The Depression of an Incurable Optomist
I don't own characters, but oh the fun I'd have if I did!
One of my earlier works that might not be as perfect as I like to imagine, but I'm still proud of it.
Not right, not right at all; but she just couldn't help the thoughts that ran through her head. All she could do was avoid the situation and hope the thoughts would go away in time. "Ducky, the bright circle rose hours ago, don't you want to get up and play with your friends?" Her Mother asked, making that five times today.
The small swimmer slowly stretched, yawning to make sure her mom believed she was actually sleeping, something she now considered impossible. "Sorry mom, I did not realize how late I had sleeped; nope, nope, nope."
"That's alright little one." Her mom said, patting Ducky's head lightly. Ducky smiled, weakly and obviously forced. "Your friends went off towards the falling water." She pointed in the direction of the valley's water fall.
"Thank you mom." Ducky followed in the direction her mom was pointing, occasionally turning around to see if her mother was still in eye sight, after the third time she had disappeared, likely tending to one of Ducky's brothers or sisters.
Regardless, she turned left and started for the most reclusive part in the whole valley, the dark caves. All creatures of the Great Valley went to the caves when facing personal dilemmas and many came out with a new found sense of clarity, the few that didn't were never seen again, or so the rumor went anyway.
She walked slowly, taking short strides across the field, hoping she wouldn't run across any of her friends, one friend in particular. He was the reason for all this sadness, yep, yep, yep. If only things were as simple as they were when she was younger; an adventure here, a game there, just so simple.
Nope, now she was older, on the verge of adulthood, she'd have to pick a mate soon, and just to make things worse, her growth was stunted. While her family and friends increased in size dramatically (most of her friends at least) she remained the same, small swimmer.
That was one of the reasons, she supposed, why she developed a bond with him. They were always at eye level, walked on two legs, and had strengths in different elements, so why would it be so bad if she had some romantic thoughts involving the flyer.
Now if she had been looking forward rather than solemnly at her feet, she could have avoided walking into the flyer. Instead, she had lost her balance, tripped over her tail, and landed roughly on the ground. "Oh Ducky, I'm so sorry dear!" Said Petrie's mother.
"No, it is my fault; I was not looking where I was going." Ducky said, rising to her feet and immediately sidestepping Mrs. Flyer.
"Ducky, are you alright? I haven't seen you in ages." Mrs. Flyer called after her.
Ducky sighed and turned around, "It's just that I have not had the time to be stopping by."
"Oh, well Petrie says he hasn't seen you for many bright circle risings and settings either."
Ducky, anxious to get away, shuffled through a suitable excuse. "I am really sorry Mrs. Flyer, but I must be going to . . ." Her mind drew a blank, she knew there had to be some combination of words that could get her out of the conversation, but she was blinded to it.
"Ducky!" Yelled her brother Spike from across the plain, Ducky turned, instantly finding the excuse she needed.
"I'm really sorry Mrs. Flyer," She found herself repeating, "but I must be going to my brother, tell Petrie I said hello." Ducky started running to Spike, turning back and waving as she went. The aged flyer waved back and continued on her way, whatever that was.
Spike had changed considerably over the seasons; he was taller, his speech was still rough, but not so much as it was when he was a youngling. "You sleep late again?" He asked.
"Yeah." Ducky replied as she approached Spike.
"Four days in row." He stated, looking down at her.
"I know, I know."
"Anything wrong?" Spike started walking in the direction of their home, Ducky quickly decided to follow him rather than visit the morbid caves later.
"Well . . ." She debated with herself on whether or not she could trust Spike with such a secret, after a few milliseconds of consideration, she knew he could be trusted with this; after all he was the best brother she could ask for. "I think I'm in love with somebody I shouldn't be." She quickly blurted, summing up something that had bothered her for the last season into a twenty second statement.
"Littlefoot?" Spike asked.
"Oh no, no, no!" She rapidly shook her head.
"Chomper?"
"Let me finish Spike." Ducky requested. "It's Petrie."
"Oh."
"I know! It's so wrong; I cannot love someone that is not a swimmer." She ran her hands down her face, sighing.
"I not swimmer," Spike mumbled. "But you love me."
"It is different with you; you're my brother, part of my family." Ducky explained.
