LIFT!
HAMMER!
PULL!
CLATTER!
As it turned out, rebuilding the shambled mess of a saloon was a lot harder and took a lot longer than expected even with Zora and Nada's assistance.
Several weeks longer, to be precise.
Nothing a quick call to the Honey Bee Labor Union could not fix, though. Apparently that box of Honey Nuts also happened to contain Howie's contact.
Also a spare wrench in case one would ever need one, and Howdy would never again doubt the ability of the labor union after Howie showed him his magic as business soon returned to normal.
Or as normal as an establishment unchecked by health expectation for several decades and illegally run by a blind madman with an itchy trigger finger could get anyways.
As for Zora and Nada, they eventually went their own separate ways after the saloon had been fixed. The missionary was able to fulfill his walk to Sweet Jazz city and establish a small church next to the toy shop with Howie's aid and was frequented by the little girl next door.
And after several sermons and casual conversions on the pews, he could definitely see why.
In terms of the bounty hunter, she opted to remain closer to Redwood Run to occasionally fill up orders at the County Jail, probably because she could not begin to trust Gorou to do his job as a sheriff and because the bounties were surprisingly very high for a place like Redwood Run.
But no matter how far the distance their respective professions took them, the bounty hunter and the missionary never lost touch with each other, always sparing some time at the saloon where this whole thing started for a little bit of tomato soup, talking over the goings ons of their days and all around just having a wonderful time from the company of each other.
Speaking of which.
—
Howdy's Hootin' House o' Hooch, Redwood Run
POUR!
GULP!
BURP!
HICCUP!
"And before I knew it, they knocked me out and then stuffed me in the back o' their car! Didn't even bother tie up my arms and legs, the crazy cocks, and from someone like me that's sayin' somethin'." Howdy took a nice long swig of his can of Campbell's tomato soup by the fully fixed saloon counter as he recounted a story of how he fell into the clutches of the CIA to Gorou.
"Wow! That's scary." the sheriff sipped from his own bowl of Chef Boyardee's, listening intently to the hillbilly's ravings.
"Not as scary as when they started pokin' and proddin' me blind with all o' their sharp techno-doohickeys in their creepy government basement, that's for sure." he patted his purring feline friend who was sleeping on the counter.
It was a simple Sunday evening that day and the saloon was surprisingly not as crowded as on the work days. So by the time the last customer had left, he closed up shop early and figured he invited Gorou over for a drink.
But in actuality, it was mostly because he wanted to take the fat sorry excuse for a sheriff away from the office so that he would actually eat a proper meal and not risk getting another violent heart attack and stroke with all those donuts he has been gorging himself on for the last 10 years.
"But enough bout' me, how bout' you? How's the girl been doin' ya for?" Gorou had a giddy grin at that.
"Oh, she's been a great help, Howdy. I tell ya I hadn't had this many prisoners in my first and only cell since that golden eyed feller with the Hawaiian shirt. I kinda miss him honestly, hope they're treatin' him well wherever he is now." the hillbilly raised a suspicious brow.
"Right. And uh… where would you say all o' them prisoners are now?"
"Oh, they all left just this morning. Left a nice big hole in the wall just for good measure. That's awfully nice of them."
Howdy could only shake his head with an amused chuckle at Gorou's generally obliviousness before the sheriff suddenly had a thought.
"Say… where is the girl anyway? I hadn't seen a straw of hay or hair of her all day."
"Oh, you just missed her." the hillbilly set his half drunken can of soup down, of which Cat then woke up and proceeded to eat the rest of them.
"Saids she was out on another order to fill from the board or somethin' like that. Took the last pine cone too while she's at it." Gorou perked up at this information in confusion.
"That's odd. The board's been empty all morning."
"Is that so?" the sheriff nodded and both he and the hillbilly pondered this for a moment, the feline paying them no mind as he continued to lick the soup can dry.
"Wonder who she could be after at this late an hour?" Gorou looked up from his chin of thought for a moment to see a knowing smile slowly forming the lines on Howdy's lips.
"I might have a lucky guess on who that is."
—
The Red Woods, Redwood Run
PUSH!
STUMBLE!
TRIP!
HOLD!
"Ugh… where is he?" the bounty hunter frowned in frustration as she held onto a flimsy branch before tossing it to the side, one of many blasted branches she stumbled upon in the dense nightly forest in search of her friend in black robes, as if that fact did not make her search for him harder than it already was.
"Was this how he felt when he was out lookin' for me?" a short scoff escaped her frowned lips as she pushed aside another swaying branch in her path.
"Of course it was. Stupid question, Zora."
Despite the generally aimless direction of her path into the endless darkness of the wood, she continued onwards, hoping to be able to pick up any hints of the man on the dirt trail of battered bushes and crunched leaves, but that was proving to be easier said than done.
"There has to be somethin' round' here for me to use." her mind was beginning to wonder if he was even here at all.
"'I'll be out in the forest' he said. 'Just follow the sound of the guitar strums' he said." a less than amused sigh escaped her lips.
"Seriously Nada, why did ya have to apply for the job that has ya wearin' one of the darkest dresses in the history of dresses?"
Seething a breath, she kept moving onward, heading in mind to watch out for any more unexpected branches, roots and bush beasts looking to try and smack her in the face, trip her and make her fall flat on her face or jump out and proceed to make a messy meal out of her face.
