There were many times when thoughts of supernatural occurrences crossed
his mind. Usually it was on days like today, when the sun beat down
heavily on the heads of those in the bustling town center and not one
person would turn to look in his direction, everyone too busy going
where they wanted to go. What was the fashion of enjoying such a
beautiful summer day in the outdoors nowadays anyway? It was all grossly
overrated. No, certainly it was far more interesting to run from one
indoors to the next with papers or a briefcase in hand, eyes cemented to
the ground where no amount of calling or coaxing could tear their eyes
from their feet. It was usually after the third or fourth person who
nearly knocked his suitcase over that he found himself weary of all that
motion and his mind rolling back in its chair to ponder on stray
thoughts that it managed to grasp. It was funny actually, that when
people were hard at work, he would find himself hardly able to work.
When people were stressed, he was relaxed and contemplative.
Today,
Wilhelm sat reclined on a bench. He looked like one of the band of
children romping around on the streets, the kind that ignored calls from
their father to go back to work and instead went and practiced mock
fighting or playing pranks on those he was enamored of. Except his
extremely kempt clothes and messily dyed black hair said otherwise. A
strange top hat, much too tall for his small head, rested in one lap,
covered in belts and pouches, and a massive suitcase sat wide open on
the bench beside him. His green eyes watched those that moved past
behind round glasses, his face calm. A scarf and a thick jacket draped
over the arm of the bench.
His eyes wandered along the people
who rushed past him, finally finding peace amongst the more static
objects in his field of vision. The colored flags of the kingdom of
Griswold swaying lazily with the summer breeze, the cloth covered roofs
of temporary merchant stalls, the tapered roofs of administrative
buildings, the steepled roof of a clock tower in the distance, and
finally the enormous mass of floating rock hovering just underneath the
sun. It was terribly hard to see, especially with the sun glinting off
of the rock as it did.
"Hey, you!"
Wilhelm didn't turn
his eyes, was too far lost into his own thoughts to realize he was
actually being addressed. "Did you know that the floating island of
Tranquility is thought to have housed a great tree, the world tree from
the myth? This tree, like the rest of nature, was exploited by mankind
for it's riches and began to wither, and it was out of desperation that
this tree uprooted itself and its land from the surface of the earth,
bringing it to the skies where it can't be reached by the likes of us." A
smile crossed his lips. "Makes you wonder, if all plants were powerful
enough to simply remove itself from the land, where would we all be?"
"The hell?"
There was a sigh. "I told you he was a little loose in the head."
Wilhelm
turned his head finally, locking eyes with a couple standing before
him. Both were already at the peak of their youth. The female stood
behind the male, looking sulkly, while the male glowered at Wilhelm with
crossed arms. A light of recognition passed Wilhelm's eyes, quickly
followed with a sharp return to reality. "Oh..."
"Yeah, I thought
you'd recognize my wife." The man turned his head, joints cracking
quite audibly. He rotated his shoulders, more cracking and set to
cracking his knuckles. Each pop made Wilhelm cringe. The boy had half a
mind to stand up, but there really was far too little space between the
bench and where the man was standing for Wilhelm to stand comfortably.
Wilhelm
managed a smile on his face, one hand reaching over to his suitcase to
close the doors. "Yes, she was the kind woman I sold the balm too--"
"Damn right, she was. I'm here to get my money back."
The
woman sighed, locking eyes with Wilhelm. "I'm sorry about this. My
husband isn't the kind to believe in... well... things that work
miracles."
"Miracles?" The man glanced back before returning his
glare to Wilhelm. "I'll be damned. No such thing. All there is is hard
work, sweat and blood. That's all there is." He growled.
The woman stroked the side of her face, smiling. "But it really does make my skin feel years younger."
"The hell! That's what he wants you to think! You know what that is? That's butter and oil and sheep fat, that's what it is!"
"Actually, it's the fat in a mermaid's tail, not sheep's--"
"Shut up, boy. I'm not naive enough to believe in something that doesn't exist."
"Oh hush, Greg. You haven't an ounce of romance in you."
Wilhelm
found a seller's pitch beginning to bubble inside of him, but decided
for his own safety's sake, he should keep it to himself. The man looked
more ready to beat the crap out of him than anything else. The man bent
down, bringing his face closer to Wilhelm's.
"Look here. Just
because you're a kid doesn't mean you can fool me with your pretty shiny
things, got it? Now give us back our money." He withdrew a circular,
leather-bound container with a round top, shoving it into Wilhelm's
hand.
Wilhelm took the liberty to glance over to the man's wife
long enough to see that she didn't object to returning the product,
which really meant that even if Wilhelm pleaded, he wouldn't get any
support from her. He really was in quite a dilemma here wasn't he?
A
smile spread across Wilhelm's face, lifting his hands in an effort of
piece. His voice came out steady. "I really am sorry, sir, but I'm not
offering refunds."
The man's eyes glinted with anger. His
death-craving face was close enough for Wilhelm to feel the man's breath
on his face. What a terrible expression the man had. "Well you'd better
make an exception, boy."
(OOC: Leaving it off here since I don't know how to end this. *sobs* )
