At Autumn’s End
Hobbes thinks he maybe starts seeing less of Calvin when nature starts its fireworks for the twelfth time in his. Or maybe thirteenth. He can’t remember. After all, he didn’t really know how to define how time passed. That was what Calvin was for.
But now, the only time when Hobbes sees Calvin is when his friend is sleeping, doing homework, or on the phone with Suzy. He smirks a little, stretching out on the slowly-shrinking twin bed. Was it really that long ago when Calvin used to hate Suzy? And the two of them vied for her wonderful attention? He smiles, sighs, and curls up around Calvin’s pillow. Was it really that long ago?
The door slams, accompanied by, “Mom, I’m home! Suzy and I are gonna work on homework, kay?”
Hobbes’s ears perk up at that, maybe hoping for some attention from the both of them when they come upstairs. Footsteps come thundering closer and the tiger smiles. He’s so gonna jump Calvin when he comes in. He tenses his legs, getting ready to go in for the kill. The door swings open, he jumps and-
“Calvin, what happened to your room?”
Hobbes blinks as he flies through the two kids. Calvin scratches his head sheepishly.
“Well, I knew you were coming over to do homework with me so I cleaned it up.”
Suzy blushes, taking Calvin’s hand in hers.
“You’re awesome, you know that?”
Calvin rolls his eyes playfully, dropping his backpack to the floor. Hobbes stalks back into the room and trips over the object.
“What the heck was that for?” he asks angrily, nursing his stubbed toe. Calvin ignores him in favor of a large binder.
“Okay, what’ll we do first?’
“Hello? Earth to Calvin?”
The tiger waves his hands in front of Calvin’s face, desperately searching for a reaction.
“Hello?!”
And to Hobbes’s surprise, Suzy looks up. Right at him.
“Calvin, you still keep this ratty old tiger around?”
Hobbes’s mouth drops to the floor as his friend answers.
“Yeah… I just can’t find the heart to put him anywhere else. Too many memories, you know?’
Suzy nods, clearly in thought. Hobbes can see the light bulb switch on and then his stomach falls.
“You could always donate him to the homeless shelter. I’m sure there’s a little kid who’d love to have him. I mean, he’s broken in and everything.”
* * * * *
And that’s how Hobbes suddenly finds himself being manhandled by his friend down to the local homeless shelter. The doors to the building click closed, and Hobbes looks back at Calvin.
“Please don’t do this, please! What about everything we’ve been through together?”
Calvin walks on, oblivious.
“C’mon, man! The snowball fights, the sledding, the naps by the fireplace—hey, we conquered the babysitter, right? She never came back!”
Foreign voices fly through the air, and then Hobbes is tossed onto a large pile of stuffed animals. They smell.
“Calvin? Calvin?!”
Calvin’s voice starts to fade into the background, and even though there are about a zillion voices chattering, Hobbes’s world goes silent.
His voice shakes as he opens his mouth.
“…Calvin?”
