Whumpee looks back on his first few weeks with caretaker with a new perspective now, the weeks he had spent solving puzzles that weren’t there, playing mind games that only existed in his own.
In hindsight, things made more sense. He smiled wryly at the thought of ever being scared of caretaker, so clean cut and care worn in their sweaters and pajamas.
He felt guilty, in flashes, that he must have made things even more difficult by being so suspicious. How can you fix someone who thinks you’re trying to break them?
But along with the guilt always came a surge of gratitude, because they did. They did help fix him, and now he was able to see it.
All the pain killers were actually just pain killers, every kindness just a kindness, dinners at the table were just dinner, not some grand plan to pick him apart and break what little spirit he had left.
Through it all, Caretaker had kept steady, and even now, as they stood side by side, they reach out a gloved hand for him. He took it, and they gave it a gentle squeeze.
Caretaker had known (or learned) what it would take for him to feel safe. Their house became full of little nooks and nests, blankets tucked into every hidden corner because if he was going to hide, they wanted him to be warm. Baskets of snacks appeared in different rooms, Caretaker telling him in no uncertain terms that they were for him if he wanted, whenever. Caretaker started wearing their keys on their belt, like a cat with a bell, so he never worried about being snuck up on.
He had seen these things in a very different light before, but now, the thought almost made him tear up.
Yes, Caretaker had been very, very gentle with him. They had had the patience of a saint, and the attention to detail of an anthropologist, had watched and learned and applied everything to make sure he would feel safe again. After all, that was why they were here, wasn’t it?
Looking down into whumpers coffin, the soft white lining was a jarring contrast to its greyish mottled skin. The undertaker had done their best but he could see how the jaw was set just a little out of place, the nose crooked and the splotches of heavy makeup in patches over its face. He hadn’t thought of whumper as “human” in a long time, and even now, it looked more like a beast to him.
Caretaker looked over, checking in, and he smiled. So did they. It was all so much easier to see now, after the fact.
The same intelligence and compassion that had fixed him had led Caretaker to whumpers door, the same hands that had bandaged his cuts and bruises had wrought their own, and the same patience and attention had made sure that no one would ever be any the wiser to what had actually happened in that house that night.