Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
zzzzzzzzz.....
zzzz... hm?
Huh? What?
Oh right! *ahem*
It is I... Berry the koala plushie. Back from my million year slumber!
H-hey– it was a joke. You're supposed to laugh...
Ok, look– you don't have to remind me. I know it's an exaggeration and it's just been four or five years since I picked up this here journal. And I get it– my jokes aren't all that funny. But it's certainly felt like forever... wouldn't you agree?
It's not like nothing happened in that time, though. Oh boy– all KINDS of things happened. It just takes a special kind of motivation to write down every adventure and odd event that goes down. And it's especially hard to find that motivation when every time you sit down in your tree branch to write, you drop your pencil, a gecko runs away with it, and BAM! You're off on another multi-chapter quest to prevent the downfall of Jamaa as we know it.Well... sometimes it's like that. A few times. Okay, maybe that's also an exaggeration.
Most of the time, really... I'm just lost for words and don't know what to write down. Sometimes I'd rather just lean against a tree, stare up at the grey sky, and just appreciate everything for what it is rather than rush to write it all down. Ya feel me?
But today is different. Today... I have a tale to tell.
Not a tall tale, mind you– this one very much happened to me just last week...
–––––––––––––
* Shoutout to Vaiana70 for the story prompt! *
"So... why again are you taking us to a fortune teller?"
It was already the late afternoon, and just about to be marked down as another quiet, uneventful day– and I would have been fine with that. Staying curled up in my blanket in the middle of an oversized pillow was all I had set out to accomplish that day, but it was clear that Rainy had other plans when he'd showed up in front of my den with Happy close behind. It took me some convincing... but now there I was, being dragged to a fortune teller on the outskirts of Sarepia Forest.
"Because it's fun!" Rainy answered me exasperatedly. "I've got some pretty accurate fortunes from Madame Magica, but whether or not you believe in it, it's definitely going to be more fun than sleeping the day away. Seriously, you do that way too much..."
"Rainy, while I may be a plushie, you forget that I'm also a koala, and we need to sleep through most of the day to stay fluffy and beautiful," I explained, "I would like to say that I'm more likely to be up for a walk once the moon is out and I feel more awake and alert, but I'm too scared of seeing a ghost to leave my den when it's dark outside..."
"Hey, they're not ghosts!" Happy interjected, "They're forest spirits. One gave me a flower once..."
Oh right, I should mention– this past year, Happy has somehow become a literal magnet for the paranormal. Things randomly fall off shelves when he's in the room, and it seems at least twice a month, he runs to one of us excited to share something spooky that he experienced on one of his midnight forest walks.
I gotta admire his fearless curiosity, but now that I know ghosts– er, forest spirits –are probably real, I'll admit it's made me a bit nervous about walking around the deep forests of Jamaa at night. Even if they are friendly, as Happy insists they are...
It was a long walk down from the small forested mountain where I lived, all the way down the path into the bustling heart of Jamaa Township. Rainy took us further, and we followed him to the very outskirts of the township, slipping past the shadows of a few vine-draped trees into a hidden clearing beside Sarepia Forest.
The leaves cleared to reveal the fortune teller, in all her strawberry-headed glory...
"Greetings, all! It is I, Madame Magica, here to reveal the many possibilities your sparkling futures hold," she welcomed us with a smile, turning to face Rainy, "Why, thank you for bringing me two new customers, Rainbow! I know my fortune telling stand must be an awfully long walk from your mountain homes.."
"Don't worry 'bout it, Magica– long walks can be nice," said Rainy, "Happy, Berry, this is Madame Magica. She's an old friend from back at the Crocodile Kingdom castle– for as long as I can remember, she's always been there to tell me my fortune when I feel down. And it's always come true!"
While I was still catching my breath from the long walk, Happy was visibly super excited to hear his fortune, his ears flapping joyfully. "Eeee!! Can I go first??"
In the past, I might have thought his many expressions of glee a little obnoxious... but the truth was that I always did admire Happy's enthusiasm. Even though it's hard to change when I've built up a kind of dismissive personality over the years, I really do wanna find a way to be more like him. Somehow.
"Step right up, pink elephant friend! For the modest starting price of 5 gems, access to knowledge of the future is yours!" Madame Magica gestured to the clay pot of gems to her side, and Happy was quick to place a red 5 gem coin in the pot, which fell in with a smooth click-clack sound.
