Helga's Homecoming Chapter 2
That Old Magic Feeling by Shadow D. X
Caution All characters are property of Mr. Bartlett and possibly Nickelodeon but that's a little in the gray right now for me. I'm using them simply for entertainment, not profit. Don't sue me - I'm just a misguided fan with a keyboard. I might have neglected this last time, but please R&R, I'm a rookie in this site.
Helga stood there on the sidewalk, almost gawking upon her old home. It was like time has stood still for this old two-story house while Helga was gone. So many unpleasant childhood memories lay dormant within those walls, and she knew it. But if Phoebe was right about nothing ever being thrown out of her room, it would be worth reliving every bad memory to see her old poem books and her closet shrine to Arnold. She walked slowly to the front door and pressed her finger on the doorbell. Within a few moments, the door was thrown open by the one person Helga wish she would never see again. "Little sister, your back home!" shouted a now older Olga with glee. The years have been kind to Olga, just like academics, men, and her parents. She had her hair neatly cut on shoulder length just like she did during her college days and her ever-sickening beauty was just as unsettling to Helga as ever. Also her wearing a man sized white dress shirt with no pants made Helga think that Olga got married while she was gone. Before Helga could say anything, her perfect older sister wrapped her arms around Helga's leather jacket and hugged for all she's worth. "Oh little sister, I'm so happy to see you! We have so much to catch up with and I want to hear everything you've done."
Helga struggled for a moment before she was able to break Olga's hug. "Crimany Olga, ever heard of this new thing called personal space?" protested Helga.
"Oh Helga, you're so silly!" squealed Olga. "Now come in you silly sister, you have to say hello to mom and dad."
Helga's frustration quickly turned to emotionless depression. "Oh yeah, Bob and Miriam. Hey, wait minute Olga. You're a straight 'A' student and you graduated college like a decade ago, why are you living here?" asked Helga.
Olga giggled. "Oh Helga, you're so inquisitive my baby sister. I'm just visiting with my oh-so wonderful husband Arnold," said Olga with glee.
(Just making sure you're all paying attention. It's not Arnold so don't send any hate mail or hate viruses; his name is really Michael)
"So you got married huh? When did that happened?" asked Helga with empty curiosity.
"Well, I met Michael while I was teaching Inuit children up north in Alaska. He was a member of Green Peace and his team was there to protest against an offshore oilrig. Well lucky for me, the long weekend just started that day so I was able to go with them to protest. Afterwards, Michael and me feel in love, married two years later, and moved here to Seattle to live the rest of our life together as a happy family!"
"That explains your shirt. So how are Bob and Miriam?" asked Helga.
"Oh, we're about to sit down and play a game of charades. Why won't you join us little sister?" asked Olga who was already dragging her to the living room. "Come on Helga."
"Ok just stop dragging me already!" Helga shouted trying to pull away from Olga's grip.
"Just let me use the bathroom alright?"
Olga complied with a smile. "Oh, sure thing little sister. I hope you still remember where it is," she said.
"I'll be fine," scowled Helga. Grateful to be free of Olga, she threw her bag by the door and began to rush upstairs. Thankfully Olga fell for that bathroom ruse so now all Helga had to do was get around that little brunette girl and get into her room. Wait, little brunette girl?
The little girl timidly looked up at Helga with glassy blue eyes. "Who are you," she asked. She must be no older than eight years old and by the way her hair falls evenly to her shoulders, she must have had her hair done like Olga's, probably by Olga.
"Helga G. Pataki and I used to live here. How about you, bucko?" Helga asked.
"I'm Heidi, Heidi Pataki Trent but I really shouldn't talk to strangers," said the girl.
Helga blinked in shock. "Pataki? You mean you're Olga's daughter?"
"She's my mommy.do you know her?"
Helga smirked. "Kid, I really sympathize for you but you're luck just turned around. I'm your rich aunt Helga," Helga said with pride.
"Mommy told me about you. She said you wet the bed until you were my age," said Heidi. Helga groaned after hearing that. "Something wrong aunt Helga?"
