Spring Writes Stuff

19. Present

This took way longer than I expected. Anyway, enjoy peepol!

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The sun shone brightly from above her head as Winnie walked out of the Portley-Rind mansion.

Her shy smile has been stuck on her face from the moment she opened her eyes to start her day, but the thing is, today is not a normal day.

Today is the 17th anniversary of "Trubshaw Remembrance Day". For the first decade of Cheesebridge's celebration of this little festivity that paid respects to the "boy who was taken away and feasted upon by Boxtrolls", the whole town was actually told the wrong story all this time.

So ever since Snatcher's defeat, all the Boxtrolls, alongside her most trusted friend Eggs and his biological father had finally started to seep in through the sprightly streets of Cheesebridge.

Sure, people were a little bit wary about the Boxtrolls harmonizing with their normal society, but the longer the odd creatures stayed, the more the townspeople appreciated their presence.

But a year after Snatcher's downfall, Winnie decided to spice things up by continuing the "Trubshaw Remembrance Day" tradition with telling the town a set of stories through stage performances about her and Eggs' adventure, of course with the confirmation and validation from Eggs himself.

Sometimes he'll be there to watch her perform on her very own solo stage just across her home, or he'll be too busy doing something else. 

Though, after an afternoon of nothing but storytelling, the duo aren't quite done spending their day just yet.

"Ready, Eggs?" Winnie asked her best friend from beside her. She can't help herself from grinning when he turned his head to face her with a bright smile.

Eggs let the tractor engine roar loudly, grabbing the control lever of his father's tractor. "Born ready, Winnie!" He replied with a loose laugh, slightly adjusting himself so he can sit more comfortably beside her.

After fixing the complicated machinery all around his father's now complex tractor, he looked at Winnie once again, silently asking her one last time if she's ready.

Winnie can't stand him staring at her for a long while, so she gave him a quick nod instead. Without wasting another second, Eggs finally pulled the lever, and the pair finally drove off. 

To the peaceful lake below Cheesebridge.

None of them spoke a word, and Eggs is heavily focused on his driving as if he's intentionally ignoring her.

The tense silence between them made her ponder on the very first time they did this kind of trip on Trubshaw Remembrance Day.

The both of them were so excited to drive off all by themselves, feeling like they're some kind of 12 year old adults. But before Herbert Trubshaw gave his son full permission to drive his tractor, he first warned Eggs about the dangers of using it carelessly.

Well of course, Eggs pretended to listen to his father, since the two kids knew very well what was about to go down that day. They already planned everything the day before, so there's no turning back now.

Then when Eggs got a hold of the tractor, him and Winnie immediately drove off fast across the town, nearly running over several civilians and some Boxtrolls along the way.

They were both laughing out loud like idiots when they finally reach their destination, before they decided to just sit by dock in the lake, take off their shoes and dip their feet on the cool water to just talk and chill.