This is an unofficial side story to Elise Lowing's The Land Before Time Retold series. I did get permission to do this and all rights go to her but lots of it to Universal Pictures and Don Bluth. This work is not mine. And I thank Elise Lowing for proof reading this story which I made for her. And make sure to check out her stories for you may get confused with this story and you may like them. I know I do. Enjoy. ;)
P.S. This takes place in between the first and second movies.
The Great Valley was silent in the night as every dinosaur falls in slumber.
Here, in this flourishing land, lives a group of great friends: Littlefoot the longneck, Cera the threehorn, Ducky the swimmer, Petrie the flyer, Spike the spiketail, and Aylene the human.
They journeyed through the Mysterious Beyond to get where they are. However, their travels were not without obstacles and dangers. During their journey, Sharptooth the T-Rex, the most feared predator around, mercilessly hunted them, trying to prevent them from reaching the Valley. Fortunately, the group managed to get rid of the terrifying beast forever.
Since then, they lived peacefully in the land.
One of the most unique friendships to be made in any history of time and any world was the connection between Aylene and Littlefoot. No one would've predicted such a friendship between human and dinosaur. They cared and love each other since the day they first met. No matter what the odds were, or what dangers came their way, they were always there for each other.
However, where friendships are forged, there are also hard moments.
It had been four days since Aylene returned to this world. She had been enjoying the days with her dinosaur friends. But for the past nights, she had struggles sleeping due to nightmares about a certain event she didn't want to relive.
"No... No, please. Stop. No... Don't!"
She tossed and turned in her sleep, experiencing the nightmare for a fifth straight night. She then suddenly gasped awake, sweating and panting hard. She was lying against Littlefoot's grandfather's stomach. She then turned her head to the left to see her best friend sleeping soundly. She palmed her hands to her face while she made a groan with a hint of readying to cry.
Why was the same dream haunting her? And to what extent?
She lowered her arms and wraps them around her legs, curling into a ball against Grandpa Longneck's stomach. A single tear rolled down her right cheek. She quickly wiped it while looking up at the full moon. She just couldn't sleep. Not while that dream kept following her. She stayed silent and awake for the rest of the night.
After a while that felt like an eternity, the sun rose up from the east, shining its warm rays on the Valley. Its light has woken up the little longneck, and he slowly got up, stretching and yawning. Opening his eyes and turned his head to see Aylene sitting against his grandpa.
"Good morning, Aylene," he happily said.
"Hmmm? Oh, good morning, Littlefoot." Aylene replied groggily.
"How did you sleep?" Littlefoot asked.
"I slept... Alright," she lied. She doesn't want her friend to know the truth.
"Good," the Apatosaurus said cheerfully as his grandparents began to wake.
"Good morning you two. Sleep well?" Grandpa Longneck asked.
"Oh yes, Grandpa. Can me and Aylene go get something to eat?" the young hatchling asked.
"Okay, but don't wander off too far." Grandma Longneck nodded.
"Okay! C'mon Aylene!" Littlefoot urged as he ran off.
"I'll be right there, Littlefoot!" the human tiredly shouted.
Aylene got up and was about to head out, when the elder male longneck stopped her.
"Aylene wait," he said calmly. "We need to talk."
"About what?" Aylene asked, in a confused and worried tone.
"You're having a hard time sleeping. You've been having difficulty sleeping ever since you got back here." The elder longneck said, which surprised Aylene with wide eyes.
How did he know?
"You mean... You know?" she asked in shock. "You were awake?"
"You were turning and moving a lot in your sleep in fear and discomfort." Grandpa Longneck explained. "What's wrong?"
"I... I don't want to talk about it." Aylene said, biting her lip.
"Come on, dearie. We want to help. Please tell us." Grandma Longneck begged calmly with concern.
"Can we please not talk about it? It's very personal." Aylene turned away looking down at the ground, hoping it would end.
A long silence happened until the male elder revealed something that she hoped he wouldn't.
"It's about Littlefoot, isn't it?" he asked, making her open her eyes and look up in disbelief.
She didn't know what to say.
"You looked at him with much concern last night." Grandpa Longneck added, making his point.
