Redemption

The Mad Ventriloquist saw David again. This time it wasn't a dream. The Mad Ventriloquist was mostly sober. And David bothered to use the doorbell. The Mad Ventriloquist wasn't sure how to respond, so before he could David was inside and pushing a bunch of CDs into his arms. "That's what I've burned so far." he said and took a seat in a chair in the living room, "I can get you the rest later."

The Mad Ventriloquist placed the mess of CDs onto a nearby table and followed David into the living room. "Why are you here?" he asked, and David stared at him as if he had just said something really stupid. "Six years and that's what you have to say to me?" he answered. The Mad Ventriloquist wasn't sure what to say to that. It wasn't that he didn't want to see David. For years they had been best friends. Part of The Mad Ventriloquist wanted to smile and drink beer and welcome David in with open arms. But he still wasn't sure why he was here now.

"I would have been here earlier, but you're hard to find. Relax, this is just a social call." he told him. The Mad Ventriloquist actually did relax a little bit, but not too much. David noticed this. David notices almost everything. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked, "I mean, I know it's been a long time. But I was sort of expecting something a bit more. A hello maybe?"

The Mad Ventriloquist let out a mechanical hello and David laughed. The sound filled up what is normally a quiet house. He left the chair he was sitting on and walked over to The Mad Ventriloquist. "I have spent years not knowing whether you were alive or dead, just hoping that he would fufill his part of the bargain. So forgive me if I come over to see if you're ok." The Mad Ventriloquist couldn't help but smile at that, just a little bit. "I'm fine." he said.

David sighed and waved around the room. "No you're not. Look at this, look at you. You're throwing your life away Ronan. And for what? What use is all of this if it doesn't make you happy?" He stepped away from The Mad Ventriloquist and walked over to the piano in the corner of the room. He ran a hand across the top and looked at the dust. "You don't play anymore?" he asked. The Mad Ventriloquist shook his head.  It brought back too many memories. David flipped open the keyguard and dragged The Mad Ventriloquist to the seat. "Come on. Just one more time, for my sake?" he said, and The Mad Ventriloquist said nothing. It had been so long ago, everything had. Yet David came in and everything seemed like before. David just smiled, and started to sing. I can't decide. Scissor sisters. A song they both knew by heart.

The Mad Ventriloquist began to play.

Like he expected, the more he played the more he remembered. David's voice firm and smooth and comforting, audible proof that not everything back then was all that bad. The Mad Ventriloquist likes to tell everyone that there are reasons that people do bad things. That they deserve a second chance. This seems like a good time to tell everyone that he was once a bad guy. He never worked for the slender man, but there are a lot of types of evil in the world. Some of them aren't even supernatural. He has tried to move on, to help, to become something more than that. But to do so he had put a negative light on everything that had happened to him before he decided to seek redemption.

It's hard to do that with a song playing and a friend singing next to it. It's hard not to remember that there is more to this world than memories and beer. But the memories for once were not unwanted, because it led him to a conclusion.

The Mad Ventriloquist had been searching for redemption, but he wasn't really sure what that was. It's a very vague word, and could mean all sorts of things. He had sort of been grasping at every lead trying to figure out what it was. But David showed him. It's not a heroic act or an epic quest or a moment of sacrifice. It is the moment when all the positive things of that world come back, all the temptation and the reasons and the opportunity, and you realize that you just don't want it anymore. It's meeting a man that once filled you with awe, and only feeling disgust.

The Mad Ventriloquist stopped playing and pulled the piano shut. "Get out David." he said. David stopped singing, and looked over at The Mad Ventriloquist, a look of hurt in his eye. It was gone fairly quickly, and his usual smile came back. He leaned down and kissed The Mad Ventriloquist on the forehead. "Don't think I'm going to give up that easily." he said,  and then he left.

It's time for The Mad Ventriloquist to stop wallowing in his self pity and guilt. It's time to talk about Minori.