9. Hello?

“Hello? How do I look?” Boss asked as the look of shock was still plastered everyone’s face by his appearance.

“Wow! You’re amazing you look like us now!” Arthur was the first to break the silence.

“That’s great!” Boss exclaimed in a childish and energetic voice.

Angel walked up to Boss and knelt before his face.

“He’s quite adorable” She said as she began pinching his cheeks. Shelly nodded her head in agreement. Boss could only stand there and suffer the pinching.

“Ahaha, this is great!” Samuel said as he also began pinching Boss’ face with no care in the world about how dangerous Boss was.

Benjamin exited the room and came back with some of Arthur’s clothing. The wardrobe Boss was wearing is too large for the current pipsqueak. Everyone left the room while Boss changed into Arthur’s attire.

Staring at himself in the mirror Boss only had narcissistic praises on his mind. “Wow, this was probably me when I was a kid besides the hair and eyes.” Boss said mesmerized by his current look.

“Ahaha, can’t believe I’ve never done this before” Boss began striking poses in front of the mirror. He really enjoyed his child-like looks with bright yellow eyes and dark purple hair. A mischievous expression could be seen on his face as began to think about his ability to disguise himself.

“Boss! C’mon let’s go play!” Arthur rushed into the room and grabbed Boss’ hand pulling him outside to enjoy. Since this was the weekend Arthur didn’t have the usual daily training and weapons practice.

Bark

Barkie was sitting on top of Arthur’s head with complete balance not affected by the movements down below. It figured out that the only way to assert dominance against the kitten is always to stay on Arthur’s head as he is slightly taller than Shelly.

“Where are we going?” Boss asked while getting dragged along.

“I promise Mrs. Tamarind that I’ll be visiting soon. Oh, I forgot you don’t know her, she’s a sweet old lady who bakes the best cookies. Sadly, her husband is sick but he’s doing better! You’ll like them let’s go~” Arthur continued to ramble on as he pulled Boss along treating him like a kid his age.

Shelly followed along with Silver relaxed on her shoulder. The three raced towards Mrs. Tamarind’s home while greeting regular passing neighbors.

Upon arrival at Mrs. Tamarind’s home the boy raced up the steps and knocked on her door.

There was no answer.

He continued to knock calling for Mrs. Tamarind.

“Mrs. Tamarind, it’s me Arthur, I’m here with Shelly today to visit! I brought a friend too!” He shouted hoping someone would greet him at the door. Curiously he decided to see if he can turn the knob and walk in.

It wasn’t locked.

The sound of someone weeping could be heard deeper within.

“Mrs. Tamarind? It’s me Arthur, I brought Shelly and a friend along” Arthur repeated his greeting albeit a bit softer now that he was inside.

However, there was no response besides for the eerie sound of someone weeping came from deeper within.

Their movements slow, the deeper they went towards to the sound of weeping their nostrils began to get assailed by the stench of medicine. Covering their nose, they trekked through the narrow hallway.

The sound of weeping can be heard from the door ahead. Noticing something strange Shelly took the lead ahead of Arthur and cautiously opened the door.

It was a small room with only enough space for a bed and a few people inside. Resting on the bed was a withered old man his skin was covered in a purple tone. His body peaceful laid on the bed motionless.

A pungent smell rot and decay plus medicine assaulted their nostrils as the door opened wider.

“Mrs. Tamarind?” Shelly whispered hoping to get her attention.

The sound of weeping stopped. The crying women turned her head around after hearing Shelly’s whisper.

“Oh, Shelly and Arthur, I didn’t hear you come in. Wait outside for a bit, will you? I’ll be out in a minute.” She replied. Boss’ brow crinkled glancing at the person on the bed and the women before them.

“Alright” Shelly said as she closed the door in front of her.

Arthur could see the strange expression on Shelly and Boss’ face not completely sure of what was going on.

“What’s wrong?” Arthur asked.

However, there was no reply from the two.

“Is Mr. Tamarind okay?” Arthur continued to ask when he didn’t hear a response.

