FanFiction Pulcherbridge

The Chapter of a New Man (1)

In a place not as far as you may think, and a time closer than you might assume, it was a drowsy, weekday afternoon. The sort of day where gloominess hangs like a sweater and swirly mistiness renders umbrellas useless. But as you know, even on gloomy days there are things that must be done. So a stranger regrettably braved the weather and visited a man by the name of Pepe at his work place. When this stranger introduced himself, he said that he would prefer to be known as, Il. Il was a grandiosely handsome man, with an immense sense of power that followed along beside him and a proper looking hat. He had traveled with purpose, specifically to offer Pepe an enchanting job opportunity. Pepe offered Il a seat and a cup of coffee to discuss the job, but Il declined the coffee and the seat by explaining that he had more business to attend that day. Instead, he briskly went over the essential details and gave the man information on how to contact him if he chose to accept.

The remaining hours of Pepe's day rushed quickly on, as he imagined the ups and downs the offer would present to him. His job was quite a crucial one and required his full attention, but on that day his head was somewhere far away, where the hatted Il had spoken. Luckily, he didn't have much work to do, or his story could have ended altogether differently.

By the time he would have normally turned the paper sign around on the door, and been headed home for the night, he had made his decision.

Truth be told, Pepe lived a dull life of sorts and the opportunity for titillation and adventure was too much to resist.

When Pepe arrived to the place he had been instructed to go, he explained to Il that after ample consideration he was free to agree to the proposal.

Il listened leisurely and was fully pleased that his offer was accepted, but not entirely surprised. He had made it convincing for a reason. He told Pepe to leave for a certain town at dawn, and he would send further instructions later.

And so Pepe packed his things, quickly said goodbye to his friends and family, and at dawn, he left for the town called Pulcherbridge.

He made his journey in a bantam rowboat, fit for a single person. His patchy suitcases and bags were stacked one on top of the other, and they wobbled threateningly, to fall into the black water. He didn't pay much attention to the luggage though. The old boxes and bags only contained items that could be replaced if lost. He didn't take many things of sentiment because he had little to be sentimental of.

The island of Pulcherbridge gave Pepe a peculiar first impression. As his boat floated to the shore, he noticed he was getting looks of question from various animals, which he was not at all accustomed to.

The strangeness of the island however, did not bombard him all at once. Many of the rarities in fact, chose to hide as they saw him passing. For example, the new comer did not see the mermaids who usually sat upon the rocks during the day to admire their reflection. Nor did he know that the miniature island he had recently passed was actually just a colossal, lazy animal that kept watch for people like him.

He did notice, however, that hundreds of plump, brightly colored fish were coming from all different directions to surround him. The curious feature of the fish was that he did not fear they were about to snack on his flesh, but instead he got an overwhelming feeling that they were looking for an explanation.

Pepe was not particularly exciting, or romantic, but he was a brave man. So he explained why he was there, which he felt odd doing. The fish stared at him, keenly and wide eyed, while he spoke out loud, saying that he had been sent for a job. They apparently believed that he had presented sufficient explanation and allowed him to continue onward to shore.

If he had not been brave though, he might have done something embarrassing in his trousers and then rowed the opposite direction as fast as he possibly could. Luckily for some, and unluckily for others, he was brave.

Once land was reached, he took a deep breath. Inhaling the island air, he unknowingly became part of the workings of the island that caused it to braid together perfectly. Hair rose on the back of his neck and a breeze blew across his face, but he needn't worry. That was just the presence of ancient magic and the slight chance of rain.

Pepe found himself on the edge of a great forest. As he wandered around, looking for a place he ought to go, he saw a cobblestone path, which he was sure would lead to the town square. He walked upon it, pulling his entire luggage along, and let the stress of being new in a big town float away, while he took time to observe his surroundings.

The trees in the forest were nothing like he had ever seen before. The trunks and leaves seemed to come in every possible shade of green, and in addition to all of the shades of trees, they were also unlimited in shapes and sizes.

