Wholehearted Half-Souls

Chapter 20: Soul Rain (Part 1)

A cool, gentle breeze passes through the trees as the Spring sun shines on the town. Two friends sit near a river, ice cream cones in hand. The human gently licks at the cone of vanilla while the monster narrows her eyes at her cone of rocky mountain raspberry. She smiles and holds up the cone in the air. "First ice cream of the year is goin' down the hatch."

The human friend, Kris, holds out his hand to stop her. But, it's no use. Susie finishes the ice cream with a quick gulp and licks her lips. "Dang, that's good."

A moment passes, and Susie's face contorts. A blizzard has infected her mind, sweeping and flowing like a tempest. She clenches her temples and falls on her back, rolling from side to side. "CRAP CRAP CRAP, brain freeze!"

Kris chuckles and takes another lick of ice cream. "This is why you don't eat it all at once, my scaly friend."

Susie, on her knees, glares up at Kris and furiously grimaces. "Not funny, dude."

Kris takes a third lick and lowers his head slightly. "Sorry about that. Just letting ya know for next time."

She gets up from the ground and stretches, glancing up at the sky. Shaking her head, she snorts and looks back at Kris. "And you spent the little money we had on plain vanilla? C'mon, there are so many other flavors out there!"

Kris eats a little faster as his other finger rubs around in the dirt. "My comfort flavor."

"Comfort flavor?" Susie asks.

"Yeah, a comfort flavor...this flavor reminds me of myself and helps me feel better."

Susie chuckles. "You? Vanilla? If you ask me, you're closer to a rocky road, kind of cone if anything."

Kris shrugs. "I know what you mean, but I go with vanilla since nobody seems to think of me as anything special or whatever."

Susie glares at Kris. He stops eating and raises an eyebrow at her, face getting a little cold. Susie points to herself and says, "you have me, right? I wouldn't be here right now if I were like the rest."

Kris smiles and finishes off the cone. Tossing the waffle portion into the river, he leans back and rests his hands behind his head. Susie does the same and points up to the sky. "That cloud looks like the scoop ya just finished."

Kris nods and then points to another cloud. "I think that one looks like a dog."

Susie then turns her head to the left, chortles, and smugly grins. "And that one looks like a butt."

He shakes his head and sits up. "Of course, you'd say something like that."

"Sorry dude, just callin' it like I'm seein' it," Susie retorts.

Kris stands up again and extends his hand to Susie. She grabs onto it, and after hoisting her up, they begin to head away from the river.

"Got bored with cloud watching already, huh," Susie asks. Kris nods, and Susie ties her hair into a ponytail. "Yeah, I get that. Life gets boring if there's not enough exciting stuff to do."

Kris nods and places his hands into his pockets. He bites his lip and shakes his head. Susie glances down at him, eyebrow raised. "What's with ya? Don't tell me you got a brain freeze, too."

The human grimaces. "No, Susie. It's not that. It's just tough because I'm not sure where my life will head next."

Susie nods and folds her arms. "I feel ya. It'd be cool if we had more friends, but as long as we have each other, then we'll make it through."

Kris smiles and gives her a thumbs-up. "Yeah...yeah, I like the sound of that. We'll be best friends forever if you're into that kinda thing." He shrugs. "I wouldn't know, though. I've never had a best friend before."

Susie laughs. "Ironic, me neither! But now, we do."

She lowers her voice slightly and places her hands in her pockets. "Well...I did have this one friend before we arrived here in Ebott. We weren't close or anything, but he was chill."

Kris nods, tilting his head. "Oh, what was he like?"

Susie shrugs her shoulders. "Dunno exactly how to describe him, but I can try." She repeatedly places her hands on her head and looks up at the clouds. "He was kinda weird. He always wore these weird green nightgowns and a funny hat."

Kris raises an eyebrow. "How would that make someone weird?"

Susie grunts and says, "nobody else wears that kind of clothing! It's not like we're living in a world of wizards or whatever."

Kris nods. "That's fair."

Susie continues, saying, "he was kinda meek and didn't really talk that much. But he always acted nice to me, so we became friends." She shrugs. "I wonder what he's up to nowadays. Maybe we're best friends in another world, or maybe we're in a totally different place than we are now. I guess I miss him a little."

Kris nods. "He sounds nice."

Susie smiles. "Yeah, he is. But, as long as he lives in Colorado Springs and I live here, I doubt we'll hang out again."

"It could happen one day," Kris reassures. "You never know."

Susie nods and gives Kris a playful jab on the shoulder. He rubs his shoulder, and Susie places her hands behind her head again. "Alright, dude. Let's head back to the orphanage."

"Yeah, sounds good," Kris agrees. 

As they walk back to their home, the clouds combine and form around them. Rain pours with a sudden, mighty break, and Susie and Kris cover their heads with their hands. "Quick," Susie says. "Let's get outta here!"

Kris shakes his head. "It's a terrible day for rain."

Susie chortles. "Tell me about it!"

Kris nods, and the pair sprint towards the orphanage, their footsteps banging on the water puddles. After a little more running, they make it to the orphanage and slam the doors behind them. Hands on knees, Susie and Kris catch their breath and look at each other, chuckling. "Let's get dried off," Susie commands.

"Right," Kris responds. He looks at Susie and smiles slightly. "Best friends forever?"

Susie smirks and fist-bumps Kris. "Yup, you know it."