What should Aylene say? This subject is very hard for her to discuss, since it's something that involves Littlefoot. And since it has been the same dream the past few nights, it's kind of hard to forget it. She realizes she has no choice but to tell them.
"Please," she said, looking at the longnecks with serious eyes, "promise me you won't tell him about this conversation."
They both nodded.
With a long depressing sigh, Aylene tells them her problem.
"I've been having bad dreams about something that has been haunting me to my heart lately," she confessed. "And it has been the same one night after night."
"Bad dream?" the elder female asked. "You mean a bad story in your sleep?"
"Yeah…That." Aylene hesitated. "And Littlefoot is related to it but... It's not him that I have dreams about."
"What's it about?" Grandpa Longneck asked.
"His... Mother dying," the girl choked.
This made the elder Apatosauruses express faces of shock and concern for the little human.
"It's the same thing over and over." Aylene continued, her voice full of misery. "My memory of seeing Littlefoot's mother getting attacked by Sharptooth and dying. They don't stop. They just keep coming. It's as if it's trying to tell me something. And I already know what it is. It's because I was responsible for her death."
Aylene's resolve made the longnecks more surprised and concerned with agape mouths.
"I had my bow and arrows with me!" the human suddenly clenched. "I had the chance to end Sharptooth and end the fight right there... But I didn't! I didn't do anything, nothing to save her! And because of me, my best friend lost someone very special to him and giving him a broken heart. It tore me apart to see him so miserable! It's a mistake that I can never take back. It was all my fault! I LET her die!"
Aylene was now on the verge of crying, but she did her very best to hold back her tears. The elder longnecks were both shocked to hear her words. How could Aylene think she was responsible for Littlefoot's mother dying? They didn't blame the human child for their daughter's death.
"Aylene... Please. Don't be hard on yourself. There was nothing you could've done." Grandpa Longneck assured gently.
"Wasn't there?!" Aylene was almost yelling angrily. "I had a weapon, of course I could've done something! But all I did that night was stand there and watch! I brought pain and suffering to Littlefoot! Not Sharptooth! ME!"
As Aylene said those words, she wasn't yelling at the elders. She was yelling at herself. Her stomach tightens with pain and pure guilt.
"Dearie, don't compare yourself to Sharptooth." Grandma Longneck said in a soft tone. "You are nothing like him."
"How can I when I've let him do what he did?!" Aylene cried. "How can I forgive myself for my mistake?!"
"Aylene... It was not your fault." Grandpa Longneck calmly said with compassionate eyes.
"I'm sorry." Aylene whispered with anguish. "But I don't believe that."
Unable to continue the conversation, she turned and walked off silently to meet with Littlefoot.
"Poor child." The female elder said in a sad, concerned voice. "She needs to know what happened wasn't her fault."
"I don't think she'll be able to see that with her own eyes. Even if she herself tried." The male elder sighed sadly, watching the human girl walk away.
Aylene soon met with Littlefoot by a small tree. The moment she saw him, she quickly pulled herself together, so she would not show her sadness to her friend.
"There you are Aylene. What kept you?" the Apatosaurus asked curiously.
"Oh, I was making sure my backpack had everything in it. Sorry for the wait." Aylene apologized with a forced smile.
"It's alright." Littlefoot shrugged. "Do you have your own food?"
"Oh, yes." Aylene nodded. "And I made sure to bring new food this time."
"Like what?" Littlefoot asked excitingly.
"Like fruits and vegetables." Aylene smiled. "I have two of each. One for me and one for you."
"Wow. I'm going to eat food from your world?! That sounds great!" Littlefoot cheered happily, which actually lifted the human's spirits up a little.
She fished inside her bag and pulled out an apple as the first new food for Littlefoot to see. He stared at the red fruit with intrigued eyes.
"What's that?" he asked curiously.
"It's an apple. Try it." Aylene urged holding the apple flatly in her right hand towards the Apatosaurus.
He sniffed the fruit a couple times before eating it out of her hand. He chewed on the sweet, watery food before swallowing it, licking his lips in delight.
"Mmmmmm. That was delicious! What else do you got?!" He jumped excitingly.
