'It's been at least two months since Thumbelina died and I'm glad to say that my life has finally started to get better, surprisingly. Still, despite all the improvements, I can't help but sometimes feel a *little* upset over the entire situation.'
Cornelius stared at the empty Cafeteria seat by Pippi, it was where Thumbelina would always sit, wanting to be as close to his girlfriend as possible. But even when Cornelius had offered her a seat by the others, she rejected, wanting to mourn her loss in silence.
"Still missing Thumbelina?" she turned around to see her other friend, Anna, and glumly nodded in response. "Aww, don't beat yourself up, Cornelius. I know you're feeling better, but nobody's expecting you to get completely over him. There's always going to be a part of you that dearly misses him, but it doesn't make you a sappy person!"
"I know," Cornelius replied, before looking away, slightly antsy, "It just still feels… surreal being without him and everything."
"Hey, it's like you said, he's watching over us or doing something else in an entirely different life, you know, a whole new book?" Anna let out a small smile before turning around and looking at the clock. "Oh shoot, I gotta go, I got basketball practice! I'll be back in about an hour!'
"And a warm goodbye to you too, Anna," Cornelius muttered, seeing her friend take off. She knew they were trying to help out and were coming from a place of good intentions, but it still felt simply rough in general, especially when they bolt out on you not even five seconds later. In her rather annoyed state, her gaze drifted to the somber Pippi and her expression couldn't help but soften, "Aww… Poor Pippi."
'I couldn't help but think, I know *I've* been upset about feeling like I've been abandoned, but what about Pippi? She's probably the person who's been pushed aside the most!'
Cornelius picked up her lunch tray from the table and moved closer to her dreary friend. Pippi noticed her but didn't dare say anything, leaving it up to the other girl to try to break the ice with her.
"Hey, Pippi," the aforementioned person glanced at Cornelius, showing she had their attention but they didn't exactly want to be verbal just yet. "How have you been holding up? It's just that you're sitting here alone, I wanted to make sure that-"
"I'm fine," Pippi finally spoke, though the tone in her voice was not a pleasant or happy one, "I just… I thought I wasn't that sad about Thumbelina, but now…"
"The harsh reality of everything is finally coming down on you now, isn't it?" Cornelius watched her friend slowly nod, accepting the words that were being spoken. "I get it, grief affects everyone differently. It affected me so quickly because I knew Thumbelina a lot more so the effects were more… apparent, to say the least. But for you, it took a while before you realized how much you actually missed him."
"I guess so," wiping away a single tear, Pippi looked down towards the floor. "I… I just wish I had a chance to say goodbye to him and tell him how much I loved his nerdy personality and his laugh… and… and..."
She began to sob, leaning against Cornelius for support, the latter simply held her closer, rubbing her back and trying to whisper words of comfort which both knew were utterly useless in the long end.
'I had never seen Pippi so *emotional* until now, what was I supposed to do? Was I *supposed* to do anything? She had tried to help me beforehand, but it didn't help me *that* much. Perhaps just being there for her and letting her vent was the best bet, like what Tommy did for me.'
Later that day, Cornelius came back to her house, simply exhausted from her ordeal with Pippi. Who knew lending someone a shoulder to cry on could be so mentally exhausting? Willie, one of her three cats, walked up and rubbed against her leg, letting out a loud purr. Cornelius sat down, allowing the cat to sit on her lap. She felt unusually heavy, was it her fur doing that?
"Willie's getting fat." The girl heard her older brother say.
"Hey!" Cornelius scolded, getting up from her spot, picking up Willie as well. "She's not getting fat, Tommy. She just hasn't lost her winter coat yet! Who's my chunky little baby? You are, yes you are!"
The cat let out a small mew, licking the teenager on the nose, who couldn't help but giggle in return. "Hey, that tickles!"
"I just think she wants some extra attention," her younger sister, Annika, came over to the two, scratching Willie on the ear. "Isn't that right?"
