Mr. Ganglegreen

Stranger in the Rain

Sweet little Bradley had a nasty mean family.
Such is common for the children living in that wretched Cutthroat Coast! Truly, the gnat infested, repugnant underbelly of Tregaron, but what's a place like this have to do with a humble children's tale?
Little Bradley always knew better than to hurt people. He was a good boy! But his mother and father...They tried to hide their nasty deeds, but smart, precious Bradley knew how that bread wound up on the table.
"Papa, isn't it unfair that we have to hurt people? Why do we have to do bad things? What if somebody hurt us?" Little Bradley did ask,
Only to earn an irate, shaking fist from his growling, howling father! "BECAUSE, Boy! It's the only damned way to earn bread in this Gods forsaken world! You wanna eat dont'cha?!"
That night, dear Bradley shut his mouth, and ate quietly, but sadly. The wound on poor, sweet Bradley's heart was far worse than any pain his parents brought to those innocent people!
While his parents slept, he woke to the gentle pitter-patter of rain.

Pitter-patter!

Titter-Tatter!

Pitter-Patter!

Titter-Tatter!

Dear Bradley saw a bright light outside.
Through the heavy pitter-patter of rain, he saw a man in a suit! But not just any man. A tall man, wearing a fine tophat and tailcoat. With rainbow eyes he waved and smiled while water soaked into his suit.
"...Where's his umbrella?" Precious Bradley wondered.
The man put two fingers into his mouth, and tugged his mouth open, sticking his tongue out to make a funny face.
Darling Bradley giggled loudly, and then horror set in!
What if his parents heard him?! They're already upset with him for earlier this morning. Imagine how they'd be if they woke from his laughter! They'd yell again. Or worse...
Oh, but that poor stranger, he did need an umbrella!

Quietly, little Bradley thought of all the things he'd need to do to get out there...
But then, dear me, dear my.
When little Bradley looked out the window, he didn't know how or why.
But that silly, smiling, rainbow-eyed man outside?
Gone, in the pouring rain.

Hey there, Mister!

Little Bradley woke the very next morning. Once more,
Titter-Tatter!

Pitter-Patter!

To the pouring rain, bat the sun's shine still beautifully found itself cracking through his windows. When his eyes did look outside, they were left astonished!
A bright, beautiful rainbow curved over where the silly man in the suit once stood. With an equally bright smile and a soft little laugh, adorable Bradley marched his way down the stairs.
"BRADLEY!"
Somebody shouted. His mother, this time. After all, father always called him 'Boy', not his name!
"Come on now, sit yourself down, we're having a feast!" His mom did grin, the scent of gravy and roasted beef filled the air.
"Where'd you get this, mama?" Little Bradley asked.
"Does it matter, Bradley?" His mother growled curtly towards the poor boy. Even saying his name alone made poor, sweet Bradley flinch!
"Don't be ungrateful!" Father snarled. "We got us some meat tonight, and gravy too! You should just learn to enjoy the good things, boy, because folk like us ain't ever going to be leaving this coast,"
It was then that little Bradley's eyes began to wander.
No no, not towards the scrumptious, rich brown gravy that was drizzled over a hard hunk of bread. Nor the little bits of beef drippings that added a pleasant crisp bit of gristle for him to chew between his teeth. Nono, his eyes looked at the window.
There, the silly, rainbow eyed man smiled behind the window. It was then...That precious little Bradley saw not a man, but a standing snake in a suit and tophat!
Yes, a snake. A snake that wore a tophat and stood like a man, with bright rainbow eyes, he gestured his arm towards his mouth, which still smiled brightly!
"...How does he do it...How does he move his sleeves without arms...!" Adorable, inquisitive little Bradley sighed dreamily, and then his father thunked the back of his head.
"What're you talkin' about boy?" His father grunts.
"Eat, Bradley, eat!" His mother spoke up, and sweet Bradley looked out the window.

Titter-Tatter! Pitter-Patter!

"What on earth?" Mother looked over her shoulder, and sweet Bradley looked away. Oh no. What if they see that strange man? Will they hurt him? Will his nasty, mean family steal his tophat?!
Mother steps towards the window, and opens it.
"Hell's goin' on out there? It's rainy! Close the window or it'll get moldy in here!" Little Bradley's father growled.
"Weird," Little Bradley's mother reached outside, and when she pulled forth something, little Bradley saw that she held a lonely willow branch, snapped fresh from the tree.

"Ain't these things only in Mordencrast?"

The eyes see many things, see?

Titter-Tatter! Pitter-Patter!

That night, there was yet another sound that dribbled at little Bradley's window. Sweet Bradley's mother and father had both found themselves sound asleep after gorging themselves on bread and beef, but little Bradley just couldn't stomach knowing his food came from somebody else!
...Or perhaps it was
Titter-Tatter!

Pitter-Patter!

Titter-Tatter!