"Now hold on there, let me see." Aylene giggled as she looked through her bag. A few seconds later, she pulled out a handful of lettuce.
"Hey, I thought you said you don't eat leaves." Littlefoot pointed out confusingly, looking at the leaf-like vegetable.
"Littlefoot, this isn't a leaf." Aylene explained. "It's called lettuce. It's an edible plant I eat. Try it."
The human then set the vegetable down in front of her longneck friend. Littlefoot lowered his head and ate one leaf. He widened his eyes at the flavor of the vegetable and ate the rest of the lettuce in one bite, making Aylene chuckle at her friend's enjoyment of the new food. Littlefoot made a big smile as he swallowed his meal.
"Wow Aylene! You have such delicious foods! I hope you bring more!" the longneck exclaimed happily, making the human laugh a little more.
"I'll make sure to bring more sometime." Aylene said. "However, I do have more food to show you."
However, before she could pick out the next food out of her bag, the two friends heard a familiar voice call out their names.
"Aylene! Littlefoot!"
They both looked over to see Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike coming down to them.
"Hey guys! How are you all?" Littlefoot asked.
"Not too bad." Cera shrugged.
"I'm good, too. Yep, yep, yep." Ducky chirped happily.
"Me three." Petrie joined in.
Spike came over and licked Aylene's cheek as a "hello", making her laugh.
"How about you two?" Ducky asked.
"I'm okay." Aylene said, wiping the slobber off her face.
"Me too. Aylene was just sharing some of her food with me. They were good." Littlefoot complimented happily.
"What?" Cera gave a disappointed look at Aylene. "You've been giving out food from your world without saving some for us?"
"Sorry. I didn't bring enough. I'll try to bring more next time though." Aylene promised.
"Well, what we do today?" Petrie asked.
"How about a game of hide and seek?" Ducky suggested.
On that note, the whole group agreed.
The rest of the day went by as the Gang played games in the sun. During the last part of the day, dark clouds began setting in.
The Gang sat down and relaxed in a meadow, having friend-to-friend conversations.
"And I was like 'Do you know who I am? I'm one of the hatchlings that defeated Sharptooth!' Man, you should've seen the look on his face!" Cera laughed.
"I bet it was hilarious, Cera." Aylene rolled her eyes playfully.
"Today has been fun. It has, it has." Ducky chirped.
"Me agree." Petrie said.
"Ducky! Spike!" A motherly voice called. "It's time to come home!"
"Okay mama!" Ducky called out before turning back to her friends. "Well, my mother is calling. Me and Spike got to get going. See you all tomorrow!"
Ducky and Spike were about to turn to leave when they heard Littlefoot sigh sadly after the little swimmer said the word 'mother'. They both stopped as they and the others looked in concern.
"What's wrong Littlefoot?" Cera asked.
"It's just... I miss my mother." Littlefoot admitted.
Hearing that, Aylene felt a stab of pain in her heart. They just finished a fun day, making her forget her sadness. That is until now.
"Oh, Littlefoot," Ducky said sympathetically, "I know you do. But your mother will always be in your heart."
"I know." Littlefoot sighed. "But I wish she was here right now. I wish she could see what we did, and could meet you all."
Aylene felt her stomach tighten more and more as they kept talking about the young longneck's mother. She just wanted it to stop.
"But Littlefoot, what about grandparents?" Petrie pointed out.
"Don't get me wrong," Littlefoot shook his head a little. "I love my grandparents, and I'm happy they're still around. But my mother was very special to me. Everyone here has at least a parent while…I don't. It makes me feel left out and kind of lonely. I just wish I could see and feel her again. And I know she would've been alive right now if it wasn't for that day. I miss her so much."
Littlefoot began to get a little misty-eyed. Aylene can't stand listening anymore. The others had sad looks on them.
"Hey listen," Cera gave a warm smile, "if you ever get sad and need someone to help you, we're all here for you."
Ducky, Petrie, and Spike all agreed happily, making the longneck smile.
"Thanks everyone. You're all true friends." He wiped his tears with a grateful smile.
