Saturday, January 6, 2007

   Adobo is freakin' delicious . . .
I gotta say, it's been a real treat having the step-family around the past while. Usually around dinner time it's so casual around here since everyone's always getting home from work or campus or what have you at funny times. Basically, you have food waiting for when you get home, though who's eaten or not can often vary. Or, the youngin's sometimes take a plate downstairs to watch tv, DVDs, or whatever. Yeah, very casual.

Lately, though, since we've had all these extra people in the house, we've been having real family dinners in the real dining room. It's been fun.

And yeah, if you didn't pick up on the subject title, adobo is a freakin' delicious dish (much thanks to the step-sister-in-law for that one). Garlic is love, clearly.


What else to report for the new year . . . oh! Got Christmas presents from two wonderful girls on the same day!

For the little one, I say thank you for hooking me on "Train Man" manga and I'll be sure to finish "Memoirs" before I see you whenever I do.

For the butterfly, I say thank you, the shirt is way too small for me but we all love the picture even though we don't know what it says, and you're really making me want to find a place that sells those desserts nearby even though I know I won't.

Gotta love mail . . .


Autobody place is still waiting for Subaru parts. Hopefully they get 'em soon so they can start repairing my damage. 'Cause I miss my Imprezza . . . and I miss having a snow brush . . . . . 'cause it snowed yesterday morning or the night before, and I had a lot of snow on the car that morning before going to work . . . and the courtesy car didn't have a snow brush . . . . .


The internets hate me right now, and keeps flickering. I'd best send this now. Oh yeah, I'll probably webcam myself again soon, after the step-family heads back to Hong Kong land. I don't know what I'll talk about, though.
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Wednesday, January 3, 2007

   I have something to post now!
I watched Afro Samurai online. Muthafuckin' badass shit right there.

And this comes the same night I have a family movie night of Snakes on a Plane. Seriously, what a muthafuckin' badass way to kick off a new year.


So yeah, if you don't watch it online, make sure you watch it on Thursday. This series is gonna be badass.
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Monday, January 1, 2007

   And so it's 2007 . . .
Happy New Year, y'all. I spent it chatting with people overseas and then watching DVDs and drinking beers with "Faramir" - we watched that one South Park episode, "Woodland Critter Christmas" . . . SO good . . . YouTube it, I dare you.

Anyways, my resolution: to travel more this year. Let's see if I can pull it off.


I say this about movies and stuff a lot, I'll say it here: this year has the potential to be freakin' awesome.
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Saturday, December 30, 2006

Hoookay . . . .
I'm alive, neck doesn't hurt, and my wrist is finally scabbing over so it hurts less. Car's also gonna be alright, too. Aside from the part that Subarus apparently have hard-to-acquire parts, it should only take a few days once they get 'em. Meantimes, the autobody place gave us a courtesy car until then so I can at least go back to the dreaded Superstore (I'd blame them for the accident, but that's not taking responsibility for my actions, now is it?).

Also, everyone here at the site and everyone at home is telling me to get over it, so I'm hating myself less. It's like I always tell you guys, you do feel better in the morning even if you don't want to.

Still not comin' to Washington, though, which is a pisser.


So I've been alright here, taking family out to Cypress Mountain for a bit, skating at the arena with the step-niece (she's just across from me right now playing with a guitar after I gave her a crash-course in chords [say that three times fast]). Neat kid, funny accent . . .

If I figure out what I'm doing for New Year's I'll tell you all about it some time.
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Wednesday, December 27, 2006

I'll tell you about Christmas later . . .
So, I'm pissed off at myself. Late Christmas night coupled with an extremely early and long Boxing Day took its toll yesterday, and I had a car accident on the way home from work.

I was just too tired, and I drifted to the right and hit a parked car. Wrecked the front end of my car, flattened the tire . . . other car had a broken tail light and scratches, but was still in one piece. I myself am okay, with just a bit of a skinned wrist . . . nevertheless, I'm without a car now until we get a hold of a rental or something.

This complicates my life terribly here on in, I feel. Everyone says the most important thing is that I'm okay (which is true), but y'know . . . busting up the car is a pain. Going through insurance claims is gonna be a pain. Having this kind of thing on your record is gonna be a pain (though the cop said he wouldn't ticket me for it - "Christmas time is expensive enough as is," he said - and . . . yeah. A big pain, and I'm really pissed off at myself for letting it happen.


