It was rainy that day. Everyone at the concert dispersed quickly after Chomby’s farewell. Chomby expected this. If he wasn’t in his outfit, he wouldn’t have minded the rain himself, but he was doing like what everyone else was doing – getting out of the rain.

He quickly grabbed all his equipment and dragged it under the covered hallway nearby. He asked the venue staff for some towels. They provided him with some with no questions asked. One of the staff members, named Kelsey, helped him with drying his equipment. She was wearing a short-sleeved, white button up shirt and a black tie to complement it.

Chomby noticed this and tried to make conversation while he was wrapping up one of his microphones. “Uh, I like your tie. It looks good on you.”

“It’s just our uniform,” Kelsey sighed. “Thanks, though.”

“Oh, uh, sorry.” Chomby put the microphone away and began wiping down his laptop. He did his best to make sure it didn’t get wet, but he wanted to make sure that it was dry.

“It’s all good. No need to apologize.” Kelsey chuckled. “I liked your performance. That song about missing a piece of you really hit home for me. Can I get it online?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s a part of my new album, ‘Remembering Nothing’.” Chomby’s frown deepened. “The song’s called, ‘Maybe we’ll be together again’.”

Kelsey stopped wiping down a tote tray and looked up at Chomby. “That personal experience? Who’s your friend you’re missing?”

“It’s… hard to explain.” Chomby began wiping down his controller. “I can give you a code for a free download of the song, by the way. New, special promotion for the album itself.” Chomby looked up. “Got a phone that can scan a QR code?”

“Eh, it’s low on batteries.” Kelsey shrugged. “But, is the subject too much to talk about? I’m sorry for prying.”

“No, no!” Chomby shook his head. “It’s just really hard to explain in a way that makes sense to anyone.”

“Maybe I’ll be different?” Kelsey asked.

“Probably not, but… I could tell you anyway.” Chomby finished wiping his controller and dropped the towel. He started explaining his friend, Sarge. They were together almost constantly, but something happened. Chomby doesn’t know what happened, and he can’t figure out why, but everyone, including himself, forgot who Sarge was. Chomby had been slowly piecing together what had happened, but he was running into a wall right now. Any conclusion he came to didn’t make any sense to him.

Chomby imagined a moment he had recently remembered. He was in a place he and Sarge called ‘the mindscape’. It was the special place the two seemed to share where they could talk, no matter where they were. Chomby didn’t know why they had this conversation in the first place, but he remembered Sarge’s voice very clearly.

“Are you going to be okay, Chomby?” Sarge had asked. Sarge turned around to stare down at Chomby, who was sitting down at that time.

“I’ll be fine, yeah. What about you, though?”

“I can manage. This year’s already been pretty hectic. What’s a little more chaos to add to an already big pile?”

“You’re putting too much stress on yourself, Sarge.” Chomby shook his head and clenched his fists. “Could you stop trying to shoulder everything yourself again? You know I’m able to help!”

“For four hours at a time.” Sarge smirked. “But I already said I’ll be fine. It’s just another tour. I’ve managed your concerts thus far. I’m pretty sure problem solving kinks won’t break my back.”

“But this is MY gig! Not yours!” Chomby yelled. “You shouldn’t be responsible for my problems. You should just be focusing on yours!”

“As long as you’re with me, your problems are my problems, too.” Sarge walked over to Chomby and crouched down. He smiled and lifted a hand to Chomby’s snout. He gently poked it. “Don’t you remember the promise you made?”

“Promise? What promise?” Chomby asked.

“The one we made that day when you were staring at the sunset? May, eighth, if I recall.” Sarge put a finger to his chin.

“Oh, that?” Chomby looked away. “Yes, I remember it.”

“Can you tell it back to me, word for word?” Sarge asked.

“Duh!” Chomby hissed. “I promised that I, quote, ‘will always be there to support you, and you’ll be there to support me, through thick and thin, and for as long as we are friends.’”

Sarge reached down and grabbed Chomby’s hands. “Exactly. I’ll even extend it to, ‘even if we’re not friends anymore’.”

“That’s a lot to put on your shoulders.” Chomby released his hands and looked away. “I don’t want you to do that for me…. I don’t plan on not being your friend, but I don’t want you to force yourself to help me if we’re on bad terms.”

“Doesn’t matter. You’ve had a really rough life, and your future will probably be a very rough one to come. You need to have that safety net so, if anything becomes too much, you’ll have somewhere to go, and someone to let you know you are loved.” Sarge put a hand to his chest. “I’ll be your safety net.”

“But what if you’re gone?” Chomby asked.

Sarge’s expression darkened. He seemed to think about this for a long moment. “Maybe it sounds cheesy, but I’ll be in your heart.” Sarge poked Chomby’s chest. “I will always love you, even if we are not friends anymore… and even if I’m gone.”

Chomby tried to remember more of the conversation, but he snapped back to reality when he heard Kelsey chime in.

“You okay, Mister Chomby?”

“Huh? Oh! Yeah?” Chomby felt a tear falling down his face. “Uh… that’s kinda how it is, really. He’s a friend I’ve had, or think I’ve had, but he’s gone. I don’t know where he went, and I don’t know why everyone’s forgotten him, but I want him to be back.”

“I can’t make promises, so I’ll just say it sounds like you two care for each other.”

“Yeah.” Chomby’s vision faded back to that moment with Sarge. He felt himself mouth the final words from the conversation. “Even if I’m gone.”

~~~~~

I figured this song would be perfect as the summer transitions to fall. So, enjoy: https://youtu.be/o26h_GFHj_M

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Sarge/Chomby/Art/Story (C)  pikminpedia Me