Welcome Home!

Part 1: Enter, Neighbor

          It was a blue, papery day in The Neighborhood. I was dusting my windowsill, completely forgetting all of my previous troubles from the day before.
         
As I continued cleaning, a series of sharp raps came from the door. I opened it cheerily, smiling at the guest. As I opened my eyes, Wally Darling came into focus. I smiled, wrapping him in a hug just in view of the hidden cameras I had discovered yesterday.
       
  "Howdy, neighbor! Would you care to paint with me? Everyone else is quite busy today!" He smiled. His sleepy eyes looked at me questioningly, waiting for an answer.
         
"Oh, of course. I would absolutely love to!" My brief lapse in cheeriness arose some suspicion from the puppet, but he made no effort to show it. I followed him quietly, skipping and spinning to convey my enthusiasm.
        
As we entered Home, his house, I approached a soft rug that had art supplies laid on it. I flopped down, nervously fidgeting with my plush fingers. The strings were a bit tight, but I had no clue as to why they were there. Wally always said that they kept us from falling too much. I liked his explanation the most. Frank always grumbled and was sour for the rest of the day whenever I brought it up.
       
  Suddenly, my attention was turned to Wally, who had stated himself beside me. He gently placed a paintbrush in my hand and began painting on his canvas. I copied him, dipping my paintbrush into random colors and blending them onto the canvas.
       
Wally peered over at my random strokes. "Pretty! What is it?"
         
"Oh! This is a background color, my friend!" I smiled. He was far too friendly to be cold towards. Besides, there was no need to trouble him with my worries. It was just my thread nerves. I had moved in a few weeks ago. It was such a strange experience. I awoke in a bright room with an odd feeling of something controlling me. I did not pay much attention to this feeling, however.
        
I blinked back into consciousness. I had zoned out and painted a fairly stylistic portrait of Wally. I felt quite 6 knew that he would not judge. Wally was not that kind of neighbor.
         
"Oh my! I look so much better in there than I do here! Your skills are incredible! Is my face credible?" His effort in rhyming was pathetic. I knew it was all for the cameras, however. I giggled and handed him the canvas. He gave me his canvas in turn.
       
  It was a portrait of me. It was fascinatingly realistic, but it was lovely. I smiled at him as I was about to be whisked away to another house. As I felt my legs move away, a tug stopped me. I turned, spotting Wally holding onto my arm.
       
  "I'm awfully sorry, but this episode is all about us," he whispered quickly. I did not fully understand what he meant by episode, but I returned to the rug.
       
"Wally Darling. It's quite improper to starve your guest," I planted my line. I was the puppet that focused on manners, after all.
       
"How could I forget! I'll go fetch us some treats! How do cookies and ice cold water sound?"
         
"They sound wonderful, Wally."
        
I smiled and took a cookie. I could not eat it, so I carefully aligned it under the rug. I glanced over at Wally. He blinked at the cookie. To my surprise, the spot he was looking at was gone. It looked like he had taken a circular bite out of the cookie with his mouth, but he had taken it with his eyes. I was slightly disturbed but did not care because he never blinked at me.
       
  The next few hours were fun but also dull. We just painted the entire time. I said nothing, however, as it was not proper to leave a host's house without any hints to leave.
         
The clock struck 3 P.M. before letting out a pleasant chime. I smiled at Wally and approached his door. I hugged him again, but he held onto my hand a little longer. His gaze lingered on it, clearly wanting to say something potentially life-shattering. The shadow left his face, and he bid me goodbye. I skipped away, off to see my next neighbor.