Reuben Short Story pt 1 (Patreon)

The treetops rustle against a grey, solemn sky. The modest crowd of what were essentially strangers began dispersing. They all walked in the same general direction the amoeba that was slowly broken apart by the errant tombstones, like a morbid pachinko machine. All that remained at their initial gathering was the slouching figure of Seth, who was in no particular rush to go anywhere. He wasn't particularly saddened by the event he was attending, he barely knew them, as previously implied, he barely knew anyone there, and they certainly didn't know them. He was there out of obligation.

To many, attending a funeral was a "bummer." but considering the circumstances, to Seth it was an excuse to call out from work, and enjoy a well-maintained, macabre park. Seth always felt at ease in cemeteries, but he dared not communicate that notion. He knew it would be met with rolled eyes, some light jeering, perhaps. The lanky mid-twenty-something had a reputation for being a bit of a poser. At least he thought he was, not that he had a social circle that could designate him as such, but he knew... He knew IF people knew him, they would see him for the fraud he truly was.

Wait a moment, the purpose of this excursion, besides obligation, was to get away from all that. "That" being the inside of his own gloomy skull. Enjoy a peaceful day, in a peaceful place. Seth's tattered shoes began to move beneath him, slowly shuttling his body through the enchantingly solemn environment. It was a relatively new graveyard, as all graveyards were on this colony. It was less rustic than the spooky cemeteries one might see in movies. However, it still had character. Headstones were placed seemingly at random, the first lucky members of their family's plots. Sunlight occasionally broke through the overcast, those solid beams then broken by the trees, speckling the grass and stone with sunshine.

Seth's eyes followed the dancing flakes solar radiation until they came to the most unusual sight. On one of the stone benches, under a gnarled tree sat a peculiar individual. "Peculiar" in relative terms. This colony floating in space was home to many strange and wonderful lifeforms. Seth's Work-spouse was a five-armed, three-headed Grombulon from the planet Gruss, they were an expert at stocking the shelves and made a mean Squorchly Casserole. No, the individual Seth was looking at was unusual for human standards.

They were sitting on the bench, peacefully writing into a small notebook. Seth could make out this beautiful stranger's long eyelashes twitching as their eyes flickered across the page. Brilliant, silky smooth red hair cascaded from this creature's head, It was neatly maintained, but slightly disheveled by the light breeze. Seth followed an errant lock, running down the stranger's elegant, swan-like neck, until his eyes came to rest at the impressively sculpted musculature of this person. Incredibly toned, but lean, some might describe it as"wiry," Seth was finding it difficult to use words at all.

"Hello."

Seth jumped as the stranger spoke, how long had he been gawking!?

"U-um, Hello!" Seth stammered as he adjusted his freshly disheveled glasses. Once he could see again, has taken aback by the face looking at him. It was chalk white, with a cherry red nose, red from the tip, all the way up their impressive bridge, stopping at the cornerstone between their eyes. But the most striking feature at all, was their gorgeous eyes. Purple irises shot out form the shadow cast by their immaculately trimmed bangs. Seth wasn't particularly good with read expressions, but he could not for the life of him interpret what those supernatural Purple Peepers meant to communicate towards him. Thankfully the stranger's Ravenfeather black lips picked up the slack.

"Are you feeling all right, dear?" Their voice was incredibly smooth.

"Oh! I'm f-fine! Just was at a funeral! You know how those goes!" Seth's word's rapidly exited his mouth in a disorganized manner.

"I see..." the Stranger started, with great solemnity. The wind paused, as if waiting for them to continue, all was silent, save for a the sounds of nature, "...death can bring great sorrow. As all things begin, all things must also end..." They trailed off, turned their head to the side, and gazed into the distance... "But life... like this flower" They produced a small wildflower, seemingly out of nowhere, "...is beautiful because it's existence too, is brief..." They twisted their fingers around the stem, causing the poetic plant to propeller itself through the air. Rather than gracefully disappear into the ether, it flew back into the stranger's hair, landing clumsily, they're melodramatic demeanor unwavering.

Seth's face fell, Having witnessed that unironic display, this seemingly captivating may have been a common idiot. But before he could formulate a reason the leave, the stranger had risen. "wow, they're tall..." Seth thought, as they towered over him. The stranger took his hand, bowed, and kissed it, much in the way a knight would kiss the hand of a princess... in a movie or something. But Seth was no princess, as far as he knew, the flushing of his cheeks suggested that he may have been some sort of tomato. He was already not the most socially graceful, but he completely lacked the tools to handle this exact scenario.

"My name is Reuben," said presumably Reuben," It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." His intense, but kind eyes looked down, and seemingly into Seth, who could barely manage to cobble together, "Uhhhh, right back at you..." as a response. His hand was still in the stranger's hand. The world felt still, the surreal nature of this moment made Seth feel like he was dreaming. Who was this embarrassingly earnest stranger? Why have they seemingly taken an interest in him?