"Yeah kid, but I'm not going to trouble you with it since you're life must be perfect. I bet your mom just loves to spend oh so many hours with you, doing whatever you want to do."
Heidi looked down at the floor. "Actually, my mommy does play with me a lot but."
She stayed silent for a moment before looking Helga in the eye. "Sometimes I think mommy wants me to be more like her. She keeps making me play these weird games, telling me their fun because they help me learn about other cultures. But all I want to do is play with my friends and stay in my room."
Helga smiled and took Heidi by her hand. "Kid, you and I are going to get along great. So how about we take you down to wherever your friends play so you can join them?"
Heidi's face was soon lit with joy. "You mean it aunt Helga?"
"Sure. I know how overbearing Olga is when she's trying to be the perfect everything. So, where do your friends play anyway?"
"At an empty lot on 7th street. It makes a great baseball field."
Helga laughed after Heidi just told her that her friend's ball field was Gerald's field. "Ok kid, let's go 7th street then. Put on some street clothes though, ok?"
"Ok!" squealed Heidi with glee as she raced to Olga's old room.
Helga walked back downstairs and went inside the living room. They already began playing charades there, Olga making gestures, Miriam, dressed in a blue house dress, was watching half asleep behind her glasses, Big Bob was shouting guesses from his recliner, and finally there was a black haired man wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants sitting cross legged on the floor. Most likely this must be Michael, the man who was stupid enough to marry Olga. When Olga saw Helga, she quickly stopped making signs and waved to her. "Hey Helga, come over here!" Olga shouted.
Big Bob groaned. "Come on Olga, how am I suppose to guess what you're signing when you're not signing?" he complained.
Helga scowled lightly. She wasn't really surprised neither he nor Miriam had even taken the effort to acknowledge her existence but it was still annoying. "Actually Olga, I'm here to tell you that I'm taking Heidi for a walk so we can catch up," said Helga.
This took Olga off guard. "I think that might not be such a good idea Helga. Heidi is really shy around strangers and we already made plans to play charades today," she said.
Helga grinned. "Come on Olga. Are you going to deny your daughter a chance to be with her aunt?" asked Helga. "Besides, I'll bring her back before lunch time."
Olga smiled uncertainly. "Well, I suppose your right Helga. Just make sure Heidi doesn't get into any trouble, ok? Oh, and if you can, there's an excellent foreign film for children playing at the Circle Theater I think might be very educational for little Heidi's culture growth."
"I'll be sure to toss that suggestion right by her sis," said Helga with dry sarcasm. A few moments later, Heidi ran down to Helga's side with a pair of blue jeans, sneakers, and a lightly tinted pink shirt. "Well, we're out of here," said Helga, leading Heidi quickly out the door.
Michael turned to Olga. "Love, are you sure you're sister is a good influence on our Heidi?" he asked.
"Oh Michael, Helga is such a creative and original thinking woman even when she was 9. I'm sure she'll be a great role model to Heidi," said Olga with what little confidence she had.
Miriam slowly sat up straight and adjusted her glasses. "Oh, is Helga here? I'll go make some.um." was all she said before trailing off.
Helga and Heidi walked down to Gerald's field where a few kids were already playing a game of baseball. As Heidi ran over to join her friends, Helga remembered all those games when she played catcher when she was Heidi's age, always trash talking to anyone holding a bat, getting a close look at Arnold's legs when he wasn't looking at her. Her dread of going back home was now replaced with fond memories and happiness, all thanks to this brunette version of herself; a girl encaged trapped by the Pataki curse. Heidi began to cry after a few words with a rather plump boy and ran back to Helga. "Aunt Helga, Larry called me a name," whined Heidi.
"Tch, so? Go over there and call him a name back," said Helga.
"But mommy said it's mean to call people names and if it happens I should always go to an adult," explained Heidi.
Helga rolled her eyes. "Watch and learn kid." Helga walked toward the plump Larry while he was still laughing at his own joke. "Hey! Pink boy! You mess with my niece again and you're going to answer to Old Betsy and the Five (actually four) Avengers!"