"I guess," Cornelius said, watching the cat jump down from her arms and prance all the way to the living room couch. She didn't look ill, perhaps a little chubbier than usual, but still, looks could be very deceiving. "You don't think there's anything actually wrong with her, do you? I don't want to lose her too…"
"Well," her mother looked up from the dinner she was making. "She doesn't look ill, maybe she just needs to go on a diet. But don't worry, if she starts showing any signs of actually being unwell, I'll phone the vet."
"Thanks, mom."
Cornelius watched Willie sleeping away on the couch, blissfully unaware of the situation going on around her, a small smile stretched on her furry face. It was heartwarming, somewhat, if not for the circumstances surrounding the scene.
'Willie seemed fine, but there's just something *off* about her, but I can't put my finger on it and it's most certainly not only her *weight* that's the problem.'
Cornelius tossed and turned in her bed in a fit of unrestful sleep. While to the unsuspecting viewer it might look like she was having a nightmare, she wasn't in any kind of actual dream trouble or trauma, but that didn't mean her dreams weren't freaky and unusual.
She sat across from Thumbelina, staring at her smoothie. Lifecycles looked like how it always did, not a single thing out of place, though Cornelius knew that the scene was nothing more than a dream, a facade of every knowledgeable thing her subconscious mind had gathered and collected in the waking world.
"You're not real," she finally spoke, taking a sip out of her smoothie, though she knew trying to drink it was pointless since the smoothie didn't even exist in the first place, just like everything else here except for her. "You're just something my mind conjured up to make me feel even more miserable about myself."
Thumbelina didn't seem too bothered by this statement, instead deciding to give Cornelius a rather bemused look. "Is that so? Well then, that's something you don't hear every day, that you're nothing but a simple illusion of some higher-up's mind."
"You're taking the news… well…" She suspiciously took another sip, eyeing her late friend as if he was going to suddenly warp into a hideous monster straight from the depths of an actual nightmare. Hey, at this rate, it wouldn't be too surprising for this to happen.
"Well, I've always had a bit of an itch that we might not exactly be real or that all of us might simply be under the guise of a powerful creature that none of us can comprehend and that everything we do in this life is controlled by them."
"You mean the government? Okay, I'm getting off track here, I was just wondering, is this the real Thumbelina talking or just the dream Thumbelina?" Cornelius asked, a look of genuine puzzlement on her face.
"I suppose you'll have to judge that for yourself, friend," he replied, staring wistfully at the ceiling above them. "You've known me longer than anyone else has."
"Argh! Why can't you just answer things clearly! Who do you think you are, Socrates or something?! Listen, if you want to actually be like Thumbelina, then get it through your head that he doesn't speak in this mumbo-jumbo nonsense!"
"But I'm not him, right?" He gave her a smug look. "You've said it yourself, I'm only a representation of your memories of him. I am not actually Thumbelina, I'm simply what you remember about your friend. How can I answer questions that you can't answer yourself?"
"I…" She started to say but stopped, knowing it was pointless. All she was doing was just fighting with herself, even if that 'self' resembled Thumbelina somewhat. It was all pointless, wasn't it? "I just want to talk to him one last time, okay?! So thanks for giving me that, but no thanks, because I know that you're not him! So hello, fake Thumbelina, here's my goodbye I wanted to give to my real friend!"
"So you want to say goodbye to him?" The dream Thumbelina asked, his smirk turning a tad more mischievous. "I wouldn't worry, It's not too late."
"What do you m-" Cornelius began to question him before feeling the ground shake and realizing her dream was ending sooner than she thought it would.
"Hurry, he needs you two more than you need him."
She found herself panting on her soft and cuddly bed, curled up and clutching her pillow. Getting a firm grip on reality, she tossed the pillow aside and sat herself up, recounting the odd dream and what 'Thumbelina' had said to her right before she woke up.
'That was one heck of a dream! What did that illusion Thumbelina mean, though? He needs you two more than you need him? Who's 'you two'? And speaking of which, why would he need anybody's help? He's not exactly alive anymore, to put it gently.'
