The Memoirs of Sanford Ingleberry
The years went on and on. Would they ever stop, he could not say. The only thing his old eyes could see was a white room all around him. He noticed his old, frail body in a comfortable, white bed. Feeling the gentle sheets covering his fragile body made him feel like he had already died and went to that place in the sky that he had learned existed back when he was a much younger man. The old man looked at his hands and saw wrinkled pale green skin. His blue veins were clearly visible through his green hands. He remembered a time when his hands were much younger and much easier to grab various objects with, but that was a long time ago.
After he took his eyes off his hands, he caught a glimpse of a mirror that stood right beside his bed. His weak hands grabbed the small silver mirror and he saw his reflection. He saw an old man with an old, long, pale green face. After all these years, he still had the characteristics of a snake. His forked tongue, long snake like face, the skinny body, it was all still there. He also noticed his long white hair that had once been black. He missed that black color. It was the same color of most of the members of the gang he lost.
The room he stayed in was a hospital room that had a few people there that were definitely no doctors. Some of the people looked too young, others definitely were too young, others seemed like the proper age, but they did not look it. Like the old man, most of the people in the room with him had green skin, reptilian features, and most had the dark hair the old man used to have. They took notice of him and smiled.
"I think dad's finally awake," said one of the people. This person was a man in his late forties. He had black hair with a few silver strands stuck there. His reptilian looking face grew a huge smile (his name was Bill). When these boys were born, the old man in the hospital bed suggested these names to their parents, his sons and daughters and his son and daughter-in-laws.
"Oh, thank goodness! I thought we'd lost him for good this time!" replied another one of them, an Asian woman with shoulder length dark brown hair (she is his wife, by the way). He touched the shoulder of the first green man.
The old man looked at the people staring at him. One of the younger people stepped forward to him and held his old hand. The youngster was a 15 year old girl with green skin and dark brown hair.
"Grandpa, it's us," she whispered. The old man gazed at her and smiled.
"I knowsss it'ssss yousss, Lillian," he said in an old raspy voice. He put the hand the girl was not holding and placed it on his granddaughter's head in affection. He rubbed it gently as he looked at the others who were smiling.
There was the first green man, the Asian (whose name was Tanya), and then Lillian. After them, there a few who shared the green skin, and there were others who were not. After them, there was an older woman in her mid forties with green skin, black hair and grey strands named Ivy (there was also her husband, Ben, who had beige skin. He was the old man's son-in-law), there were young green and fair skinned people as well, a fair skinned young man about 19 named Harris, a green skinned girl with reptilian features, about 17 with light red hair named Kim, a fair skinned girl about 16 with black hair named Hannah, three others, one pregnant woman with blonde hair and peach skin, and about 20 years old (Ingrid), her husband a green skinned man named Viper, and a very old woman fair, but wrinkled skin, and white hair that had once been light red, Michelle, and finally there 5 young children of 5, 7, and 8 years old (there names were Alicia, an beige skinned girl of 7 years, Arturo, who was a green skinned boy of 5 years, an 8 year old green boy named Ace, a 7 year old green boy named John, whose nickname was Grubber, and another 7 year old green boy named Billy, who was named after his uncle Bill, who was mentioned above). When the boys were born, the old man in the hospital bed suggested these names to their parents, his sons and daughters and his son and daughter-in-laws.
They were being watched by their mothers and fathers, who were the older brothers and sisters of Harris, Kim, Hannah, and Lillian. Three of the mothers had green skin and had red and black hair, one of the mothers was a beige skinned woman with black hair, and the only 1 of the fathers had beige skin and the other three had green skin and black and red hair.
The old man in the hospital bed opened his arms.
"I wantsss the ressst of my grandkidsss and my great grandkidsss to get around me," whispered the old man. Harris, Kim, and Hannah started coming forward and surrounded him along with Lillian.
"I wantsss to tell yousss another ssstory. Isss can'tsss remember if I've toldsss yousss thissss one, so I hopesss not," said the old man.
"A story? What's it about?" asked Lillian.
"Is this another 'back when I was a boy' story?" asked Harris.
"This isn't another story of your gang days, is it?" asked Hannah.
"Yesss, it'sss a ssstory aboutsss when I was boy and of my gang daysss. I was aboutsss Lillian'ssss age," replied the man. "Now when I wasss a boy, it wasss a 'dog eat puppy' world. At least that'sss what it wasss kind of like in thosssse dayssss. Before the daysss of thossse Powerpuffsss Girlsss, Townsssville wasss rough placsssse to live. But after theysss came, the crime ratesss changed alotsss. But even before thossse daysss, I wasss apart of the gang. Yousss all remembersss the name of our gang, rightsss?" explained the old man.
"Yeah! The gang's name was The Gangreen Gang and your name was 'Snake', right?" asked Hannah.
"That'sss right. Thossse were the daysss, back when I used to vandalize, steal, and get hit all the time by the leader, Ace, but…" replied old man Snake.
"But then that didn't last forever, right?" interrupted Ace.
"Yeah, now don'tsss interrupt me," replied old Snake.
"Sorry, Grandpa," returned Ace.
"It'sss okaysss. Nowsss where wasss I? Have I ever toldsss you the ssstory of how we firsssst met the powerpuff girlsss? No…, well then let me tellsss yousss. Now back in thossse daysss, the powerpuff girlsss jussst came into our livesss and ssstarted ruining all of our…'fun' if you willsss. I remember the firssst time we ever sssaw them," explained old Snake.
"How did you meet them, great grandpa?" asked Arturo.
"Well, there wasss thisss one night that wasss really raining, with thunder and the lightningsss and everything! Remember, I wass only 15 when thisss happened. You sssee, the daysss before, the powerpuff girlsss had made themselvesss known to Townsssville, who jussst thought they were jussst bug eyed freaks! Anyway, that nightsss, we were hanging outsss in an alleyway. One of the gang memberss, Lil Arturo, whom I named you after, my great grandson," he said as he looked at young Arturo. "It had jussst ssstarted raining and Arturo had ssseen the powerpuffsss coming to the alleysss. I remember the exact thing he told our leader, Ace. Seemsss like long ago," he said as he began to see a flashback flash before him.