Hey Arnold: Helga's Prelude
Chapter Two
"The Headless Cabbie" Part Two
Hillwood, Seattle, WA
Friday, 7:00 PM
Arnold, Gerald, Sid, Stinky, and Harold arrived to the City Park wearing their hooded sweaters. Harold was terrified of entering the park after hearing the urban legend of the Headless Cabbie. The imagery of the demonic Scottie dog, the woman with the evil cackle, the red scarf, the man with the golden hoof for an arm, and the headless carriage driver really drove fear into his heart. Gerald assured him the story was just that, a story. And Arnold did the same, and added that his grandpa always made up stories. Harold calmed down a bit and only agreed to enter the park so they can reach the ice cream shop on the other end.
Meanwhile, Helga and Rex were enjoying their walk and he was getting to know Helga as a person. And learned she knew Arnold who nearly beat him earlier in the semester in the boat race. And surprised to know she watched it.
"You were there?"
"Yeah I was. I mean, Arnold does go to my school so at the very least, I support him."
Rex chuckled, "No doubt you caught sight of his and my grandfather fighting in the pond," and she laughed at the memory.
"I did! And I thought that was just sad! I mean, it was just a boat race."
"Indeed. Arnold was very cordial and shook hands with him."
Helga rolled her eyes a bit, "Yeah…he sure is…" and Rex caught that, "I take it you're not a fan of Arnold."
She sighed, "I'll say this about him: He always has his heads in the clouds. And I feel everyone he's friends with want to be there with him."
"How about yourself?"
"What about me?"
"Do you want to be in the clouds with him and others?"
Helga never expected this question to come up. She felt unprepared. Plus she was kicking herself for the words she chose to use. She felt like an idiot. Helga looked at Rex who was looking at her in the eye. And she realized they both stopped walking. Only the sounds of leaves rustling were heard. The silence around them felt loud as well. As loud as her heart beating in her chest, so she chose to respond, "…It's complicated."
Rex then asked, "I am guessing there is a lot more," to which she nodded silently with a yes.
The two sat down at one of the benches. They were just silently sitting next to each other. Helga looked around, taking in the calm early evening with the fog coming in from Puget Sound and the cool, crisp air around her. She took in a deep breath, feeling calm. Rex meanwhile was looking at her. He looked at her fair skin and golden hair. Her blue eyes illuminated by the lamp overhead drew him in. He wanted to say something to capture her interest. But then, a noise distracted his thoughts and captured Helga's focus.
"What's that?"
Helga asked and Rex adjusted his glasses to see what's in the fog. But he couldn't see anything, but can hear a distinct sound, "Sounds like…a horse drawn carriage?"
Helga turned to face the road, "Want to go and see? That way, we reach the other side of the park."
Rex looked at her and nodded. Both stood up and walked down the stone path in the old city park. As they walked, the fog thickened. The cold air cut through their clothing. But neither showed discomfort. Helga looked around, at the shadowy old trees, with their leaves fallen. Rex looked around to note the glowing park lamps giving the impression of spirit orbs floating in mid-air.
Helga spoke after minutes of silence, "I feel like the Baba Yaga would come out to get us. Or if we're lucky, Baba Roga."
"Don't."
Helga looked at Rex, "Are you scared?"
"Aren't you? What if a man would come out from behind the trees to ambush us?"
Helga shrugged, "Never happened to me."
Rex looked at her, "You're truly not frightened?"
"Like I said, why should I? I like to take walks alone. It clears my head."
"But…you know…you're a girl and…"
Helga raised an eyebrow to her and gave a mirth grin, "I appreciate the stance you're on. But believe it when I tell you this," and Rex turned his ear to her as she said this:
"No one can control what's inside me or what I want."
"What do you want?"
Helga looked at Rex and gave a smile, "Now that, is a secret for now."
The two walked into the fog. The sound of the horse-drawn carriage was coming closer and closer.
Meanwhile,
On an adjacent path Eugene was practicing his dancing steps on the cobblestone road. He just left his evening dance class and finished his homework for the weekend. He was in a great mood. That meant his weekend was free for him to improve his dancing, and bicycle his way around town.