After going through her regular morning routine, Cornelius went downstairs, feeling extremely worn down, her body hungering for more sleep. While she'd normally sleep in on a weekend, today she just simply didn't feel like it, the memory of the dream still fresh in her mind. While a small part of her didn't exactly want to go there, a quick stop at Lifecycles would sharpen her mind and keep her awake enough to last the day, there was no real harm in that.
Despite her drowsiness, something managed to catch her eye. Her mother was wiping something off the floor and Willie was standing by, though the cat looked kind of wobbly and unstable. Oh no, what was wrong?
"What's wrong with Willie?" She nervously asked, hoping the thing her mom was cleaning wasn't what she thought it was.
"Willie threw up," they replied, confirming Cornelius's fears. "I've already booked her a vet appointment for the day after tomorrow, so she'll get the help she needs."
"Can I help? Do you think she'll be okay?
"No, no, I got it, but thanks for asking. Besides, I sure hope she'll be okay."
Cornelius nodded, grabbing the rest of what she needed before heading out of the door and to Lifecycles.
The actual Lifecycles looked much more real than the facade her brain had cobbled together hours before. For one, she actually recognized half the people there, wherein her dream, everyone looked like a mishmash of unfamiliar body parts and faces smashed into what her mind decided to call a 'human being'.
After receiving and paying for a smoothie, she sat down on the same comfy cushions she had the same 'pleasure' of sitting on earlier during her uneasy slumber. It was almost eerie with how everything looked so similar and yet so different.
Looking at the washing machines, she felt her mood change from one of being creeped out to one of somberness remembering the fire that had started at Lifecycles only a year before. Thumbelina had gotten caught in the midst of it and had to be rescued by Pippi's dad, who was a firefighter, it was how he had even got to know Pippi and how he, in turn, would manage to rescue her from the toxic stranglehold that Nina had on her.
To put it lightly, Thumbelina had cheated death, if only momentarily. Unfortunately, the Grim Reaper would rear its' ugly head once more and make another attempt on the boy's life, this time succeeding. But instead of him going out in a grand spectacle of huge and untimely coincidences like a certain movie series implied, death took him more subtly, making him badly sick and by the time he got actual help, it would be too late to do anything.
Cornelius sighed, taking a sip of her smoothie while looking away from the washing machines, a bad reminder of days gone by that she'll never be able to revisit. Was she really not as over the loss as she thought she was? She had remembered what Pippi said the other day, that she was upset because she never got to say goodbye to Thumbelina, and it made the teenager think.
Was she also sad about not getting to say goodbye to her best friend? Of course, but she never really dwelt on that. It had kind of amalgamated with the other somber and lonesome thoughts she had when she first learned of Thumbelina's passing, which had mostly disappeared after she made that faithful speech during his funeral. Until now, that is. It wasn't like Pippi meant to cause her friend any more trauma, but it truly did sting.
"Cornelius? Is that you?"
A familiar voice caught her attention for a split second, but she turned away, not daring to look up. It couldn't be him, could it? Of course not, she was just hallucinating again, obviously. "Go away."
"Why would- Wait, you can actually see me?"
Cornelius jumped off the couch, preparing to defend her statement, but staggered for a brief minute. It was indeed Thumbelina, who was standing there as if nothing had happened to him and he was alive this whole time, but that was impossible. Seeing her 'friend', she narrowed her eyes, very suspicious of the figure in front of her.
"As a matter of fact, yes , I can see you. But should I be able to?"
"That's great! Listen, Cornelius, I really need your help, something strange is going on and-"
"I'll tell you something strange is going on! My formerly dead friend suddenly shows up out of nowhere and-" The girl paused, looking around.
"Can we take this outside?" She asked, pointing to a group of people staring at the two, though it didn't take rocket science to figure out they were only staring because it probably looked like she was talking to thin air. She continued to speak, in a hushed tone. "People are going to think I'm crazy and you know what? I might just as well be!"
Thumbelina shot her a confused look but followed her anyway. On the way out, he slowly whispered, 'Dead?'
"Listen," she growled at him as soon as they were out of hearing range, "If you're here to just tell me some dumb stuff that I already know and then clarify that 'Oh, I'm just a representation of everything you remember about Thumbelina and I'm only here to annoy you to death', then bug off!"
