“That was a… Quite the speech yesterday,” said Saratova as he sat down next to Stanley. They were overlooking the Moronic River.
“Yeah,” said Stanley slowly. “Wait, how would you know? You literally left just before it started,”
“Hey, I could tell from a mile off what you were going to talk about, and you know how hard I try to avoid all that boring stuff. Last time you tried to explain any of it to me I felt like my head was going to explode,” he exclaimed before involuntarily shivering.
“Probably for the best you weren’t there. I kind of let things take a bad turn,” Stanley responded while looking slightly downcast.
“Oh,” he nodded in understanding while letting his eyes lazily follow a passing boat. “Hmm,” he said, snapping his focus back to his sworn enemy, the bringer of complicated legal discourse. “You wouldn’t happen to have talked to Kerala since then have you?” he asked.
“No. Why?” Stanley asked, surprised to hear the name of the woman that was so instrumental in streamlining his efforts to fix his broken town.
“Well. Uhh,” he said, suddenly nervous. “You should talk to her. I think she could use your advice on some things,” he added. Having said that, Saratova closed his eyes before nodding to himself, as if to say ‘not my problem anymore’. He got up to leave, and said, “Anyway, I’ve got a boat to catch. Tourists aren’t going to ferry themselves out to the island haha. See ya,”
“See you around,” Stanley replied.
It was a cloudier day, but the sky still showed itself often, as if afraid it would be forgotten. Wouldn’t exactly be the first time. “If I know Kerala, which is honestly a questionable assertion. She’s probably set up right next to the university campus,” he quietly pondered. “Still have no idea how that woman convinced the local council to let her use the land there,” he added, shaking his head. It reminded him of the pages of rules that he’d have to abide by just to set up a hot dog stand. ‘And yet…’
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And so, under the oppression of the bright 2pm sun, Stanley began his trek. Whenever he passed under a powerline or tall tree, he made sure to always scan the airspace, wary of a yet unseen danger. It was under such precautions that he safely made it to within a block of his destination. But just as he was about to release a sigh of relief, he heard the flapping of wings. It was behind him, and approaching fast. As if to confront an armed mugger, he abruptly turned with his hands raised to defend himself. The black and white menace of all things good flapped its wings in a desperate attempt to abort its surprise attack.
“Back to the abyss from whence you came!” shouted Stanley as he gestured wildly in an attempt to look threatening. The bird, deciding that this wasn’t in its job description, promptly retreated back to a power pole. And there it stayed. Watching him. After the end of a short staring contest, Stanley decided he had asserted his dominance enough for now, and turned his back on his adversary. To prevent another sneak attack, he made sure to turn and glance at the creature of evil every 5 seconds. It was in this manner, that Stanley finally arrived at the small building that Kerala had commandeered. The front door had a middle aged man in possession of a cowboy hat. He appeared to be pondering a difficult question as he considered Stanley.
“Don’t they only attack during breeding season?” questioned the man, apparently having witnessed the harrowing fight between man and bird.
Stanley stifled a groan before explaining “So I’ve heard. Supposedly they’re just protecting their nests, but from as long as I can remember, they just attack me on sight. Doesn’t matter what time of year it is,”
The man slowly nodded with a slightly concerned expression before shrugging. “Name’s Norfolk. And I assume you’re Stanley?” he asked.
“That’s me. Nice to meet you,” he answered. “You’ve seen me around before?”
Norfolk let out a brief laugh before saying, “No. This building has just become somewhat of a no go zone for the past day or so. You’re the only person I can think of that might have a reason to be here. Besides,” he added before sighing. “Most people around town are at least somewhat familiar with what you’re trying to do,”
“Oh, really?” Stanley asked, surprised.
“Believe it,” he replied with a grin. “Most of them don’t understand the significance of it yet, but some do,” Norfolk said, before lapsing into a short silence. “Anyway, you’d better get in there. I think they could use your help,”
“Alright, pleasure meeting you,” he replied before making his way through the entrance.