06-29-2015, 07:29 PM
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I'LL SAY "YOU HAVEN'T MET ME, I AM THE ONLY SON." Munroe floated on a dark, thunderous cloud of hopelessness and despair. Maybe this garbage can was really where he belonged. He always seemed to cause problems wherever he remained. His birthmother hadn’t wanted him and then his first adoption had ended up in disaster. She had been torn apart by wolves and he had been left to starve in the blustery embrace of winter. Then along came Ima and she had rescued him from his fate. But even that wasn’t to last either. He had been lost in a freak sandstorm for what seemed like decades. He had persevered and he had finally been reunited. Only to be cruelly taken away and thrust into an awful world. He had been humiliated, tortured, degraded, and finally abandoned. He was nothing. His rumbling thunderstorm of thoughts is then struck down with a sudden ray of sunlight. Rough hands reached down and gently cradled his aching, battered body between them. Soft, crooning words soothed his injured soul. “She really did a number on you, huh, little one? I’ll see what I can do to put you back together. Or…well, barring that, at least turn you into something beautiful again.” He was then placed in a bag of some sort and darkness surrounded him. Though he remained in the darkness for several hours, he was finally able to put both his mind and body to rest. Munroe fell into a dreamless slumber at last. His healing sleep is interrupted when brilliant rays of light suddenly opened up from above and those same hands revealed to him a clustered yet organized workroom. He is carefully placed onto the table which allowed him to finally observe his rescuer. She appears to be honest and hard-working at first glance. Her uniform is scuffed and wrinkled in places, dirty and dusty in others. Although she is grossly tired from her long day of work, she still intended to gift her beloved daughter with a brand new toy to shelter and love. Munroe immediately feels as if she shares the same spirit as Ima. She was a mother who would sacrifice and who would give all of herself to her children. “Now let’s make you really shine, dear.” She was relatively familiar with all the different ways that Princess Nerissa liked to torture her toys with. As a result, she had the majority of all the supplies she needed on hand to begin his process of beautifying. The stranger pulled out a small bottle of tea tree oil and began to vigorously apply it to the spots where the horrid little girl had failed at covering up his lovely seafoam green color. This was the best way she had found in removing especially stubborn permanent marker stains. She then proceeded to wipe him down with a soft cloth, making sure to remove all traces of both the marker and the oil. She needed a dry surface for the next step of his makeover. Munroe found the eucalyptus smelling oil quite soothing and he began to relax. He still contained lingering fears from his previous experience with a human, but he was beginning to realize that perhaps not all were the same. He still didn’t particularly enjoy being handled; he could trust this stranger with her weathered hands and calming voice. She grabbed another bottle, this time it was Surehold Plastic Surgery, which was basically super glue perfect for plastics. She began applying it across each of the tooth holes that Georgette had left and the gashes from the mishandled scissors in his torso. While she waited for the glue to dry, she gently twisted his head back into its proper place. Almost instantly, that twisted, sharp ache had been released with gentle pressure much like how a chiropractor would relieve someone’s crank in a neck. Munroe could have kissed this stranger in relief and he avoided intimacy with most others. He was simply that overwhelmed with blissful release. It didn’t take long for the glue to dry since it had been applied in relatively thin layers to begin with. She began to gentle sandpaper the affected areas gently, smoothing them down to where they appeared even with his original skin. This process was rather irritatingly ticklish to him and he struggled within his frozen state to escape from the odd sensation. But, of course, it was all in vain as he remained within his plastic prison of nonexistent movement. “All right, dear. Let’s try and match your lovely hair color.” Princess Nerissa was notorious for shearing any toy that had hair which prompted the stranger into learning how to essentially put weaves back onto the various broken dolls she had rescued. She carefully selected several azure blue and black pieces and she began to thread them back on both his mane and tail. As these were mostly used for dolls, the pieces were relatively wavy and softly curled. His hair would appear vastly different from his originally unkempt and wild state. To further cover up his various blemishes and cuts, she decided to hand paint various designs upon his body. The sandpapering would help the paint grab onto his smooth plastic body. She began to paint thin layers of blue and black in whimsical swirls and lines. The stranger had no particular theme in mind; she merely