Chapter Four

When he swallowed those first two pills, it all went downhill from there. Yet for some reason, I gave him more.

I knew the pills where changing him, but not the kind of change I wanted. But I cared for him, so I just gave him what he wanted.

How stupid I was back then.

He stopped working, and eventually Mung Daal's Catering went out of business. But since the only home he had was there, Truffles let him stay.

But our friendship continued to rot.

We never talked, he never sat down and ate dinner with us, and he started to get me buy more drugs, but not the kind of drugs you get at the drugstore. He sent me to get them on the bad side of town. It came in packages, it was green, sometimes white, and I wasn't allowed to tell anyone about it.

Truffles wasn't as bad as Shnitzel, but they shared one same trait: they both lost a love. She suffered from bad depression, but she stood strong and helped raise me. She didn't break under the pressure.

She wasn't a coward who used drugs to stop the pain.

This continued for a period of months.

Then, the unspeakable happened.

It was a Monday night, and after I delivered the drugs to Shnitzel, I played with Kimchi for a while. I glanced out the window to catch Shnitzel walking out the door. He was wearing a big, black overcoat with something sticking out of his pocket. It was a big, long, metal thing, but from my view, I couldn't make out what it specifically was. By this time, I stopped playing with Kimchi, and watched Shnitzel get engulfed in the dark night with curious eyes. I raced downstairs, put on shoes, and followed Shnitzel outside, fearing he might get in trouble.

I kept running forward until I caught sight of Shnitzel's form heading to Marzipan's water tower, which was located in the center of town. I followed him, occasionally having to hide behind crates when he peeked over his shoulder. He climbed up the water tower's old latter, while people watched in shock. That ladder had been there since the beginning of Marzipan's existence; it could've broken under his feet. I didn't dare to follow him up that ladder.

But it didn't break, and he climbed on top of the water tower. There were continuous yells of protest at Shnitzel, but he didn't listen to them.

"Dear citizens of Marzipan," [I'm translating for him a/n] he roars. "This shall be your last day here," my eyes widened.

He pulled a gun from his jacket, and strapped to his chest was a bomb.

He started firing. The loud gunshots pierced the night.

The people watching, including myself, scattered like mice. People were screaming at the top of their lungs.

But it was to late.

I looked back to catch Shnitzel's face. He had a sad, yet happy smile on his face, and his eyes looked down sadly at the screaming people. His lips said something.

I didn't have to be an expert lip reader to know that he said, "I love you, Mung."

He closed his eyes contently and pushed the big, red button on the front of his bomb.

I wanted to look away, but it happened to fast I didn't have time. The fire swallowed him up whole. The last thing I saw on his face was his eyes looking down sadly at me. I stood there in shock, unable to move. If it wasn't for Gazpacho grabbing my arm and pulling me away with him, I bet I wouldn't be alive today.

He took me to the hill leading to the entrance to Marzipan. He told me to run.

"B-But, what about you?" I asked, tears running down my cheeks.

"I'll be fine," he said, and ran back to the city.

That was the last time I ever saw him.

-end flashback-