Pitter-Patter!
The way his window made such strange noises for the rest of that night!
Little Bradley frowned and rolled into his pillow, there, he saw a finger tap at his window. The rain continued its downpour, thick as ever, and then...
Why, is that paint on his window?
The rain was so beautiful and bright! Shining droplets of green and red painted and tapped at his window, and when adorable Bradley stood up, he looked out to see that strange, silly man once again.
There he was. Out in the rain, that silly snake in the suit that waved an empty sleeve towards him outside. And behind him...Oh me, oh my!
It was a whole willow tree! From that single branch, a massive willow tree must have sprouted! The rainbow rain that came down against his window had splattered everything into a lovely pigment. Each branch was a different color of the rainbow. Blue, bright green, lovely orange, deep, delicious red!
The willow tree had many colors, see?
Dear Bradley knew he shouldn't go outside. After all, it was dark! His parents warned him of the dangers at night, but if he was quiet...They wouldn't know a single thing, right? Besides, we allll have to do bad things now and then! Even little Bradley's father said so!
Quiet like a cat, Bradley snuck his way outside to the willow tree, there, he saw the strange man in person while the rainbow rain came sprinkling down from the skies.
It's that silly snake in a suit! He was so very tall, and had a tophat to boot!
"Heeyyy there missster!~" The silly snake laughed, up close, he now saw that the silly snake's tail had somehow slithered up through its sleeve to reach into his pocket, pulling out a silver monocle.
"H-hi!..." Little Bradley was shy at first. After all, the snake gave him the jeepers creepers!
"Sssnake got your tongue, misster? It'ss okay! I'm jusst here to help! You don't like all the nasssty, mean thingsss your parentss do, right?" The snake did ask, his tail slithering through his sleeve to adjust that monocle over his right, rainbow eye.
It took about another MINUTE For poor, scared but sweet Bradley to get over his shivers enough to speak!
"How...D-did you know?" Poor, precious Bradley frowned.

“Now now, don’t be sshy! You needn’t be ssso quiet near I! I’m just a sssilly sssnake in a sssuit that wantsss to help, you and me! With eyesss that can see many thingss, ssee!” That poor, goofy snake! His tongue made it hard to speak like a person, but cute little Bradley knew he tried his best.
It actually made the adorable boy smile!
With a rainbow tinted eye, the silly snake gave a wink. This snake really did make little Bradley think;
"...Well...Can you see a place where my parents can't hurt anyone?' Sweet Bradley did ask.
“Oh, little Bradley! Verily and merily!” Hissed the snake with a fangy cheer, his tail slithered through his sleeve to tip his tophat.
"That isss why I am here, little Bradley! To help little boysss and girlsss like you with their nassty, mean parentss!" The silly snake winked his rainbow eye.
"Y...You know about them? Are you here because they-" Little Bradley asked.
"Hurt people. Yesss, don't worry, little Bradley! That isss why they are assleeep!~" The snake chortled. "You sseee, precious Bradley, I need you to do me a favour! Yesss. A favour. My eyesss sseee many thingss, ssee? But think of all the good thingsss they do for people..." The goofy snake smiled warmly. Eyes did see a lot!
"That isss why I am here! When ssomebody usess their eyesss for all the nassty, horrible thingss....Oh me, oh my, it hurts my ssslithery, ssnakey heart!~" A single, rainbow tear dripped from the snake's eye, his happiness melting.
"Wait, don't cry, mister!" precious Bradley frowned. "...I...don't like when my parents hurt people too...Can you fix that?"
"But of courssse! Do you think my eyess can ssee things without ssome help? Why, their peepers would best be used elsewhere, don't you think, little Bradley? All they ssee is hurting! Why, if I had their eyesss, they would ssee what I ssee, and I ssee nothing but glee!" The snake laughed. His mouth hiss-hissing whilst the branches of the willow tree give a titter-tatter-pitter-patter that rustled from the rainbow winds behind him.
“You can help me, sweet Bradley!~ I need only ssee what they ssee, and they will never ssee people get hurt again!” The snake chitter-chattered his offer.
“W-well…How do I do that? How can I make them not see people get hurt? Will that even stop them from hurting people?” Scared, poor, precious Bradley shrunk.
"Now now, dear boy! Put on my hat, little Bradley! It will help you ssee what I can sseee! For my eyesss ssee many thingss, you sseee! Once you sssee what I can sseee, you will know how to make things all bright and colorful and cheeeerry!~" The serpent's silly tail coiled up from its sleeve to reach for its tophat, there, it tipped itself towards darling Bradley's hands.
Finally, sweet Bradley giggled and smiled, and reached to take the hat. When Bradley put on that hat,
He saw what must be done! He saw what the snake had seen! For his eyes could see many things, see!

Eyes are meant to see things that are pretty, not scary.

That's why, although poor little Bradley was still wary,

He knew what had to be done, for goodness sake.

With a new hat and new hands thanks to this silly snake,

Little Bradley was free to pluck those nasty eyes from his family

And hand them over to Mr. Ganglegreen, Delightfully.

That’s why he’s my sweet, adorable, precious, darling and cute, good dear little Bradley.

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Mr. Ganglegreen is a book found within the setting of Veska. It's meant to be different from my traditional writing style and I hope that it wound up being an enticing read!