_____
Who: Marcello, Willem, Kiku
When: Saturday, middle of the night
Where: Mimosa Flowers & Gifts first, then Willem & Kiku's house
What: A weary stray finds his way back into the arms of the town that forgot him.
“Ouch!” Came a yelp after stubbing his toe for the third time as Marcello tried to feel his way around his own shop in the dark. He was searching for the lightswitch, but once found he realized that the place had no electricity. In fact, it looked completely abandoned. As his emerald eyes adjusted to what little moonlight there was, he could see the dust, the untidy décor, the withered plants. He checked the greenhouse in the back, everything long dead. It was quite a sad sight and had successfully dampened the young man’s mood. Maybe he shouldn’t have come back after all.
It had been a long journey, from train to bus to bus to train. It was now close to midnight, and the brunette was weary with tiredness. He didn’t want to think about the state of things right now, though it was painfully obvious how much he had screwed everything up. He climbed the stairs to the bedroom he had made for himself, only to find it packed with shop materials. Apparently someone had taken it upon themselves to turn this room into a storage unit and he stared at the mass of things blankly.
And then it hit him.
“Lucy…” He whispered as the thought formed the name on his lips. He said it once more, a little clearer and looking around in slight panic. “Lucy-Junibelle?”
Oh, that’s right. He vaguely remembered Willem saying he’d take her in. That was really the last thing he could remember before cutting ties with the town completely. A few minutes later, Marcello slumped on his front step, staring into the humid summer air. He was so tired, but what could he do? Where could he go? Marcello was never the best at planning things through.
His thoughts kept returning to all the friends he had in this now-abandoned life of his. There was his cousins, Kiku, Willem, Lilli… ah.. yes, Lilli. Marcello’s heart felt heavy at that thought. Still, all these people… he wasn’t sure if he was prepared to face any of them. He couldn’t.
Or maybe he could.
Marcello stood, heading in a familiar direction up the road.