"Wait your fists have names? Ah! You're confusing me!" shouted the pudgy Larry before running down the sidewalk. Helga wondered if he might be Harold's son.
Heidi just stood there while Helga walked back to her, adjusting her sunglasses. "That wasn't very nice thing to do," said Heidi.
"Sometimes you got to be mean and nasty or else everyone's going to walk all over you. Take it from me bucko, drop your mom's nice girl lessons and live by your own rules, be your own woman and show some dignity,"
"But my mommy said that being nice can make me lots of friends."
"That's your mom decision for you, isn't there anything you like to do that your mom didn't suggest for you?"
Heidi smiled widely and led Helga down the block until they reached a music instrument store. "I learned how to play guitar in school but mommy says I shouldn't keep myself bounded with only one form of artistic expression."
"What? What does she know about artistic expression? Kid, today you're getting a guitar," said Helga. Heidi's face busted with jubilance as Helga opened the door and walked her into the store. Inside Heidi ran to the guitar section, almost fainting as the owner handed her a redwood guitar. "Don't worry, I'll pay for anything she wants," Helga said when the owner began seem unsure about letting Heidi hold the guitar. Helga wrote a check and took Heidi back home, guitar and all.
Helga would have to wait until later to see how cheesed off Olga would be at her when she sees Heidi's guitar because now it was time for business. She raced up the stairs and quickly ducked into her old room, locking the door tight behind her as not to be disturbed. Phoebe was right; everything was just how she left it. Besides being a little dusty, it was perfect in every detail. But what was really important was the closet. She slowly walked to her closet and gently turned the handle. All the clothes she left behind were still there, hooked in midair by wire hangers, her shoes neatly aligned under her clothes. Helga took one breath, pushed aside the clothes, and clapped her hands twice. A light came on from her old clapper bulb. Amazing how long those things last. But what was more amazing was her pre-chewed gum meditating Arnold statue and her stack of poetry books in their appropriate place. The only thing that was different was a layer of dust and a few cobwebs. Helga dropped to her knees, feeling all those old emotions flooding her. She remembered not only every word of every poem she ever written but every emotion she felt when she wrote them. Love, bliss, passion, despair, anger, sorrow; all those emotions she had once thought had died within her. In the moment, she throws her arms around the shrine and began to sob happily. "Oh Arnold, my childhood Adonis, my football-headed cherub, how I've missed you're deep eyes, your soothing voice," she swooned. In the midst of her emotional outburst, she caught a foreign object on the corner of her eye. She turned her head to the side and suddenly felt all her glee turn to woe. An old razor blade, stained with dry blood, laying next to the stack of books.
She remembered the day after Arnold left to find his parents in South America, she had reached the lowest emotional state in her life. She was sitting in her room, sobbing uncontrollably into her pillow when she decided that a life without Arnold was not worth living. Going into the bathroom, she pulled the blade off of one of Bob's razors and held it to her wrist. Her hands were shaking terribly, she knew well enough that one firm rip can tear open her veins and kill her. Tears were over following her eyes as she remembered all the times she fouled up her opportunities to confess her love to Arnold only to ridicule him. Miriam and Bob had just left to visit their accountant so Helga didn't worry about anyone trying to stop her, though she doubted Bob cared enough to stop her for anything more than wasting one of his razors. She lifted the razor high into the air and before she could give a downward slice the phone rang. This caught he off guard, making her cut her forearm instead of her wrist. In both panic and great pain, she quickly poured rubbing alcohol on a towel and wrapped it around the cut. Fighting back the sting of the alcohol on her arm, she quickly ran to the phone and picked it up. It was Phoebe, telling her that she was worried about her ever since Arnold left. That call saved Helga's life and her sanity. After knowing there was at least one person in this world genuinely cared about her, she stopped being depressed and suicidal but it left her cold and emotionless. Back in reality, she released her grip from the shrine and picked up the razor. She closed her eyes. "My god.I almost killed myself then. What if Arnold changed, what if he has a lover, what if.I confess myself to him and he rejects me?" She stared at the blade for a moment and wedged it into one of the hands of the shrine. "If I can not get Arnold this time, I'll make sure I don't miss my wrists. This I vow."
