by Ace Kumo

It was a sweet September day. The weather was in that in-between state of not too hot and not too cold. A few leaves were starting to turn with the season.

I spotted Zombra standing outside the school’s entrance. Quite an easy person to spot, with his purplish skin, tall stature, and platinum blonde hair. I approached him with a wave and a smile.

“Hey, Daddy.” I said cheerfully to him.

“Oh, hey. How yah been?”

“Pretty good.” I gave him a big smile, but I could tell he was seeing right through it.

“Why you smilin’ like that?” 

“Uh, well, I’ve been reading…”

“Reading? You know that’s dangerous nowadays.” Zombra said jokingly.

“Well, I… I wanted to know more about the history of Frostpeak. I was reading about this historic house. It’s called Blueberry Manor.”

With those two words, the joy faded from Zombra’s face. “Oh.” he responded coldly.

“It says it’s owned by someone named Buggy Blueberry. Is he related to you?”

Zombra’s eye shift back and forth, “Why’re you pokin’ into my life?”

“I’m not trying to poke into your life, it’s more…” I fidgeted my hands a little, “I want to see Blueberry Manor. It looks so cool. I heard they used to hold weddings there. I mean, looking at the pictures, I can see why. What if I had my wedding there?” 

“You’re getting married?” Asked Zombra.

“No, I… maybe something for the future, you know.”

“They don’t hold weddings there anymore.” Zombra said bluntly.

“I would still like to see it.”

“Why?” Zombra sounded a bit annoyed.

“I like pretty houses…” I awkwardly said.

Zombra shot me a look of pure confusion. “You really want to visit that place?”

I nodded.

“Fine, I will let you have a quick look around. But I’m only doing this because I like you.”

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” I said ecstatically, but Zombra did not really share my energy.

The next day, Zombra picked me up in his truck. He drove us through a more rural area of Frostpeak. We passed by several farms along the country road. I noticed some of them were starting to roll up their hay harvest. It was very picturesque against the backdrop of the changing trees.

“So what’s your connection to this place?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“I grew up there.” Zombra stated.

“So this is your childhood home? Interesting.”

Zombra didn’t reply.

I started to have a bad feeling that this place might bring up some childhood trauma for Zombra. Maybe I am just overanalyzing this. But after years of working with foster children, I do recognize these patterns of behavior. Tho I would think if it was that bad, Zombra won’t let me visit, right?

I then spotted the manor in the distance. It was a beautiful two-story Georgian-style house that sat upon a hill. The yard was quite large and overgrown with grass. Near the house was an old barn, which I read was used for the weddings. Zombra drove up the paved driveway, which looked a bit cracked. The driveway led into a roundabout in front of the house. Zombra just parked his truck in the middle of it instead of pulling into an area that looked like it was designed for guests to park. I quickly jumped out and walked around a bit. I couldn’t help but pull out my phone and snap some pictures. The front garden was overgrown with wild flowers, which seemed quite popular with the butterflies and bumble bees.

While admiring the garden, I looked up and saw something in the distance. It was a strange figure. It stood in the grassy area off to the side of the house. Its body was covered in a blackish rag that blew a little in the wind. Its hair looked like yellow grass that faded into brown at the root. Its face was strangely bug-like with two large, round, dark eyes. At first, I thought it was a scarecrow, or maybe a thrifty Halloween decoration. Suddenly, some geese flying overhead let out a honk, and the figure tilted its head up to look at them.

Feeling uneasy, I rushed to Zombra’s side.

“Who’s that?” I whispered, giving a slight gesture in the figure’s direction.

“Nobody.” Zombra said, “Just ignore him.”

Zombra unlocked the front door, and I quickly rushed in to get out of the strange man’s sight.

The front hallway was very homey. Cottagecore would probably be the best word for it. The furniture looked antique, and the decor looked vintage. I started pulling off my shoes.

Zombra noticed me, “Nah, you don’t need to do that.”

“It’s simple hospitality.” I stated, “I don’t want to dirty up the house.”

“We aren’t gonna be here that long.” Zombra said, and I reluctantly put my shoes back on.

Zombra started giving me a house tour, tho he didn’t let me linger too long in each room. The rooms were well decorated, like out of a magazine. I tried to take a picture, but Zombra told me, “Please don’t.” Despite the temptation to photograph things, I respected his request and put my phone away. We walked through the open kitchen and living room area, where I spotted something outside the door.

“Is that a pool? Your family had a pool…is FROSTpeak?” I needled him.

“It’s an indoor pool, look.” He slid the door open, and I could see clearly that the pool was in a sunroom. “There are doors along the wall which lead to the back, but we only open those in the summer.”