Friends in Washington, I don't think I'll be coming by next week like I was planning, sorry.

I'm gonna go to bed now. I think that would be a good idea all things considering. In any case, you guys try not to worry too much, okay? I'll be okay save mostly for the upset at myself part, and the rest of the family's being very supportive and all that . . . so yeah guys, if you're tired, don't drive. It's bad.
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Monday, December 25, 2006

   The REAL Christmas post!
T'was the day before Christmas,
exhausted I was,
I slept but five hours
wrapping presents because . . .


The previous evening
I worked 'til midnight,
then came home, came online,
and started to write.

Cream Filling & Nougat,
the Holiday story,
turned out for the best
in all bright, blazing glory.

After I finished
t'was 'bout 2AM,
And spent time chatting
with a young Aussie femme.

By this point on
she was but three hours to go,
'fore it was Christmas
in the land down below.

All of that while
I had presents to wrap,
for ten, maybe twelve
people . . . ah crap!

But let it be known
that as Aussies struck twelve,
I wrap my last present
(save two that I shelve.)

So now that it's five,
I'm tired as piss,
bedtime, goodnight,
lest lunchtime I miss . . .


The next day at ten
(which's today, as I write),
The house woke me up
and I groaned with all might.

But out then we went
for dim sum and then,
off to the airport
all over again!

My step-brother, his wife,
and my young step-niece
from Hong Kong had arrived
safely 'nough, in one piece.

I had time for greetings,
to chat 'bout the weather,
but then it was off
to damn Superstore . . . bugger!


This short shift, four hours,
on this Christmas Eve,
the longest damn four hours
I ever did grieve.

My footsies were blistered,
my eyes felt all heavy,
if shoppers were water,
they're breaking the levee.

Busy and busy
and busier still,
But at six I'm leaving!
Believe me, I will!


So now the store's closed,
I'm free to depart,
so back to New West I fly
like Baldr's dart.

Oh yeah, it is raining
a torrent of rain,
I tell ya, these storms
have become quite a pain.

But home I arrive
just in time to have dinner,
With all my step-family . . .
. . . this family's a keeper!

So two older step-bros,
like uncle's they're aged,
hard smokers and drinkers
but joyful, I gauged.

And also I have
two step-sisters-in-law,
oh wow, what a mouthful
that title is, haw haw . . .

And then there's the young
sixteen year old step-niece,
(how twisted is this
that I now have a niece?)

But yeah, she is cool
and we'll all get 'long fine,
(she has a cool accent,
way cooler than mine)

So down in the basement
the three of us chilled,
myself and my brother
and step-niece, time killed.


Time 'til what, I wonder
well, this point remains:
step-niece and mother
have "flip" in their veins.

So yeah, for the third time
this year all alone,
I'll be off to church . . .
I know, whoda known?

But fiiiirst, an old matter
must care of be taken,
Ochibi-chan's present's
contents must awaken!

Midnight for mountains,
it's Christmas for her!
So now it's official
to open that thing that she's held off on opening until now.

(It's late, I'm tired)

And thankful for all,
she loved all the bits
and the shirt and the photos,
good she's happy, it's.


And then off we all went
to the midnight mass,
where all of that memory
came out in class.

I know that I still have
some questions of faith,
but those can hold off
'til the seventh or eighth.

But hey, there are worse ways
to spend a late night,
so whatever, together
we saw a neat sight.


Now fin'lly I'm home
and I'm writing this rhyme,
so let's wrap this up
like I do every time . . .



The prior years past
I would go name by name
throughout all my best friends
of myOtaku fame.

But now I'm afraid
I might miss someone good,
that's something to avoid
if something I Should.

So this year let's change up
the themage a bit,
it might take a while
so by means, take a sit . . .


I know of some folks
who despise all this season,
though to be quite fair
they have many a reason.

Like how people tell you
to be nice to others,
like rest of the year
we are assholes by druthers.

Or how despite saying
it's all for good will,
but really it's for
having money to swill.

Ultimately, yeah,
it makes me lose money,
but when gifts arrive
I find faces turn sunny.

A smile's all it'd take
to get me to get spendy,
(I promise, when I've bills
I'll start to get thrifty!)