"Representation? What are you talking about? And what do you mean by 'formerly dead friend' ?" The poor boy was beyond confused, wondering what the heck was going on. "I'm telling you, something's wrong."
"Thanks, Einstein," she sneered, "I only figured that myself out when you showed up in front of me despite being dead for two months now!"
"Dead?!" Thumbelina squeaked out before looking down at his hands. "I… I can't be dead! I'm talking to you, aren't I? I mean, I know I was feeling a little ill, but… it couldn't be that bad, right?"
"You had meningitis, you died," Cornelius looked away, not happy to be mentioning the sickness that was the reason her best friend was no longer around, "But I will say, you do sound more like yourself than the dream version of you I was stuck talking to earlier, he was such an obnoxious jerk! Still, it can't be you, can it?"
"I want to say yes, it is me, but I can see you'd need more proof than that," he mused, thinking deeply, "I was the first person you confided to about opening Anna's diary. I know that you could probably remember that yourself and might be something this 'fake' version of me would say, but I honestly don't know what else to say."
"Well…"
"Wait, here's something I know you didn't witness! I accidentally told her and man, you should see her when she's both angry and wielding giant sports equipment of doom!"
"I don't remember that, so that means…" She let out a small gasp, her eyes twinkling with hope. "It is you! Thumbelina! What happened?!"
"You're not the only person who wants to know," he muttered, "All I remember is not feeling too well, running a fever, that kinda stuff, but meningitis? Are you sure I'm actually dead and this isn't some huge prank everyone's pulling on me? It's only March 13th, right?"
"It's May 12th!"
"I don't believe you, none of this adds up," his voice died down, "Ghosts don't exist, so why would I of all people be one? Listen, this prank you've somehow gotten everyone in on was funny for maybe the first five minutes, but now it's not, so cut it out."
"You want proof?" She quietly asked. "I can give you proof."
"Fine, I suppose I'll humor you, for the time being, Cornelius. It's not like I have anything better to do, considering everyone in this pitifully small town is pretending I don't exist," he grumbled, "The things I do for friendship…"
"Great, let's go!" Cornelius went to grab Thumbelina's hand, before quickly realizing she wouldn't be able to touch it. However, to her surprise, she found herself able to firmly grasp his hand as if he was actually here and alive. "I… I can touch your hand?"
Thumbelina, on the other hand, was unamused. "Har-de-har. I told you I'm not dead, now come on, show me this proof."
She looked back towards her hand, still firmly grasping his, with an expression of mystery and disbelief. The boy's words managed to break her out of her puzzled trance and she shook her head, clearing her mind. "Alright, let's go. Together."
"Where exactly are you taking me, Cornelius?" Thumbelina asked, huddling close to his friend. It wasn't like he felt cold or anything, but he still felt spooked by the graves placed everywhere in the area, "Is this the cemetery? Please tell me we're taking a shortcut."
Cornelius didn't answer and was trying to avoid eye contact with him as much as she could. While they weren't exactly holding hands anymore, she would glance behind herself at times, just to make sure he was following her. Despite it being early May, the wind still had a bit of a chilly nip to it, either that or she was more stressed out about this than she thought. "The weather is kinda chilly, isn't it?"
"I don't feel cold," the boy replied, rubbing the back of his neck with one of his hands, "Why? Am I supposed to feel cold or something?"
"No, of course not!" She answered back, sheepishly. "I just thought-"
She abruptly stopped in front of one of the graves, her warm and gentle smile fading as she studied the object in front of her. Thumbelina popped out from behind, trying to see what it said, but he couldn't make out the words even with his glasses on.
"We're… here." She finally stepped aside, allowing her friend to view the grave with full clarity.
Heavy dread hung in the air as the boy did just that, kneeling down and inspecting the tombstone with slowly mounting horror and terror. He still continued to read it, his mouth hanging open slightly in utter shock. After a few moments of silence, he turned back around towards Cornelius and spoke, his voice quivering, "Cornelius, this isn't funny."