At that moment, they all began to feel raindrops. They looked up to the sky and saw that rain clouds had slowly moved over the Valley.
"It looks like rain about to fall." Petrie said.
"Yeah, we should be getting home, right Aylene?" Littlefoot asked, looking to his left.
But no one was there. Aylene was gone.
"Aylene?" Littlefoot called and looked around.
But he didn't see any sign of her.
"Aylene! Where are you?!" Ducky called.
"Maybe she went back to her world?" Cera suggested.
"Me no see her leave." Petrie said.
"Where could she have gone?!" Littlefoot said, noticeably worried. "This is not like her!"
"Don't worry Littlefoot, we'll find her." Ducky said.
"Ducky's right." Cera said. "We'll ask our parents to help us find her, too."
"Thanks, guys." Littlefoot nodded as each of the children went to their homes to find the missing human.
Littlefoot rushed back to his grandparents as fast as his legs could.
"Grandpa, Grandma!" he called out desperately.
"What's wrong, Littlefoot?" Grandpa Longneck asked with concern.
"Aylene is missing!" Littlefoot revealed in worry.
"What? What happened?" Grandma Longneck asked.
"She vanished after talking about how I miss my mother and she was gone!" Littlefoot explained.
This made the elder Apatosauruses give each other silent worried looks.
"What?" Littlefoot asked, feeling uneasy when he saw their expressions.
"We... Know why she disappeared," the male elder longneck said in sadness.
"You do?!" Littlefoot asked, surprised.
"Let's just say she's been really depressed about herself and... Something that's been troubling her." Grandma Longneck said slowly.
"What?" Littlefoot asked.
"That's something for you and her to talk about alone." Grandpa Longneck said.
"But what if we don't find her?!" Littlefoot said, even more worried than before.
"Don't worry, dear," the female apatosaurus assured. "We'll find her."
Suddenly, the rain began to pour down from the clouds in the heavens.
"But we must be quick." Grandpa Longneck said, a slight hint of urgency in his voice. "We can't be out in weather like this for very long."
They all search far and wide in the Valley, looking around every corner, under every rock, log, and nest they can find. But they still couldn't find any sign of Aylene. As time went on, Littlefoot was starting to get really worried for his missing human friend.
"Where could you have gone to?" Littlefoot thought sadly to himself. "Why did you disappear, Aylene?"
Still, as worried as he was about his friend's safety, he was determined to find her, even if it took all night.
Aylene was the very first friend Littlefoot had ever had. For sometime, he saw her more as a sister than a friend. She was so kind, gentle, friendly, and caring to him. It was the first time someone that's not part of the family really cared for him. But he never really thought she wasn't a part of his family. Even though she wasn't an Apatosaurus like he was, nor was she born into his family and world, and she was clearly different from anything in this world, she had been one of the few best things to happen to him. He really loved her as a sister. He just had to find her.
But where could she have gone off too?
His thinking was broken when he stepped into wet mud. He looked down for a moment, and he noticed something. He saw a footprint. Not just any footprint, HER footprint. He'd recognized that shape anywhere. Aylene must have come by this way.
He saw a trail that led up to a mountain path, and he started following the tracks. He kept following them through the hard pouring rain, going higher up the mountain, hoping he finds Aylene soon.
After a few minutes, he heard something other than the rain falling. It sounded like someone sniffing miserably. It got a little louder as he came across a cave hole. He soon realized that the noise was coming from inside the cave. He took a small peek inside, and to his huge relief, he found who he was looking for.
Aylene was sitting at the back of the cave.
However, Littlefoot also noticed that she curled up in one corner with her head on her arms on her knees, shaking and crying softly, and soaking wet. Littlefoot was glad she was safe, but is very concerned to know why she's crying. He slowly entered.
"Aylene!" Littlefoot called Aylene in relief.
Aylene look up sharply in surprise, with tears streaking down her cheeks.
"I'm so glad you're okay. Why did you run away?" Littlefoot asked concerned, nuzzling his wet cheek with her wet, tear-streaked cheek.
"Littlefoot. I... Uh... Just needed some space and time to myself... That's all." Aylene obviously lied, wiping her tears quickly.
