KOTLC Book 9 (After Unlocked)

Six - Keefe

Keefe woke with a start.

He scrambled off the park bench, mentally slapping himself. How could he have been so careless? It had been a bad idea to fall asleep in the park. He had meant to find a more secluded area, like under a bridge or in an alley. 

The time was about five-thirty in the morning, so he had slept for a solid nine hours. He could tell because there was a huge clock mounted on one wall of the covered shelter at the center of the park. 

Keefe glanced up at the sky; it was pitch-black with no stars in sight. To his surprise, the city still felt and sounded alive―a few people were out and about, cars rumbled, and emotions were scattered around the place. Keefe especially felt haste and restlessness from the humans around him.

He checked his backpack to make sure nothing had been stolen while he was asleep―and thank Glitterbutt, nothing had. His meager possessions still included just his notebooks, art supplies, pathfinder, Imparter, and Mrs. Stinkbottom. 

Which was probably more than he deserved.

Suddenly, Keefe's stomach growled audibly, and he realized how long it had been since he had last eaten―almost an entire day. This is gonna be a problem, he thought. How was he going to get food? Begging? Stealing? It's not like he had any money. Why didn't I think this through?

Keefe decided that he needed to get up and do something, so he rose up off the bench and started a walk around Washington Park. If he went the long way, he figured he could get about a half-hour of peaceful strolling in―well, 'peaceful' meaning 'freaking out about how he was going to survive in this place'. Yep. Fun. 

Along the way, Keefe was able to get a better observation of the park as a whole; he hadn't at first noticed the kids' playground (which was empty), and the various gardens and smaller plazas. 

His stomach rumbled again, and he shushed it aloud. Wow. I really am going crazy, talking to my own stomach, Keefe thought. 

He walked the rest of the way around the park feeling very agitated.

* * *

Keefe couldn't see the tip of the sun emerging from the horizon―there were too many tall buildings in the way―but he could see the colors streaking from it through the newly clear sky. The main building covering up the sunrise was a beauty, with its spires and huge arched windows and brown-orange brick. Wider than it was tall, the grand structure proudly displayed a great circular window, like it was centered in the middle and then thrusted up four stories.

He had walked all the main sidewalks in the park, then doubled back and taken the more twisted routes again, stretching out the stroll to an hour. There were humans out for their early-morning runs, or to watch the sunrise.

One was passing Keefe now―he could feel the runner's contentment and breathlessness. Feeling unexpectedly brave, he opened his mouth to speak, and the words slid effortlessly to English.

"Um. Excuse me?"

The runner slowed to a stop and took out his earbud. Keefe noticed his chocolate-brown eyes―other than Foster's, Keefe didn't see a lot of non-blue eyes. It startled him for a second.

"What's that...huge cool-looking building right there?" Keefe pointed to the majestic structure on Elm Street.

The human chuckled. "Cool-looking indeed. You must be new to Cincinnati, that's Music Hall―it's for performances like ballets and orchestras," 

Keefe nodded. "Thank you."

Smiling, the runner was off again.

Keefe sat down on the edge of the nearest fountain in shock. He had just talked to a human! And the human was helpful!