Gaze wandering upward, there was nothing else to be seen but grey endlessness, here and there disturbed by bald treetops. Nature had shed its colourful diversity completely and by now he was certain it was Winter. Harsh winds blew past the branches, rattling the younger twigs dangerously in their cruelty. There was little green on the ground, sturdy moss defying the conditions that all leaves and flowers had fallen victim to some weeks ago.
If he was to go by his experiences, this could hardly be Winter. Mild temperatures kept the waters liquid and the rain falling. Each night it would soak him through until he couldn't tell if he had ever left the ocean or was still drowning in it. Maybe he was?
His feet didn't hold him up any longer so he settled onto the spongy moss he was standing on. Its instability let him sink in a little and if it wasn't so wet, it could be comfortable. Heavy downpour drenched him in coldness and emptiness and loneliness. At least, when the red and yellow had tipped the ends of the twigs in autumn and the floors had been carrying a variety of grass patches, there had been animals around for company. Now they were all in a deep slumber and he was left with the remaining silence that filled in the voids Mother Nature had left. And the void left within him, isolated from those inhabiting this forest by his sheer biological difference, separated from those he was connected to through emotional bonds.
What loneliness meant, he had come to know. How cold it could feel, he had never dared to imagine.
⸻⸻⸻
There was no need to spend a thought on how Robin had been right—again. Her level of experience and knowledge would always remain out of his reach, beyond his imagination—but for what would he have to surpass her? Let alone reach her when she was by his side already to gift him with her intelligence and wisdom. She was there and with him, and there was nothing else that mattered.
So once Robin had left for work, Luffy found himself bothered by the largeness of the apartment. On Weekends it tended to feel too small for both of them, with Robin using their shared living-room as her bedroom at night. The money she earned from shelving books at the local library sufficed for a fifth-storey apartment in the cheapest quarter of the town, only consisting of a bath, a kitchen big enough for one to cook inside, a medium-sized room and something Robin had labelled as "storage" that now was Luffy's bedroom. Little by little they had collected furniture, some of it from piles of bulk rubbish, the rest were gifts from Robin's co-workers. It was enough for them, they had a safe place to sleep, money for the basics of living and Robin's cooking was becoming a highlight of Luffy's daily routine. And what money was left to spare at the end of the month, they saved for emergencies.
Only once they had used it to spend on luxury. When Zoro's birthday had been on schedule, they had bought an used typewriter for Luffy and a coffee maker for Robin. To date that had been the only day they had spend from morning till evening in public.
To avoid feeling bored and lonely, Luffy decided to give Robin's suggestion a try. Properly dressed for the cold weather in a coat and boots he didn't like, he strolled through the alleys snaking around the large buildings forming the housing estate. A worn down, second-hand bag strapped over his shoulder to carry his sorry excuse of a notepad and some pens that—after an incident involving heavy rain—he had been clever enough to wrap in a plastic bag.
There was a playground three buildings south from theirs and at this time of day occupied by the kids of the neighbourhood. A sky clear of clouds and shining blue and fresh was a promising condition for life to flee the tiny and sad apartments. According to the man on the radio, there would be no more rain until December so Luffy's hopes were high to be able to come here for the rest of the week.
When he sat down on a bench in front of the only tree, some of the boys by the slope waved at him and grinned when he greeted back. In late September, nearly three months after the catastrophe—when Robin had still had the mind to drag him out of the house, even lock him out while she had been at work—Luffy had befriended the group of three boys. They had usually played together until past dinner time and Luffy had ever since wondered if their parents even cared. To have eleven-year-old's play alone in the dark wasn't wrong to him but had always seemed to him as if they would never return to their homes for the night. Or was he projecting?
It didn't take long for them to settle around him, apparently thrilled to see him again after weeks. "You here to play till your mother picks you up?"
Luffy smiled, not having the mind to correct people anymore. "Not really, I'm looking for some inspiration."
"Inspi- what?" The boy in front of him, Gary, looked at him in confusion.
"He's out of ideas, stupid!" Nathan rolled his eyes at his friend, then turned to their older companion. "You draw?"
"No, I write," Luffy answered with a shake of his head, "There's a contest at the library and I want to write something for it."
"Oh! I know! My sister won second prize last year!" Ian threw in excitedly. "Her story was so creepy…"
"Yeah I heard they like creepy ones better," Nathan nodded, "They read the best ones at school fair last year."
All the while, Luffy watched them interacting with a smile. Not that living alone with Robin made him feel lonely, not at all, but they were different in so many areas that having other people to talk to filled the hole inside him even more.
"So you think I should write a ghost story?" Could he even? So far he had only written about the accident and the damages his mind, heart and soul had taken from it. A ghost story seemed more of creative writing than simply expressing thoughts.
"Yeah! Write 'bout that spooky grave in Hitchwick!" Gary piped in eagerly, "My uncle tells stories 'bout it! You can hear noises from it but it's dead and so creepy and…"
While the boys kept riddling about the oh so spooky grave, Luffy was wondering if he should reveal to them how he had seen far creepier things than that. But the very thought about it was threatening a wound inside his chest that was slowly reacting to Robin's care and he had no mind to tear it open.
"...no, I swear it's true! The body was only bones," Gary insisted with a small pout.
"Wait, what?" Luffy's attention was forcefully being drawn to the brown-haired boy in front of him. "You mean like a skeleton?"
"Yeah, like that one in the candy shop on Halloween. Uncle Jacob said they found it in the river and then buried it and later there were noises coming from the grave. Like it still lives," Gary continued, repeating the story for his older friend.
"Mum says it's just plastic and that the people from Hitchwick only want to spook people," Ian said, "And to scare the kids to make them stay away from the river."
"It's real! My uncle wouldn't lie!" Gary's temper was reddening his face and turning the knuckles of his clenched fists white.
Sensing how the situation was stirring up emotions, Luffy quickly interfered. "Well, I guess I need to ask your uncle myself? Then I can write about it."
"Really? Cool!" Gary beamed at the recognition by his friend. "Uncle Jacob sells meat at the mall. I can take you there!"
Luffy smiled, "Thank you but I have to wait for… my mother first."
And this strange knot in his chest to loosen.