This year I sent out
some gifts to some friends,
to keep us connected
when distance extends.


So that's what I see
around this Christmas season,
to keep all our thoughts
with each other as reason.

I love you all tons,
beliefs though they differ,
and Christmas or not
I'd not give you the swiffer.

Love it or hate it,
here we are this day,
and want it or not
my wishes to you stay.

As often I say,
things change given time,
something you should know
with or without this rhyme.


I'm rambling now,
my points not in order,
I'm sorry this year's poem's
boringness crossed the border.

Believe me, it's late
and I've few ideas left,
I'd best wrap this up
'fore I leave you bereft.

So yeah, the best wishes
all over the earth,
I wish you all cheer,
love, joy, good luck and mirth.

To sum it up nicely
right now 'fore I go . . .
Merry Christmas, much love,
from SomeGuy of myO.



This year's poem sucks more than before. But hey, it's not what the actual words are; it's what the REAL meaning behind them is all about. In this way, I'd like to think that's what the real truth of the holidays are: they're wrapped up in shiny, expensive commercialized ribbons . . . . . but we CAN see them, if we want to, to mean all the stuff that the holidays are really about. Family, togetherness, and well wishes for all of us to all of us.


Meri Kurisumasu, minna-san!
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Sunday, December 24, 2006

   Cream Filling & Nougat: Half-Julkalender (Epilogue)
[I know, I could've ended it where it was. What can I say, I like epilogues that wrap everything up all nice and tidy-like . . . heh, this will probably ruin me one day . . .]


Those same weeks 'fore Christmas,
three/four hours flew,
No one felt like eating
since all felt quite blue.

I kept the bird warm
in the oven set low,
the rest I wrapped up,
t'was such a shame, I know.

But Sellie arrived
though extremely distraught,
as those boy felt her presence'd
be best here than not.

I put on a pot
of fresh coffee for us,
If we weren't gonna eat
then we'd best stay warm, thus.

It's quite safe to say
that my party had failed,
When children are lost
all your fun gets derailed.


But thanks be to those two
amazing ol' guys,
they called and explained that
they've leads to the prize!

Sellie felt better
that now there's a chance,
and finding young Vezel
can finally advance.

I warmed up some rolls
since now hunger had crept,
and even such vigils
need fuel to be kept.

A half hour later
we got the next call,
Cream said, "put on Sellie,
this'll please her and all!"

So Sellie, she wept
tears of joy, now relieved,
while I felt pride
for those in whom I believed.

Not too much long after
they came in a whirl,
standing in my doorway
were Noug', Whip' and girl!

Again, Sellie cried,
reunited with daughter,
I'm just glad the storm
has gone down to calm water.

So off to the oven
I raced like a deer,
"it's time that we ate!"
I roared out with a cheer.

So as a quick note which
I happ'ly declare,
my turkey did not suck!
They all liked it, I swear.

But wow, those two boys,
that Nougat and Cream,
they polished off dinner
like jets leaving stream.

And Vezel, well . . . she ate
a lot for her size,
and Noug' himself joked
she's a wolf in disguise.

I think it's so great
to see those two and her
despite their just meeting
it's like old friends they were.

The night dragged on late
and those three never stopped
(they had this one game
where Whip's chest would get chopped?)

Just as I predicted,
those two made the party,
from the others who came
I'd naught heard laughs so hearty.

So all in the end
we did get to have fun,
Whip', Noug', Sellie, Vezel,
myself, everyone.

But like all good things,
the time to go struck,
and Vezel got crush-hugs
(such a kid, all the luck.)

When the rest filed out,
Cream and Noug' stayed behind
to help clean up my house
so I could fin'lly unwind.

They worked slow, and I teased
that this rate they'd not leave . . .
they said, "that was the plan, duh,"
Honest, what a plan to conceive.

But I had to work
the next morning, and so,
tidy or not
the two boys had to go.

Off from the couch
I shooed them along,
And haha, how they moved
you'd think I was quite strong!

So two more hugs later,
I'm here in my home,
just me by myself
but I'm never alone.

My parents are gone
and my sister's in prison,
but with Cream and Noug'
my new family's arisen.

They'll watch over me,
I'll watch over them,
I tell you, this city's
become such a gem.


But it's now time for bed,
to turn out all the light.
Meantimes, happy holidays,
sweetest dreams, peaceful night.