"I-"
"Listen, the bug prank was one thing, but this is on an entirely different level of immature and stupid jokes!" Thumbelina barked, jumping up and pointing to the grave, which said;
Thumbelina O'NEIL MACKENZIE
JANUARY 6TH 1988 - MARCH 13TH 2003
THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE SKY
"I know this was probably all Brock's idea," he continued, practically spitting out the word 'Brock', "So tell him, tell Alden, tell everyone who thinks this is funny, that it's not and that they've hit a new low."
"It wasn't Brock's idea, leave him out of this!" Cornelius exclaimed, dragging the ghost's attention back towards her. "I don't know how to tell you this, but you're dead, Thumbelina. This isn't some sick joke, we have standards, even Brock wouldn't pull this kind of stuff!"
"STOP! Just stop!" Thumbelina shouted back, trying to reject the idea that he might actually be dead. He glanced back towards his apparent grave and got an idea. "If I was a ghost, would I be able to do this?!"
He threw his foot at the tombstone in an attempt to kick it. However, to his absolute disbelief, the foot managed to go right through the stone, leaving him standing there with a blank stare on his face.
"What?" He asked, confused and slightly terrified at the sight. Nevertheless, the teenager decided to try again. He reeled his leg back and kicked it again, but like before, the entire half of his leg went through the tombstone and out the other end, just like a ghost. "This can't be possible."
In a desperate attempt to prove his fears and anxieties wrong, he sat on the ground and gingerly reached out to the marbled stone. But just like with his leg, his hand passed straight through as if he was touching air and not touching his own gravestone.
"No, no, NO!" Thumbelina's calm and slightly sarcastic demeanor quickly changed to one of panic as it hit him that he was truly dead. Hearing him sniffle a few times as he hung his head in defeat, Cornelius sat down beside him, putting her arm around the grief-stricken kid and pulling him in close. Like before, she didn't go through him and was able to touch Thumbelina as if he was still alive and breathing. Meanwhile, the latter began to have a meltdown, grabbing the former and hugging her tightly, sobbing.
She returned the hug, tearing up as well. It pained her so much to see one of her best friends in such a state and it pained her even more that she didn't know how to help them. Death and ghosts weren't exactly the most common problems in Cornelius Spitz's life, what was she supposed to do about this?
However, as she hugged her friend, a question came to mind, "Hey, Thumbelina, how is it that I'm able to touch you? Isn't that odd, like at all?"
"Really, Cornelius?" He managed to get out, holding back another sob. "Is that REALLY the most important question to ask right now? I'm DEAD! Who cares why or how you can touch me, it's not like science can answer your question since it can't even answer the fact why I'm a disembodied spirit!
"Well, sorry for asking, but it's not like I can bother anyone else with this kind of stuff," she said, "They'd probably put me in the looney hospital or something."
"Wait, hospital?" Thumbelina asked, a nervous expression on his face. "I… I think I remember something."
"You do? What do you remember?"
"I remember being in a hospital, but I couldn't really tell that it was a hospital. My… My mind just wasn't working as it should and I couldn't think straight, I was terrified! Everything I ever knew was slowly slipping away and I didn't know what to do! My parents were trying to comfort me, but I could hardly recognize them, it was… awful," Thumbelina hid his face, distressed, "The last thing I thought of before everything went black was of Pippi and you. I couldn't really put names to faces anymore, but thinking of both of you… calmed me and I just knew you guys were important in my life."
"Awwwww."
"Hold on, oh no!"
"What is it?"
"Pippi. I… I need to say goodbye to her, somehow ."
Cornelius froze, remembering what Thumbelina's girlfriend had said to her the day before when she talked about missing Thumbelina. It seemed that the two lovers truly were connected to one another, with both desiring to say goodbye to their soulmate. But was it even possible?
"Thumbelina," she began, trying to think of the best way to break the news to him, "I'm not even sure that's possible. You're a ghost, how will you get her attention?"
"I don't know," he said, standing up, "But I at least have to try. Come on!"