'Look out world! Eugene Horowitz is coming to a stage near you!' He thought as he did a complex dance move. It's funny how he's more coordinated dancing than in real life. Then, Helga's nickname for him came to mind.
'Eugene Astaire…heh, that's kinda cool,' he smiled at the thought of Helga comparing him to one of the greats, 'But, I'll be even greater than he! Just watch!'
He practiced his dancing and ahead of him he sees a group, silhouetted by the fog. As he moved closer, he saw his friends: Arnold, Gerald, Sid, Stinky, and Harold. They called out his name, "Eugene!"
He smiled, "Hi guys!" Then stopped to greet them, with the boys sighing in relief.
"You scared the stuffing out of us, Eugene!" Sid spoke.
"Oh, sorry about that. I was just practicing for my clog dancing class."
Gerald was confused by this but accepted it nonetheless, "Practicing clog dancing on cobble stones in the early evening? Now I've seen everything."
Back with Helga and Rex,
On an adjacent path Helga and Rex were blinded by the fog; with the two sticking close as to not get lost.
"Criminy! Why is the fog like this?" Helga exclaimed with Rex silently agreeing. This was not right and the cold was particularly chilling. As they walked through the trees, Rex noticed something.
"Is that a scarf ahead?" Helga noticed, "Yeah. Looks like someone lost it."
"Or put it there for some odd reason."
Rex countered and Helga nodded, "That too."
Then another sound was heard. Somewhere in the nearby bushes, and the two turned around quickly to listen more closely, "Sounds like a…person?"
"Or animal," Rex interjected and the two looked at each other and gulped, nervously.
As they inched closer to one of the bushes, they heard screams down the path behind them, "What was that," Rex asked, spooked by the screams.
Helga was about to answer but then the noise from the bush caught her attention more than the screams. Rex looked ahead and can see a group of boys leaving the tunnel in terror. He recognized one of them with wild, blonde hair, "Is that Arnold?"
Helga was about to answer but then an old woman stepped out of the bushes, "Oh, I'm so sorry children. Did I frighten you?"
Helga nodded a bit, but then can hear the screams much closer. To her surprise, she sees her classmates: Arnold, Gerald, Sid, Stinky, and Harold. She was too stunned to say anything. Even as she heard Arnold trying to calm the guys and they noticing Rex and Helga, "What are you two doing here?"
"Well if you must know, Ms. Pataki and I were taking a walk to make amends for crashing my remote-controlled plane onto her. Now what is all this ruckus?"
"The barking dog, the man with the golden hook for an arm and…" Harold was babbling with fear and Helga looked at them and then at the old woman.
"To answer you, you just caught our interest. When I said our, I meant Rex and I," she said to her.
The old woman nodded and smiled warmly, "It's best that all of you leave here. It's not safe. Especially with old spirits wandering around."
Arnold felt exasperated. To think his story of the Headless Cabbie would have this much pull on his friends. He then heard them gasp as they looked upward. He did too, it was an old red scarf. He lost it, "Guys! This is crazy! It's just an old scarf! There's nothing going on here!"
Then Stinky felt the dog wiggling around in his arms, "What is it, boy?"
The Scottie dog barked as it then ran off into the fog. The old woman spoke, "I see it is returning to its owner."
Arnold looked at her and then at Helga, 'Why is she doing out here tonight? And with Rex to boot,' he thought, and for some reason, not liking where all of this was going.
Arnold looked around; his friends with him, seeing Helga with Rex, and an old woman speaking in a weird calm voice. He didn't like it at all. Then his attention was snapped back into focus when the old woman spoke, "Like I said young ones, it's time for you all to leave."
Harold was panicking, "Is it her? The evil cackling lady?"
The old woman nodded, "I'm afraid so. Now, follow me."
As she walked, she ventured into the thick fog. Helga and Rex followed suit, with the boys having little choice but to follow them. As they all walked into the fog, the twisting bare branches looked like twisted arms, and the lone owls above kept watch like vigils.