-'Mel


[And now it's Christmas Eve. Long stretch of few hours, eh? Ahh . . . this was an absolute joy to write, and I hope you all enjoyed it as well. This was a definite stylistic change from the others, where I actually gave myself a mystery to unravel instead of the boys just beating people up . . . heh, and believe me, writing a story where you have to work out the clues backwards is HARD when you're writing new chapters forwards on the spot! Ahh, good times . . .

So yeah, as the epilogue says, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, a wonderful holiday, and pleasant nights. Until next time where I will probably also try to write in the detective style (yeah, I've got one I'm hammering out in my mind right now) . . . this has been a SomeGuy story, courtesy of myOtaku. Cheers!]
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Saturday, December 23, 2006

   Cream Filling & Nougat: Half-Julkalender (Chapter X)
Cream was extremely thankful that the car was still mostly warmed up from their earlier driving around and he thrust his hands into the warm air of the dashboard air vent.
"Well, that was an exciting night," he said as he rubbed his hands together. "Vezel, are you okay back there?"
"Yup," she said, pulling Cream's trench coat back and forth over herself trying to get it in a more comfortable position.
"She could have had my jacket, you know," Nougat mentioned as he pulled away from the curb. Cream just shrugged.
"Yeah, she could have . . . but she likes me more . . . ain't that right kiddo?" Vezel just laughed and shook her head. "She probably likes 'Mel more anyways . . . let's hurry up and go there."

With the addition of Vezel, the dynamic of the car had changed and for a long while there was only the sound of the car engine.
"Hey Vezel," Nougat asked, "what radio station do you listen to?"
"Umm . . ." Vezel said. ". . . Ninety-nine point three." Both Cream and Nougat laughed lightly.
"Wow," Cream said as he turned on the radio that was already preset to the mentioned frequency, "smart and with good taste in music . . . you're gettin' cooler and cooler by the minute, you know that?" Again, Vezel just smiled.

"So tell us," Cream said, keeping their new charge from boredom, "how far back did you start planning this bus trip of yours to your dad's place?" Vezel remained quiet, opting not to answer. Cream filled the empty air. "It was mostly good, I'd say. You just gotta learn the bus routes a little better . . ." Nougat looked into the back seats through his rearview mirror; Vezel was feeling unresponsive again.

"So . . . we broke into your dad's house today," Nougat tried. Looking back into the mirror, he saw the girl's eyes wide open in surprise. "Yeah, we set off the alarm, made other cops come and everything . . ." Cream shook his head and turned around himself and saw that a thin smile had crept onto Vezel's face.
"He made me root through garbage to find something to pick the lock, too!" the younger detective added, to Vezel's amusement.
"I'll say one thing, though," Nougat said. "Your dad, Hidrato . . . he got home while we were still in the house, by the way, he didn't look happy . . . um . . ." Nougat paused to regain his train of thought while at the same time keeping the car driving straight. ". . . but yeah, he's a pretty cool guy himself. Loves the heck out of you, too . . ." Vezel's smile downgraded to a bothered smirk.
"That's why he was able to move out so fast . . ." she said sarcastically.

They came to a red light, and the detectives looked at each other knowingly.
"Did your parents ever tell you the whole story about what was going on back then?" Nougat asked.
"They said somethin' like they didn't want my life to have to change too much by what they were doing or something," she answered. The tone in her voice said more than enough, however.
"You don't buy that?" Cream asked.
"The way they said it," she explained, "it seemed like they thought only they would be affected by the divorce or something."
"Mm," Nougat replied. "Alright, I think I can fill you in on some bits, maybe."

"So," Nougat said, "how many kids do you know at school with divorced parents?"
"I don't know," Vezel answered, "I know at least three people in my class, but I'm not really friends with them."
"That's okay," Nougat assured. Cream leaned against the door, taking his turn to watch Nougat speak. "I don't know if you know this, but as much as things changed for you, things change a whole lot more for some other kids. Like, they fight in court over who the kid lives with . . . and when I say fight, I mean fight, sometimes for a really long time . . ." Nougat quickly whipped his head around to look directly at Vezel and gauge her response - she was still very attentive to what he was saying. "So yeah . . . your mom and dad didn't want you to have to go through that . . . so, your dad said it was okay with him that you live with your mom since you were already settled there, it's closer to your school . . ."
"Yeah, I know," Vezel said quietly.
"Believe me, moving away from you was probably the hardest part of it all for your dad," Nougat insisted.
"I know . . ." Vezel repeated. "I just . . . you're supposed to spend Christmas with all your family, right?"