Cornelius stared at him for a few moments before shrugging and getting up as well. "I… guess. You know, if you actually want to do this. I just don't want you to suffer any more heartbreak than you already have."
"Pippi needs me, just like I need her," Thumbelina stated, "Now, uh, quick question. Do you know where she might be? I know she's my girlfriend, but I doubt I'm in any state to be using a phone. Oh, another question. She hasn't gotten another boyfriend already, has she?"
"Trust me, Thumbelina, you're fine."
'I can't believe I was helping Thumbelina on some sorta love fetch quest! Even more surprising is that I'm helping Thumbelina in the first place! I thought I would never see him again, but it looks like life has a few more curveballs to throw at me.'
The two friends walked in the park, trying to get back towards the suburbs. The fresh mountain air and green trees were a nice improvement from the graveyard they were in only a few minutes beforehand.
While the temperature still seemed rather chilly, Cornelius didn't say anything. She knew why her friend couldn't feel the cold breeze that would occasionally brush past and she also knew that he knew, so she didn't want to rub it in that she could actually feel temperature changes while he could not.
As they approached the pond, Cornelius spotted a figure sitting on the bank, staring into the waters with an expression of pure misery and loathing. They looked mightly familiar and Cornelius had an inkling of an idea on who it might be.
"Hey, Pippi!" She heard Thumbelina shout, confirming her suspicions. He took off towards his girlfriend, who was oblivious to his presence. "It's me, I'm back!"
Cornelius walked up beside her best friend, noting his confused face from the lack of a response. Well, she didn't know how she was going to break it to Thumbelina that his girlfriend wasn't able to see him, but maybe it'd be best for him to figure it out on his own. He was the smartest kid in class, after all, well, again, was.
"Why can't she hear me?" He looked up at Cornelius with puppy-dog eyes that practically made her heart melt. He was so cute, not in an attractive kind of way, but more in the puppy or kitten cute kind of way, the type that makes you feel bad for them without even trying. "I mean, I know everyone else couldn't see me, besides you, but I thought it'd be… different with her. She's my girlfriend, I just thought…"
"I know-"
Pippi let out a startled squeak of surprise and turned around. "Oh! Cornelius, it's just you! What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question."
"I'm just by myself, doing me things," the girl stated, nervously, before getting up, "but, I suppose I should be going. I have other things to do."
As she walked away, Cornelius wondered if she should tell her about Thumbelina, though she eventually decided not to. Pippi had already suffered enough and it was obvious she couldn't see the ghostly boy, so telling her that her boyfriend was right there might not exactly be the best idea. However, a certain somebody had another idea.
"Cornelius, you have to tell her," Thumbelina began, his voice cracking as he spoke, "Please, she has to know! I have to tell her that-"
"Thumbelina, you don't understand-"
"No, YOU don't understand!" He shouted, tears streaming down his face once again. Unbeknownst to the two, Pippi stopped, as if she heard something. "You don't understand what it's like to be stuck in this stupid spectral form, unable to touch anything while the love of your life CAN'T EVEN SEE YOU!"
"...Con?" The two heard a gentle voice and turned around to see Pippi staring at them with indescribable emotions and disbelief. "Is… is that you?"
"Pippi? You can see me?"
It was completely silent, not even a single bird chirped as the two star-crossed lovers stared at each other, trying to comprehend the situation. After what seemed like an eternity of suspense, Pippi made the first move, running towards Thumbelina and hugging him tightly. "It's… you. But how?"
"I don't know, I've been trying to figure that out myself," he responded, wiping some tears from his eyes, "but I'm glad you're here."
"Ditto," she said, releasing from the hug. Tears had also trailed down her cheeks, but out of pure joy. "You can't possibly understand how much I've missed you."
"I've been the receiving end to both of your lovesick lamentations," Cornelius joked, "Thumbelina couldn't dare leave the mortal plane without getting to say goodbye to you one last time."
"And neither could I," Pippi replied, giving her ghostly boyfriend a small kiss on the cheek, "So, you're actually a ghost?"