I wasn’t really looking at the doors, because in the middle of the pool was a man floating in an inner tube. He looked maybe in his 40s with bushy brown hair and sideburns. He was wearing a bathrobe, an old Atari t-shirt, with pajama pants. He looked a bit dazed and didn’t move when we entered the room. On his stomach was a Bluetooth speaker that was playing “Waiting for Tonight” by Jennifer Lopez.

“Is he OK?” I asked.

“Psychologically or physically?” Zombra answered. “Psychologically, no. Physically… well, I guess it would be unfortunate if you came to visit on the same day he decided to off himself.”

I couldn’t really tell if Zombra was being serious or joking. I felt a knot in my stomach.

“Yo Teddy, you still alive?” Zombra hollered at him.

The man flipped the bird at us, “F*** you.” He grumbled.

“Come on, Ted! That’s no way to treat a guest.”

“I don’t caaaare, go away!” Ted grumbled.

“But he’s a celebrity! You know the band The 5 Wonder? He was the guitarist.” Zombra said cheerfully. I cringed a little. Why did he have to bring that up?

Tho it seemed like the statement got Ted’s attention. He looked over to us with squinting eyes.

“Holy shit! It is!” he said. Ted then rolled off the inner tube into the water and gracefully swam to the stairs. He quickly climbed out; meanwhile, a muffled version of “Waiting for Tonight” played while the speaker floated sideways in the pool.

Ted grabbed a towel and rushed through a glass side door. Suddenly, I heard a piano rendition of our hit song “Love Me Sunshine.” I followed the sound into the room and noticed it was a smaller sunroom with a grand piano in the middle. Ted was sitting there half-wet, playing the song with no sheet music in front of him.

He then stopped and looked up at me.

“Sorry for my rudeness earlier. Usually, during my pool time, I am a little out of it. My name’s Typhoon, but everyone just calls me Ted. I’m a big fan of your music, Ace.”

“Nice to meet you, Ted.” I said, trying not to show how uncomfortable I felt, “You are really good. It takes real talent to play things from ear.”

Ted glanced over at Zombra, then back at me.

“Are you Zomby’s boyfriend?” Ted asked.

Before I could respond, Zombra grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the door.

“Hey, oh look at the time. Sorry for bugging you, Ted.” Zombra said with a small chuckle as we exited the small sunroom.

He led me back into the kitchen area.

“Was that your brother?” I asked.

“Cousin, actually. Tho sometimes he sort of feels like a brother. His parents passed away when he was a kid, and my dad took him in. I don’t think he’s ever been right in the head since then. But I guess him being messed up in the head is why he got along so well with Al.”

“Who’s Al?” I asked.

“Bertie’s dad. Well, I guess technically, the person Bertie was cloned after. They’ve been…” Zombra’s voice trailed off.

An old kettle on the stove started whistling. From the hallway emerged the scarecrow-ish figure. I saw an ear on the side of his head. What I thought was a bizarre face was actually just a wooden mask. From under his tattered coat, he reached out his hand and grabbed the kettle, and poured it into a coffee cup. Close up, he definitely looked less ghoulish and more like someone in a strange costume.

“Hello.” I said to the odd man.

“Don’t talk to him!” Zombra hissed.

Zombra then grabbed my arm and led me out of the kitchen to the stairwell in the front hall.

“Who’s that?” I asked again.

Zombra looked a little panicked. He whispered something under his breath, but I couldn’t really make it out. Then he glanced over his shoulder towards the kitchen.

“Ace, you should check out our family’s library. Baba…dad has an interesting collection. It’s upstairs and down the hall. Can’t miss it.” He started pushing me up the stairs, “You go on ahead, I will meet up with you later.”

“OK.” I said. I could see in Zombra’s face that something was wrong. Part of me wanted to question him, but the other part of me knew it was best to just let him be.

I walked up the stairs and down the hall like Zombra instructed me to do. I headed straight for the double doors at the end of the hallway. I felt a little too nervous to peek in the rooms along the way. Tho I noticed the door to the library was ajar. I slowly crept in. The walls were lined with bookshelves, which were filled with old books. Between the books were knick-knacks like strange artifacts, bottles of mysterious liquids, crystals, and even a skull.

In the middle of the room, there were some chairs, one of which was occupied by a tall man reading a book. He had wild, dirty blond hair and pale skin. Along his neck and cheek were purple markings, which had a similar color to Zombra’s skin. His face felt uncanny, sort of having a strange mix of Zombra’s and Zap’s features. He looked up at me with a confused look on his face.

“Hello.” I said shyly.

“Who the hell are you?” He asked.

“My name’s Ace, I’m Zombra’s friend.”