"But why are you sad?" Littlefoot sat down next to her, looking at her with sincere worry. "Why didn't you tell any of us where you were going? I was so worried about you."
"I... Can't tell you." Aylene looked away sadly.
"Why not?"
"Because I can't! It's too painful to talk about."
"Is it the 'problem' Grandpa and Grandma talked about?" Littlefoot asked.
Aylene looked at him with shock.
"They've been saying you were really depressed about something, and that only you and I should talk about it," the longneck said, his voice sounded pleading. "Please tell me what's wrong. We've made a promise that we'll always be with each other if one of us is in need. You helped me. Let me help you."
Aylene looked into his brown eyes with hesitated remorse. Does she really tell him? It's a thing of the past she doesn't want to bring up to Littlefoot.
He was right about one thing, though. She did make that promise with him, that if one of them needed help, the other would be there to help.
Finally, Aylene looked down at her feet and sighs heavily. She paused for a moment before speaking.
"I've been having some very awful dreams for the past nights," she admitted sadly.
"Dreams?" Littlefoot asked. "What's that? You mean bad sleep-stories?"
"Whatever you want to call it." Aylene whispered softly in a miserable manner.
Littlefoot was now even more worried. This is the first time she didn't replace his words with one of her own, and that wasn't normal.
"It's not more than one though." Aylene continued. "It's the same thing night after night. Worst of all, it's a memory that I want to forget. But it just keeps chasing me in my head and I can't get away from it, no matter how hard I try."
"What?" Littlefoot asked hesitantly.
"You don't want to know."
"But I do." Littlefoot begged. "Please Aylene. It's the only way I can help you."
Aylene clutched her knees harder, wishing it didn't come to this. She sighed long and hard.
"...Your mother dying." She finally confessed, making Littlefoot widened his eyes in sadness.
He realized that she was sort of right; he didn't want to know. It was something he didn't want to be reminded of. However, he was also perplexed to why Aylene kept dreaming about it, and what specifically made her so upset about it.
"Seeing these..." Aylene hesitated, clenching. "…Dreams is killing me inside. It tears me apart every night I see it, and every day I think about it. I can't stand it. I'm so sorry to bring up terrible memories, but it's what I'm seeing for the past five nights. And I don't know what to do."
"But... Why would you be thinking about it so much?" the longneck asked.
"Because it's like this memory shoves itself right into my face to remind me about my greatest failure when I already know what it is!" Aylene choked and streams of tears rolled down her eyes like waterfalls.
Littlefoot was surprised by her words, not because they hurt, but because he was confused. What did she mean her 'greatest failure'?
"And everyone keeps saying it's not my fault and I shouldn't blame myself." Aylene continued, her voice breaking. "But how can anyone think that? Why would they think that? I had the ability to end it right on the spot and save a life but what did I do? I stood there, watched, and let it happen..."
Aylene choked so much that she was now sobbing. Littlefoot was speechless and was crying tears himself. Not just remembering the story of his mother's fate, but by seeing how torn apart Aylene was. It made him cry to see her like this.
"I let your mother die, Littlefoot! I'm so... So sorry!"
Aylene then hugged Littlefoot tight around his shoulders, sobbing hard on him. Littlefoot was still speechless. Did she really blame herself for his mother's death that much? Did she think she was the reason that his mother should've been alive? He never thought any of these things of her. He didn't blame her for what happened to his mother, nor would he ever. He just can't believe she would think such a thing.
He lowered his head to hers, and made her look at him.
"Aylene... It's not your fault." he said gently.
"No... Please don't." Aylene looked away in shame.
But Littlefoot brought his head around, so that she had no choice but to look at him.
"But it really wasn't." he said. "There was nothing you could've done."
"But why would you say that?" Aylene wiped her tears away. "HOW could you say that when I could've prevented it?"
"Because I know you Aylene," the longneck explained. "I don't blame you for my mother's passing. I would NEVER think of you as responsible for that. Besides... One of the best things to happen to me came after."
"What?" Aylene asked curiously, still in tears.
