My Crazy Years

Kuro. Part 3. Memory of that day

You followed your uncle through the long tunnel, amazed at the construction underneath the house. When that woman mentioned a basement you though that it was a large room with vegetables and jars of jam and compote stored on high shelves above washing machines, not a long and dark corridor leading deep underground. James was helping you wall through the darkness and not trip, having no other light source apart from the lantern he found hanging in a nail near the door, which truth be told, wasn't of much help.

During the whole stroll, you prayed Olaf wouldn't be like his sister at all. You already felt bad for being rude to Gertrude, even if you felt rightful to do so at that time, but you knew that if her brother was the same, then there was no way you could stay tin that place. There was also the matter of the thing in the forest. Just thinking about it send shivers down your spine. And... you didn't want to ruin your uncle's mood. He had waited 4 weeks to see Olaf, Gertrude not so much, and this Ace fellow. You didn't want to spoil this for him. Maybe you should have really stayed home.

"There they are." James said, his words bringing you back to earth.

Without you realizing, the two of you had already reached the end of the tunnel and you were now in a small cave with a pool of the water in the centre in which a petite, real life hydra with 3 heads was lying lazily, half of its body submerged under the water. Next to it, a man in a rocking chair with silver hair shining under the pale light of the cavern was dozing off. He had a blanket over his knees, wearing a white shirt and a muffler around his neck. James approached them, but you felt your feet freeze in place as the blood drained from your face.

That...was one giant freaking snake and you were afraid of them. You stood at the entrance waiting for hour uncle, unable to move a centimetre from there.

As soon as James was close enough, one of the hydra's heads turned his way, letting out a soft his as it saw the face of his dear friend, reaching out to him while the other heads turned as well. Your uncle began to pat each one of them, a large smile blooming on his lips as he played with them.

"Yes. It's been too long, my friend. Way too long." He said, pressing his forehead against one of the hydra's.

Sensing the creature's change of mood, the old man opened his eyes fully, the desire to sleep dying down now. He looked at the one who joined them, disturbing their peaceful rest and grinned.

"He missed you a lot, you know. You could have bothered to give us at least a phone call now and then." The man said and got up from the chair, making the blanket on his knees fall down on the cold ground, revealing a pair of brown trousers which were cut as to not cover a prosthetic left leg.

Limping his way up to his friend, the two men hugged each other, laughing and smiling, obviously having missed each other a lot. When they broke apart, the old man finally noticed you, still standing at the entrance of the cave, to frightened to move.

"And who's that?" he asked.

"Oh, that's my niece. (Y/N) come here." James said and you obeyed, a tad hesitant, your gaze never leaving the hydra who returned your gaze with a curious look.

"H-Hello, sir." You said.

"Hello, dear. I'm Olaf." He introduced himself, not waiting for your uncle to do it. "And this" he motioned to the creature behind him "is Ace. Don't be afraid of him. Poor thing is so old, he can barely see unless you're right in front of him."

You couldn't deny that it sounded sad indeed. You've had pets who had gone completely blind and it hurt to watch them try to find their way around the house, the room in which they used to run like mad. Olaf reached out an inviting hand, his intentions more than clear. You took it and let him lead you to the serpent, trying to calm the restless beating of your heart. When the creature lifted all three heads to look your way, your legs were taken over by a strong urge to run away, but you resisted it, trying to chase the fear away from your mind. Olaf took the hand you gave him and slowly placed it on one of the hydra's heads, gently running it along the wet scales. You smiled, the cold feeling being quite pleasant to the touch, all your fright dying down as you continued to caress the reptile. It wasn't as bad as you thought. Ace was rather nice, and you couldn't help but feel bad for him, noticing how slow his movements were, as he tried to bring his other heads to you. His age was clearly showing.