Helga felt the cold stiffening her, "Criminy, I wish I brought a scarf," she said but the boys didn't take kindly to her innocent remark, "Not funny, Helga!"
"What?"
"What are you two doing out here tonight," Gerald asked with the intent of finding out his school nemesis's motives. She sighed, "Taking a walk with Rex here."
"Is that all," Gerald asked, knowing how Rex did try to eat Abner and played roughly during the Tour de Pond competition.
"Yes that is all, Mr. Johansson. But I feel whatever your school friend here or I would tell you would be moot."
"Moot," Sid asked.
"He meant we wouldn't believe them," Arnold interjected, "But it is a weird coincidence."
Helga said nothing but then had the urge to talk to the old woman, "So…why help us out? That's generous."
The old woman smiled, "Well, it's to make sure the spirits of the dead don't haunt you when you get home. They have a habit of doing that. Either out of malice, or simply because you were here."
Helga nodded, "Huh, right," not sure how much of this she should believe. Then they came to a fork in the road, "Oh great."
"That's funny. This was never here before," Rex spoke out loud and the old woman spoke, "I'm impressed that you noticed."
Rex looked at her, as did the boys. The old woman continued to speak as she then chose the right path, "Since Halloween is coming up, and the veil between both worlds is thinning. Ghosts become more active, nightly creatures come out to hunt, even secrets of one's heart bubble to the surface as a slow boil.
Helga shifted her hands in her pocket, with her own feelings for a certain blonde boy wanting to come out. But she kept a lid on it, tightly. The old woman glanced at her but said nothing, "Now which way, young lady?"
"Huh? Me?"
"Why not? Now which way to safety? But remember, you have to focus on the stones ahead of you…believe."
Helga looked at her and then at her classmates/friends behind her. Then she glanced quickly at Arnold and Rex. She inched ahead of the group to the two paths before her. She mentally wanted to take the seemingly benign left path. But something inside stopped her.
She listened to the surroundings and quickly chose the right path. The old woman ushered the boys to come along and so they did. The trees now looked more natural looking as opposed to the sinister quality they possessed when the boys treaded the path that brought them close to the sinister wraith. But also conversely, when Helga and Rex followed their path that led to the elderly woman. The children walked in silence, with Helga leading and the old woman behind them.
Arnold looked at Rex and then at Helga. He tried to catch a glimpse of her face. When he did he caught a look in her eyes he never saw before: focus. She was focused on walking out of the darkened park, but also he had a feeling she was being guided by…
"Something," he muttered quietly but Gerald noticed, "What?" "Nothing."
Gerald raised an eyebrow and looked at Helga. He was skeptical if she chose the correct path. But by the sheer fact she wasn't speaking and only focused on walking out of here, he held his tongue; for the time being.
Then she stopped. She looked around, but she looked upward towards the branches. She only saw their twisted form, the few remaining autumn leaves, and managed to catch the sight of a lone owl. It looked at her and she looked at it. She felt her heart starting to beat rapidly, her pulse quickening, and her senses heightened. The old woman sees this and comes to Helga's side.
"Remember to not fear the night. Doing so, then no wraith or creature of wrath will consume you," she told her.
Helga looked at her and slowly nodded. The owl hooted and flew off. Helga put her arms close to her, trying to keep it together as she walked forward. The boys looked on and then seeing Helga stop, "Now what," Sid exclaimed.
"Yeah! If you're doing it on purpose then I'll…" Harold was then stopped by the old woman, "Quiet boy! Something is wrong!"
"What," Arnold asked, now growing concern as when he moved to the front, he sees Helga looking afraid as she looked forward.
"Helga? Helga?"
He tried to get her attention, but he could not. She was transfixed by whatever she sensed ahead. And the boys took notice as well the path ahead starting to darken and then, the sounds of a barking Scottie dog were close. Very close. Frighteningly close.
Stinky noticed ahead and can see the dog with its eyes milk white. And ahead, the apparition of a horse-drawn carriage. The driver, headless, and to top it off, the frightening visage of the cackling woman. The boys screamed in terror.