Caution All characters are property of Mr. Bartlett and possibly Nickelodeon but that's a little in the gray right now for me. I'm using them simply for entertainment, not profit. Don't sue me - I'm just a misguided fan with a keyboard. I might have neglected this last time, but please R&R, I'm a rookie in this site.
Helga stood there on the sidewalk, almost gawking upon her old home. It was like time has stood still for this old two-story house while Helga was gone. So many unpleasant childhood memories lay dormant within those walls, and she knew it. But if Phoebe was right about nothing ever being thrown out of her room, it would be worth reliving every bad memory to see her old poem books and her closet shrine to Arnold. She walked slowly to the front door and pressed her finger on the doorbell. Within a few moments, the door was thrown open by the one person Helga wish she would never see again. "Little sister, your back home!" shouted a now older Olga with glee. The years have been kind to Olga, just like academics, men, and her parents. She had her hair neatly cut on shoulder length just like she did during her college days and her ever-sickening beauty was just as unsettling to Helga as ever. Also her wearing a man sized white dress shirt with no pants made Helga think that Olga got married while she was gone. Before Helga could say anything, her perfect older sister wrapped her arms around Helga's leather jacket and hugged for all she's worth. "Oh little sister, I'm so happy to see you! We have so much to catch up with and I want to hear everything you've done."
Helga struggled for a moment before she was able to break Olga's hug. "Crimany Olga, ever heard of this new thing called personal space?" protested Helga.
"Oh Helga, you're so silly!" squealed Olga. "Now come in you silly sister, you have to say hello to mom and dad."
Helga's frustration quickly turned to emotionless depression. "Oh yeah, Bob and Miriam. Hey, wait minute Olga. You're a straight 'A' student and you graduated college like a decade ago, why are you living here?" asked Helga.
Olga giggled. "Oh Helga, you're so inquisitive my baby sister. I'm just visiting with my oh-so wonderful husband Arnold," said Olga with glee.
(Just making sure you're all paying attention. It's not Arnold so don't send any hate mail or hate viruses; his name is really Michael)
"So you got married huh? When did that happened?" asked Helga with empty curiosity.
"Well, I met Michael while I was teaching Inuit children up north in Alaska. He was a member of Green Peace and his team was there to protest against an offshore oilrig. Well lucky for me, the long weekend just started that day so I was able to go with them to protest. Afterwards, Michael and me feel in love, married two years later, and moved here to Seattle to live the rest of our life together as a happy family!"
"That explains your shirt. So how are Bob and Miriam?" asked Helga.
"Oh, we're about to sit down and play a game of charades. Why won't you join us little sister?" asked Olga who was already dragging her to the living room. "Come on Helga."
"Ok just stop dragging me already!" Helga shouted trying to pull away from Olga's grip.
"Just let me use the bathroom alright?"
Olga complied with a smile. "Oh, sure thing little sister. I hope you still remember where it is," she said.
"I'll be fine," scowled Helga. Grateful to be free of Olga, she threw her bag by the door and began to rush upstairs. Thankfully Olga fell for that bathroom ruse so now all Helga had to do was get around that little brunette girl and get into her room. Wait, little brunette girl?
The little girl timidly looked up at Helga with glassy blue eyes. "Who are you," she asked. She must be no older than eight years old and by the way her hair falls evenly to her shoulders, she must have had her hair done like Olga's, probably by Olga.
"Helga G. Pataki and I used to live here. How about you, bucko?" Helga asked.
"I'm Heidi, Heidi Pataki Trent but I really shouldn't talk to strangers," said the girl.
Helga blinked in shock. "Pataki? You mean you're Olga's daughter?"
"She's my mommy.do you know her?"
Helga smirked. "Kid, I really sympathize for you but you're luck just turned around. I'm your rich aunt Helga," Helga said with pride.
"Mommy told me about you. She said you wet the bed until you were my age," said Heidi. Helga groaned after hearing that. "Something wrong aunt Helga?"
"Yeah kid, but I'm not going to trouble you with it since you're life must be perfect. I bet your mom just loves to spend oh so many hours with you, doing whatever you want to do."
