Howl's Moving Castle Fan Fiction ❯ Yn y Dechrau ❯ In which Howell adjusts to various changes brought by life ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: Howl’s Moving Castle and all its characters belong to Diana Wynne Jones. I, on the other hand, own nothing but my morbid imagination. My life sucks.

July 8, 2005

Yn y Dechrau
Chapter Two: In which Howell adjusts to various changes brought by life
by Ina-chan

The days after Morgana’s death turned into weeks, the weeks turned into months, and the months turned into years. The atmosphere within the Jenkins family was never the same. But to say that her death brought nothing but utmost sadness would be completely misleading. Of course, they still had the usual small happy family moments, in between those times… they coped.

Lloyd coped by paying more attention to his work. He was barely home enough as it was when his wife was alive because of his work-related commitments. After her death, it almost seemed as if work became his lifeline to sanity. His superiors were so impressed by his dedication that he was promoted to a higher position that involved him traveling most days of the year to look over the bank’s various facilities all over the country.

No one was more outraged by this other than the Jenkins children’s paternal grandmother. For this reason, Ceridwen Jenkins, also fondly known as Nana Kerrie, snatched her grandchildren from her neglectful son to live with her in the rugged countryside of the Welsh highlands. Lloyd was initially reluctant to give up his children, but Nana Kerrie was not a force to be reckoned with.

“I have every right to them! You kept those children from me all these years, it’s only right and proper that you give them to me. I want get to know them before I die,†Nana Carrie’s voice sounded so loud and angry over the telephone, that both children were completely astonished to see their headstrong father look absolutely helpless, “I will neither allow my grandchildren remain strangers to me nor have strangers raising them while you run away from your fatherly responsibilities!â€

In the end, the arrangement came to place and the Jenkins children were to live under the watchful eyes of their grandmother, while their father was to come to visit them whenever his work allowed.

Both Megan and Howell were not pleased with the agreement at first. After all, they never had a chance to meet their grandmother in the flesh. Until that moment when their father brought them to their grandmother’s home, Nana Kerrie was mostly a collection of birthday and Christmas presents, holiday letters, and a few telephone conversations. There was also the fact that they never strayed from the place of their birth all their lives. The only time Megan left their hometown was through a school field trip to London back in middle school. The Welsh Highlands was as foreign to them as China!

Megan was most especially upset with the idea that she’ll end up seeing her beloved father for even less time than she wanted. Nonetheless, she quickly found a way to adjust to their new family situation. Megan, being Megan, found means to make do with their situation and even turn it into her advantage. In very little time, she established herself to become the local high school’s celebrity.

Howell, in the other hand, faced the whole ordeal with mixed feelings. While he was not as close to his father as his sister was, not seeing their father was almost the same as losing a parent all over again. During the days before they were brought to their grandmother, it almost seemed as if he was going to withdraw back into that silent little boy. Not even Megan’s bullying could force him to talk back, even out of spite. That was until he found that he liked his eccentric Grandmother. He didn’t understand why, but it almost felt as if there was an unspoken connection between the two of them from the moment they finally met.

Megan was clutching her father’s hand tightly on one side, while Howell held the other when their father formally introduced them to their grandmother. Both children didn’t know what to make out of the thin, withered, frail-looking, old lady whom their father was introducing them to. But they were quick to discover that despite their grandmother’s looks, there was an inexplicable regal air about her that made you sit up and pay attention. Most especially when she gave you ‘the look’ then addressed you with her clear authoritative voice, showing her history as the town’s school teacher. It was very clear from whom Lloyd and Megan’s serious and no nonsense demeanor came from.

“Come here,†Nana Kerrie’s clear blue eyes pierced right at the young boy through her silver rimmed spectacles as soon as she was finished inspecting the older Jenkins girl, “Let these old eyes see you up close, my boy.â€

Howell started to hide behind his father bashfully… he was not even quite six-years-old, after all. But his father gently nudged him, so he had no choice but to step forward to his grandmother’s waiting arms. The old woman tilted her chin up as she peered at the boy. She held him at arms length for a few moments, before her features softened, “Howell. A most appropriate name, for this is definitely a bright one. He’s got his mother’s eyes and foolishness, but this one has the sight.â€

“The sight?†Howell echoed curiously, his bashfulness instantly disappearing

“You, my boy, are born to see things beyond what others can see,†His grandmother replied with a gentle smile, “Your father had the sight too, though slightly different. He was able to see his life beyond this poor town’s mines and quarries. It will be very interesting indeed to see how you will turn out.â€

Howell broke into a big smile. It was at that exact moment that he knew living with his grandmother was not going to be the end of the world. He didn’t understand then the reason why, but she hit on the nail on a little secret that Howell has been keeping for quite a while. When he was little, his crayon artworks were the testimonies of what it was but everyone simply credited it to his great imagination. Howell did have a very creative mind’s eye, and he did have a gift of another form of sight. However, depending on point of view, it was somewhat a blessing or a shame that it wasn’t clearly revealed because of his silence as a younger child and due to this lack of artistic abilities.

