Are We Human?

by dramatic_spoon

Might as well have a good time

Rachael was having a great day.

It started early: Her mother had made waffles that morning. Unfortunately, they weren’t the home-made apple waffles that dad and Great-Granny Anna would make some time, just the frozen kind.

But waffles were waffles and Rachael loved waffles. Mom was distracted over something, so she was able to douse them in maple syrup. Dad still saw her though.

“…You sure you got enough waffles to go with th’ syrup?” he had jokingly asked.

“James, you’re suppose to keep an eye on her,” Mom scolded him, “Rachael, that’s too much, put some of it on your father’s.”

Even though mom had said that, as soon as she turned her back, dad shook his head, “Eat up. You’re gonna be late.”

School went the way it usually did. Mrs. Baker-Lee went over all the homework. As usually Sylvia got it all right, Hawk forgot to do it, Liliana fell asleep in class, Petey forgot how to do it, and Brad just sat in the back.

Lunch was leftover fried chicken, corn bread and two apples. Grandma Annie made the cornbread, so it was even better.

“How can you eat the same thing every day?” Sylvia had asked while they watched Liliana and Hawk try to hit one another with the teeterball.

“I like apples.” She had responded, while taking a bite out of one.

“Yeah, but…” Sylvia trailed off as Liliana smashed the teeterball into Hawk’s face.

“HAH!” the other girl stuck her tongue out. Hawk rubbed his nose and ran his tongue across his teeth.

“You knocked my tooth out!” Hawk yelled back, an obvious gap between his front teeth.

“Serves you right, gap-tooth.” Liliana grinned back, revealing her own missing teeth.

“Look who’s talking, Cave-mouth.” Hawk countered.

Liliana frowned and flung herself at Hawk, and began wrestling with him. Sylvia and Rachael watched as the two continued to fight.

“Am I getting my mom, or are you?” Sylvia asked.

“Not me,” Rachael took another bite of her apple, “M’m sthll eatin’.”

The other girl rolled her eyes and ran off.
“Mooom! Lili and Hawk are fighting again!”

---

The rest of the day went by quickly.
Math, science, history and art whizzed by, without any major distractions or problems. School ended, and Lilianna and Hawk had to stay behind for detention, so the rest of them decided to go to Sugarcube Corner for a snack.
Miss Mina was supposed to be working, but she always took the time out to talk with the kids.

“…So if they fight all the time, why do they keep hanging around each other?” she had asked as she took her seat between Rachael and Brad. The three of them paused while Petey continued to eat his ice cream.

“…I dunno.” Rachael shrugged.

“I think Hawk just wants to prove he’s better than her, but she’s too stubborn to give up, therefore they keep going at it,” Brad responded.

“…Maybe.” Miss Mina shrugged, “Sometimes people like to pick on each other because they like each other.”

“…How does that work?” Sylvia asked.

“Oh, it’s simple,” Miss Mina chuckled, “Sometimes, when a boy and a girl like each other, they want to keep the other’s attention on themselves. So then they like to pick on each other, tease each other and sometimes they take it a little too far and end up in fights.”

“…So what you’re saying is that people that pick on each other really like each other.” Sylvia paused.

“Yes.”

“Does this mean that you like Umberto?” Petey asked, looking up from the empty ice cream bowl. The color drained from Mina’s face as she struggled to answer.

“Well…” The older girl trailed off as an older, plump woman with pink hair exited the kitchen, carrying a tray of baked goods.

“Wilhelmina, go help Balthazar with the cake. It’s the one that the Reynolds ordered for their anniversary.”

“Can’t he do it himself?” Mina rolled her eyes.

“His arm is still broken, and I don’t want him to drop it.”

Mina sighed and stood back up, “Alright then, kiddies, I have to go back to work.”

“I gotta go too,” Rachael pushed away from the table and grabbed her bag, “Pa wants me to do stuff on the farm for him.”

---

“Alright then, it’s an easy job for you,” Her father scratched behind his head, “Jus’ need ya t’ check th’ orchard signs t’ see which ones need a new coat’o paint.”

“Kay.”

Rachael spun around and began to skip down the path.

“An’ don’t take too long,” James called after her, “Yer mother’s makin’ goulash t’night.”

“Kay!”

Rachael continued down the pathway, checking the signs on the way. She paused at one of the signs, one that informed people that it was orchid 33, looking over the faded and chipped paint.

“I better tell Pa ‘bout it.” she muttered to herself.

