Chapter Eight: Secrets of the Lullaby

Ned loves playing with the new baby. "My little airplane boy!" He squeals, his newborn son breaking through his calm, macho facade.

"Let's just spin, spin, spin that diaper off!" Ned exclaims, trying to make some fun out of the poopy diaper. It's the only way to stop the gagging.

"My sweet boy, you are just so dang cute!" Nathalie's squeal is much more girly then Ned's ever could be, and with the funniest fish kiss expression. She can't help it, babies are so adorable!

"Hey Ty-Ty, do you wanna go to the park? I just bet you do!" Nathalie asks in a sickeningly cute voice. She dials the only friend she has, an old childhood friend who's struggled with mental health problems all his life. Even if he's depressed, Nathalie's sure that he'll want to come out and see the baby.

Nathalie is surprised that her friend agrees eagerly, and they decide to meet at the Dogwood Park. Tyson had a really long nap after his birth, so he should be up for a short walk to the park.
"Honey, I'm going out with the baby!" Nathalie calls out. She hears a muffled cry of acceptance from the garden and smiles.

Perhaps the baby hasn't had enough of a nap, as the lulling stoll to the park puts Tyson to sleep.

It seems that Hunter Cottoneye isn't as mentally healthy as he led Nathalie to believe. "Must kill her, must kill her, must kill..."

"Hey Nathalie, is that baby Tyson? He looks just like you." Hunter puts his hand on Tyson's soft cheeks, wishing that he was innocent like this little baby.

"How have you been Hunter?" Nathalie asks cautiously, it has been quite a while since they have met up, and he looks ragged and tired.
"Same old, same old." Hunter says in a would-be calm voice, but Nathalie shakes her head sadly, deeply pained by her old friend's denial.

 "The last time you said that, you stripped out of your camouflage outfit at the bookshop and claimed yourself as Demon's Spawn. Come on Hunter, you can tell me the truth."

"The last time you said that, you committed me to that freak hospital." Hunter muttered bitterly. "The world fucked me over Nathalie, please don't mock me."

"Oh Hunter, I had hoped that you would have been better by now." Nathalie whispered, trying to contain the tears in her eyes. "You can do better for yourself, you just have to believe that you can heal. I think this was a mistake Hunter, I wish you all the best." Nathalie almost leaves when Hunter stops her.

"Before you go Nathalie, I have a gift for you." Hunter hands over a sloppily tied gift to Nathalie, and she's forced to put Tyson on the cold stone ground. "Oh Hunter, that is so sweet!" Nathalie gushes, trying to hide the nagging feeling that something was wrong. "This is the first normal thing Hunter's done this whole visit." She thinks to herself.

As Nathalie and Ned kiss and tell each other about their day, she doesn't realize that Hunter has just perished from a deadly fire that has also killed three other people. She also doesn't realize the significance of the music box that now lies next to their bed.