Over the Eternal Garden Wall and Into the Unknown

Chapter 6: Decisions and Choices Galore

Chapter 6: Decisions and Choices Galore

“Is the weird guy have to leave?” one of Beatrice’s younger brothers asked curiously, standing near the table and pointing at Wirt. “‘Cause Beatrice is mad and he gots slapped by her.”

“Thomas, you know better than to point fingers at guests,” Beatrice’s mother admonished, just beginning to clear the table of dirty plates. She seemed to be the only one who actually wanted Wirt around, and even then it was just out of civic duty. Wirt sighed quietly, downcast. If he were alone, this would’ve been a great time for poetry.

“But he’s weird!” little brown-haired Thomas cried out, increasing the intensity of his pointing. The five year-old even tugged on Wirt’s cape a little. “And he’s got weird blanket on him!”

“Thomas!” his mother reprimanded firmly, frowning. “Leave him alone and go to your room!”

“I can’t, Ma,” he protested. “Nancy locked me out earlier so she can play all lonely!” The boy crossed his arms, tearing up. “All lonely, Ma! All lonely!” Without waiting for a reaction, Thomas ran away in the direction of the first-floor hallway, bawling loudly.

Beatrice’s mother’s frown deepened. “There is no order in this household, sometimes.”

Wirt didn’t have anything to add. He was just . . . not feeling himself today. The woman took the plates to be washed in the kitchen, leaving the gnome-costumed boy sitting at the table. Even Beatrice’s father had already left, obviously not wanting to associate with the unwanted teen. The children had gotten bored of him long ago.

Beatrice, why do you want me to go? Wirt sulked, his vision cloudy. What have I done to deserve this? Aren’t we friends? Or is that all over now that you’re human? The distraught being pondered, feeling lost. Had Beatrice used him all along? Was she even concerned of his safety? All he knew was that she had some inexplainable need for him to leave the Unknown. Perhaps she has something to hide that she doesn’t want me to find out about. Or maybe she doesn’t feel any need to have me around anymore. Maybe all those times she teased me were hints so I would get out of her life. Perchance he simply misunderstood her actions and was reading too much into the situation. He didn’t have any way to know.

“The world is a mysterious place,” a female voice echoed behind him, too young to be Beatrice’s. “If you try too hard to figure it out, you’ll just ruin yourself.”

Figuring that the statement was directed at him, Wirt turned around to see a girl with dark mahogany hair cut to the shoulders. She had a childish face of around twelve years of age and small freckles dotted her cheeks. He recognized her from dinner, although he never received her name.

Wirt searched for a good reply, but his mind was plagued with his unanswered questions, a whirlpool trapping him from the surface. In the end, all he could think to say was, “I know.”

“Do you really?” the girl interrogated him, her eyes peering into his very soul. “If so, then why do you drown in your sorrows? Why do you dwell on the past? Can you tell me that?”

Wirt blinked, caught off-guard. She was awfully perceptive for someone so inexperienced.

The brunette gave him a knowing smile, dipping her head in acknowledgement. “I’d think not,” she affirmed, pulling up a chair to sit beside Wirt. “But that doesn’t mean you should give up. You have so much ahead of you in your life. Beatrice shouldn’t be the one to decide that for you.”

“You think I should stay?” he asked, wide-eyed. “I thought nobody wanted me here.”

“Oh, they don’t, but that doesn’t mean it can’t change. From what it seems, you’ve taken good care of your brother and his frog, so you’ve got to be someone we could look up to eventually,” she explained matter-of-factly.