9. Jelly

Ten years after that, a plot was stopped in its tracks. Its evil was with righteousness matched. A broken town was finally patched, and by deadly greed was Snatcher snatched.

Boxtrolls and humans didn't quite live in peace, but they were getting there; Boxtrolls were now welcomed on the surface and taking jobs as repairpeople and inventors. The White Hats remained in power, but the people seemed to have been disillusioned with them ever so slightly, and the seed had been planted of curiosity as to just what power a hat held. Tales were no longer told of the horrid kidnapping of the Trubshaw Baby, but instead what Eggs Trubshaw, having adopted a more Boxtroll moniker than "Arthur" to reflect his nature as a bridge between Boxtrolls and humans, had done in order to free Cheesebridge from Archibald Snatcher's lies and lift the ever-present curfew.

As for Eggs himself, he and his long-estranged father, the man once known as Herbert – who had been shaken up a little by spending ten years upside down, but really didn't consider himself that much more odd than he had been before – rode a great wheeled machine, one stolen from the Red Hats but which had been based on Herbert's old prototype, throughout town, offering repairs on broken objects and trade-ins for items that people considered "junk." Herbert, much like Arthur, had abandoned his name in favor of something he felt suited him better, and preferred to be addressed as "Jelly" by friends, family, and strangers alike.

As the vehicle rounded the corner on one sunny summer day, Eggs tugged at his father's sleeve, pointing toward a stage set up in the one of the town circuses; "Father, look! Winnie's telling our story again! Can we watch?"

"Most certainly!" Jelly replied, pulling the vehicle to a halt.

Eggs and Jelly squeezed their way into the crowd, ending up at about the middle of it in time to hear Winifred Portley-Rind giving her overly dramatic rendition of events: "And then, just as all seemed to be going well for our misfit heroes, the monstrous Snatcher burst from the brie-hemoth, swollen to twice – no, three times his size, and with a thirst for blood! He demanded a White Hat, or the street would run red with gore!"

"He never said that," Eggs laughed. "Good old Winnie. I love it when she puts in things like that. Don't you?"

Jelly didn't answer. He hadn't realized, after all this time, how much hearing the retellings would affect him. His son and Winnie had known Archibald Snatcher the monster. And, in the end, that is what Archibald Snatcher had become; Herbert had finally come to accept it after living as his captive.

And yet, somewhere deep within Jelly's heart, there echoed the laugh of two adolescent boys skating on the river.

"Father?" Eggs asked. "Are you all right?"

"And then…" Winnie paused her tale to let the audience drink in the suspense of what had taken place in the Tasting Room. "The villain EXPLODED! Blood and guts rained from the heavens and doused us! It was absolutely WONDERF – horrible. It was completely horrible."

So that was how it ended, Jelly thought. Archibald was dead, and if there had been any hope left for him, it was all gone now. He wondered if he should have been in that room, if he should have seen it happen. He knew he couldn't have stopped it. Eggs had tried, and for that, Jelly admired him – partly for trying to save Jelly's old friend, and partly for attempting to appeal to good in someone who had been corrupted by pure evil. Eggs was a very smart and kind child, and Jelly looked forward to seeing what he would become as he grew older.

"Father," Eggs observed, "you're crying."

"Am I?" Jelly touched his cheek to feel the dampness of the single tear he'd let loose.

"What's wrong?" Eggs asked in concern.

"You and Winnie are such good friends," Jelly stated.

Eggs nodded enthusiastically. "We are!"

"I hope your friendship endures for a long, long time," Jelly said somberly.

"Why wouldn't it?" Eggs asked.

Jelly shook his head. "There's a sad story I know about two friends. But it can wait for another day, when it isn't so beautiful. This isn't the kind of day to ruin by telling sad stories!"
One day, he knew, Eggs would have to know the truth. But he wasn't yet ready to tell that tale. Besides, it truly was a gorgeous day, and not one Jelly wanted to sully by dwelling on painful memories.

Winnie hopped off the stage, and Eggs rushed to greet her and congratulate her on her storytelling. Jelly watched the two of them with a bittersweet smile. He did ever so wish their story would have a happy ending.

~End~