as he subconsciously stared at the ground. Suddenly, they stopped. Peter looked up to see something a bit peculiar.