CoN: Stargazing

Clarice sighed. She had been walking for hours, but it seemed like the park stretched on forever in every direction. The young girl started to wonder if she should give up hope on ever getting out. Her feet hurt and her head was pounding with a building headache. Things had reached their peak of crappiness.

There was a loud clank that resounded through the park. A sizzle of electricity and then all went black. She stopped dead, startled by her loss of vision. There was a soft sound of surprise behind her as her new companion ran into her, but the collision was hardly worth any notice. He was only made of cloth after all.

Climber looked at her. “Does this mean we’re stopping?”

Her head drooped as she made a frustrated sound. “Yes, because it seems like I’ve gotten no closer to the exit that I was an hour ago, I’m exhausted and I can’t see in the dark so this will just slow me down…”

“I can see in the dark,” Climber informed her happily.

His words did little to solve the problem. Clarice pulled out her cell phone and opened it. “There.” The light was enough to brighten the path for her to see. She walked on, Climber trailing faithfully behind her. They were silent as they walked. Climber had been talking to her cheerfully most of the day, but it seemed that her recent lack of response had quieted his chattering. There was a small pang of guilt as she realized this. He had saved her without her asking. At the time, it seemed without her even needing it, but looking back, she was glad that Climber had been there.

Darkness re-engulfed the two and broke her thoughts. She halted abruptly again. This time when Climber ran into her he fell backwards with a cry. Clarice again didn’t give him much notice. She instead frowned at the phone. “If it isn’t out of service, its battery is dead. Stupid phone…”

Climber sat up. His eyes were drawn upward to the glittering specks nestled in the sky. He loved the lights of the park with the way they were different colored and bright, but he also liked the stars. The sound of Clarice’s phone snapping shut reminded him of what he had been doing and he stood up.

Her frustrated mutterings exhausted, Clarice made a slight groan. “I guess I’m stuck here for the night. I don’t think I can keep walking.”

The mannequin perked up and nodded enthusiastically at this conclusion. He looked around eagerly and spotted a bench. “You can sleep here,” he exclaimed going over to it.

Clarice frowned at him. It wasn’t the most comfortable prospect, but it would be better that sleeping on the ground. She gave him a puzzled look as he laid down. “See? You can even see the stars like this.” He looked up with childish joy. Clarice let a soft smile grace her lips. He was always amused by the simplest things. Her smile slipped as she realized something.

“Wait. I can’t sleep there with you lying down like that. You take up the whole bench.” Actually, Climber took up more than the bench had to offer. His long legs dangled off the edge, but he didn’t seem to care.

“That’s ok, you can just lay on top of me. I could be your pillow,” he offered.

She frowned at him. If any human had said that to her, she would have hit them. But he wasn’t human. He was an innocent ball of fluff, too childish to understand much about the world he lived in. Her smile returned as she looked at him. She rarely returned smiles to people, yet his face of uneven muddy lines always drew one out of her. She went over and climbed on top of him, laying so her head was just below his. It was a strange arrangement that yielded an equally strange comfort. She had expected him to be as warm as unworn clothing, but he emanated a soft warmth. She assumed he was powered by some sort of magical energy, so that explained how something that wasn’t technically alive could be so warm.

Climber was ecstatic to be of use and it was in his voice as he pointed up. “See? When they turn the lights off for the night you can see the stars.” It was true. Clarice couldn’t remember the last time she saw stars like this. Of course, it had been a while since she had sat down and stargazed.

“Do you stargaze a lot?” Clarice asked.

He smiled shyly. “Um, yeah. I didn’t have much else to do when I was in the cart.” He paused. “What about you?”

“Me?” Clarice asked. She frowned up at the night sky. What about me?... “I don’t usually. You can’t see the stars well where I live.”

“Oh.” He was silent for a moment. “So….what do you like to do?”

She shrugged. “Read, sometimes watch TV, stuff like that.”

“Um…” Clarice predicted the impending questions that were no doubt building in his mind. She decided to cut them off before she ended up having to explain what TV was. “What do you like?” she asked, turning the question back to him.

She could almost hear a frown crinkling over his features as he pondered quietly over this. “I like being with you,” he concluded with a smile. “I’ve never had a friend before.”

That pang of guilt was back. She had been frightened by him at first. But who wouldn’t have been freaked out by a doll that started moving on its own? Then she had found him slightly annoying because she found herself reluctant to sit back and play the role of the damsel in distress. But he had done it out of childish loneliness. He had found a friend and wanted to keep it. Some friend she was.

A cold wind blew across them, ruffling the thoughts inher head. She grabbed his arms and wrapped them around her for protection from the cold. “I’m tired, so I’m going to sleep now,” she informed him.

“Ok, I’ll be quiet so you can sleep,” he said cheerfully. He rested his chin on the top of her head, watching with an intent gaze as her eyes fluttered shut. He listened to her breathing with an air of amazement. He smiled, so happy to be of use to her. He hugged her tightly, snuggling his face into her soft hair before allowing his eyes to close so he could rest as well. He had used a lot of energy today and he would need to recuperate a little. But he felt so happy. Like a new warm glow that had nestled into his chest. The image of her smile lingered in his minds eye. He liked it when she smiled. Maybe tomorrow…i-if I’m useful…I can get her to smile again for me… he thought sleepily. Those were his last thoughts before he dropped off as well, a gentle smile still on his face.