Cream chuckled and nodded.
"I think I'm working Christmas day," he said.
"Probably me too," Nougat added. "Yeah, Whip' and I don't have a lot of family in the city, so we usually don't get to see our family during Christmas time . . ."
"That's stupid," Vezel stated bluntly.
"Very stupid," Cream agreed. "Still, with 'Mel in town, with this idiot next to me around . . ." Nougat chopped Cream across the chest again, garnering a laugh from the girl in the back seat. Cream turned around and smirked. ". . . You just find other ways to have family around."

Satisfied with the broad smile across Vezel's face, Cream turned back to the front and sat properly. Funny enough for him, he found he was no longer feeling cold in any sense.
"Y'know," Cream said to Nougat softly, "I don't think her parents realise just how bright she really is . . . they haven't stepped up the way she's ready to just yet."
"Softening the blow in explaining why the divorce happened and all that stuff?" Nougat confirmed.
"Yeah," Cream replied. "She's understanding a lot more than they might think she does . . . it's more than just the math and the reading . . . . . well okay, her reading still needs work, but . . ."
"Yeah, I get it," Nougat interrupted. "Like having all those ideas, but no vocabulary to express 'em . . . man, were you this smart when you were a seven year old?" Cream smirked again.
"If I was, nobody told me." he answered. "You?"
"Everyone said so, but I didn't believe them." Both men laughed again.

Once at another stop light, Nougat groaned and stretched his body out as best he could belted down in the carseat.
"Hey Whip', you know what else?" he asked.
"What's that?" Cream replied.
"I . . . . . . am friggin' hungry." Cream laughed harder and sank down into his seat.
"Likewise, old man, likewise . . ." he said before turning back around again. "Hey Vezel, you hung- . . ." Nestled in the corner of her seat and buried under folds of trenchcoat, Vezel was soundly sleeping. Cream lowered his voice again and turned back around.

"Just gotta find other ways to have family around . . ." Cream repeated as he leaned into the side of his own seat. As the words left his lips, he could only laugh again when he thought about how they compared to the actual dynamic of the car right then. "Alright mom," he said slyly, "hurry up and let's get our little family to 'Mel's already so we can eat."
"Yeah, sure thing, other lesbian mom," Nougat replied with a grin. Beaten, Cream shook his head and leaned back into his seat as Nougat chopped him across the chest once more.
"Fine, butch and manly lesbian mom," Cream quipped back. "You can carry Vezel in if she's still asleep . . ."


[For those of you keeping track, that last scene of a sleeping child in the back seat of the car while Cream and Nougat drive is that initial image I had had in my head for the past however long; that image was what got this idea of a holiday story going, in any case. Tomorrow: epilogue!]
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Friday, December 22, 2006

   Cream Filling & Nougat: Half-Julkalender (Chapter IX)
[Translation Note #2: "vezel" is Dutch for "fiber", which is something that makes you lose stuff - whether it's the right version of fiber or not, I couldn't say. "Selleri" is Swedish for "celery", which gives/loses fiber. "Hidrato de carbono" is Portuguese for "carbohydrates", which are good for you even though everyone has a bad impression of it these days.
And Cream's major in college was Biology, although he had Philosophy as an elective.]


As Nougat pulled up to an empty space along the curb, Cream was again ready to leap from the moving car.
"Whip', hold your ass!" Nougat commanded, intentionally braking hard to wreck the other man's timing. "Let's . . . just take this slow. She's by herself, she's not going anywhere, and you can outrun her if she does." Flopped back in his seat, Cream grinned and shook his head.
"Yeah," he said, "yeah, you're right . . . so park already so we can get over there . . ."

Cream and Nougat looked around once they left the car. As expected, the park was practically empty save for the odd jogger going along the lit path. The path itself was also fairly close to the edge of the park where it bordered the few shops and restaurants still open across the street. The two of them headed directly for the small girl, stepping through the snowy grass and Cream finding his socks slowly getting damp. Still, there she was: purple coat, shoulder-length red hair, about three and a half feet tall. It had to be her.