They were about to run but the old woman told them to stay put. Rex and Arnold did not know what to do or say, but then to their shock, Helga walked forward, "Ms. Pataki! Are you mad?"
Rex exclaimed and Arnold agreed, "Helga! This is no time to play brave! We got to get out of here! Helga? Helga!"
But she didn't hear the two boys calling her. Nor the others. She walked towards the carriage and looked eye to eye to the cackling woman, "Are you here to grovel before me or run away so to make this chase a fun experience?"
Helga said nothing. The cackling woman took this as a sign of fear, "Are you afraid, little girl? Is that why you do not wish to speak? Well!"
The woman continued to taunt Helga. The passing moments when the woman went on, Helga felt something inside. Flashes of her life passed in a flurry: her family, Olga, Miriam, Bob, and their collective neglect. Then came images of her classmates that have for better or worse defined her first six years of school: Phoebe, Rhonda, Harold, Stinky, Sid, Nadine, Peabody, Park, Sheena, Lila, Gerald, Rex, and….
'Arnold…' the first time he greeted her, the many times he had tried to befriend her, and the moment in third grade the two seemingly became adversaries.
'I want to take it back. Take it all back! TAKE IT ALL BACK!' And Helga felt her heart pound heavily.
The woman's evil tone of voice surrounded her and her memories began to swirl around her. Her heart pounded, she clutched her chest. Then her head ached, as if a band was slowly wrapping itself around it. The boys saw this, particularly Rex and Arnold. But as soon as they were about to rush in and save her from the evil cackling woman, Helga screamed.
Her scream came from the pit of her core. It startled the ghostly horse and the demonic dog. The woman was startled by the power her yell possessed. Then Helga began to speak in Hungarian:
"Helga Geraldine Pataki vagyok! Nem fogok lenyomni a piszokig! Nőni fogok! Erős leszek! De itt maradsz! Szánalmas kísértet, amelyet a múlt és a gyűlölet csapdába ejtett! Menj vissza a gödörbe! Menjen vissza! Szenvedj és halj meg! (I am Helga Geraldine Pataki! I will not be pushed down to the dirt! I will grow! I will be strong! But you will remain here! A pathetic ghost trapped by the past and your hate! Go back to the pit! Go back! Suffer and die!)"
Helga repeated her statement once more before the apparitions began to disappear. The atmosphere around the park began to change. Her final yell at the end scared the evil woman and her dog back into oblivion. When it was all said and done, Helga fell to her knees. Rex and Arnold rushed to her, followed by the other boys, and the old woman slowly walked to the girl in question.
Rex and Arnold slowly brought her to her feet and the old woman came to then put her hand on Helga's forehead. A silent prayer was said by her and slowly, Helga came around, "Huh, what?"
"Helga! You're okay," Arnold said in a relieved tone, "You had us worried! All of us," Rex added as both boys her by the arms.
Helga looked at them and then at the others. Gerald was concerned, even Sid and Stinky. Harold looked petrified, and Eugene looked on the verge of tears, "I'm fine. Really."
"Don't play the tough girl, Helga! You scared us half to death," Gerald exclaimed in an angry, but in reality, he was scared for her.
"Yeah! You were out of it like a banshee screaming in the middle of a stormy night," Stinky quipped, also concerned for Helga.
"Are you all right," Eugene slowly approached her as she steadied herself with Stinky and Harold looking on.
She steadied her breathing and looked at her friends, "Yeah—Let's get out of the park," she then walked ahead down the path and soon, everyone followed.
Minutes later they were now at the other side of the park. The woman made sure they were safe and listened to her surroundings. She then spoke to the children, "Take care children and remember. This is a week when spirits and others will make their presence known. Happy Halloween."
She smiled kindly and walked back into the park. Helga walked to her, with Rex or Arnold unable to stop her, "Wait!"
The old woman turned to face her, "I want to say, thank you. And…I have something on my mind. Are you—Are you really the…" but the old woman stopped her.
