The next day

With all his chores were done for the day, Romero was left feeling more than a bit listless. So what was there for a zombie to do when such feelings arose? He’d go on a walk. Putting on a scarf to cover his dried up mouth and lack of lips, a hat to hide his exposed scalp, and sunglasses to hide his empty eye sockets, he was ready! On his way out, he made sure to give Misfit a pat on the head, how she would often beg for him to take her out. But for now, he wanted to go alone.

The sunny suburban sidewalks of Summertime Hills. Why was it still so damn warm? It made his dry skin feel all the more drier. There in the distance, his old nostrils smelled it. The smell of home cooking, soup maybe? Whoever they were, they were using a lot of cumin, giving him a tiny urge to stop at the local grocers, transfixed by the scent. After all, if there was one thing he was happy he hadn’t yet lost, it was his sense of smell and his sense of taste; while he didn’t need to eat nor drink, a bit of restoration magic was all he needed really to keep him from decaying further. That however, did not mean he wasn’t allowed to enjoy the taste of food. A similar deal went for Alto, Fae as she was… Although, in her case, he wasn’t too sure where the food went.

With a happy zombie groan, Romero continued on his way. Taking a corner, then another corner. No destination in mind, he went where he felt was right. People were outside their houses, adults chatting and children playing in the yard. Pretty girls too! As he passed the occasional person on the sidewalk, they’d wave to him, and he’d give a slow wave back; communication in the human world was so simple and easy, not much different than it was back home, and here he didn’t have to say a thing!

He recalled the castle back home, all those years and years ago, before the Fall. All the staff he once spoke with. All the people he once knew. All the enemies he made… Those years were behind him. What a difference here was. The noisy machines the people drove… He barely recognized them, but they certainly didn’t run on magic. What an impractical machine! Dirty too!

Then, among the few people outside, there was one that was all by herself. There she was, leaning against a fence, directly outside of what Romero assumed to be her house. It was the lanky girl from the other day! What was her name again? Ash! That was it!

With her tanktop and shorts, she looked absolutely scrawny; nowhere near as scrawny as him, that was for sure… But she looked like she needed to eat something. Standing there on the sidewalk, just a short walk away, he stopped in his tracks, going no further. She already was afraid of her, something that Gram was either oblivious of or didn’t care for. But Romero wasn’t built quite the same… You want to make friends outside the house? There is one right there. He told himself. After the brief interaction last time that went nowhere, he might as well make up for it, right?

Ash, all the while, was just standing there, looking at her cellphone, her blonde hair tied back into a bun, a can of sparkling water in her other hand.

What would the others say in this situation?

Gram… He’d be blunt, yes. “Just approach her and say hi. I’m not your father.”

Alto, would say something along the lines of “Slap her ass! Surprise her! I’d do it, but I don’t got no damn hands!”

Misfit… Probably some horrible screeching noise or laughter that hurt the ears he didn’t have.

In retrospect, maybe he would only take Gram’s advice for now on.

“Hey, uh, it’s impolite to stare.” Ash said, cutting off Romero’s train of thought before he got out of control. She was now standing in front of him, taking a sip of her drink. “You, uh… Okay there?”

Come to think of it, Romero’s stance was more than a bit weird. A tired slouch and a tired sway. Did he look sick or drunk? Both maybe? In response to her question, he gave the only response he could give; a grunt. Putting enough positivity into it that he at least sounded well.

Ash, took a step back, a nervous smile on her face. The type of awkward smile that someone puts on when they aren’t sure what to say. “…Well, uh… I’m just out here to be out here, so, I guess have a nice day?”

What a weird wording. Romero had to salvage this, lest he be thought a creep of a neighbor, putting his hand to his chin, he thought for a moment. Then, with another grunt, he put a hand over his chest, grunting once more, then pointed over the fence, in the direction of the Bloodfeast house. He was a master of charades, even before the loss of his voice, trumping even Gram!

Yet, Ash continued to stare at him. That grunting, it sounded familiar, the gravelly sound, the odd inflection, she heard it recently too… Then, it finally clicked. “Oh, wait.” She said, trying to not sound surprised, “You’re the guy from the day before? Romeo?”

Romero shook his head yes, at the first question. Then, after a pause as he heard the second, he shook his head no. It wasn’t much of a conversation, but the two of them were making progress somewhere.

But, Ash steeled her heart and continued to speak with the undead man. Briefly thinking to herself what others are gonna think of her, chatting with some strange old man, concealing his identity as he was. “Hey, uh, sorry about leaving you yesterday. I just wasn’t feeling too well. Plus that dog thing really scared me. Sorry if that comes off as rude. I’m sure she’s a nice dog.”