"Vezel?" Nougat asked as they walked closer to the young girl leaning against one of the two squat snowmen between which she was sitting. She looked up but remained silent, even backing herself up behind the one snowman to her left. "Vezel, if it's you you need to tell us . . ." The girl remained silent, staring at the detectives with cold, detached eyes.

Cream stopped walking any further and motioned for Nougat to do the same.
"We'll work from here," he said quietly under his breath. "We already interrogated her mom in her own house, broke into her dad's house . . . let's not threaten the girl herself." Nougat agreed with a nod.
"Alright Whip', your ball," he replied.

Cream squatted down into the thin snow on the opposite side of the concrete path and looked to the girl.
"Hi," he said softly, "my name's Cream. I'm . . . we're . . . friends of 'Mel's. You know 'Mel, right?" The girl remained silent, hugging closer to her snowman.

"Okay," Cream responded, "you're not talking to strangers, that's smart . . ." Cream looked up and around them as he trailed off. "You've been pretty smart here, too. I mean, parks aren't really safe at night, but you knew to keep close to a trail, under a well lit area not too far away from those restaurants across the street . . . wouldn't you agree, Noug'?"
"Absolutely," Nougat replied. The girl seemed to take the comments to heart, but kept her defenses up.
"Alright . . . you know about safe strangers, right? Like police officers? I'm sure you do . . ." With that, Cream took out his wallet and showed his badge. When he still had no major response from her, he tossed his wallet towards her. "If you think it's fake, take a look . . ." While still cautious, the girl slowly leaned forward and picked up the wallet, running her mitted hand over the shield. Neither Cream nor Nougat could tell whether she was satisfied by the evidence, but nevertheless she finally responded. Getting up, she took the wallet and placed it on the trail halfway between herself and the other two before returning to her snowmen. Cream smiled and stepped forward to pick up his wallet. "Thank you . . ."

Cream rubbed his hands together briskly.
"Let's try something new," he said. "Now I've been told a lot of things about Vezel, and she seems like a pretty neat girl. If you're Vezel, you'll know all these same things I now know . . . if I'm wrong, you can . . ." Cream looked around the area again, thinking. ". . . Oh! You can throw a snowball at me . . . I won't even dodge or anything." The girl smirked a little, but quickly hid it away again. "If you don't throw anything at me . . . oh, Nougat here will hold me in place so I can't dodge either . . ." Looking over his shoulder, he motioned for Nougat to follow through. "So if you don't thro- . . . ack!" Nougat laughed quietly as he cinched his younger partner in a full-nelson lock. Again, the girl smiled briefly.

"Like I was saying," Cream said, "if you don't throw anything at me, I'll take it that I'm right even if it's not . . . so you have to keep me honest, okay?" The girl remained silent, but she did not go away either. "Alright, let's play . . ."

"Vezel Carbono's mother's name is Selleri." The girl gathered and packed snow for a snowball but did not throw it. "Vezel's dad's name is Hidrato . . . no snow, good . . . um . . ." Cream paused, pretending to think far back into his memory for facts he was already running through his mind. "Vezel is a bright girl, does well in school, and loves to draw . . ." Cream froze for a moment when he thought she was about to throw the snowball and struggled against Nougat's arms behind his neck. Instead, she lowered her throwing arm and looked away unimpressed.

"How about this one," Cream attempted. "Vezel has been pretty upset for the past six months ever since her parents divorced." Immediately, he saw something shiver in the girl's eyes and she again withdrew closer to her snowman. "She misses having her mom and dad and herself all together like before . . . and she's always thinking about this, even when she's out playing in the snow having fun." The girl dropped the snowball and hugged the short snowman next to her as best she could with her short arms without crushing it. Nougat just rubbed his chin as he watched Cream go through all the theories he himself had more or less worked out as well by that point.

"Next . . ." Cream began, restraining his own personal excitement at making progress. ". . . Vezel knows that though she won't be able to change the divorce, she would still like everyone to be together for Christmas." Because he was talking so much, Cream couldn't help but feel a little concern over the amount of his own breath he could see floating in front of him; he pulled his coat tighter around himself. "Since she wanted everyone together, Vezel figured the first step would be to go see her dad . . . but since he or her mom didn't have the time to take her over there, Vezel figured she had to get there by herself . . . and that she would take the bus . . ."