Heidi looked down at the floor. "Actually, my mommy does play with me a lot but."
She stayed silent for a moment before looking Helga in the eye. "Sometimes I think mommy wants me to be more like her. She keeps making me play these weird games, telling me their fun because they help me learn about other cultures. But all I want to do is play with my friends and stay in my room."
Helga smiled and took Heidi by her hand. "Kid, you and I are going to get along great. So how about we take you down to wherever your friends play so you can join them?"
Heidi's face was soon lit with joy. "You mean it aunt Helga?"
"Sure. I know how overbearing Olga is when she's trying to be the perfect everything. So, where do your friends play anyway?"
"At an empty lot on 7th street. It makes a great baseball field."
Helga laughed after Heidi just told her that her friend's ball field was Gerald's field. "Ok kid, let's go 7th street then. Put on some street clothes though, ok?"
"Ok!" squealed Heidi with glee as she raced to Olga's old room.
Helga walked back downstairs and went inside the living room. They already began playing charades there, Olga making gestures, Miriam, dressed in a blue house dress, was watching half asleep behind her glasses, Big Bob was shouting guesses from his recliner, and finally there was a black haired man wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants sitting cross legged on the floor. Most likely this must be Michael, the man who was stupid enough to marry Olga. When Olga saw Helga, she quickly stopped making signs and waved to her. "Hey Helga, come over here!" Olga shouted.
Big Bob groaned. "Come on Olga, how am I suppose to guess what you're signing when you're not signing?" he complained.
Helga scowled lightly. She wasn't really surprised neither he nor Miriam had even taken the effort to acknowledge her existence but it was still annoying. "Actually Olga, I'm here to tell you that I'm taking Heidi for a walk so we can catch up," said Helga.
This took Olga off guard. "I think that might not be such a good idea Helga. Heidi is really shy around strangers and we already made plans to play charades today," she said.
Helga grinned. "Come on Olga. Are you going to deny your daughter a chance to be with her aunt?" asked Helga. "Besides, I'll bring her back before lunch time."
Olga smiled uncertainly. "Well, I suppose your right Helga. Just make sure Heidi doesn't get into any trouble, ok? Oh, and if you can, there's an excellent foreign film for children playing at the Circle Theater I think might be very educational for little Heidi's culture growth."
"I'll be sure to toss that suggestion right by her sis," said Helga with dry sarcasm. A few moments later, Heidi ran down to Helga's side with a pair of blue jeans, sneakers, and a lightly tinted pink shirt. "Well, we're out of here," said Helga, leading Heidi quickly out the door.
Michael turned to Olga. "Love, are you sure you're sister is a good influence on our Heidi?" he asked.
"Oh Michael, Helga is such a creative and original thinking woman even when she was 9. I'm sure she'll be a great role model to Heidi," said Olga with what little confidence she had.
Miriam slowly sat up straight and adjusted her glasses. "Oh, is Helga here? I'll go make some.um." was all she said before trailing off.
Helga and Heidi walked down to Gerald's field where a few kids were already playing a game of baseball. As Heidi ran over to join her friends, Helga remembered all those games when she played catcher when she was Heidi's age, always trash talking to anyone holding a bat, getting a close look at Arnold's legs when he wasn't looking at her. Her dread of going back home was now replaced with fond memories and happiness, all thanks to this brunette version of herself; a girl encaged trapped by the Pataki curse. Heidi began to cry after a few words with a rather plump boy and ran back to Helga. "Aunt Helga, Larry called me a name," whined Heidi.
"Tch, so? Go over there and call him a name back," said Helga.
"But mommy said it's mean to call people names and if it happens I should always go to an adult," explained Heidi.
Helga rolled her eyes. "Watch and learn kid." Helga walked toward the plump Larry while he was still laughing at his own joke. "Hey! Pink boy! You mess with my niece again and you're going to answer to Old Betsy and the Five (actually four) Avengers!"
"Wait your fists have names? Ah! You're confusing me!" shouted the pudgy Larry before running down the sidewalk. Helga wondered if he might be Harold's son.
