𝙴𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝙽𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟷
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚏𝚞𝚕. 𝙱𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚑𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚠𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜, 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚜 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔, 𝚜𝚘 𝚊 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚍 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍𝚞𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢. 𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝, 𝚊𝚍𝚍, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖𝚜 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝟷.𝟸, 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙽𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗.
𝟷.𝟷 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚕 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛'𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔 𝚒𝚗 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝟷.𝟷 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚐𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐.
𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚖 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚊𝚐𝚎... 𝙳𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛, 𝚗𝚎𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚑𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚎. 𝙻𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚕𝚢, 𝙳𝚛. 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚏 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚏. 𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚘𝚌𝚞𝚜...
"So, I've been thinking." Spoke one of the small skeletons, 1.1, as he sat on his bed, playing with a rubixs cube.
1.2 lifted his head up from the book he was reading at the table in their room, wanting to improve his reading skills after just finishing their third day of learning.
"And what's that?" He questioned, a curious look on his face.
"We learned that monsters have parents, right? Usually a mother and a father... But who are ours?" 1.1 asked, fidgeting with the cube.
"Our parents..?" 1.2 murmured in thought as he looked at the other. "Well, I'm not sure..."
"Then what are we considered?" 1.1 asked. "You know, me and you. We're the same age, look a like-"
"Didn't we learn that - what was the word - siblings..? Weren't siblings those who looked alike?" 1.2 cut the other off with his question.
"But they share one or two of the same parent." 1.1 replied. "How can we confirm anything without knowing our parents?"
"You think that maybe it's Dr. Mary, or um... I can't remember his name..." 1.2 began, drawing a blank.
"Dr. Catrone?" 1.1 questioned.
"Yeah!" 1.2 exclaimed in reply. "You think it might be them? They're always here, like a mother and father are - at least like a mother and father are from what I read earlier today in one of these books."
1.2 placed a hand on a small stack of thin paper back books of various fiction stories he had been reading for practice, things ranging from realistic to fantasy.
"Hmm... I don't know." Said 1.1. "I guess we could always ask next time one of them comes."
"Alright, then we can find out!" 1.2 agreed with a smile.
He then glanced over at the clock, having just been taught time a little yesterday and today. He that it was five before three in the afternoon. 1.2 then got out of the chair he sat in and walked over to the corner of the room with the phone. He looked over at the paper with the schedule.
"We won't have to wait long, one of them should be here at three which is only in a couple minutes." He announced.
"Good, maybe we can figure this out then." 1.1 replied, turning the cube once more, completing the puzzle, one side containing one color each.
Both then heard the door open, Dr. Mary stepping in.
"Hello there, how are you two doing-"
"Dr. Mary, we have a couple questions to ask you!" 1.2 interrupted, stepping in front of the doctor as she entered the room, the door closing behind her.
"Well, what is it?" She questioned, a little surprised by the skeleton's excitement.
"Do you know who our parents are?" 1.1 asked from across the room before the other could ask.
"Hey... I thought I was asking." 1.2 mumbled in reply, turning around to pout at the other.
"Go ahead and ask the next one then." 1.1 suggested, looking up from the completed puzzle in his hands and at the others.
"Oh yeah," 1.2 began, turning around on his heals. "Are you our mother? Maybe a relative? You're here a lot, so it kinda made us think it as a possibility. Also, is Dr. Catrone our father?"
A flustered expression came to the scientist's face. She nervously laughed it off.
"Oh no, I-I'm not your mother..." She began to think of how to reply, not wanting to upset them. "I'm more like an aunt..?"
Dr. Mary wasn't really confident in her response as she nervously adjusted the glasses on her face. It really wasn't something you asked someone, nor was it the first thing you would ask instead of giving a greeting.
"As for Dr. Catrone... I'm not really sure myself. That's something you'll have to ask him when he comes to visit." She replied with a smile.
"Oh, okay." 1.2 replied, a small bit of confusion on his face.
1.1 shared a slightly similar look.
"Whats an aunt?" 1.1 asked, neither having been taught much further in family than siblings and parents.
"Well, by dictionary definition, it's a person who is the sister of your mother or father." Dr. Mary explained. "In the way I'm using it, it's more a close guardian - or an adult close to you that acts like a parent figure. So, if you want, instead of calling me Dr. Mary, I wouldn't mind if you would rather call me Aunt or Auntie Mary."
"Really? Cool!" 1.2 exclaimed. "Then I'm calling you Auntie Mary from now on."
"Alrighty." Dr. Mary replied while smiling at the skeleton.
She then turned her gaze over towards the other skeleton, making eye contact.
"And what about you?" She asked him.
1.1 thought a minute before giving his answer.
"I might alternate between Dr and Aunt Mary." He replied.
"That's fine with me, whatever you prefer between the three." Said Dr. Mary, giving him a smile as well.
"Auntie Mary, Auntie Mary!" 1.2 exclaimed, grabbing on of the scientist's hands, lightly pulling her forwards. "Come see what I've been reading."
"Okay, okay, I'm coming." She told him, letting him gently pull her towards the table.
The other skeleton had a slight smile of amusement on his face as he stifle a small laugh. It was odd to see a goat monster that was twice the size of the skeleton holding her hand, pull her across the room.
Another question then came to 1.1's mind as he sat there and watch.
"Aunt Mary?" He called.
Dr. Mary looked up from the stack of books 1.2 was having her look at.
"Yes?" She replied.
"What would we be considered? Like, me and him." 1.1 asked. "We have many similarities, but we don't know if we share the same parents. So, we're not sure if we're siblings or not..."
"Hmm..." She hummed in thought a moment before replying. "I'm pretty sure you share the same parents, from what I can recall. So, I'd say you two would be brothers."
"Brothers?" Both inquired, looking at each other.
"Siblings that are male..." She stated.
She at least thought if they learned about siblings, then they would had learned about that as well.
Both of their eyes widened in understanding, both of them smiling. More understanding had come into their world.