painted what she felt would look exotic and fascinating. The designs would ultimately match the azure blue paper mache wings she had prepared earlier and sealed with a waterproofing material. As she waited for his paint to dry, she began to gather the wings and the glue once again to her side. The wings were a brilliant blue with matching swirls across them. They had been crafted of chicken wire and paper mache. The stranger then carefully applied a clear coat to all of his designs so that the paint wouldn’t be ruined. The final step consisted of carefully gluing each wing to his back. She would leave them overnight before giving the newly restored toy to her daughter. Munroe was left in a dark room with the strangest weight upon his back. He wondered if this was how Ima felt every day with her big, wondrous golden wings. He decided there was nothing else for him to do than to try and conserve his strength and get as much rest as possible. He’d had quite the grueling day after all. He was jolted awake with a delighted squeal. His eyes met matching hazel ones and he gazed at her with almost dreaded curiosity. He prayed that he was not about to experience another Princess Nerissa. But this little girl seemed to regard him with true delight and she took him with hands that held with him with careful regard. In fact, he barely felt the exchanging of hands. “Oh momma, I love him!” Lena’s mother remained amused that despite the toy’s bright coloring and fanciful wings, her daughter automatically assigned the gender of boy to the pegasus. But she wouldn’t point out this observation to her thrilled daughter. Lena cradled Munroe in her arms as she rushed to her bedroom. She softly placed him on the floor beside her in a standing position and began to hold a one-sided conversation with him. Lena accompanied all of her words with gentle touches and brushing her fingers through his hair and petting him as if he truly was a treasure. Munroe was instantly reminded of Ima and her warm affectionate touches which always made him feel like he lived in a cocoon of love and happiness. Lena was on a whole different level when compared to Nerissa. If he was going to remain stuck in this world, he would rather it be accompanying this wonderful little girl. “Momma said fairies can grant wishes. And since you have such pretty wings, that must mean you’re a fairy, right? Well, can I wish for just one friend? The only one around here is Nerissa and she’s so mean to me. Maybe I’ll wish for Nerissa to be happy instead. That would make her be nicer to me, I bet!” Munroe is honestly astonished at just how lovely and pure of heart Lena truly was. But he sympathized with her as well. He hadn’t ever been good at meeting others. He tended to remain withdrawn and almost standoffish. It was difficult for him to open up and trust. He really only ever let go when Ima was around. Their bonding session ended when Lena’s mother ordered her to play outside for just a little while. Lena avoided the outdoors like a plague. She always managed to run into Nerissa and had an all-around unpleasant experience. She much preferred to stay inside her room where it remained nice and safe. But her mother always wanted her to get some fresh air even if it was only for an hour or two. Lena and Munroe went outside reluctantly and nervously. She held him close within her arms and she quietly made her way to the back garden of the main house. It was one of her favorite places to play outside because Nerissa tended to remain close to the house. They both sigh in relief as they reach their destination with no unhappy surprises. The garden was based on an English garden design. There was a small pavilion covered in ivy tucked into a corner where two sand-colored stone walls met. Of course, there were plenty of flowers such as roses, irises, forget-me-nots, geraniums, poppies, and marigolds intermingled with various herbs such as lavender, basil, sage, and rosemary. There were also a couple of fig trees strategically placed throughout the garden to offer shade over the stone benches placed beneath them for weary people to rest upon. It was a charmingly inviting place for anyone to spend time in. Lena joyfully followed the multiple butterflies fluttering about, happily exclaiming that some of them matched his own wings. They also both enjoyed watching the honey bees buzz about. Multitudes of bird song filled the air and Lena even attempted mimicking some of them much to Munroe’s amusement. But the midday was becoming much too hot for the both of them and Lena was ready for lunch. But Lena had let her guard fall. They were almost home-free when someone suddenly rushed at Lena from behind one of the stone walls lining the walk home and pushed her down hard. Munroe practically vibrated with a ferocious anger at the blatant force used upon her. Lena knew with dread exactly who would have the gall to push her down as it was a favorite pastime of hers. Both sets of hazel eyes gazed up at Nerissa in absolute horror. What were once maliciously gleeful blue eyes now stared down at Munroe with outrage. He knew they were in for it now. MUNROE -- and now I am sure my heart can never be still |