”Oooh, I see. Are you his boyfriend?” 

“Ha, Ted asked me the same thing… No, we’re just friends. My nephew and foster son attend Frostpeak West.”

“Just friends…humph. Zombra says that about everyone he sleeps with.”

I suddenly imagined a scenario where Zombra tried to approach me for sex, and I quickly tried to push it out of my mind. “Are you Zombra’s brother?”

“Unfortunately.” He grumbled.

I wandered a little around the room and pulled out a book. I started flipping through the pages; however, it was written in a language I didn’t recognize.

“Looking for anything?” the man asked. He walked up next to me and looked over my shoulder. He towered over me and smelled like incense, which caught me off guard.

“No, I’m just browsing.” I said, while putting the book back on the shelf.

“Most of these are magic books, just to let you know. My dad likes collecting them. As well as weird trinkets.”

“Like a skull?” I pointed out the skull next to us on a silk pillow.

”Oh, that… I found that in our garden years ago. Don’t know what his deal is, probably a servant who died a hundred years ago. Now he lives out his afterlife on a fancy pillow. I give him an acorn every Samhain for good luck.” He pointed at a glass dish next to the skull full of acorns.

“By the way, I didn't get your name.” I reach out my hand.

“Cielo.” He shook back.

“Oh, so you’re not Buggy Blueberry?”

Cielo looked annoyed by my question, “I’m too young to be Buggy.”

“Is that strange man with the wooden mask Buggy? What’s his deal? Zombra doesn’t want me interacting with him. Is he racist or something?”

“He’s not racist, it’s just generally best not to talk to him while he’s wearing his mask.”

“I see. Is that why Zombra got upset when I said something to him?”

Cielo looked concerned. “You said something to him?”

“I only said ‘Hello’.”

“Shit!” Cielo looked a little scared. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out. “Here, take this.”

He shoved some weird object into my hand. It looked like a tiny doll made of grass, sticks, and hair. It was wrapped in a tea cloth and tied together with some twine.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s a good luck charm, and a real one too. This ain’t those tacky ones you find in a beach gift shop. Just keep it in your pocket for now. Once you get home, you can dispose of it. Bury it or throw it into a wooded area.”

As I was putting it in my pocket, I heard stomping from outside the door. Zombra poked his head in from the door.

“Ace, sorry to cut things short, but we need to leave.” He then noticed Cielo. Zombra locked eyes with him and gave him a disgusted look.

“I like your new boyfriend.” Cielo joked. “He’s much better than your old one.”

Zombra face contorted into pure rage. I have never seen him that mad before. A cheeky smile spread across Cielo's face.

“Come on, Ace.” Zombra mumbled.

I waved to Cielo, “Bye, nice meeting you.” Cielo waved back.

I left the library with Zombra, and we headed down the hall.

“Your brother’s nice… and sort of cute.” I told Zombra.

Zombra rolled his eye, “Don’t be deceived, he’s actually an asshole.”

Zombra rushed me out the front door and into his truck.

“Sorry about all that.” Zombra said. “Our pool is pretty nice even when it’s cold out, you might enjoy coming back here with Shine and the boys, just to hang out. Tho I would make sure my family isn’t around to bug you.”

I glanced back at the house while Zombra was pulling out of the roundabout. I could see the odd man standing at the front door, and watched him from the side mirror as we rolled away.

We sat mostly quietly in the car. I couldn’t get the thought of that weird man out of my mind.

“Who is Buggy?” I asked.

“Nobody.” Zombra said.

I got the feeling I wasn’t going to get a clear answer out of him, so I decided not to push further. I pulled the doll charm out of my pocket. I rolled it around in my hands, examining it. At a stop sign, Zombra glanced over at me.

“Holy shit! Where did you get that?!” He exclaimed.

“Cielo gave it to me.” I said.

Zombra grabbed it and threw it out the car’s window into some brush.

“Sorry about that, I don’t trust chams.”

“It’s ok, the thing sort of creeped me out anyways.” I paused. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Zombra asked.

“It seems like there is some tension between you and your family, and I shouldn’t have pressured you to visit.”

“Nah, it’s OK. I know they all seem crazy, but I am just as f-ed up in the head as they are.” He chuckled, but I could tell from his face that he was stressed out.

I also gave out a small chuckle. I really wish he would tell me more about Buggy. Something about him clearly upsets Zombra. Zombra is definitely an enigma, but I think he hides his feelings to make others feel better. Ironically, he’s a councilor, but maybe also understandably. People who experience trauma tend to empathize with others who have been through the same thing.

I’m also aware that if someone started needling me about my family and childhood, I would probably get defensive.

Maybe best to let sleeping dogs lie.