Nougat continued staring at the curious little girl as she started responding more and more to what his partner was saying. He himself was quite excited since Cream was getting to what he felt was the good parts.
"So," Cream said, "Vezel grabbed as much change as she might have needed to pay for the bus trip and she headed out to a bus stop she knew was nearby. She remembered seeing a bus that had a route description that looked like it would go to her dad, Hidrato . . ." The girl immediately looked away, down at her hands. ". . . but Vezel read the sign wrong, didn't she? It didn't go to Hidrato. It went to Hiopat Train Station." The girl continued looking down, her red hair shining in the lamp light. "After that, Vezel got lost . . . and she got scared . . . and that's why she's now here, in this park, pretending that she's here with her family and that they'll protect her . . ."

The girl kept her head down, though now she was fidgeting with her gloves more and more. That, and the telltale shaking of her body, was more than enough information as to how she was feeling. Cream got Nougat to release the full-nelson and pulled out his cell phone, shivering slightly himself as he dialed.
"So much for not upsetting her, I guess," Nougat commented as Cream listened for an answer.

"Hello?" Cream said once someone on the other end picked up. "'Mel? Hey, it's me . . . yeah, fine . . . is Selleri over there? I need her on the phone right now . . ."

After a quiet pause with nothing but the distant traffic disturbing the air, Cream spoke quickly on the phone; soon after, he crossed the park pathway and squatted down in front of the girl.
"Vezel," he said, holding the phone out "there's someone you should talk to right now." With a nod that exposed the two lines of tears down her cheeks, Vezel stood up, clumsily took the phone in her mitts and finally spoke for the first time since the detectives had arrived.

"Hello?" Vezel said shakily before faltering backwards, knocking the top half off the snowman behind her - by now the tears were freely flowing and her voice drew softer. "Hi mommy . . . yes . . . yes, I'm okay . . ."


[I love exposition. Anyways, I'm not gonna do any more trivia here on in. Let's just wrap this girl up . . .]
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Thursday, December 21, 2006

   Cream Filling & Nougat: Half-Julkalender (Chapter VIII)
[Translation note #1: "Julkalender" is, as one might expect, the Swedish way to say "Yule/Christmas Calender". The reasoning being it was a more generic, secular way to call the story "Advent Calender" which is Christmasy and involves cardboard calenders with chocolates behind each day. The "half" comes from the fact that I have no intention of writing 24 chapters to this thing . . . I probably won't break 12 either, but meh.
And yes, Cream totally broke his leg in that first story.]


Nougat pulled the car into the small parking area next to the train station; again, Cream was out the door before Nougat could fully stop the car. Once he did shut off the engine and exit the car, Nougat noticed and quickly dismissed a sign stating a ten-minute maximum before jogging up to the other detective already in the station.

"Have you caught 'er scent yet, boy?" Nougat asked Cream in a slightly mocking manner. Cream responded by sniffing the air twice before suddenly twisting around and pretending to bite at Nougat's face. Nevertheless, grins spread over both detectives' faces.
"There's gotta be a security or transit police guy around here somewhere," Cream said, looking back and forth at the different ticket-purchase machines. "Alright, we need to head to the platform . . ."

Sure enough, there were a pair of transit personnel standing at the top of the escalator, checking for fares. Both Cream and Nougat drew their wallets as they neared the top.
"Tickets," the closest man requested. At once, the two detectives opened their wallets and flashed their badges.
"We don't actually wanna ride," Cream said. "Not yet, anyway . . ."

After an extremely brief introduction, Cream and Nougat moved aside so as to not block anyone else coming up the escalator to the train platform before they began questioning the two slightly surprised transit officials.
"We wanna know if you saw a little girl here maybe an hour, hour and a half ago," Nougat said. "Seven years old, purple coat, red hair . . . would have been by herself . . ." As Nougat spoke the words, Cream was already having doubts. They had no idea if she had boarded a train or not, and the transit officials would have mostly been standing on the platform or riding trains back and forth from different stations the whole time.

"Sorry," the official said regrettably, "I only started watching this station about twenty minutes ago." The other official nodded along in a similar manner. Cream and Nougat, hiding their understanding disappointment, thanked the two and hurried back down off the platform.