For example, the creature that Lloyd mistook for a strange purple cat-lizard thing was really his attempt on drawing the likeness of an invisible little person who lived in his parents’ walk-in closet. It wasn’t malicious, it was really lonely and just a tad bit mischievous, it simply liked to go around the house and hide things to get attention. There was a small colony of little people who lived in his mother’s herb garden as well. They mostly kept to themselves and weren’t much fun. He would often catch a glimpse of something unusual around their neighborhood. Once or twice, he saw a transparent little girl in a pink frilly party dress hovering about Mrs. Winston’s dog. There was an occasional translucent traveler, somehow finding themselves lost in the front porch, apologizing that they were simply passing through.

Howell seemed to be the only one who saw them. It was odder still that there seemed to be twice the number of both invisible and little people about their grandmother’s hometown and no one seemed to take notice of them either. Not that they were trying to draw attention to themselves. Mostly they were just lying about in the sun, or would occasionally approach something that would catch their interest to watch curiously. A few noticed with great amusement that Howell could see them and would do things to catch his attention and try to make him laugh. It got the little boy in trouble once or twice in Church. Megan would often give him a light slap on the arm to remind him on things like how impolite it is to stare at Mrs. O’Connely’s hat… even if it was the most ghastly man-made thing ever created.

But despite his grandmother’s initial assessment, she never mentioned to him anything remotely like it again. Howell began to doubt if his grandmother even saw his gift after all. But he wasn’t about to bring it up and have his grandmother think that he was strange. Even though he liked his grandmother, she was still an adult. Howell knew from experience that it was too much of an effort to try to explain the invisible people’s existence to adults. They never seem to understand anything at all. So he never bothered… which proved to be a smart move, as his friend Mumbles Reilly later explained.

Mumbles was the first friend Howell made when he moved in with his grandmother. Her family owned the village’s grocery store and they often delivered Nana Carrie’s groceries since rheumatism gets the better of her knees in most days. Mumbles’ real name was actually, Felicia. But being thin, gangly, knobby elbowed and even more knobby kneed, with an ever-resent blue baseball cap sitting back-ways on her short-cropped dirty blonde head, she really looked and acted more like a boy than girl. Howell even thought that she really was a boy at first, so nobody was more surprised to see her wearing her best Sunday dress at Church.

She also had the bad habit of talking under her breath, and thus earning her nickname. Most of the time, her own family can barely understood what she said. In fact, people usually guessed the essence of what she was saying based on her intonation. But strangely enough, Howell found that he understood every single word she said perfectly. She didn’t have a lot of friends because of the way she talked. It was something they both had in common when they first met, so they bonded almost instantly and became inseparable friends. Needless to say, his grandmother and Mumbles’ parents were thrilled with the idea of their introverted children finally finding friends. It was a bonus that her parents finally found an unwitting interpreter for their daughter’s incomprehensible warble.

Nonetheless, it was still somewhat disappointing for Howell to discover that Mumbles didn’t seem to share his gift of sight as well. He asked her opinion about seeing invisible people in passing once. She simply replied that talking about things that other people don’t see were never a good thing. Then she proceeded to share the story, with great gory detail, about her Uncle Floyd who claimed that God sent messages to him through the telly. Floyd Reilly caused quite a disruption when he repeatedly lay down stark naked in the middle of the only road out of town everyday for several months to keep vehicles from getting in and out because God instructed him to do so via a BBC news report.