“When was the last time you guys saw Mrs. Tamarind?” Boss asked the two, while ignoring Arthur’s question.

“Just a few days ago, why?” Arthur answered.

“Before that?” Boss asked again ignoring Arthur’s question.

The two became lost in thought, the last time they met Mrs. Tamarind was almost a year ago when Arthur and Shelly began their walks around the town. He remembered that both she and her husband were happy and healthy back then with her cookies being great.

They would frequently visit them before Mr. Tamarind had fallen ill. After that they would visit him from time to time, but one of the town’s doctor said that they shouldn’t since he was extremely frail.

“When you guys came to visit Mr. Tamarind when he was sick did you see Mrs. Tamarind?” Boss continued to question.

A strange expression could be seen on their face as they had no recollection of seeing Mrs. Tamarind. They only remembered that whenever they came it was with the doctor to check Mr. Tamarind’s condition. However, the doctor stopped showing up one day after saying that Mr. Tamarind was doing fine, and they shouldn’t disturb him.

“No… what’s going on?” Arthur answered after thinking for a minute. However, before anyone could answer him the door behind them began to open.

Mrs. Tamarind walked out the door in her usual plain attire with the same expression she normally greeted them with.

“I’m sorry about that, I was just taking care of Mr. Tamarind.

“Mrs. Tamarind is Mr. Tamarind okay?” Arthur asked.

Let’s go somewhere else he’s sleeping.” She whispered with her finger pressed on her lips.

Following her lead into the living room where she asked for them to sit, the three kids complied as she walked into the kitchen to pour them a glass of water. The sound of water could be heard being poured from the faucet as Arthur quickly asked Boss and Shelly what was going on.

“What’s going on? Why is everyone so quiet?” Arthur asked.

“I think Mr. Tamarind is dead. And it’s been a few days too.” Shelly stated calmly as Boss nodded his head.

“And it’s just not that, Mrs. Tamarind is probably the same” Boss added.

“But, she’s right there? Isn’t she? She’s pouring water for us right now, right?” Arthur asked a little anxious and hysterical. How could he believe what they’re saying? Is she a ghost?

The sound water in the kitchen stopped. The door opened as a little old granny with a plate of water walked out. Each kid held onto the cup of water, but none dared to take a sip. Mrs. Tamarind paid it no mind as she walked to her sofa and sat down.

“Mrs. Tamarind are you okay? I heard you crying when I entered.” Arthur began to ask Mrs. Tamarind recalling what he heard when he arrived.

“Ah, it’s Berthal, he’s not doing so great,” Mrs. Tamarind shook her head before picking up a cup of water to sip.

Everyone waited for her to continue.

Sigh

“I won’t lie to you children; I don’t think he’ll make it. His illness came back during recovery and he’s been in a coma ever since.” Her voice quivered as she began to weep. It was same weeping they’ve heard when entering the house.

“I don’t know what went wrong, he was doing fine…” The room began to darken as if the morning sunlight couldn’t penetrate its way through the windows.

“He was recovering…” The temperature started to drop. The once bright living room turned into a dull, dark and cold place. Arthur huddled closer to Shelly; their pets began to shudder.

“I bought all the medicine I could too...” Her voice grew heavier as everything in the room rapidly began to age and decay. Boss kept his calm while staring at the scenes before him not muttering a single sound.

“Mrs. Tamarind?” Arthur whispered to her his voice shaking as he tried to call out to her.

“WHY?” A violent force erupted swirling around her causing windows within the house to shatter and explode outwards. The entire house began swaying and creaking as the rot within the room spread outwards covering the entirety of the home.

“WHY DID HE DIE?” She finally exposed his death to them. The malicious air began to spiral around her as her usual brown hair turned into an ashy grey. Her eyes becoming a malevolent red as bloody tears started to drip down.

None of the kids dared to make any sudden movement, the change in her was all too sudden.

“Poison” Boss slowly muttered, his voice calming yet serious.

The old grandma’s bloodshot eyed darted towards the direction of the child who spoke. She saw serious and calm look on his face as he stared straight back at her. The angry grandma hissed through gritted teeth “what did you say!?”