Before she could start up again, she felt something bump into her leg. It wasn’t strong enough to knock her over, but it brought the girl’s attention back to earth. Looking down, Rachael’s eyes widened in surprise: a small, red furred animal that looked an awful lot like a pony sat there rubbing it’s head with a hoof before looking up. The pony-creature froze in terror as it stared at her.

Finally, Rachael broke the silence.

“Oh my gosh, it’s a pony!”

The sound of her voice shocked the pony back into action as it scrambled backwards away from her.

“No! Don’t go!” Rachael squeaked, throwing up a hand. The pony winced, but stayed where it was.

“I ain’t gonna hurt ya,” Rachael crouched down onto her knees and held out a hand. The pony cautiously continued to watch her, unmoving.

“…Ya hungry?” Rachael looked up at one of the trees and the ripe, red apples hanging on one of the lower branches. She furrowed her brow in concentration and several of the apples were engulfed in light red aura. With a flick of her wrist, the apples popped off the tree and floated down to her. Using her pointer finger to direct it, one of the apples floated over to the pony. The pony looked down at the apple and back up at Rachael as she took a bite of another apple.

“S’good.” Rachael informed her through a mouthful of apple. The pony sniffed the apple, and then took a bite of it.

Not bad, Rhapsody thought to herself, not as good as the ones we got..

Rachael finished off her apple as Rhapsody continued to eat hers.

“How did you get here?” Rachael frowned, “Aunty Jackie didn’t say anything about a pony runnin’ around, and we don’t have any baby ponies here either.”

Rhapsody continued to chew her apple as Rachael got back to her feet, “I guess I should take ya to Pa.”

The pony froze up in midchew as Rachael’s aura surrounded her. The filly struggled against the magic bubble, as it floated over to the girl. As soon as Rhapsody was in Rachael’s arms, the bubble vanished, leaving the struggling filly in her hands.

“Don’t kick so much, he ain’t gonna hurt ya.”

---

Lyra placed the heavy pot onto the dining room table and looked over the spread: cornbread, greens, beets, salad, and a few large glasses of milk.

“That ought to be enough for him.”

The door slammed open and the clunk of small boots on the wooden floor echoed into the house.

“Rachael, close the door when you come in.”

“Kay.”

Lyra winced as the door slammed shut.

“Without slamming it.”

“Sorry.” Her daughter’s voice came from the doorway to the kitchen.

“Did you wash your hands?” Lyra asked as she began to clean the dishes in the sink.

“Not yet, I gotta show Pa something.”

“Something you made at school?”

“Nuh-uh.”

Lyra looked down at her daughter. Her eyes widened in shock as Rachael held up the terrified Rhapsody.

“I found a pony in th’ orchard!” she beamed, “Can I keep her?”

“…Sweetie, are you sure that’s a pony?” Lyra nervously smiled at the terrified creature.

“It looks like a pony, so it’s gotta be one.”

“You…you said you found it in the orchard?”

“Uh-huh.”

“…So it’s dirty?” Lyra’s smile vanished.

“I dunno.”

“If it’s been wandering around outside it’s probably filthy. You’re going to take a bath first.”

“Can I keep her?”

“Absolutely not, young lady.” Lyra shook her head, “It’s a wild animal, and it could be diseased.”

“It ain’t sick,” Rachael pulled Rhapsody closer to her, “See?”

“The answer is still no.”

“I’m gonna ask Pa.” Rachael pouted. She spun around and began to head deeper into the house.

“Oh no you’re not.” Lyra snapped her fingers. A large shimmering golden bubble engulfed Rachael and Rhapsody, stopping the two in their tracks.

“I’m not going to let you trample all over the house, carrying that dirty animal.”

“But Ma!” Rachael pleaded.

“‘But Ma’ nothing.” Lyra responded, “That’s fi-”

“What’s goin’ on here?” Rachael’s father boomed as he entered. He paused looking at the scene, going from Lyra, to his daughter to the small, shivering animal in her arms.

“Your daughter brought some animal home and wants to keep it.” Lyra responded.

“What, a dog or a cat?”

“It’s a pony!” Rachael responded.

“…Where did you find it?” her father asked.

“In th’ orchard. By the thirty-third one.”

“Pass’r here.” Her father held out his hands.

“James, you can’t be serious.” Lyra stared at him in disbelief.

“I want to take a look.”

Lyra rolled her eyes, and released the bubble. Rachael ran over and held Rhapsody up for her father to see. He took her into his hands looking over the terrified filly.

“…Looks like a pony. Did she bite you?”