“Eventually, he was taken away by the police and shipped off never to be seen again,†Mumbles garbled quietly

“Taken away? To where?†Howell asked, eyes wide with morbid curiosity

Mumbles merely shrugged before whispering almost inaudibly, “It happened before I was born. My Aunt Josie said that he moved around to so many different facilities that they lost track of him. Though last we heard, he’s in some sort of looney bin near London. Bottom line is, seeing things that other people don’t see is enough to get you branded as a nutter. And nutters get hauled away and locked up to keep them from becoming a menace to society.â€

With that, Howell never mentioned seeing his strange sights to anyone again. He even made sure to ignore the invisible people who tried to get his attention until it was finally second nature. It wasn’t too hard since they weren’t bothering anybody. Though once in a while, he still saw them moving about from the corner of his eye. Not that Mumbles had her own personality quirks either. She liked to read, loved poetry and dreamed of becoming a poet.

“Perhaps it was hereditary,†Megan suggested after she asked Howell what his new friend was like, “She already has a mad uncle, after all...â€

(Floyd Reilly’s reputation, as it turned out, was within in the ranks of an urban legend in their parts.)

Though Howell didn’t agree with his sister’s assumptions, sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder if Megan was right. Mumbles, after all, was a great believer of fortune telling but chose a strange medium for her divining using poetry passages. She would randomly open a page from a book of poems every time she needs to make an important decision, and left her fate on passages written by the hands of Robert Frost and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Despite her idiosyncrasies, she was instrumental in making Howell realize that though unusual abilities can get you in trouble sometimes, harnessing them can bring you to an advantage as well… and thus, the story behind his second gift.

Aside from seeing invisible people, Howell also had an uncanny talent with solving riddles and puzzles. Though at first, he mostly used it to help solve Nana Kerrie’s crossword puzzles. This talent, as was later discovered purely by accident, also extended to solving difficult mathematic puzzles. He instinctively knew how to figure out the right answer to a math problem as if he were piecing together a riddle. Even without knowing or even using the proper formulas learned in school to solve them.

It was also a bit of surprise since he was doing rather poorly with his studies. All his teachers had pretty much painted him as academically hopeless. It was only Megan, with her stubborn insistence that Howell just lazy, slapdash and obstinate to follow proper instructions, who believed that her brother was simply not putting much effort to reach his potential. Normally, such a discovery would probably put Megan in a joyous state. It was after all proof that she was right that her brother was not stupid as everyone believed. Unfortunately, a series of misunderstandings led it for Megan to perceive her brother’s gifts as a potential criminal career.

It started out as an accident. It happened when Howell was around thirteen-years-old after successfully slithering away from another one of Megan’s tedious lectures. He was hiding at the grocery to wait until Megan’s ire runs out of steam. He was completely bored to bits when he came across a piece of paper that had a curious puzzle on it. Within minutes, he managed to crack the code to find the solution to every single one of it. Mumbles and her brother Ed were both completely astonished when they discovered what Howell had done.

It turned out that the paper was a page of Ed’s homework. Mumbles, perhaps being the daughter of self-employed parents, was gifted with a strong business sense. Within no time, Howell developed a short career answering pages of difficult math homework for a fee… which did not sit very well with Megan when she discovered the spoils of his labours when she was cleaning the house and inspected her brother’s room one Saturday afternoon.

“Tell me the truth, Howell. Nana is out with her bridge club and won’t be back until supper time, so she isn’t here to save you. You better tell the truth where you got this right now or, I swear! You will be in deeper trouble than you already are,†Megan demanded as she waved an expensive looking pair of shoes that obviously didn’t look like it came from the Bargain Store that their grandmother likes to shop in

“And I’m telling you for the umpteenth time, I did not steal it!†Howell shot back in terror as finding himself trapped at the corner of his bed, having no choice but to face his sister’s wrath since she left him no option for escape

“I suppose you’ll be saying next that you actually got a job,†Megan retorted sarcastically

“Yes,†Howell replied, averting his eyes as he mumbled under his breath, “In a manner of speaking…â€

“Alright then, spill it all out, Howell Jenkins!†Megan glowered threateningly over the smaller boy, “Where did you get the money? The truth Howell! The truth!â€

Howell immediately cowered down in fear, immediately recognizing that this was one of Megan’s scary spells that can only be pacified when she was given what she wanted. “Ed Reilly and a couple of his friends gave them to me as payment.â€

“Payment?†Megan stared at her brother in alarm, and towered over him even more threateningly, “Payment for what?â€

“Homework,†The boy replied meekly, “They’ve been paying me to do their math homework for the past couple of weeks.â€

Megan frowned upon hearing his confession. She folded her arms and tapped her foot crossly in disbelief, “Howell Jenkins, I told you to tell me the truth.â€

