“Welcome to Elmo’s World,” Elmo proudly proclaimed to his new friends. Their faces were clouded with confusion and uncertainty, when tears began to well in the younger brother’s eyes as he softly cried for “...Mama…? ....Papa…?”

Staring at the boys triggered unexpected memories, stirring a deep melancholy he had long suppressed… It was faint… there was fondness … but then… it left him longing.

Elmo was hit with a surge of empathy as he stared at the boys below. He gently offered a hand towards them.

“Elmo will show you the way,” he assured. “But Elmo must stay.”

He grasped arms and elbows to create a ladder of limbs leading to his back, and the boys climbed on.

Thus they began their ascent. Elmo’s elongated torso coiled upon itself, reaching higher and higher. The boys trudged through the tangle of red fur, each step motivated by a hope that they were moving closer to home.

Elmo slightly slumped as he observed the boys vanish into the distant fog above, the feeling of their footsteps and brief friendship still lingering. Elmo’s heart felt heavy yet oddly full as he mused to himself, thinking of the brothers and their parents

What a sad, unfortunate burden to have someone worth missing...

Now Elmo would have that too.

.

Sesame Alley Saga, Part 2. Enjoy the latest misadventures of my two nephews. Stay tuned until the next episode…

Also shoutout to @jaesmart’s Gorefield illustration and Junji Ito’s Uzumaki for inspiring the spiral composition of the page turn reveal of this Elmo! Will share those posts tomorrow :)