“Nope.”

“Well, go take a bath. I’ll take care of her.”

“Can I keep her?” Rachael repeated.

“We’ll see.”

Lyra watched her daughter run up the stairs towards the bathroom, before turning to her husband.

“‘We’ll see’? James, you can’t be serious.”

“It’s probably someone’s pet,” He replied, as he stroked Rhapsody’s mane, “Easy there lil’ one, no one’s gonna hurt ya.”

“It’s filthy.” She wrinkled her nose.

“It’s been outside, of course it is.”

“You don’t know if it has any diseases.” Lyra continued on.

“I’m takin’ her to Doc Goodall t’morrow.” James replied.

“On such short notice?”

“She does walk-in’s on Saturday. ‘Sides, she has a couple’a missin’ animal notices. I can see if she’s got anything ‘bout a pony.”

“And if it isn’t someone’s pet?” Lyra continued on, “Then what?”

“Well, we were talkin’ ‘bout getting’ her a dog or a cat.” James shrugged, “If this lil’ fella’s healthy and she ain’t a missin’ pet, I don’t see why not.”

“‘If’. That’s the important bit.”

“Eeyup.”

“Where do you plan on leaving it for the night?” Lyra changed the subject, “I’m not letting you keep that inside the house.”

“I think we got Winona’s ol’ carryin’ case in th’ garage. Get a coupl’a ol’ towels, maybe an ol’ blanket and let her sleep in the garage.”

“You don’t even know if she’s housebroken.” Lyra wrinkled her nose.

“We got plenty of newspapers for a reason,” James chuckled, “You go take care of Rachael, and I’ll get this little one settled in.”

The big man carried Rhapsody through the kitchen and into another pitchblack room. With the flick of a switch, lights popped on, illuminating the garage and massive, strange machines stared back at Rhapsody. James placed the foal down as he walked over and yanked out a large, plastic box-like object.

“Here it is. Bit dusty, but can’t help it.” James placed it on the ground and yanked a few old, stained towels off a shelf, stuffing them into the cage. He then pulled an old dog collar and length of cord off the shelf as well and walked back over to Rhapsody.

“Sorry, can’t have you sneakin’ around and makin’ a mess.” He apologized as he fastened the collar around her neck and tied one end of the cord to the collar and the other end to the leg heavy-looking shelf. He dragged the plastic carrying case over to the shelf.

“That’s where you sleep,” he pointed to the box and towels. He vanished back into the house leaving the filly alone for several moments. Rhapsody tugged at the cord and collar, and tried to chew on it, seeing if she could break it. James returned carrying a handful of newspapers; he caught Rhapsody still gnawing on the rope.

“Don’t do that, lil’ one. You’re probably wear out your teeth before you break it.” James quickly began to spread the newspaper out over one spot near the plastic box.
“This is where you can do your business,” he motioned towards the newspaper covered spot, before pausing, “although I don’t think you can understand what I’m sayin’.”

Finishing his task, he went back to the door.

“Give me a little bit, I’ll get you some food and water. I reckon hay will be alright, might see if we got any vegetables we can spare for you,” James paused at the light switch, “…I guess I oughta leave it on for now.”

The door closed behind him, leaving Rhapsody alone. The filly looked around the garage, and tugged at the collar before trotting into the box and burying herself under the blankets.

Finally alone, Rhapsody began to softly sob.

“I wanna go home.”

Comments

[dramatic_spoon]

And things get weirder and weirder.

I think some of the names are pretty obvious and carry-overs from A Bushel of Apples.

Liliana is Lighting Gem's counterpart. I wanted her to have a really feminine sounding name to contrast her personality.

Hawk is Tomahawk. It's short for Hawkins, though.

Petey is Party Popper.

Sylvia is Slide Rule.

Brad is obviously Flash Bulb. this also makes him Brad Jr. for obvious reasons.

Balthazar and Wilhelmina are Pound and Pumpkin Cake. I probably should have gone for "P" Names to keep their theme, but I liked the idea of the Cakes giving their kids really weird, old fashion names.
When was the last time you heard of someone named Wilhelmina? Outside of Dracula? or Indiana Jones?
Same with Balthazar.

[wyrdsmith]

And curiouser and curiouser.

I think I would have gone with Troy and Gordie for Pound and Pumpkin. Troy, for Troy ounces which are used for measuring the weight of gold and Gordie because pumpkins are gourds.

[Kraid]

I know someone named Balthazar. Though he is also Balthazar the 3rd