'It's been 28 days and I'm almost out of food,' thought Alfred to himself. 'Thankfully the nice people in the next town over have offered extra rations just in case Arthur ends up taking a bit longer than expected...like last time.'
He looked down at his bunny rabbit who gave him worried stare.
"Not like I'm worried! I'm on my way to becoming a self-made man! So what if he get's here late?" Alfred said aloud, trying to convince himself while chuckling.
His reassuring laughs echoed through land and caught a young blonde child's ears. This small look-a-like had a long curl sticking up on the right side on his head. His slender arms were wrapped around a tannish-white bear.
"Alfred? Are you okay?" whispered the other boy.
"WHY WOULDN'T I BE?" responded Alfred harshly.
This reaction scared the curled-hair child.
"I-I mean...Hey! Matthew it's you," he called out to his younger brother. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to visit you. I heard from Mr. France that England left again and I thought you'd be kind of lonely so I-"
"WHO SAYS I'M LONELY?"
"I-I-I-I just...I didn't mean... I wasn't trying to...I'm sorry," the younger sibling quietly cried out.
"...Aw...Come on...Don't cry...Um...Hey! Guess what!"
"What?" asked the boy between sobs.
"It's true that England's going to be gone for a while so I've decided that I'm going to become a self-made man," smiled Alfred with pride.
"A self-made man?"
"Yes! Meaning I'll no longer have to rely on anyone to survive."
"I'm happy for you, Alfred! I know how tough it is when the person you admire the most has to leave. It feels almost like they're abandoning you. You get really sad and lonely. You're only friend has disappeared and now you're left having to wait in a big, empty house all by yourself. Well I support you and want you to know that you NOT alone. I'm here for you no matter what-Alfred?"
Matthew looked around until he saw Alfred on the other side of the forest.
"Yeah, that's nice and all Matthew but I'm getting a tad bored so I'll be leaving now," waved Alfred.
"Alfred, you nincompoop!" said Matthew in a rathar loud whisper.
"Hmm. I wonder what Arthur is doing right now. I wonder if he's working hard or taking a break. I wonder if he's been getting enough sleep and not staying up all night with work. I wonder if...he...misses..." he quickly shook this thought out of his head. "Come on, Alfred. You should be worried about yourself. You have to get to bed early so that you can wake up on time tomorrow. Don't forget that you promised old man Jenkins to help fix up his house. It's going to be a long day tomorrow so you need your rest."
He looked up at the sky that was painted with bright shades of pink and orange. The sun was beginning to set.
"Time for bed," Alfred said as he laid next to his bunny on the bed. "Goodnight, Mr. Bunny." Just as Alfred was about to fall asleep, something bright caught his eye. The first star of the night had appeared to accompany the moon in lighting the dark. "I wonder if England is watching this beautiful scenery."
Suddenly, a shooting-star rushed through the sky.
"I wish," Alfred began. "I wish that Arthur could see this. Goodnight Arthur." The boy slowly drifted off as he said his wish.
"Finally home," yawned Arthur as he opened the door to his house. He ran to his room and immediatly threw himself upon the warm bed.
"Nothing like sleeping in your own bed."
As the gentleman tried to fall asleep, something shined on his eyes. He opened them and saw the moon and right next to it was a tiny, bright star.
'How nice,' he thought to himself.
And just as the sandman was about to take the man away, a small yet audible voice rang through out the room.
"Goodnight Arthur."
"Goodnight...Al...fred." His breathing became softer as he began to dream about playing with Alfred once again.