"So it alright if you love me, but Flyer Petrie different?" Spike had the habit of pronouncing last names first.
"Yes, of course. If I love flyer, then I will not be accepted by Valley."
"I'll still love you." Spike said.
"Aw, thanks little brother." She said hugging his foot; it was funny to consider him the little brother when he towered above her.
Ducky felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulder, now she had someone to count on if things got really bad, someone to share her secret with. They remained silent for the rest of the walk home, Spike admiring the plants and landscape while Ducky wondered what she could do about Petrie.
The bright circle was low in the sky when they arrived back at the nesting ground; Spike continued his walk, looking for their mother, Ducky on the other hand, stayed behind. "I'll catch up with you later Spike!" She called out.
"Okay!" He called back.
Ducky looked from Spike to the direction of the dark caves. It was far too late to head to the caves; the bright circle would set before she made it there and back again. Now how would she spend the day? She couldn't go back to her nest, not as long as her mom was there, she couldn't go play with her friends out of fear that Petrie would be there.
She was now alone, no place to go, no people to see. It was all Petrie's fault too, if it wasn't for that flyer, she'd still be playing with her friends, still be having adventures, and while she was blaming him for things he could not help, she might as well blame him for her stunted growth.
She sat down, elbows in her lap, head cradled in her hands. She couldn't believe she was blaming Petrie for something he couldn't help, something he didn't even know. She couldn't believe anything she was doing anymore, avoiding friends, moping about the valley; she missed her old self, her happy self.
No! She refused to give up on life, refused to continue on this way. She stood, determined to end this phase, once and for all. Her mom said that her friends had gone to the falling water, so she'd start looking for the flyer there.
The falling waters were far out in the valley, but not as far as the dark caves, hidden behind a substantial amount of thorny bushes and other plant life. She sprinted for the falls, wanting to find Petrie as quickly as possible, before her mind had a chance to change.
After ten minutes of non-stop sprinting, she stood before many low branched trees; they would be a problem if she had grown normally, but she was just the right height to avoid every tree branch in front of her.
The bushes, on the other hand, were just the right height to cut, scrape, and pierce every part of her body. She took a deep breath and stepped into the first bush; she could feel the small prickling of her skin. With only a few cuts and scrapes halfway through, she was doing well.
Ducky could hear the falling water, another few feet and she'd be out of the thorn bushes and into another set of thorn bushes, a figurative one involving Petrie and her life. She was starting to regret her decision of coming up here and telling the flyer of her feelings.
She started running through the bushes, feeling every single thorn prick her skin, she could feel the warm blood trickling down her body; she was determined to reach Petrie before changing her mind, even if that meant having to shout it to him with some cuts and scrapes.
She could see the falls, so close that she felt she could reach out and touch it. She pushed herself to move quicker, closing her eyes; this had always been much easier when she had rode on Spike's back. Sadly, he was back at home with mother; she'd never take that for granted again. Suddenly, she was on her back, she looked up to see what she had run into. A big branch, with thick, sharp thorns lay in front of her, broken on the ground. Her left cheek felt warm, running her hand against it, she could feel the liquid. She drew back her hand, seeing a streak of red amongst the green. She sat up, stared foreword at the fall, and did something she hadn't done in years.
She cried.
It was strange, it was odd, and it . . . was nice. It felt good, like she was finally letting out everything that had been stored inside her for far too long. It felt like when she'd told Spike about her secret crush. She could just picture herself; covered in cuts and blood, crying, and all the while smiling.
"Ducky, you okay?" Said the all too familiar voice from behind her; Ducky avoided turning around out of fear of how she looked.
"Oh, hello Petrie." Ducky said, wiping away the last of her tears. "Yes I'm fine; yep, yep, yep." She said, looking over her shoulder at the flyer.
Petrie was still the same old flyer, though slightly taller and more muscular, his voice wasn't as squeaky as it used to be, in most ways his growth was stunted too, though not as severely as hers.
"You sure don't seem fine." He quickly moved in front of her, shocked at the horrible sight before him. "What happened?" He asked staring at her reddened skin, he kneeled down before her, and she turned away.
"It's nothing Petrie." She said, trying to stand, failing horribly. Petrie rushed to her side before she could collapse, grabbing onto her elbow. "Let's get you in water." He said, directing her to the falls.