Romero shook his head. Then, with his right hand, gave the OK sign.

“Then…” She was never one for conversation either, to have a conversation with a man who couldn’t speak, only listen? A whole other ballgame. “You’re the housekeeper of the house right? So you clean up everything? Must be hard work with three people and a… Dog.”

What else was she suppose to call Misfit?

Romero shook his head once more. Then, pointed to himself, followed by a thumbs up. Perfect! Thumbs up, the universal sign language of being good at something! This would make Ash the first person he actively talked to since they moved here that wasn’t the Bloodfeast family members. He figured he was doing a good job.

Scratching the side of her head, attempting to parse together his body language, Ash could only nod and pretend like she understood what he was trying to convey. Maybe give a guess while she was at it. “You are, uh, okay with it? Good at it? Cleaning and stuff?”

Vigorously, the zombie nodded. If he could smile, with his petrified lips, he would have a content smile plastered on his face.

Score one for Ash! “Right. I sometimes help around the house myself. It’s kind of embarrassing, I know, living with your parents into your 20s, I at least help with chores and things they don’t do themselves. But I’m working on that. Got some art classes.” Too bad she didn’t have anything to show him.

Romero could only nod along as he always did, giving a grunt of encouragement. What else did people do in conversations here? If it was same as back home, he could also show something of his to her, right? Reaching into his pocket, he removed something. A small metal object. The zombie paused and stared at it for a brief few seconds, much to Ash’s suspense. An uncomfortable pause that didn’t help her already present social anxiety. But, then, he turned the object to face the girl. It was a small, oval, locket, opening up to reveal a pair of pictures, side by side each other. The age of the locket was very apparent. With drawings rather than photographs, of a youthful looking couple. One, a blonde haired man and the other a red headed woman with a fierce expression on her face. At least Ash assumed her to be a red head. The colors on the locket were very faded, making it look like a dull pink color. In her hair, wearing it as a hairpin, was a long feather.

Ash puzzled over the locket for a brief moment. Someone he knew? A 5th family member that she didn’t meet yesterday? That man…? For one, that woman was looking far more normal than the others-

Wait… She got it…

“That’s you?” She said, pointing to the man in the locket?

Romero gave a grunt of confirmation.

Then, Ash pointed at the woman, narrowing her eyes. “Then… Who’s that?” With a smile, she asked, “A lover? You’re so handsome, I don’t see why not.” She was getting into this, why not add a little flair to her words?

The woman in the picture. While Romero looked absolutely calm, the woman on the other hand looked full of energy. Positively vibrant even in a still image, with a wide grin on her face. Yet, Romero paused once more, as he brought the locket back to his chest, holding it close. Slowly, he looked down, avoiding eye contact with Ash, as his glasses slumped down his face, showing his empty eye sockets.

Struck a nerve… Ash, holding her hand out, attempted to remedy things. “Hey, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. I was just curious, that’s all. Sorry if it’s…” She could only assume the worst. Assume the worst and wonder where the others tie into all this. Looking back to her house, Ash froze as she saw a man looking out the window.

He was a wide set, balding man, looking at Ash with a furrowed brow and an expression that could only be described as confused and irritable, giving a side glance, directed right at Ash. With one quick gesture, he motioned Ash to come inside.

Just as Ash and his eyes made contact, Ash looked away back to Romero, with a sighed, gritting her teeth. “Hey, I gotta go… Dad’s calling. But I’m sure we’ll see each other again.”

Confused, possibly worried, Romero nodded. Then, gave a grunt that sounded as though he was asking a question.

“Hey, don’t worry about me.” Ash shook her head, “I’ll be fine. Just… One more thing.” Ash said. Clenching her fist, the young woman mustered her strength to ask a question she should’ve asked before. “…Is that, uh, invite to come over your guy’s place still open?”

What invite? Romero wondered to himself. Wait, that invite! Gram did invite her for story telling at some point! So, going by what he remembered Gram doing, he nodded his head in approval. Yet, Romero looked at the man, glasses back on… A threatening man, the type of man that he was familiar with in the past, placed in a modern setting.

Romero didn’t like this man.

But there was not much he could do here. With a slight stumble, began to walk back home. Despite having just got out, he figured this was a successful mini-adventure. But, he didn’t forget to say goodbye.

Watching him walk away, Ash smiled to herself, rubbing her scrawny arm. She didn’t know when and didn’t know what to say, but she did know where.

But now, she had to get inside before her father started yelling.