A young woman wakes up a little dizzy lying on the ground, her fedora was a little dirty, with red stains, not to mention her clothes, full of dirt and totally stained. She stumbled at every step she took, her mind was playing tricks on her and she could not remember clearly what had happened. She remembered herself locked inside a house, looking for a window to get out. Or was it an emergency exit? Maybe she made a hole in the wall…? Well, at least she knew she was no longer in that place. Her mind could still picture something like a monster following her inside her own house, so maybe that's why she had left that place. No, she knew there was something worse, so not remembering was probably a good thing at the moment.
Our little Nobody was trying to walk as fast as she could without an actual place to go. Her heavy breathing didn't help her to find her way around at all, and only made her feel more lost inside the dense forest. She didn't even want to try to remember what had happened to her, so going back the way she came was not an option, and there were a lot of paths to take, making the choice a difficult one… A noise was heard in the distance, and the young woman slowly followed it with her heart beating rapidly. The closer she got to where the noise was coming from, the more she realized that the nonsense she could barely hear was actually something slightly similar to music, although it involved a strange mix of rhythms from different songs, resulting in something without much logic.
As the young Nobody tried to decipher whatever it was that those strange rhythms, with even stranger lyrics, were trying to tell her, she eventually arrived, almost without realizing it, at a small place free of trees, plants or dirt. Somewhere totally flat, though not at all empty. Within that small area was a rectangular table completely filled with a variety of foods, including apples, oranges, and any fruit imaginable, and even the most exotic dishes imaginable. The table was not really organized, and all the food was just scattered around, waiting to be devoured by guests. Ah, indeed, so many guests, of such varied shapes and sizes. Nobody turned her head and took off her hat, as she watched the strange feast without believing what was happening.
Most were just animal-like creatures that came looking for food and then quickly fled without a trace. Although the main eight were the ones sitting in the marble chairs around the table. Each of them enjoyed a piece of a cake that was in the center of the table, rising all the way up to a place where the young girl's eyes could not see. Strangely, they did not taste any other type of food or drink, they only kept eating the cake, while they left the rest of the food to the creatures that came near. But there was something that no being, either at the table or not, would touch, and that was the tea. The drink was served and ready to be consumed, but none of the people sitting at the table drank it, while the other animals simply avoided it.
Nobody sat in the only empty chair as she looked at the people sitting next to her. In the three closest seats were some siblings. They were standing straight, and when they reached for something to eat, they just made it disappear in their hands, not even noticing what they were grabbing.
Somewhat farther away were two men arguing, almost to the point of punching each other. One of them was a rather old-looking man with blond hair and a Chevron mustache. He was wearing a purple suit with yellow details, full of buttons and pockets, and the finishing touch was a top hat with a large W in the center. The person on the other side of the table, with whom he was arguing, looked a little younger, about 40 years old, or at least that was the age the young woman who was looking at them both with curiosity estimated. He looked like a master of ceremonies from the 60's, wearing a revolutionary mustache and a black bowler hat. While the circus man was throwing monkeys and little clowns at the toymaker, this one was counterattacking with wooden cars and science kits.
On the other side of the table, far away from our girl, two boys could be seen, one with white skin and long hair, even paler than his skin. He was carrying a hammer that he clearly had not used in a long time. The boy was looking at his cake, as if he was seeking an explanation from it, he was consuming it with a face of emptiness and uncertainty that did not even let him even move correctly. The other young man had slightly shorter hair and was wearing a meaty hood that covered much of his face. His whole body seemed to be a kind of robe with a big eye in the center. This man could not move, so the fleshy, Grand Karcist had to settle with watching his piece of cake, without being able to intervene or anything, just being a powerless spectator.
The last guest at the table and the only one facing the young Nobody was a man in his 50s or 60s, looking tired and staring off into the distance, although he had a large, unnatural smile from ear to ear. His coat covered the immense amount of arms he possessed, each one holding different food, but only two of his arms were really close to his face and he was looking at them with curiosity, one holding tea and one cake, or at least that's what he was doing before noticing the presence of the girl who was in front of him. The man stood up on his chair in excitement and jumped over the heads of the other people sitting at the table until he got to Nobody.