Heidi just stood there while Helga walked back to her, adjusting her sunglasses. "That wasn't very nice thing to do," said Heidi.
"Sometimes you got to be mean and nasty or else everyone's going to walk all over you. Take it from me bucko, drop your mom's nice girl lessons and live by your own rules, be your own woman and show some dignity,"
"But my mommy said that being nice can make me lots of friends."
"That's your mom decision for you, isn't there anything you like to do that your mom didn't suggest for you?"
Heidi smiled widely and led Helga down the block until they reached a music instrument store. "I learned how to play guitar in school but mommy says I shouldn't keep myself bounded with only one form of artistic expression."
"What? What does she know about artistic expression? Kid, today you're getting a guitar," said Helga. Heidi's face busted with jubilance as Helga opened the door and walked her into the store. Inside Heidi ran to the guitar section, almost fainting as the owner handed her a redwood guitar. "Don't worry, I'll pay for anything she wants," Helga said when the owner began seem unsure about letting Heidi hold the guitar. Helga wrote a check and took Heidi back home, guitar and all.
Helga would have to wait until later to see how cheesed off Olga would be at her when she sees Heidi's guitar because now it was time for business. She raced up the stairs and quickly ducked into her old room, locking the door tight behind her as not to be disturbed. Phoebe was right; everything was just how she left it. Besides being a little dusty, it was perfect in every detail. But what was really important was the closet. She slowly walked to her closet and gently turned the handle. All the clothes she left behind were still there, hooked in midair by wire hangers, her shoes neatly aligned under her clothes. Helga took one breath, pushed aside the clothes, and clapped her hands twice. A light came on from her old clapper bulb. Amazing how long those things last. But what was more amazing was her pre-chewed gum meditating Arnold statue and her stack of poetry books in their appropriate place. The only thing that was different was a layer of dust and a few cobwebs. Helga dropped to her knees, feeling all those old emotions flooding her. She remembered not only every word of every poem she ever written but every emotion she felt when she wrote them. Love, bliss, passion, despair, anger, sorrow; all those emotions she had once thought had died within her. In the moment, she throws her arms around the shrine and began to sob happily. "Oh Arnold, my childhood Adonis, my football-headed cherub, how I've missed you're deep eyes, your soothing voice," she swooned. In the midst of her emotional outburst, she caught a foreign object on the corner of her eye. She turned her head to the side and suddenly felt all her glee turn to woe. An old razor blade, stained with dry blood, laying next to the stack of books.
She remembered the day after Arnold left to find his parents in South America, she had reached the lowest emotional state in her life. She was sitting in her room, sobbing uncontrollably into her pillow when she decided that a life without Arnold was not worth living. Going into the bathroom, she pulled the blade off of one of Bob's razors and held it to her wrist. Her hands were shaking terribly, she knew well enough that one firm rip can tear open her veins and kill her. Tears were over following her eyes as she remembered all the times she fouled up her opportunities to confess her love to Arnold only to ridicule him. Miriam and Bob had just left to visit their accountant so Helga didn't worry about anyone trying to stop her, though she doubted Bob cared enough to stop her for anything more than wasting one of his razors. She lifted the razor high into the air and before she could give a downward slice the phone rang. This caught he off guard, making her cut her forearm instead of her wrist. In both panic and great pain, she quickly poured rubbing alcohol on a towel and wrapped it around the cut. Fighting back the sting of the alcohol on her arm, she quickly ran to the phone and picked it up. It was Phoebe, telling her that she was worried about her ever since Arnold left. That call saved Helga's life and her sanity. After knowing there was at least one person in this world genuinely cared about her, she stopped being depressed and suicidal but it left her cold and emotionless. Back in reality, she released her grip from the shrine and picked up the razor. She closed her eyes. "My god.I almost killed myself then. What if Arnold changed, what if he has a lover, what if.I confess myself to him and he rejects me?" She stared at the blade for a moment and wedged it into one of the hands of the shrine. "If I can not get Arnold this time, I'll make sure I don't miss my wrists. This I vow."