And then her boots suddenly found themselves falling on a small pair of depressions on the ground.
"Huh?" She looked down towards her feet.
Footprints. Long and pointed at the tips and without any signs of markings on the underside. Just outlines for a pair of long shoes.
The unmistakable prints of a pair of business shoes.
Suddenly, from the darkness of the endless sea of wood and bush, a sound.
STRUM!
Guitar notes, soothingly strung together to form a magical melody and eloquently echoing towards an open field in the forest overlooking the vibrant night lights of the distant metropolis of Sweet Jazz City.
A song that she knew all too well as the warm smile on her lips deepened considerably and her eyes softened.
"Oh, Nada…"
—
Gods & Demons around the World - El Sombreron
If one ventures out onto the streets of Guatemala at night, they must take heed of the sudden sound of a guitar strum, for El Sombreron is near and is on the hunt. Characterized by his large brimmed hat, black robes and silver guitar which he uses to lure out people, this mysterious specter of the night travels from town to town and serenades the Guatemalan womenfolk. Once he has a damsel in his spell, he will serenade her every single night of her life, until she goes completely and utterly insane.
—
The gleaming glow of the midnight moon.
The endless stretch of blackened skies decorated in copious sequences of shimmering stars.
And the countless flicker of lights shining from the center of the sprawling city from afar as Nada watched on in collective calm from the comfort of a redwood tree.
Singing the serene scene away as he strummed at the strings of his silver guitar, voice soft and still as he did so.
Time
I've been passing time
Watching trains go by
A soft sigh breathed from his lips before he continued.
All of my life
Lying on the sand
Watching seabirds fly
Wishing there would be
Someone waiting home for me
…
"Hmph." A mild scoff did he huffed at such a silly idea. As if anyone would spare the time to find any interest in settling down with the simple and secular type like him.
Until now.
Something's telling me it might be you
It's telling me it might be you
That voice. That impossibly angelic voice that drowned out even the most talented of choirs.
The missionary slowly turned around from where he laid.
And there she was.
The bounty hunter in all of her beautiful feminine form, the serene smile on her lips ever more radiant than the light of the dawning morning sun casting down from the heavens as she slowly made her way closer to him.
All of my life
Looking back as lovers
Go walking pass
All of my life
Wondering how they met
And what makes it last
She stopped just by where he sat before setting down to the ground, the missionary knowing all too well to scoot to the side for her as she continued her verse, their smiles never leaving as the pair gazed longingly into each other's eyes.
If I found the place
Would I recognize the face
A short pause from her. It signaled him to carry on the next part for her.
Something's telling me it might be you
Yeah, it's telling me it might be you
And then as one, the two followed through together, their voices harmonizing ever so seamlessly in octave and semitone.
So many quiet walks to take
So many dreams to make
And with so much love to make
Ohhh
Followed by sweet separate lines, with one picking up perfectly after the other.
I think we're gonna need some
Maybe all we need is time
Then, together again as their warm gazes matched with each other.
And it's telling me it might be you
All of my life
And for a moment, not a single word was to be uttered between the two as the serenity of the sublime quiet seemed to only draw them closer and closer to each other.
The bounty hunter soon found her hands slowly tracing the soft fabric of his black cassock, moving up his firm chest to his neck before finally resting upon the side of his cheek, her thumb gently caressing away at his skin with just as much affectionate care as he did for her back at the station.
The missionary held onto her warm hand and pressed it close, enjoying the soft touches of her fingers with a light smile to match her own as red and brown eyes met once more.
I've been saving love songs and lullabies
Their faces were now mere itches away, barely able to hold in what both had felt on that night they had first met.
And there's so much more
No one's ever heard before
That was it. Unable to bear the tension any longer, the bounty hunter held him with both of her hands and pulled him in, finally bridging the gap between the pair.
Her lips were so delectably soft on his own. Who would have known that someone as rough and tumble as her could also hold the heart to be so welcoming and inviting as well?
But as he laid there holding her in his arms, hands slowly moving and holding onto her head of long, beautiful brown hair and lips still connected in a deep and passionate kiss that he could have only ever had in the countless dreams he had imagined, that was all he could see.
Not the deadly bounty hunter.
But the woman that was hidden inside for so long and just waiting to be finally let out.
And as the two slowly pulled away from one another, eyes still closed and foreheads rested on eachother with the sweetest smiles they had ever had, they knew one thing is certain.
Something's telling me it might be you
A flicker of their eyes, just enough for their longing stares to meet again.
Yeah, I'm feeling that it must be you
And with all the love that they could ever hope to give from their hearts pouring out.
And I'm feeling it'll just be you
All of my life
Their smiles deeper, never happier than to be where they were at this very moment. Just the two of them and no one else, holding onto each other and the distant sounds of the whistling wind whooshing by the forest.
It's you
It's you
I've been waiting for all of my life
Maybe it's you
Maybe it's you
I've been waiting for all of my life
Maybe it's you
Maybe it's you
I've been waiting for all of my life
And as Zora and Nada turned away to view the ever distant glow of Sweet Jazz City, heads rested against each other with not another word to speak, they imagined what the direction of their lives would take them in the future.
A new beginning.
A new home.
A new family.
They smiled once more. It was a long and winded road.
But they would not have it any other way.
The End