"I think so," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, "I just woke up here a few hours ago, only to realize I've actually been dead for two months, so I've kinda lost the ability to tell the difference between what's real and what's not. I remember bits and pieces of what happened prior, like being sick and being in the hospital, but a lot of it is still pretty fuzzy."
"What do we do now? She asked, making all three of them think.
"That's a good question," Thumbelina sighed, "and unfortunately, I don't have the answer. In stories, ghosts usually have some kind of unfinished business and I guess mine, based on how I feel, would be saying goodbye to you guys, and now that I did just that, I should be free to leave, but… I just… don't feel ready to."
"Why not?" Cornelius asked. "It's not like we want you to leave, not at all, but being a ghost must really stink, doesn't it?"
"It does, it's only been a few hours and I already despise it," he responded, glancing towards his hands. While they seemed as corporeal as ever, he knew they nothing more than an illusion, a trick of the light, to everyone except for two specific people. "I guess I'm kinda scared? I mean, who really knows what happens after a spirit moves on and I haven't even mentioned the stuff with you two! I might not see you again or-"
"You'll be fine, Con," Pippi gingerly said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, "trust me."
"Yeah, you'll see us again!"
"I will? Well, whatever happens, I want you both to know that I love you and I'll never forget about you, no matter what happens."
"We won't either," Cornelius responded as the three kids group hugged each other. It felt warm and comforting, making her less scared of the inevitable future ahead of them. No matter what, they were friends, boyfriend and girlfriend in Pippi's case, and nothing would ever change that.
However, after she broke apart from the hug and opened her eyes, Thumbelina was gone and there was not a trace of him left, almost like he was never there in the first place. "Where… Where did he go?"
"I think he went up there," Pippi stated, pointing to the sky. "You know, to be happy."
"Oh, right."
The two girls continued to stare at the sky with a sense of mystery and curiosity, wondering where the lovable geek might have gone off too.
'Did Thumbelina really move on just like that? I'm not saying he shouldn't, but wow, is he *really* gone, now? I just hope Tommy's right and he's happy wherever he happens to go to.'
It was another night of unrest for Cornelius, but instead of weird dreams involving smart-alec version of her friends, she didn't have any dreams at all, just wistfully popping in and out of sleep, waking up confused and dazed before trying to settle back down again. However, she was rudely awakened by one of her dreamless slumbers by Tommy trying to get her attention.
"Hey, Cornelius!"
"Tommy," she groaned, rubbing her eyes and trying to scowl at her brother from the bedroom doorframe at the same time, "don't you know how to knock?"
"Not particularly," he joked, before regaining his composure, "Anyway, mom's gonna have to cancel Willie's vet appointment."
"What?! Why?! Is she okay?!" Cornelius shot up, clutching her blankets tightly. Was her cat's sickness worse than Tommy or her thought? Could Willie be… dead? Why did death have to target everyone in her life?!
"Willie's fine," her brother continued, "but we managed to find out why she's been feeling sick lately."
"Huh? Why?"
"Well, Sleeping Beauty, when you decide to get out of bed and fix that messy bedhead of yours, you can come downstairs and find out for yourself." He finished, already moving away from her door.
"I hate surprises, Tommy," she scowled, before adding on, "Except for the good kind of surprise."
"Well, consider this the good kind of surprise unless you happen to be our mom."
Having it up to here with her brother's antics, she got up and slowly made her way down the stairs, her eyes scanning the living room for any sign of this so-called 'surprise'. Before she could ask anyone in the house what exactly was going on with Willie, she heard a tiny 'Mew!', though it didn't sound like it came from any of her cats. Then a bunch of tiny mews and cute cat-like squeals could be heard. Wait, could it be?
She rushed down the stairs, following the noises all the way to the kitchen, where she saw what was one of the biggest shocks in her life, okay, maybe not the biggest, but it was definitely in the top ten.
Willie was laying on the middle of the floor with eight newborn kittens blindly squirming around her stomach, suckling at her teats and trying to get the milk and protein they needed. While most of them resembled her, with spotted grey fur, there were a few that had brown splotches on them and even one with completely brown fur.