“It is the truth!†Howell shot back

“Howell, Edward Reilly is in Year 13! Do you expect me to believe that you are actually solving advanced level arithmetic when you’re barely passing Year 8 Math?†Megan cried out in exasperation

“I can’t control what you expect of me and I can’t explain how I’m doing it, but I am telling the truth!†Howell yelled back defensively

Seeing her brother’s determined reaction, Megan backed away and took a deep breath to calm herself down, before facing her brother once again to humor him, “Alright. They paid you to do their homework. How much?â€

“At least fifty pence a problem, depending on how difficult it is,†Howell replied in a quieter tone, “It’s usually Mumbles who negotiates the price…â€

“Felicia is on this as well?†Megan gawked at her brother in surprise, “Well, I will definitely have a word with Mrs. Reilly about this!â€

“Don’t get her in trouble! She’s only trying to help!†Howell replied automatically, “And it’s not like we’re doing anything illegal. As far as I know, there is no crime against doing someone’s homework.â€

“But that doesn’t make it right,†Megan sighed in defeat, “Doing homework is supposed to help with your book learning. If someone else does it for you, it’s like cheating. Well, it’s obvious that Edward Reilly and his friends will eventually pay for it when school finals come around. But with you, Howell, you’re selling out your integrity and allowing these boys to take advantage of you.â€

Howell frowned. He didn’t see it that way until his sister pointed it out. This was one of those rare moments wherein he actually found himself agreeing with his sister’s logic. All at once, he started feeling worried that he actually had been taken advantage of without him realizing it, “Do you think I should have charged more?â€

“HOWELL!†Megan glared at her brother incredulously,

“It’s a joke!†Howell raised his arms defensively as he shrank back once again to try to escape his sister’s fury

“That is not even relatively funny!†Megan scoffed. Then without warning, she suddenly burst into tears and made her way to the chair by Howell’s study table, “Why are you always like this? Not taking things seriously and going about things! Insensitively not caring about other people’s feelings! You’re a horrible boy!â€

Howell gaped in surprise as his sister sank into a series of uncontrollable sobs in front of him. The Megan he knew almost never cried. The only time he had seen Megan burst in tears in front of him like this was way back during their mother’s funeral. As much as he hated to admit it, it was really him who was the family crybaby. While Megan rarely showed public affection either, the tough love she pushes at him when he has his occasional sulking or tantrum spell was in fact as much a comfort as the half-remembered hugs his mother used to give him.

Almost instantly, a pang of guilt shot right through him, followed by panic. He didn’t know what to do other than to anxiously rush by his sister’s side, kneel down to her level, and keep from bursting out crying as well, “Megan… I’m sorry for being so horrible! I promise I won’t do it again. Stop crying, please?â€

Megan started laughing nervously between sobs upon seeing her brother’s reaction. She wiped the corners of her eyes with her fingers before reaching out to gently run her fingers through the younger brother’s dark coffee-coloured locks, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have dumped it all on you. This really isn’t about you at all.â€

“What is it about then?†Howell whispered. Anything that would set off Megan like this was sure to be very serious.

“Gareth got offered a job in Cardiff,†Megan replied with a nervous smile, looking as if she was ready to burst into tears again

“Gareth? He’s leaving?†Howell blinked in surprise. A little bit stunned at his sister’s revelation. His face scrunched up in thought.

As far as he can remember, Gareth-whatsisface was approximately boyfriend #21. His sister had a history of dropping boyfriends the minute she discovers their first flaw. He should have known that something was up, since this Gareth-fellow had been around long enough for him to remember his first name. He and Mumbles even caught them snogging in a dark corner last a few months ago (a very gross scene that he would prefer to erase from memory). But he really didn’t realize that it was that serious for Megan to react like this at the idea of him leaving.

“He asked me if I wanted to go with him,†Megan continued, looking a bit embarrassed

Howell stared at his sister, completely speechless with shock at the revelation. Now THAT, he didn’t expect! Since their mother’s death, their worlds revolved around each other. The thought that her sister would actually consider a life without him never occurred to him. All of a sudden, he couldn’t help feeling a bit queasy in the stomach. He didn’t realize that his sister was expecting an answer from him until he noticed that she was looking at him expectantly. He averted his eyes, feeling a little bit ashamed for having those selfish thoughts. “Are you going?â€

“I don’t know,†Megan replied with another sniff, “Nana Carrie’s no longer a spry chicken. Besides, I still have a bratty little brother on the verge of going on the bad to look after.â€

“And Cardiff is a bit too… well… too busy. Even our old house wasn’t like that. You’ll be homesick,†Howell added helpfully

“Well, we won’t be living IN Cardiff. Gareth mentioned a quaint little borough just at the edge of town…†Megan began defensively, but her voice trailed as a guilty look fell on her face

Howell bowed his head so his sister won’t see the expression on his face as his heart sank with the realization that Megan had already considered going away as a possible option.