I watched as Madame Magica closed her eyes in concentration, lifting her front hooves to the giant strawberry so oddly perched upon her head. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but the berry appeared to take on a strange glow for a moment...
"Happy, pink elephant..." she addressed him in a focused, faraway voice, and he looked up at her in awe as she continued, "as long as you keep listening to the wisdom of your heart, and the wisdom of the deep, dark forest... adventure and great discovery will be yours."
I was initially really shocked. Whoa. How could she have known– wait a minute, I paused my thoughts, I bet Rainy told her about Happy's mysterious forest walks. Of course, she couldn't have known on her own...
Madame Magica's trance subsided and she opened her eyes again. Happy was ecstatic; his eyes wide and his ears practically flapping at the speed of sound. "Thank you so much, Madame!!!"
"Of course, Happy! Now, who would like to go next?" Madame Magica looked back and forth between Rainy and I.
"I'll go, Magica!" said Rainy, dropping his own 5 gem coin into the pot beside her.
Once more, the fortune teller closed her eyes, mysterious strawberry glowing upon her head, and Rainy looked up at her with a little expectant smile. "Rainbow..." she began, "you will grow up to be the handsomest crocodile prince in this whole big universe."
"Yay!!" Rainy did a joyful little crocodile hop.
Yep. Definitely not real.
Rainy turned to me brightly. "You see, Berry? Her fortunes are always accurate! Please– you gotta try it!"
I really didn't want to... but, *sigh* oh well. I didn't want to disappoint Rainy or Happy, and besides, what's 5 gems anyway?
"Ah... okay." I turned to the fortune teller's booth. "Hi Madame Magica, here's my 5 gems..." I said kind of awkwardly, dropping my 5 gem coin into her pot just like my friends both did.
Once again, Madame Magica closed her eyes in concentration, raised her hooves to her glowing strawberry hat... then she frowned.
"Oh no, Berry... you're not gonna like this..."
Wait, what!?
"It's not clear, but I see a... dark orb hovering, hovering... down the path... through the door... floating into your den..."
NO. NO NO NO NO N—
Madame Magica continued in her now faint voice. She seemed faraway now, deep within her vision. "Is... the orb... black? Red? I can't... tell..."
WHY DOES THE COLOR MATTER OH ZIOS THERE IS A GHOST THERE IS A GHO–
"Polka... dots..."
I couldn't take it anymore.
I turned and ran, screaming and running at breakneck speeds in the direction of my den. Past Sarepia, past Jamaa Township, through the mountains. Running on pure plushie adrenaline, not caring that I was running directly towards a potential haunting and hoping that launching my small shrieking self at the ghost would be enough to make it dissolve or something.
Through the blurring trees, glimpsing the path to my den, then the front, then feeling my terror reach a fever pitch as the door got closer, opening to the inside, and I–
...
I spent a long time in stunned silence, staring at the black and red ghost orb.
A ladybug, quietly perched upon my teacup.
The sun began to set. Soon, Rainy, Happy, and even Madame Magica had made their way back to my den to see if I was okay. I heard the door open, heard them come up to stand beside me.
Happy gently pat me on the back. "Don't worry, friend. I can bring this little ladybug back outside to their own home for you, if you'd like..."
"Aah, if only you had stayed a moment longer for my whole prediction!" Madame Magica sighed, "you wouldn't have had to get so worried."
"But don't feel bad," Rainy stepped in, "I know how much the idea of a ghost in your den bothers you. It's completely understanda–"
Randomly, I felt the need to pull everyone into a group hug, as much as my little stubby paws could allow.
It took me a second to speak, but somehow I managed. "Er... I know I don't normally say things like this, but thank you. Thank you all, for being such great friends. And you too, Madame Magica– I don't know you very well yet, but it was really kind of you to check on me."
"Maybe you'll finally admit that my fortunes are accurate!" she said with a smile.
A big smile crept across Happy's face. "Aww... Berry, thank you! You're a really great friend too, even when you're also a melodramatic scaredy cat."
"C'mon, Happy–" Rainy started, and it made me smile because it was true.
I am, and have always been, a melodramatic scaredy cat.
