One day in Wanderville, a little Wander was -what else -walking around. He was looking for his mama, who he had lost somewhere in the crazy world they live in.
He lives in a universe with all Wanders. Litterally. His name was Wander, and so was his mom's. Everybody was Wander -boy or girl, brunette or blond or even bald! Wanders everywhere.
This little Wander happened to be clumsy. He bumped into people a lot -even though there wasn't many people to bump into. Just his luck, he guessed. But he liked people -he was a friendly kid -so this was good luck for him. And who should he bump into but an old man!
"Hello!" He squeaked. His eyes were bright and ready to take whatever the old man would tell him to heart. He loved old Wanders, for they had wisdom that he wouldn't have for a while. So obviously this one had something good to tell him, right?
Except, the old man looked sad and sleepy. He wasn't running around or playing, but just leaning with his face against a rock. His hat was droopy and he wouldn't even look at who bumped into him. He was NOT like any Wander that the kid had ever seen. The kid wondered why the old man would be sad, but decided he should make it his duty to help his fellow grandpa feel better.
"What's makin' you so sad?" asked the little Wander.
The old Wander looked at the child. "Oh, I don't wanna bother you with my troubles."
"No no, sir! I want to help you! What's got you down?"
"Well, if you're so sure..." The old Wander turned around to face the child. He had a big gray beard, bags under his eyes, and his face looked even sadder than the kid was expecting. "I know you can't help much, but I need something for a friend and it's not something I can get."
"Oh, I can get it for you!" The young Wander declared. "I'll just ask the creator!"
"No," the old man put a hand to stop the kid from walking away. "Don't bother."
"Why not?" The kid asked. "The creator can make anything appear! He-"
"I know." The old Wander interrupted. "But this is too big of a job even for me."
"Huh?" The kid asked. It took a second for the words to sink in. "Wait, are YOU the creator?"
The old Wander sighed. "Yep."
The kid gasped. "That's awesome! So you can make anything appear?!"
"Sure can." To prove this, the old Wander made a red elephant appear. The elephant picked up the kid and put him on it's back, and spewed confetti out of it's horn. The young Wander smiled and laughed.
"Do you feel better?" The old Wander asked.
"Do I- Do I feel better?" The kid gave the old Wander a strange look. "I was already fine! You need to feel better!"
"Trust me," The old Wander put a hand in the air. "I appreciate what you're trying to do, really, but nothing is going to work. There is nothing in the world that can make Sylvia happy again."
"Sylvia?" The young Wander jumped off the elephant. "Who's that?"
The old Wander's eyes widened. Did he mention Sylvia? He hadn't even thought about Sylvia in a long time, ever since he gave up on the hopeless notion that they could escape this nightmare. What a horrible person he was -thinking so much about his own misery he forgot about Sylvia. He leaned against his rock again and started bawling.
"I didn't mean to-" the kid tried to explain. He was really guilty, but also really confused. "But- I don't-"
He tried everything to cheer the old man up. He took out a pack of balloons and made them into animals. He danced around, sang songs... basically anything old Wander himself would have done to cheer someone else up. But nothing was happening, except that the old man's sobs got louder and then quieter. They stopped at one point, then continued, then stopped. But it was clear to the boy that nothing he was doing was going to make things better.
Reluctantly, he turned around and was about to go home. But first, he thought he should make his walk a little longer. And so, he walked in the opposite direction -passed the old Wander- and into the nothingness that was the void.