P2: Chapter Seventeen

TifTwo

The cart was the same, with its load of barrels and dull wood slats. The arrows that set his path were comfortable, familiar. The quiet was different. It wasn't silent, the cart groaned and squeaked, the wind moved the leaves and birds flitted and sang from the treetops. The true difference was the absence of the goblin.

This was his third circuit without the goblin, TifTwo was finding that he preferred the arrows way over the goblin. If he followed the arrows he was given the drink, no more whining, no more verbal abuse. The arrows set no speed, yet TifTwo found himself compelled to keep moving forward pushing the cart to reach the next arrow.

The sound of fighting slowed him. The fight came into view as TifTwo neared the river, bringing him to a complete stop. The stop was necessary as the mallee seemed to be of the possession of the bridge. The arrows that led him showed comprehension of the situation by disappearing, TifTwo appreciated the break, however, short it may be. It wasn’t that he was tired out by pushing the cart, he just liked not having anything to do. Absently watching the fight, TifTwo leaned against the cart and picked his nose.

While traveling his delivery route, TifTwo had noticed that in one place every principle wore all red while in another they all wore blue. At first, he thought that this was a battle between supporters of these two colors, a second and third look confirmed that this was not the case. The color facing the red principles was green, not blue.

This was sad.

TifTwo was not sure why this made him sad, but he was now sad. From deep in his memory, a face surfaced. A face he knew. The face had worn blue. Now watching the principles dressed in green and red fight it out, he knew there would be no blue, no face. He sighed deeply, he knew why he was sad. He missed the face.

The smell of mint.

A fight for a bridge played out before him. Defending the far bank of the river two principles dressed in green faced three assaulting principles in red. Almost immediately the number of red was reduced by one as a hidden sniper with a bow made itself known by picking off a small principle perched on the shoulder of another. This acted as the catalyst for the fight, a cloud of smoke moved over the battle, when it cleared all the principle wearing red were down and those in green were walking away. With the bridge clear the arrows reappeared leading TifTwo across the bridge.

Once on the far bank, the arrows led TifTwo to the door of the bigger of the two towers watching the river. Now two arrows pointed to two of the barrels in the cart, two others pointed to the ground next to the door indicating where to put the two barrels. As he placed the second one in its indicated space, a door opened and a principle stepped out.

“Hi, there! Wow, you make that look so easy.” The principle called out, clearly addressing TifTwo, who didn’t acknowledge the greeting instead getting back behind his cart. “Oh come on, take a break. Come in and join us for a cup.” If he was tempted TifTwo gave no indication, he put his back into a push to get the cart going. “Oh, okay maybe next time.” This final statement was offered up to TifTwo’s receding back.

TifTwo was tempted because as he pushed the cart forward he thought about the next cup waiting for him after one more delivery. Maybe this thought drove him forward faster or maybe having something to think about helped pass the time. Whatever the reason it felt like mere moments had passed before the wheels of the cart were on the next bridge.

Cresting the bridge TifTwo saw a principle emerging from a hut on the far bank. Thinking, or more accurately Hoping, that this principle might have the face that haunted his scattered memories. When he was close enough to see that it was, his hands slipped off the cart just as the gravity of the downward arch of the bridge took hold. By the time he had caught the runaway cart it had rumbled off the bridge and a short distance down the path. When he reached it he immediately began pushing it, chasing the purple arrows.            

He was intentionally not looking at the principle yet he could sense her, almost fell her keeping pace with him. She had to almost run to keep up. He slowed down so that she could walk.  She continued matching his pace, slowing down while breathing heavily, clearly winded.

“Thanks.” she said after catching her breath.

TifTwo didn’t reply, he wasn’t sure if he could if he tried. Out of curiosity, he tried, finding that he had been right. He was unable to make a sound. The walked like this for a little while, though he never looked directly at her, she burned like a beacon in his peripheral vision.

She broke the silence, “it is You, right?”

A question that had no answer. TifTwo didn’t know who he was. He was a gorilla now before he had been a gnome. Nothing before the gnome, No memories from before, except the face. He remembered the face. Those memories definitely came from a time before, before the gnome. That must be what she meant. He nodded.

She gasped and grabbed at his arm. “Phil! What are you doing here? Where are you? I have so many questions.”

But he had no answers, who was Phil. All he could do was shrug.

“You can’t speak, but you can nod yes or no, right?”

TifTwo thought for a bit, they walked in silence. The fear that if he acknowledged this, he would lose his memory again and would to lose everything. Though he was afraid, the small part of his mind from before the gnome told him the reward might outweigh the risk. He nodded

“Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. This won’t be the first conversation where I’ve done all the talking.I’m just joking. Oh, I’m terrible, I’m sorry sweetheart. Okay, I just have to ask the right questions, the right yes or no questions. I can do this, I have to do this. But before we do this I need you to hug me. No really stop your cart and huge me.”

A feeling was building up in TifTwo, he had no name for this feeling so he labeled it fear. He stopped the cart anyways. She was in his arms before he had stepped from the cart. He gently closed his arms around her. With her face pressed against his chest, things felt right. For the first time. Something shifted, moved, broke in his mind. Memories flooded him, memories about the face and the women, body, women behind the face. He remembered a life with the face.

The smell of mint.