Encantober Day 4: Head Pats
Alejandro would have died if he wasn't already dead.
Bruno Madrigal was alive . He wasn’t dead. He wasn’t missing. He hadn’t run away. In fact, if he was interpreting the state of the room correctly, with its myriad collection of photos and worn clothes hanging to dry and dishes and knickknacks - Bruno had never left .
Alejandro would have liked to stagger backwards, gasp, and feel his racing heart beneath his palm at such a revelation.
Unfortunately having an ethereal form did not allow for such dramatics, so he simply floated there, with his ghostly mouth hanging wide open, gaping at the ragged man who paced nervously between a wooden wall - where a crack of light illuminated the darkness - and a worn armchair.
The rats Alejandro had followed into the room were squeaking, lifting the arepa they’d snatched from the kitchen to the man with his hands in his hair, muttering something over and over.
Bruno stopped for a moment when he saw them. He muttered a halfhearted gracias, took the arepa, patted the little rodent on his head, and continued pacing.
The rat that had received the head pat seemed to preen, turning to his compatriots with an almost smug look on his whiskered face.
The other rats squeaked in response, one turning her back on the others and beginning to groom herself, the other shaking his head and gesturing with his paw.
Alejandro followed the rodent’s movement back toward Bruno. He was holding the arepa, but he hadn't eaten it. He was still pacing back and forth, muttering quietly under his breath.
(Finish reading on AO3 here)