"At last you are here, I thought you weren't coming, let's see what time it is…" The man would spin around a little bit looking for his watch between all of his arms. "Ah, this mind of mine, it's nothing, my mistake, let's start over from the beginning. You're just in time, little girl. We were just starting the celebration."
"Uh… celebration?"
"Of course, of course, the greatest of the year, my dear."
"I don't understand. What are you celebrating?" The girl put her arms on the table and rested her chin on her hand.
"Well, we…" Somewhat confused, the man looked at the other people at the table, as if searching for an answer. "Yeah, yeah, that's it, we are celebrating that you're here with us," he said with a chuckle.
"Me?" She said as she moved backward quickly.
The young woman did not know what to think and began to feel an uncomfortable sensation in her throat. That place was strange enough, but to have them want her there to celebrate her? It already seemed too much for her.
"Maybe you're confusing me with someone else, I don't want to be here." As she spoke, Nobody was slowly getting up from her seat.
The girl felt an arm bringing her back to her chair.
"My child, but you were the one who came all the way here, now you have to enjoy the food. It's very, very baddie manners not to take the food you're offered." The man pulls a piece of cake and a cup of tea, and puts these two foods in front of Nobody.
"Before I accept it, please tell me, who are you? It's also rude not to introduce yourself to your guests." The young woman looked around, looking for help in a place that would never give it to her.
The girl hoped she could understand more of what was going on with whatever the man told her. She moved her hands with uncertainty as to what was going to happen. Her heart was going to come out of her chest at any moment. She didn't want to be there anymore. Even though she knew that was better than being in her Home..
"Right, right," the man said as he slammed his hand on his head. "I haven't introduced myself. I apologize for my rudeness, it's just that I haven't had any visitors for a while. I'm the Administrator."
The voices of the other guests spoke in chorus: "the Administrator of the tea party," everyone without exception said this in a more serious tone than usual.
"Just as my colleagues say, I organize everything around here, from the food to the tablecloth, that's my job. I welcome newcomers to the party and give them their food." The Administrator looked directly at Nobody again, and handed her the food as he lay down on the table.
"So, which do you want? Cake or tea?" He said, tilting his head a little to the left and widening his eyes.
"Uh, I don't know." She was looking toward the two foods and hesitating to even move.
"Hahaha, what a dummy. She doesn't know." He looked back at everyone.
A loud noise filled the whole place and the table was stained black. The three blind brothers consumed everything, leaving only the tea, the cake and the Administrator in front of Nobody. Nobody's cheek was shaded pink, and she grabbed her face in pain.
"Why did you hit me?!" The young Nobody was red and tears were running from her eyes as she tried to hit back the Administrator, who merely jumped backwards to evade her.
"Heh, I'm sorry. It's something I do sometimes, you'll have to excuse me. It just so happens that you must answer now, my child." The Administrator moved his head from one side to the other, as if humming a song, and with his hands he once again offered the cake and the tea to the girl.
"The t…" The girl paused, she knew that the tea would get her out of there and make her stop suffering for everything that had happened to her before… But the cake, the sweet cake, that one would sustain her even with all that had happened, the happy and the sad moments. But could she separate herself from that? Did she want to get away from what made her happy, even though it was hurting her now? No. She wanted to go, but she couldn't leave the cake behind, it was impossible for her, she couldn't live knowing that she let that cake die in her memory.
"Give me the cake, please." She gave the tea a last glance, pushing it away with a bit of sadness.
"Enjoy it, dear child."
The Administrator disappeared into the darkness leaving everything normal again. the same table, only this time it was completely empty, without any guests or food. Well, there was someone still sitting there, little Nobody, still eating the cake.
"Delicious cake, I love you cake, don't leave me, cake." She said as she let out a small tear.