There were some the size of a small mountain and others he could have stepped on and squashed. There were trees perfect for children tree climbing activities, and others that not a mother in the world would let her kids see, for fear of their wirey, threatening branches. The grass was tall, feathery, and littered with parachutes of flowers in every color.

He noticed most of the animals fled once they heard him approaching, but others were sleeping so deeply that they remained so while he passed. Pepe watched a pair of sage colored dragons that were cuddled together, dreaming.

And of course collections of birds sat on the trees, observing him. The birds made the man the most anxious. They seemed to have a quality so human like in their stare. And their yellow eyes beat down on him, watching his every movement. Perhaps, he thought to himself, the reason he believed them to be so human was because some can mock human words. Yes, that is certainly it,he reasoned. He heard one bird repeating over in its high pitchy yack, "Fresh scones!"

When the bird screeched the advertisement, which he suspected was planned, Pepe was suddenly reminded that his stomach was feeling desperately empty and it was rumbling viscously. Feeling slightly annoyed that he had already bought into the town's propaganda before he had even met a soul, Pepe walked at a brisker pace.

Of all the beautiful things he saw as he wandered, the sight that bewildered him the most was the bridge that led from the forest to town. The bridge was a tranquil wooden thing. It crossed over a stream where frogs jumped, played, and lounged unabashed on lily pads. On the handrails sat all kinds of fairies, of which he was unfamiliar. They looked lovely and Pepe smoothed what little hair he had and tried his best to look dashing.

When Pepe walked into the town, he noticed prior to even speaking to anyone that the people looked improbably friendly. Stores and wagons full of goods were settled next to each other, looking quaint and delicate with hay tops and extravagant landscaping.

He had met a large number of people who traveled nearly everywhere and always, but the rest of the world now seemed so chaotic and out of sync to him as he noted how well the townspeople weaved together, fabricating a bustle on the street. It differed magnificently from his typical travels of business.

The vendors greeted each passerby delightfully, whether they were making a purchase or not. And an alluring waft hovered in the air smelling of fresh food and all things sweet. Pepe was walking and admiring so intently that he was nearly knocked to his backside when a man appeared directly in front of him and said, "Hi! I'm Walter. I work in the floral booth." He pointed over to a wobbly cart that valiantly supported a mountainous bouquet of assorted blossoms. "You look new. Can I help you around?"

This Walter person was certainly grinning as widely as anyone could. If he hadn't had eyes that were genuine and concerned to accompany them, it might have been frightening.

Pepe replied, "Sure. Could you show me somewhere to eat?"

Walter started walking and waved his arm, motioning Pepe to follow along.

"Well, of course! Come with me. We have all sorts of food here. What types of food do you like the best? We have our hometown food, seafood, and food from a few surrounding towns. I think the hometown food is the best though," he hastily added.

Pepe was practically running to keep up with him, stumbling over his aged feet and bumbling suitcases. "I will try the hometown food, I guess".

"Just for a visit, or are you staying for good?" Walter inquired.

"I had planned on a long visit. Pulcherbridge is famous, you know?"

"Oh yes, of course I know. Born and raised here. Great place to grow up, Pulcherbridge is. Ah, here we are. This is the hometown eatery. It's called Jam's. If I had to recommend something to ya' it would be the roast duck. Try to avoid the frog legs. You know one of those frogs could have been a prince! I'm not about to take part in any cannibalism, that is for sure."

Pepe was bobbing his head anxiously, trying to keep up with everything Walter told him. He was astonished with his unusual opinions and was thankful he led him there, taking time out of his busy day; it was not behavior Pepe was acquainted with.

For the first time since he landed at Pulcherbridge he smiled, just barely, and held out his hand for Walter to shake.

"Thanks a lot, Walter".

"Oh no problem at all, er- I don't believe I caught your name."

Introducing one's self is an imperative thing, as it brings about endless possibilities. He held out his hand as he said, "It's Pepe."