"It's best to not know, until you need to know," she whispered into Helga's ear, "Great change will come for you. You have strength, now open yourself for happiness to come in life. And be wary of your own inner darkness."
Helga looked bewildered, "I don't understand." Which caused the old woman to chuckle the same way a grandma would.
"That's all right. You're still young. You'll understand soon enough."
And then, the old woman bowed her head to Helga and returned to the park. The fog made it seem she disappeared, as if she was never here. Helga breathed in and out. She turned to the boys in question, "Who wants ice cream?"
The group walked for a few minutes in silence as they reached their destination. Instead of their regular ice cream shop, Helga led them to her personal favorite unknown to her classmates except for Phoebe: Khalil's Ice Cream.
The boys didn't know about this place but Helga entered casually, "Hey Amir, what's up," she greeted a boy her age at the cashier, "Your dad got you working tonight?"
The boy smiled, "You betcha'! How are you?"
"I had a pre-Halloween event happen with the guys here," she said, holding back what just happened.
"Sounds fun. So, what can I get ya' babe," he winked as she rolled her eyes, but smiled.
The boys looked on as Helga turned to them, "Order up guys," and the boys ordered their favorites. Helga ordered pistachio and what was a normal treat for her, the boys discovered this type of ice cream was different with Harold exclaiming:
"It stretches! Cool!
"Boy howdy, this is fun!"
"I can get behind this!"
Even Gerald was impressed, as was Arnold and Rex. While the boys ate their ice cream, and played around with it, Helga was chatting with Amir. She sat at the counter with Amir leaning forward with his elbows on the counter. Arnold and Rex noticed this and both of them had a swirl of emotions they didn't know the words to. The other boys noticed and were bemused and Harold was about to make a smart crack. But Helga noticed this quipped back:
"Want me to bring up Patti? She would love to see you tonight after what happened in the park," and Harold immediately shut up.
Amir smiled and chuckled, "You're awesome, you know that Helga?"
"I try. Or at least I am now."
"Great to hear."
Once the kids finished up, they left Khalil's and the boys were heading for the Sunset Arms Boarding House, Arnold's home. Helga was going in the opposite direction that led to her home. Rex escorted her home. Arnold glanced at this as he walked with the guys, but said nothing. Stinky noticed as well, also saying nothing.
With Rex and Helga alone again, they enjoyed their walk-in silence. Once near Helga turned to Rex, "Um…I want to say thank you. And about what happened at the park—I don't know what that was."
Rex sighed as he shifted his right foot on the pavement, "It's quite all right. But whatever happened there—I was scared."
"Sorry."
"No, I was scared for you."
Helga looked at him and looked down at her feet, "T—Thank you. I gotta go in now. Have a good night-wait. Who's going to pick you up?"
Then both heard the car horn. Rex smiled lightly as he saw the family car; a 1938 Rolls Royce Wraith, painted black and white. The family chauffer opened the door for Rex, "Um…That's my ride."
Helga nodded, "Okay then. Well, night," she walked to the front door and entered her home.
Rex looked on for a moment longer before heading to his family car. He then went on home.
[Sunset Arms, 11:45 PM]
The boys in Arnold's room were fast asleep. All except for Arnold. He had his hands behind his head, looking up at the night sky above through the ceiling window. He noticed the autumn moon looming above and he was filled with memories of what just happened in the park. He sits up and puts on his slippers before using the wall stairs to climb up and exit through the ceiling window.
Once up on the roof he walked and crossed his arms to keep from getting cold. He looked over the roofs of nearby homes. He tried to calm down before a bat flew past his view. It flew off, unnerving him more. Images of Helga yelling at the ghosts in the park, the old woman who guided them out, and Helga seemingly not remembering what happened. Not to mention Helga becoming, in her version anyway, friendly. Even laughing with that guy at the ice cream shop, walking home with Rex. It all confused him.
And it was almost Halloween.
To be continued…
Well as you can see, I am continuing with this unique approach for Helga. So please, bear with me. Thank you.
Read, review, and critique. I'll see you all soon.