The Hug Toll (DHMIS Fanfiction)

Twelve

Harry was wandering the narrow street of the United Kingdom. He was so upset over the little black lady's escape into the underground, and he longed to see her pretty, pallid white eyes again. Why did she have to leave us? I loved her. Was it my fault for leaving my imaginary friends behind?

Confused, scared and angry, Harry ran across the road to find his house, only to be abruptly stopped by a female crossing guard who was a few years older in age and had the same color as Harry but with a lighter tone.

"Sir, mind if look both ways before charging across the street?"

"M-Mam, you never knew what I went through. I need to get to my house as soon as possible, no questions asked."

"But do you want to get crushed by a beer truck?"

Harry was fully silent. "No."

"Well then," The crossing guard continued, "I'd highly suggest you'd get off this road before I get smacked by the mope in the white van."

Harry brushed his red hairs out of his face, staring into her pitch black pupils. To himself, though, he began to feel some sympathy for the female crossing guard; it was her duty to keep her peers safe, wasn't it? Holding back some blush, Harry obeyed her understandably as he walked off the cement floor of the street.

I-I can't love her! My heart b-belongs to the little black lady!

Once he reached the doorstep of his house, he eagerly pushed the key into the lock, ready to open the door of his real life home that he'd longed to see for over half a century. When he did, however, the living appeared to be very musky and the table covered in dust and soot.

"So much has changed..." Harry was telling himself.

He was wiping off the dust from all the furniture with a cloth, including having to remove a dead wasp's nest in the corner of the living room, when he heard a strange ticking. It was almost as if raindrops were falling onto a glass of water every second.

As Harry dropped the cloth to see what was making that noise, the ticking got louder and louder with every step the red male took. Once he got close enough, it was revealed that the noise came from an dusty grandfather clock with a large, shiny pendulum and thin, black clock hands that reminded him of the little black lady.

I sure do miss that precious soul... that black figure is a monster...

As his eyes were being glued on the grandfather clock, something struck him much harder than an actual pendulum. In the corner of his eye, there was a production date on the left side of the clock with the date '1955'.

That meant that this grandfather clock had been standing in the same spot ever since Harry left to be with his puppets in his imagination.

"1955..." He repeated the date over and over until it finally became crystal clear.

 1955..... 1955..... 1955.....