This Old House Chapter 6
Yay! Double update since I felt bad for not uploading a chapter in so long. Plus, it wouldn't be fair to leave you with a filler :D.
When Alfred felt the warmth on his face, he knew that it was daytime. Opening one eye, he found himself to be facing the window of the small room, which of course was the source of the light that had woken him. He then closed his eye, taking in the serenity of the silence and peacefulness that was given to him and sun that shone through the slightly open window. Just as he was about to drift back to sleep, the door suddenly slammed against the wall, disturbing his tranquil state of mind.
Soon enough, he heard the clinking of glass and the clatter of metal being set down on the floor and Alfred's curiosity to see what his cousin was up to was enough to fully sweep the sleep from his body. He reached out his hand and groped around the side of the bed on to one of the bedside tables, successfully finding his glasses. He placed them on his face and sat up, stretching his arms and feeling satisfactory as he heard his joints give out a succession of popping sounds. Looking over to where Arthur was, Alfred noticed that his cousin had brought the boxes of cereal that he had stored in the kitchen cabinets when he had first moved into the house.
When he was done with setting up their makeshift breakfast, Arthur turned to look at Alfred giving him a rare smile, if that half grin thing could be called a smile in the first place…
"Good, you're up. I was hoping that you'd wake up on your own. The last time I tried to do that you nearly knocked out my front teeth."
Alfred climbed out of the bed, and briskly walked over, lured by the idea of food, especially the sugary breakfast cereals that Arthur had so effectively brought upstairs. As he grabbed a bowl and started to pour himself some Cocoa Puffs, he observed that some of the spheres never touched the bowl.
"What the hell?"
Instead of falling like they should have, Alfred watched as brown puffs were grabbed and moved against the force of gravity until they disappeared, as if being consumed by a microscopic black hole. Although he realized that it had to be Matthew eating his Cocoa Puffs, in reality, Alfred was a little freaked out, even though it was the kind boy that couldn't frighten anyone. It wasn't every day that Cocoa Puffs floated around and were consumed by spirits of the deceased.
"Alfred! Stop! You're spilling cereal all over the floor! What's the matter with you?"
Alfred broke out of his daze and noticed that his cousin was furious, his eyebrows knitted into an angry look on his face. Looking down, Alfred noticed the mountain of round, chocolaty globes pilling in his bowl, some falling from the chocolaty mountain to cover the floor. He grinned sheepishly and reached for the milk, not bothering to pick up the fallen pieces of cereal.
"It's nothing Arthur. I just got distracted. I mean when do you actually see ghosts eating cereal? I didn't even know they could eat in the first place."
Arthur sighed. His cousin could get so sidetracked by trivial things. He guessed that he could let it slide this time.
"Yes, well on occasion they can eat or drink whatever and whenever they feel. Isn't that right Matthew?"
Alfred watched as the little boy materialized next to the Lucky Charms and nodded, all the while sticking his small hand into the box and pulling out a handful of the sugary breakfast food.
"Matthew," Arthur, suddenly serious, said as he turned his attention to the ghost child, "Would you mind telling us how you ended up, uh, you know, the way you are?"
"You mean dead?" Alfred noticed the tiny tint of sadness hidden within the adolescent's voice.
"To put it bluntly I guess then, yes. It would help us figure out how to get you to move on, as well as shed some light on how to get Mr. Moody General downstairs out of the house." Arthur looked at the ghost child and noticed that he was staring at the cereal box in his hands, a sad and distant look gracing his young face.
"Matthew, lad, are you alright?"
"Wha-?" Matthew looked up from the cereal box he was holding. When had he started zoning out? "What were we talking about?"
"I was just saying how if you tell us how you died, it will help us aid you and dispel the General's soul from the house."
"Oh, right. I'm sorry, it's just, I want to tell you everything but it-it's so hard. It h-hurts so much." The boy hiccupped, large tears starting to well up in his eyes. "E-every time I th-think about how I died, I relive everything, what he did to me and the pain. I-I just don't want to feel hurt again." Matthew sobbed, ghostly tears streaking down his face.
Seeing the boy cry and in pain, Alfred, always one to be somebody's hero, wrapped an arm as best he could around the weeping child as Arthur got up to find his bear.
"Shhh, Matthew. Nobody can hurt you now 'cuz me an' Arthur are here to help you." Despite his words, the child continued to cry and Alfred started to feel uncomfortable. He never really had to deal with something like this before. The most he had to do was flash a smile, give some comforting words, and the person would cheer up. Noticing that Arthur had Matthew's soft bear, he tried once again to make the child a little bit less distraught.
"Here! Look Matthew, it's your bear. You want your bear right?" The child nodded his head and took Kumajirou from Arthur's offering hands.
"Think about it this way Matthew." Arthur spoke. "If you tell us about what happened and we're able to help you, you'll be able to see your family again. Your mom and dad, they probably miss you and I know you miss them too. You want that right?"
"I-I'll be able to see them again?" His soft voice barely a whisper.
"Yep. I'm sure they're waiting for you. You'll be able to be a family again, after all these years."
"Momma…I miss her so much. I-I've been so lonely. It's been two hundred years…"
"All the more reason to tell us Matthew. I know it will hurt to relive everything but in the long run, you'll be free and you'll be able to see your family again. And don't worry; you have myself and Alfred here to comfort you."
"Yeah! I'll be your hero and protect you!"
Matthew wiped the remaining tears from his face and gave a small smile at Alfred's lightening words.
"Ok, you can be my hero, Alfred." He took a breath. "A-all right. I…I think I can do this."
"We got your back Matthew and just take your time. We're not going anywhere, so go at your own pace."
"Ok. I'm ready…"