"This might take a bit longer than I thought.. Wally, why don't you take them around the neighborhood for a stroll? I should be done around.." Frank leaned back and glanced up at his butterfly clock.
"At least until 7 P.M, come back around then and it should be all finished!" Frank said happily, enjoying the admiration he was receiving from Eddie.
"Sounds good, Frank. Have fun you two!" Wally cooed teasingly, winking over at me and motioning a hand towards the door.
I smiled and exited the room, Wally following close behind me and gently shutting the door to the study.
"They're awfully cute, Frank and Eddie." Wally said, laughing and escorted me out of the house and onto the yellow path.
"Right? I hope they get together, it would be so adorable." I giggled, intertwining my hand in Wally's and clinging to his arm.
"Darling, if you don't mind me asking, why did you take the calculator? It's an odd thing to steal and, not quite neighborly at all." He said, side-eyeing me with a playful smirk tugging his lips.
I shifted nervously, reaching my free hand into my pocket and fishing out the calculator. I turned it in my hand so Wally could see the screen that was frozen on 'DANGER'.
"I saw this and it only started flashing this when Eddie came into the room, like it could sense Eddie wasn't going to like what we were doing. I just kinda.. took it, I mean, no normal calculator does that." I said, turning the calculator back to face me and squinting down at it.
"I see, how interesting.. I do think you should've left it, though. You have no idea what it is-" Wally's lecture was cut off by the calculator buzzing.
"RAPHAEL"
The angelic name flashed on the screen causing my breath to hitch. Wally and I gasped and looked up at each other, new conspiracies emerging in our minds. I swallowed a lump in my throat, fearing there was more to this than what we had realized. Wally's hand gently reached up and pushed the calculator down, his hand traveling under my chin and making me face him.
"I think we've had enough mystery for one day. Let's enjoy this while we can, then we can investigate the calculator later tonight. Okay, my love?" He said, smiling down at me.
I guess he was right, we have had too much mystery for one day. We only had so much time to enjoy the day before the machine would be done, so why not spend it having fun with Wally? I smiled back, shoving the calculator back into my pocket and ignoring the buzzing that came from it. Wally began to lead us down the path, pointing a hand over to the flower field just behind Frank's house. I gasped and walking to the edge of the path, leaning down and running a hand over a rainbow flower. I had never seen a flower such as this, as all of the colored flowers were dyed back home. Wally giggled and came to my side, picking an orange one and placing it behind my ear.
"Orange suits you, darling." He cooed, smirking at the blush that formed on my cheeks.
"Why, thank you, Wally! Oh!" I exclaimed, looking past Wally's shoulder and spotting Barnaby in the distance.
Barnaby was sitting on his porch with his face in his paw, seeming lost in thought. He looked.. sad. Wally tilted his head curiously and turned around, sighing as he spotted the lonely dog.
"Wait here, darling. There's something I need to take care of.. I'll be right back!" He said happily, playfully pressing a finger to my nose and releasing my hand.
I watched him practically skip down the path and wave a hand at Barnaby who looked up puzzled. Barnaby gave a small wave back and he moved over a bit as Wally took a seat next to him. I giggled as Wally began swinging his legs and engaging in a conversation with Barnaby. I don't know what happened between them after I left, but I hope Wally was resolving it. I watched as Wally put a hand on Barnaby's shoulder, the two of them bursting out into laughter. I couldn't help but smile as Barnaby hugged him and spun him around but it soon faltered as Julie and Sally came out of Barnaby's front door, stopping in their tracks when they saw Wally. Wally stood and made his way over to Julie, making tons of hand motions as he talked. I saw Sally cross her arms anxiously and couldn't help but get second hand embarrassment. Julie pulled Wally into a hug and pushed past him, taking Barnaby's hand and skipping into the grass with him. Now, Wally and Sally stood on the porch a good distance away from each other. Wally said a few words and stuck his hand out, I watched Sally uneasily take it, shaking on.. something. Sally awkwardly made her way past him and joined Julie and Barnaby in the grass. I averted my eyes as Wally made his way back over, not wanting him to know I watched the entire confrontation.
"You know you're terrible at hiding things, right?" He said, laughing as he approached.
"Shut up.." I muttered, rolling my eyes and blushing at his outstretched hand.
I took his hand once more and stared down at the interesting chalk art along the path. I couldn't help but wonder who made this..
"Hey, Wally.. what were you discussing with them?" I asked nervously, glancing up at him.
"Oh, I was just apologizing- for everything. You never know when your time is up, and I'd rather spend it without any regrets. Haha!" He said cheerfully, directing me off the path and into the grass.
I felt a tinge if sadness pull at my heart, he doesn't think he's going to die - does he? I probably scared him when I said something bad could happen to him.. I'm such an idiot. Wally sat down on the grass with his legs sprawled out, patting a spot next to him for me to sit as well. I sat and crossed my legs, looking out across the town. It really was such a perfect view, I wonder if Wally paints here. Barnaby, Julie and Sally were playing hopscotch along the path as Poppy and Howdy had a conversation outside of the grocery store. The sunset above illuminated half of the town, leaving the other with a growing dark hue. Everything felt perfect, almost too perfect.
"Look, Wally!" I exclaimed, looking up and pointing at a lone shooting star that traveled across the dim sky.
"A shooting star!" I laughed, admiring it as it faded into the darkness.
"Did you make a wish?" I asked, dropping my hand and smiling over at him.
Only, my expression changed as he looked out across the town with teary eyes. He took a deep inhale before replying,
"Oh, I didn't have time." He whispered, releasing a long breath.
"Then.. there is something you wish for?" I titled my head to the side, my smile dropping.
"Yes." Wally choked out.
"What did you wish?" I whispered, moving my hand on top of his.
I watched a single tear escape from his eye, the light from the setting sun illuminating it brilliantly. He turned to me and smiled.
"I was wishing that.. we were two other people. Two people who need not say goodbye." He laughed sadly, choking back a sob.
"Wally, don't say that.. everything will be fine, I won't let my mother do anything to this place."
"I promise."
—-
'It is not her I worry about.'
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