My Neighbor Totoro (hetalia style) Chap. 3

Chapter 3: Visiting Mama

After saying good-bye to the Francis and the moving man, and after having heir dinner, the boys and their father found themselves sitting in the bath. The wind had picked up dramatically since the sun went down, and the whole house was shaking. Gilbert and Ludwig looked up at the rafters uneasily. Roderich on the other hand wasn't even fazed.

"Papa, this house is to old." Ludwig stated turning to face Roderich. "I think it's gonna fall down." his father chuckled a little.

"Well, that would be a problem since we just moved in here." Just then the wind picked up and rattled the roof drastically. Then even Roderich looked a little worried. Suddenly it died down again. The wind was gone and a long silence followed. The hooting of an owl made Gilbert jump slightly, so he and his brother crawled a little closer to their father. But then he started laughing. The man started laughing like he'd gone mad. The boys at him like he'd done so too. He briefly stopped and looked at them. "Everybody try laughing. Then whatever scares you will go away." and he broke into maniacal laughs again. Ludwig just looked at him.

"But papa, I'm not scared." he insisted. This made Gilbert burst into laughter. "What? I'm not scared!" Gilbert got an evil glint in his eye, and started tickling Ludwig mercilessly. This got the younger to laugh. All three were now giddy and playing around in the bath with Roderich making a rather funny King Kong impression, so none noticed the soot sprites fly out of the ceiling and out into the night.

The next day found them doing chores. There had been a lot of laundry in need of doing! Afterwards, the quickly packed up and locked the doors, since they were off again. Were to? To see their mother at the hospital. The three headed down the road on Roderich's bicycle, passing the rice fields as they went. The said hello to Francis and Matt in passing, although Matt just sort of smiled and waved. So after nearly getting lost a few times, taking a rest and going up and down a very steep hill, they finally made it to the hospital. After arriving inside, the boys immediately went towards their mother's ward, while their father talked to one of the doctors. They hadn't seen their mother in a while, so Ludwig raced up to her the second they opened the door. Gilbert on the other hand was slower and greeted the other inhabitants of the ward.

"Mama!" was all the warning Elizabetha had really, before she was jumped by her four year old.

"Hello, Ludwig. It's so good to see you." she smiled, hugging the small child. "Hello Gilbert." the older boy had now come up to her as well. "No school?" she was a little surprised.

"No, it's a rice-planting day." he replied in a way that told her he didn't quite understand that concept. But they just went with it.

"Mh, I am so happy to see you boys." she looked at both lovingly. "So how do you like it in the country? Have you settled in?"

"Mhm." Gilbert nodded, then whispered to her that Ludwig is scared because it's haunted. Elizabetha smiled with excitement.

"A haunted house?" Gilbert nodded again. Ludwig looked worried.

"Mama? Do you like haunted houses?" she smiled.

"Of course! I'll have to get better soon, so I can meet some ghosts!" she said enthusiastically.

"See? You hear that, Lud?" Gilbert smiled at his brother. "Ludwig was worried you wouldn't want to come home if the house was haunted." he explained.

"Do you two like it?" their mother asked. Gilbert nodded ferociously.

"I'm not scared at all!" Ludwig still stuck to that. Elizabetha giggled.

"Let me see your hair, Gil." she noticed it was recently cut. He moved closer. "Don't you think it's just a little too short?"

"No, I like it like this." Elizabetha took out a brush from her bed side drawer.

"Brush my hair! Brush my hair!" Ludwig insisted.

"Hey! Wait your turn!" Gilbert bit back.

"You know, your hair will never cooperate. It's just like mine when I was your age."

"Do think it will start cooperating soon. I want it to be just like yours." his mother had beautiful long, flowing brown hair. He didn't want his as long of course, but her hair always seemed to look perfect, no matter what she did.

"I think it will. You and I are a lot alike Gilbert." the boy smiled back at her gently. Yeah, he thought, they were pretty alike.

After spending a few hours there, the boys made their way home.

"Mama looked great, didn't she papa?" Gilbert asked from behind him. Roderich didn't quite look back since he was still concentrating on the road.

"Ja, she did. And her doctors say she'll be able to come home real soon." he sounded very hopeful. Ludwig smiled and looked up at hm.

"So she'll be home, tomorrow?" he asked. Roderich and Gilbert couldn't help but laugh.

"There he goes again with tomorrow." Gilbert looked at him fondly.

"Well, I think tomorrow might be a bit soon."

"Mama said, she was going to sleep in my bed with me!" Ludwig exclaimed, looking back at the road with a big smile.

"I thought you said, you weren't scared to sleep alone." Gilbert leaned over Roderich's shoulder. "Can't you sleep by yourself?" Ludwig's smile didn't falter.

"She's the one who's scared not me!" The other two laughed again as they continued down the country road.