She hadn't realized how bad a state she was in; her right leg felt numb from the loss of blood, as did her left arm, the one Petrie gripped. Without a word between them, they slowly reached the water; Petrie carefully lowering her in. Ducky watched as the blood on her feet washed away, feeling as the warm water soaked into her cuts.
She looked left and right for any sign of the others. "Where is everyone?" She asked.
"They all home, bright circle setting soon." She didn't expect Petrie to come to her aid so quickly, but there he was stepping into the water and helping wash away her pain. It was nice in a weird way, having him devote his attention to her, though she'd prefer a less macabre situation.
Ducky had almost forgotten why she was there, why she had run through the thorns in the first place, why she had put herself through so much pain. "Petrie, I need to tell you something." She mumbled.
"Hold on Ducky." Said the flyer, rubbing water over her arms; the swimmer flinched as his hand pressed down on a cut. "Sorry!" He said, pulling his hand away.
"It's alright Petrie." She said grabbing his hand and guiding it back to her other arm. He continued scrubbing away the dried blood. "I need to tell you something," She repeated. "And I do not know what will happen after I have told you, maybe it will be good, but I just need to tell you and get it over with."
Ducky stopped, thinking how she could word it. "Go on." Petrie said after the prolonged silence. He started cleaning her cheek, slowly running his hand against her face.
"I like you Petrie." She said, avoiding eye contact.
"I like you too, Ducky." He responded.
"No, you do not get it Petrie. I like you more then I should; more than any swimmer should like a flyer," She paused "I love you, Petrie." The words left a bitter taste in her mouth, as well as the air.
"Oh." Was all Petrie could manage to say.
"I know I'm a freak, and I wouldn't blame you for avoiding me, but please do not tell anyone else of Great Valley." She pleaded, staring down at her and Petrie's feet.
"I not think you a freak." He said, placing his hand under her chin and lifting it up. "I think I love you too." For the first time since her feelings had emerged, she was staring into his eyes.
He leaned in, getting closer to her. Ducky was considering the possibility that she had passed out the second she ran into the branch of thorns, she'd be severely disappointed if she had. Either way, he was still leaning close to her.
Without wasting another moment, she leaned in, kissing him in a warm embrace. He was taken by surprise; all he was doing was making sure there was no blood left on her cheek. Though that wasn't to say he didn't enjoy it, it was one of the greatest things he had ever experienced, actually.
They separated for a moment before rejoining; they repeated the process for three minutes before they noticed the setting sun. "We'd better get home." Ducky said, breathing heavily.
"Yeah, can you walk?" He asked her, prepared to help.
"Sort of, I may need some help." She tried standing, suddenly her right leg gave out and she tumbled forward, where Petrie immediately caught her, something the small swimmer particularly enjoyed.
"It okay, I'll help you home." Petrie lifted her out of the water and onto the grass, and then pulled himself out.
"Petrie?"
"Yes Ducky?" The flyer offered his hand to the hurt swimmer.
"How are we supposed to get out of here?" Ducky asked, taking Petries hand.
In the excitement of bearing her feelings to the flyer, she had completely forgotten about the thorns that littered the path out, as did Petrie. "I'm not really sure." He stated. "My wings are too wet to fly."
"So were stuck here?"
"I think so, yes."
Ducky sat down; it wasn't so bad being trapped, she knew it wouldn't last too long, eventually someone would come to save them or Petrie's wings would dry up enough for him to fly them both over the bushes. On the plus side, she felt like the good old swimmer she (and Petrie) knew and loved. She sat on the grass, laying down and staring up at the starry sky, after a few moments Petrie joined her.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" She asked, turning to the flyer.
"Yep, sure is." He reached for her hand, gripping it tightly when he finally found it.
She couldn't change the thoughts that ran through her head, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing; nope, nope, nope. If she had a chance to do everything over, she'd tell Petrie a lot sooner, but she couldn't complain about how things turned out; she never was one to complain, at least not anymore.
Well, I know it's short, and I could detect a small hint of sappiness, but I'm proud of how it turned out. None the less, feel free to leave criticism if you'd like.
Thanks for reading, and have a great night.