Wonder • Five Hargreeves

09

"It was like he'd never seen pistachio ice cream."

"I remember him telling me I should just keep painting. Through pain and sorrows- my art was apart of me. And that my injuries should never keep me from my own passion."

"He was such a wise and sweet man."

Winnie eyes were so soft as she stared at the ash. That memory was her fondest one of her Father.

It was a memory that made the other Hargreeves children go cold.

"Winnie.." Allison said. Winnie eyes snapped to hers innocently and Allison bit her tongue.

"Dad was the one who broke your fingers." Vanya forced out quickly. She didn't want that fact to be unsaid.

Winnie clammed up. She looked away from the ash and started playing with her fingers- the ones slightly malformed from not letting them heal. From 'working through' her injury.

"I know.. I just thought it was sweet he took me to get ice cream..." Winnie confessed.

She knew. She knew. She knew. But she loved him so much.

"He was a monster." Diego spat out. Klaus chuckled airily. "He was a bad person and a worse Father. The world is better off without him."

"Diego." Warned Allison.

"My name.. is number two." Diego corrected her, irritated.

"You know why? Because he couldn't be bothered to give us actual names. He had mom do it."

They all remembered that day. Especially Number Five.

—
Little sweet children ran around their play room. Giggling and pushing one another, and trying to make the most of their time.

They didn't get to play often, so they were going to make the most of it. Well, the majority were. Two in particular were relaxed doing their own thing. One other had just yet to show up from breakfast.

A little girl stood in the middle of the room placidly. Her white blonde hair was tied in a braid and she finger painted at an Easel. A little boy with floppy brown hair was propped up against her legs and reading Shakespeare.

The other children rushed past them, playing tag like it was for their life. The curly haired girl dove under the legs of the easel and popped her head out onto the other side.

"What are you drawings Eight?" The girl giggled and looked upwards from the ground.

Eight laughed at the silly girl beneath her. Three could always make Eight laugh, no matter the situation.

"My bear! Winnie the Poo!" Eight exclaimed. She plucked off her finger painting to show Number Three proudly.

Crude and Childlike as it was, the painting was beautiful. At the center was definitely a Winnie the Poo bear, but the background was what caught Three's eyes.

It looked like... everything was on fire and in rubble. Like the bear stood alone in the wreckage of something big.

But that was silly. All number Eight wanted to paint was Winnie the Poo.

"I like it!" Three cheered with a wide grin. Her front tooth was missing but she didn't care.

"Children!" A sweet voice called suddenly.

All the children stopped what they were doing to look at this unknown speaker. A tall woman with blonde hair and a honeysuckle smile stood at the playrooms door.