"You, of course." Littlefoot said with a slight smile, making Aylene widen her eyes in utter surprise. "You, the first friend I've ever had. And you became a sister to me. You were always by my side when I needed you. You kept me safe, and made me feel loved. And that is why I love you." He choked happily with a smile.
"Oh, Littlefoot. Littlefoot!" Aylene wept, a smile stretching across her face.
Aylene then wrapped her arms around Littlefoot's neck. Littlefoot wrapped his neck around Aylene for an embrace.
This was no longer a sad moment. It was a happy moment for them both. Aylene especially wanted this to last forever. She didn't ever want to let him go. Littlefoot felt the same as he cried happily into her shoulder.
Meanwhile, the others were still looking for Aylene.
"Aylene!" Grandpa Longneck shouted.
"Oh, I hope she's okay." Grandma Longneck sighed worryingly.
"Me too. The poor thing." The male elder looked down in a glooming expression.
"Where could she have run off too?"
"I don't know. I wish I... Wait."
Something caught Grandpa Longneck's eyes through the rain. He saw a small cave on the side of the mountain. He walked to it with Grandma Longneck following. Once they reached it, the elder male lowered his head a little to see what was inside. What he saw made him sigh in relief and give a sweet smile. The female elder lowered her head to see inside as well.
Inside, near the back of the cave, Littlefoot and Aylene were lying against the wall, sleeping with smiles. Aylene rested up against Littlefoot's side, while he had his tail wrapped around her, like it was some kind of barrier.
"Should we bring them back?" Grandma Longneck asked.
"No." Grandpa Longneck said softly. "They'll be fine here. Besides, they need this. Especially Aylene."
The two elder longnecks then headed back to the Valley to tell the others they found Aylene safe and sound. But didn't reveal where she and Littlefoot were, as she needed alone time with her dinosaur brother.
The morning arrived with the sunlight shining in through the cave's entrance, lighting the small area up. Aylene felt the warmth of its rays and slowly opened her eyes. She slowly sat up, yawning and stretching as she did so. Her slight movement starts to wake up the young longneck.
"Good morning, Littlefoot." Aylene said.
"Good morning, Aylene. Did you sleep okay?" Littlefoot asked curiously.
"Better than the last few nights." Aylene said.
The longneck then started to nuzzle her shoulder while the human rubbed his long neck. It was a sweet moment for her to enjoy.
"Hey, Littlefoot" she said softly, "did you really mean what you said last night? About me being one of the best things to you?"
"Of course, Aylene. You're my best friend. And you really are like a sister to me." Littlefoot smiled.
"Well," Aylene smiled back, "you're one of the best things to happen to me, too. And you're like a brother to me. I mean, I do have an older brother, and I do love him, but you've become like a little brother to me."
Aylene then looked to her stone, gently clasping it with her fingers.
"I can't imagine how life would be like if this didn't take me here." she said softly.
"Please don't say things like that." Littlefoot said. "I don't want to think about it."
"Yeah, you're right." Aylene sighed. "I'm sorry. But I'm glad it took me here. I love this gift. I couldn't be more grateful to it for making this possible."
"Me too." Littlefoot agreed as he wrapped his neck around Aylene, hugging her.
The two children sat there a while longer. They didn't care if they were different species, or that they were from different time and different worlds. They still saw each other as family, the two of them along with Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike. They were all family. And nothing was going to change that.
The silence was suddenly broken with the growling of their stomachs.
"Well, that seems to happen a little too much." Aylene chuckled awkwardly.
"Yeah, I know." Littlefoot laughed as Aylene joined.
"Let's go." Aylene said, getting up from her place. "The others are probably still worried about us."
"Yeah! But last one there is a bad egg!" Littlefoot jumped up and ran out laughing.
"Hey wait! That's not fair, Littlefoot! Not all of us have four legs, you know!" Aylene laughed as she tries to catch up with him.
The two laughed their way down the hill, while the sun still rose in the east.
High above in the heavens, a cloud passed by, making the shape of an Apatosaurus with a hole in the heart. The sun's rays gently passed through it and shone down on the land below. It was almost as if someone special was keeping an eye on it from another place. Knowing it was a land for her son, his human sister, and his friends to grow and live together in harmony.
THE END