“He was poisoned.” Boss repeated in a solemn childish tone without hint of falsehood. Seeing the look on the boy Mrs. Tamarind couldn’t help but believe him. Arthur gave Boss a surprise look of shock whereas Shelly only stared at him in contemplation.

The malevolent aura around her started to dissipate as the scenery within the entire household reverted to normal, everything except for the bloody tears dripping down her bright red eyes.

Only the sound of weeping could be heard as the bloody red tears continued to drip onto the carpeted floor. Did he really get poisoned? Who would do such a thing?

Arthur leaned over to Boss and whispered, “What do you mean he’s been poisoned?”

“Mrs. Tamarind, do you know when your husband passed away?” Boss asked ignoring Arthur’s question.

“Few days ago.” She finally calmed down enough to reply wiping away the bloody tears with her sleeve not even noticing it was covered in blood.

“Did you buy these medicines of your own judgement or was it prescribed?” Boss continued asking.

“Dr. Bishop suggested the medicines. Why…?” Mrs. Tamarind replied her face showcased her confusion as she could only weakly sit on her chair and listen to the purple haired child’s response.

“Your husband should’ve been struck by a slow acting poison that destroyed his immune system. Eventually, weakening him into a vegetative state. It should’ve happened roughly half a year ago.” Boss calmly told his analysis.

“Dr. Bishop stopped coming around then!” Arthur exclaimed in realization.

“But he was helping my husband get better the medicine was working too, why would he kill him?” Mrs. Tamarind asked in dismay.

“He never planned on saving your husband, the medicine he gave your husband was the catalyst and the prescribed one he gave you was the trigger. Most likely every time he had you gather medicine; he would slowly inject your husband with his catalyst.” Boss stated clearly.

“That’s why we never saw Mrs. Tamarind she was out!” Arthur exclaimed.

“But why? Why us? Why him?” Mrs. Tamarind asked in dejection, the lifeless eyes on her face revealing fatigue. She just wanted an answer already.

“Mrs. Tamarind, how come you’re an Exotic?” Shelly finally spoke up asking Mrs. Tamarind that question.

“I’m not I’ve always been normal, brown hair and brown eyes.” She replied her eyes blinked in confusion.

“Mrs. Tamarind, you have grey hair and red eyes right now” Shelly calmly stated.

Hearing her response Mrs. Tamarind found a mirror to look at staring at the faded silhouette in front of her.

“Bu-but how?” Her body shuttered as she stared at the figure before her a fierce looking woman was returning her gaze.

“You’re dead.” Boss stated throwing in even more confusion.

“I-I’m dead?” Mrs. Tamarind looked at him in disbelief. Aren’t I right here? How am I dead?

Arthur is completely speechless he’s not sure what the heck is going on right now. Only Shelly could vaguely grasp the answer.

“I do believe you and Mr. Tamarind were alive when the kids met you. However, within the time frame when the kids weren’t around you probably ran into mishaps and died. Without you around your husband slowly fell ill and Dr. Bishop came to save him.” Boss calmly stated.

“Why would he save him? I thought you said he’s the killer!” Arthur shouted at the inconsistency.

“He most likely did at first, that is until he saw you Mrs. Tamarind.” Boss calmly replied.

“Wh-what did I do?” She replied not sure where this kid was going with his logic.

“Shelly do you know?” Boss asked Shelly the question not seemingly in a hurry to proceed.

“I think so.” Shelly replied. She continued “Mrs. Tamarind, what’s your husband’s powers?” Shelly asked.

“He doesn’t have any, brown hair and brown eyes. Well, until they turned blue one day years ago, but I think that’s normal” She replied with a look of confusion on her face.

“Cyan!” Arthur shouted. Shelly nodded her head in agreement. It is no surprising Mrs. Tamarind doesn’t know much about physical and mental energy as everyone around her had brown hair and brown eyes.