"Alright," Nougat said, stepping off the last bit of stairs, "they didn't see the girl . . . who could have?" Again, Nougat scanned back and forth across the train station; Cream scanned upwards this time.
"Question," he proposed.
"Huh?"
"How feasible would it be for us to get a viewing of security tape?" Nougat looked upwards at the camera Cream was pointing at.
"It'd take a buttload of time," Nougat figured, "but if we can contact someone from transit, maybe . . ." Cream snickered.
"Oh yeah, they love my compellingness now."

With little else to go by, Cream dialed up the transit office again. Nougat, meanwhile, exited the station, looking around for any possible clues or any people who may have possibly seen anything.


". . . Hello, this is Detective Cream Filling of . . . yes, hi again . . . I wanted to know if you could check some video footage from Hiopat Station from about six o'clock onwards . . ."


Nougat tried to pay attention to the footprints left in whatever bits of snow were still lingering on the sidewalk and grass around the train station. Ultimately he knew it would prove useless, though, being that many people would have tread over the ground in or out of a train station, both young and old. He looked out towards all the possible directions by which someone could feasibly leave in hopes for an idea . . .


". . . Yes, she would be a seven year old girl, purple coat, red . . . it's all black and white anyways, never mind . . . . . look, she'll be coming off the one-fifty-four bus that would have arrived at about . . . yeah, maybe around six, maybe some time before six . . . whichever bus would be running at Five-thirty . . ."


Nougat eyed the street lights that headed off in either direction; one set went east, the other west. He imagined Vezel would be smart enough to not head into unlit areas, though he did concede to himself that that did not account for what other potential people could have taken her . . . deciding to check the two directions later, Nougat made his way towards the bus loop around to the side of the station. In his mind, if she got lost coming on a bus, she'd consider taking a bus to get back home . . .


"Yes, I understand that you don't have a camera watching where the buses drop people off . . . but please, this girl could be in trouble. Can you . . . yes, I would appreciate that . . ."


Nougat did not see anyone matching his description near the bus loop. Going by their last clue, he checked all the stops for where they were going . . .


". . . is she alone walking around? Okay . . . so how often does she come back and forth? The sooner . . . . well, I'll have to wait, I don't have much choice . . ."


With little else to do, he simply started asking people waiting for the buses.
"Excuse me," he said to the six people sitting at the covered bench, "did any of you see a little girl, purple coat, red hair . . ."


". . . so that seems like the last time she comes on tape . . . no, that's fine . . . actually, that's really good, thank you . . . . ."


"You did?!" Nougat exclaimed.
"Yeah," an elderly woman confirmed. "I had just missed the first bus, and I saw her walking towards the park, that way." Nougat tracked her finger eastwards. "I remember I just thought it so strange to see such a small girl by herself . . ."
"And how long ago was that?" Nougat asked.
"Oh, that I couldn't say," the woman answered, "I didn't bring a watch today . . . but my bus runs every half hour, and with the delays because of snow . . ."
"Well thank you . . ."

Nougat charged back into the station just as Cream hung up his phone.
"I know where she headed," the older detective said emphatically.
"And I know when she probably left," the other returned.
"Eastbound."
"Forty-five minutes ago."
"Damn, that's a pretty big berth . . . how far can seven year olds walk in forty-five minutes?"
"Let's find out . . ."

The two of them dashed back to the car and blasted out to the open street. Cream kept his eyes against the window, scanning for any hint of Vezel.
"I know a normal person can walk the entire width of downtown in 45 minutes," Nougat muttered after a minute of speeding. "This could be a real pain, especially if she . . ."

"Stop!" Cream shouted, causing Nougat to brake hard, causing their seatbelts to dig hard into their chests.
"What?" Nougat said.
"Snowmen . . ." Cream answered, pointing further into the park.

Inside the park, just off a brick walkway lined with old-fashioned street lamps, stood two relatively short snowmen just inside a crude, low wall also made of snow.

Sitting on the snow-covered ground, nested between the two snowmen, was a small girl in a purple coat with red hair.


[I hope I didn't cheat this too much . . . yeah, I'll be honest, I just wanted them to hurry up and get to the park. Sorry.
Cream Filling & Nougat Trivia: harder question . . . what was Cream's major in college?]
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