"Willie's pregnant?"
"I don't know how," her mother began, inspecting the new mother and her bundles of joy, "That darn neighborhood cat must have gotten into our house somehow! Did I leave a window open? A door?! Why didn't I get Willie fixed?! I got Lawrence and Moishe fixed, for obvious reasons, I took the cheap and easy way out and tricked myself into thinking that I didn't have to worry about our other cat since she never goes outside! I guess I was wrong."
"Mom," Cornelius said, hugging her mother close, "It's okay, we can get her spayed."
"I know, I know, but what are we going to do with these kittens? We already have enough mouths to feed as is!"
"Maybe we could put them up for adoption? Free to a good home?"
"I like the way you think, Cornelius."
'It incredible, after losing Thumbelina, I'm blessed with the opportunity to witness new life being born into the world, each little kitten starting their own journey that'll take many years to finish. Life's crazy isn't it?'
"They're so cute!" Anna squealed, watching the almost three-week-old kittens squirm around in the little playpen with Willie keeping a close eye on them from across the room. "You sure you can't keep any?"
"I'd love to, trust me, but we've got enough pets already," Cornelius stated, "Too bad your apartment limits how many animals you can have, how barbaric is that?"
"Well, I like to sleep at night, thank you very much," The girl joked, before looking at Pippi, "What about you? You adopted that one cat, you looking for any others?"
"Oh… I… uhm, maybe," They mumbled, looking at the floor, "I haven't really thought about it. My parents wouldn't mind if I did, but-"
"Hey, there's only seven," Cornelius commented, looking at the playpen and realizing the brown kitten was missing, "Where's number eight?"
Before they could look around for the missing kitten, the three heard some commotion from Tommy over by one of the counters, trying to talk to something or someone. "Come on, big guy."
"Tommy, what are you doing?" Cornelius asked, walking over. On closer inspection, she noticed the missing eighth kitten wedged in the space between the counter and the wall, hissing defensively. "Oh, there they are!"
"Yes, now can you help me get it out?" Tommy asked, trying to grab it. The chocolate kitten was not impressed, arching back in a defensive hiss and swiping their paw at his hand, which he quickly yanked back. "It keeps on trying to claw my hands off!"
"Because you're scaring it!" She snapped, looking towards her brother. "You probably look like human Godzilla to the poor thing!"
"Alright, alright," he backed up, giving her some room, "the floor is all yours, Miss. Spitz."
She groaned, rolling her eyes before going over to the corner and extending her hand out. For a split second, the kitten spat out a hiss once again, ready to defend itself. But then it got a good look at her face and stopped, cocking its head.
"Hey there, I won't hurt you," she cooed, calming the cat down even more, "You'll be okay, I promise."
The kitten took a few small steps out of the corner before jumping into her hand, licking her face and purring.
"That tick...les?" Her voice died off slightly as she got a good proper look at the kitten. It's shiny auburn colored fur and sharp blue eyes were almost identical to-
"Hey, they look like Thumbelina!" Pippi stated, walking up to Cornelius. The kitten jumped back at the sudden noise, but upon seeing who it was, jumped out of the latter's arms and into the former's, snuggling into them and purring as if they knew who it was. It let out an adorable sneeze and began to rub its nose with one of its paws.
"That's a huge coincidence, isn't it? What if it's actually… nah." Cornelius and Pippi looked at each other with a knowing look following Anna's statement. Was it possible? Perhaps so.
"Maybe you should take him, Pippi, you know, when he's old enough."
"Really? I'd feel honored, thank you, Cornelius!"
"What are you thinking for a name?" Anna asked, watching the tiny kitten nuzzle Pippi's head, before letting out another sneeze. "Please don't name them after any boy bands."
"I was thinking, what about Buster?"
"Buster's a lovely name," Cornelius said, scratching the feline behind the ears, "Welcome to the world, Buster."
'Did Thumbelina not actually leave us behind or was this all some huge coincidence like Anna said? Well, whatever the case, our friend will *never* be forgotten.'