Even when there were people who had their hair or eye color changed, she didn’t think much of it because they were still the same people with just different hair and eye colors. Her husband also never mentioned it when he obtained it, so she just felt it was normal.

The ones who get the most recognition are the two little kids who are Exotics, even in history books they gloss over the orthodox powers of red, blue, green hair and magenta, cyan, yellow eyes and praises Exotics as gift of Gods.

“Cyan eyes, empathy. The power to understand people’s feelings and manipulate it.” Shelly calmly stated. Her response just continued to befuddle Mrs. Tamarind as she had no idea what the kids were talking about.

“Mrs. Tamarind, I believe when you died, you died with intense regret. You were probably killed by someone. Your husband’s powers most likely sensed your feelings at the time of death and succumbed to it, falling into a state of deep sleep-like illness.” The absurdity of her answer was apparent as both Arthur and Mrs. Tamarind looked at her with confusion.

Shelly continued taking some time to pause and organize her thoughts before she proceeds. “This is most likely when you came back, do you remember calling for Dr. Bishop or was he there?” she asked.

“I-I uh, I don’t recall calling for him, he was there when my husband was ill.” Mrs. Tamarind replied honestly.

“I see, Dr. Bishop most likely was already there helping to save your husband. However, during the recovery process you appeared. This must’ve startled him; he most likely kept his distance from you and asked you questions about what you know.” Shelly continued with her analysis.

“He did, he would be quiet around me and asked me some questions, I just assumed he was just the quiet type.” Mrs. Tamarind was engrossed as she listened to Shelly’s analysis.

“I think when he saw you, that’s when he made plans to kill your husband.” Shelly said.

“But why? Why me? What did I do?”

“Basically, he killed or someone he knew killed you. Dr. Bishop then tried to save your husband only to see someone who had died come back. Fearing that you would remember what happened to you, he had you kill your husband too after realizing your husband manifested you with his power.” Boss intervened and concluded the analysis.

Her memories flooded in like a riptide as her eyes became clearer “I-I remember now, I died, some bastard hit me over the head on my way home to prepare dinner. “It was our anniversary…” She recalled the stuff she bought. Her body slowly started to become transparent.

“He took everything… he said if only I didn’t buy it this wouldn’t have happened.” She recalled her memory as she became more translucent.

“I killed my husband…” She began to weep transparent tears as her body started disappearing from the bottom up.

A faint warm glow began to appear beside her transparent body enveloping her in a warm embrace.

“Hu-husband?”

“It’s fine now Henrietta, look I’m fine.” The transparent body of Berthal Tamarind hugged her from behind in a warm embrace. Henrietta Tamarind could only cry herself in his arms as her body continued to slowly disappear bit by bit. He lifted his head up making eye contact with the kids.

“Thank you, kids, thanks for seeing me one last time.” The glowing light from Berthal’s body began to glow becoming visibly brighter. A warm gentle smile could be seen on his face as he closed his eyes hugging his wife. Mrs. Tamarind raised her head giving the kids one last smile before both she and him dissipated completely.

The moment their body started to fade completely the voice of Berthal Tamarind’s echoed in kids’ ears.

“Please have our body cremated and scatter the ashes somewhere nice and peaceful so that we can be together forever…” The voice progressively got softer by the end.

Tears flowed down Arthur’s eyes while Shelly tried to control her breathing. Looking at the unmoving kids Boss helped them off the sofa and left the home. Arthur cried all the way home creating a trail from the Tamarind’s to theirs.

Boss summarized what had occurred at the Tamarind’s to Samuel and Angel prompting an immediate investigation. Immediately the entire taskforce of the town found Henrietta’s body. Her remains were abandoned deeper in the forest buried underneath some loose pile of dirt.

Dr. Bishop left town half a year ago after letting the manifestation of Mrs. Tamarind poison her husband.

Both Berthal’s body and Henrietta’s remains were cremated the same day Henrietta’s was found. The kids now own the urns and have it on display in the living room until they can find a nice and peaceful place.

On the porch of the Tamarind’s home the rocking chairs they owned could be seen rocking together one last time as the sunlit day turned into night.