“Gareth said that it’ll take at least a year before things get settled… and lots of things can happen in a year… Oh, shoot!†Megan continued on reassuringly, seeing her brother’s reaction, but in the end, she buried her face in her hands as she fought another onslaught of tears, “Mother warned us about sacrifices we have to make when we become adults. I never realized that becoming one can be so complicated.â€

Howell reached out for the hem of his sister’s sweater and started fiddling with it with his fingers. It was a childish habit of his that he hasn’t quite outgrown. It usually signals that he’s mulling over what something he wants to say that he felt very important and wanted her complete attention. As much as he hated Megan’s guts most of the time, he truly didn’t want his sister to be unhappy. Being forced to make this decision was definitely making her unhappy. Pain in the arse or not, Megan already sacrificed almost more than eight years of her life taking their Mother’s place for his sake, “But… Mother also said that it’s okay to be selfish once and a while.â€

The older girl looked at her little brother in surprise.

Howell finally lifted his chin and puffed his cheeks in exasperation. Another childish habit he did when he was feeling irritated, particularly when people can’t get a hint he’s giving right away. He let out a slow patient breath as he stood up and brushed his knees before giving his sister a very serious expression, making him look much older than his thirteen years, “Look sis, you’ve been taking care of me since you were fourteen. Well, I’m almost fourteen now. I think I’m already old enough to take care of myself. I don’t think Mother would have wanted you to be her substitute all your life. So stop blubbering, go find a dark corner with Gareth and snog all you---â€

“HOWELL JENKINS! WATCH YOUR MOUTH!†Megan cried out, completely scandalized, her face turning into the shade of a ripe tomato

“I give and I give but nothing satisfies this woman!†Howell raised his arms to the heavens over emotionally in mock indignation

Despite of herself, Megan burst out laughing uncontrollably. This time, she was dabbing the corners of her eyes because of her mirth, “Since when did you become so caring and wise.â€

“I’ve always been caring and wise,†The younger boy sniffed in resentment, “It’s not my fault that you’re too self-absorbed to notice.â€

“I’ll ignore that,†Megan stated with a slight frown. But it was evident that she couldn’t hide the true feelings of happiness behind her mask, “Just when I thought I know everything about you, you do something to completely surprise me.â€

Howell frowned at that. He didn’t think that his sister knew everything about him at all. But she uncharacteristically pulled him towards her before he could think of a retort. And the thought completely left him when she tightened her hold into a rare hug.

“Thank you,†She whispered with great emotional over his head

“But even though you won’t be around anymore after you go off with Gareth,†Howell whispered back, “Don’t completely forget about me and leave me all alone, alright?â€

Megan laughed at that, “I don’t think any person, or any stretch of land can completely separate us from each other even if we wanted to.â€

Only then did Howell return her embrace. Now he knew for sure that Megan’s appearance of unending inner strength was as much a façade as his pretense that he hated her guts entirely. She needed him as much as he needed her. So he closed his eyes and made a silent vow that from that day onward, he would do everything he could in his power to protect her. The same way she looked after him all these years.

End of Chapter Two
To be continued.

Author’s Squawk:

This chapter turned out very different from how I originally started it. I actually wanted to end it differently as well, but I didn’t want to turn the chapter into an epic and not know how to end it. .

Anywayz, very big thank you to Piggi, who did my beta. Thanks to everyone who commented on this fic! I was very happy to see the DWJ fanfic writers whose works I admired when I searching through for DWJ fanfics review the first chapter of this fic! Specially Mimea, whose HMC fanfic, “Natural Beautyâ€, I very highly recommend! The first “M†rating DWJ fic in and very nicely done. Please read it! .

As for this story, Howl kinda still acts a little bit OOC here, I find. But hopefully in the next couple of chapters, we start to see him evolve into how he is as a grown-up. Hmmm… maybe the right word is de-evolve. .

Anywayz, comments and criticisms are very welcome.

Ja!
Ina-chan