Buddy and Me
Inspired by the VR game Buddy VR
'Sometimes fate works with us and sometimes it doesn't. We get what we want but not what we need or vise versa. This story is about how I met a very special and unique friend who changed my opinion on animals and myself forever. It began one warm day in Oakton. Remember how I told you that greedy old Mayor Muldoon tried to turn our beautiful Liberty Park into an amusement park? Yeah, even if those animals didn't take back the park there was no way it would've lasted twenty four hours in operation. I even heard that some of the rides that the mayor put in were so dangerous and unstable that if you dared got on one it would explode and the whole area would've burst into flames. But my story takes place... hmm... let's say in between Liberty Land's opening day to it's eventual permanent shut down.'
It was just another day as a group of workers who signed up to work in Liberty Land came into the park and began heading straight for their eventual work spots. Some worked on the rides, others the stalls and among all the people, all of the workers were male.
Save for one.
19 year old Brynn Dawber walked towards her new job within the confines of Liberty Land's unstable rides and the overpriced House of Mirrors; the confectionary store concession stand. It was the only job she could get after she moved back home to Oakton and she was not happy about dressing up in a uniform made of rags to serve junk food to greedy and selfish people.
'My name is Brynn Dawber and today would be the day my life would change forever. I was fresh out of high school and looking for some extra quick cash so I could pay for my trip to Detroit, Michigan to visit my grandparents. Normally my parents would've sent me the moment I graduated but we were facing some money problems and I was board out of my mind not that I no longer had homework to worry about so I decided to take my first ever job... which turned out to be both the best and worst moment of my life'
Brynn sighed as she stepped into the stand. She had been promised a bright future and life of fame every day when she was younger by her bright eyed parents, but now the only thing bright about this future is the hot beating sun and her only salvation from it was a fan. Brynn noticed a lot of things about the stall, like the over priced treats, the billboard filled with newspaper clippings filled with things that Mayor Muldoon has done and a mouse trap right under the counter with a piece of cheese as bait to catch a rodent.
"I chose this over the taco place?" Brynn asked out loud to herself "At least they had better working conditions then this."
"Hey lady!"
The door burst open and in came the stubby little brat known as Heather Muldoon, the mayor's daughter who spoiled her rotten every time she said 'I want it!' and screamed for it. Brynn tried to make a smile as she watched Heather march past her and grab a candy bar from the stash of candies and took a big bite.
"Uh, nice day." Brynn said
Heather just huffed and walked right out before she slammed the door behind her. Brynn sighed and rubbed her head to clear a headache. She removed her hands from her face just in time to see a little blue rat scurry across the floor and gasped. Brynn backed away in fright before the rat made his way to the mouse trap and tried to pull the cheese off the trap without triggering it.
Brynn looked at the creature with fright at first but then it changed into pity as she looked at the rat with sympathy. She got down on her knees and leaned over the rat and the trap. The rat yelped and curled up in the corner to hide, trembling with fear.
Brynn saw a pencil nearby and used it to trip the trap, allowing herself to get the cheese without getting caught in it. She reached out to the rat with the cheese piece in her hand saying "It's okay little guy, don't be afraid."
The blue rat trembled a little but he calmed down when he realized she was trying to do something nice for him. Brynn gently placed the cheese piece in the rat's arms and the rat began eating it until there was nothing left but crumbs. The rat smiled at Brynn and she smiled back before she picked him up and said "You know, you shouldn't be here. Rats aren't suppose to wander around near places people place their food. But don't worry, I won't tattle tale."
Gently, Brynn placed the rat on the counter table and said "I wonder what it's like to be so tiny..."
Within a flash of light and a series of popping sounds, Brynn had shrunk down to the size of a rodent. Brynn was amazed before the rat walked over to her, both with curiosity and excitement. Brynn had no idea how she shrunk or why but she was spellbound and excited nonetheless. Buddy smiled before he picked up a piece of paper and scribbled something down on a marker and showed it to Brynn.
It was the name 'Buddy'.
"Oh, your name is Buddy!" Brynn exclaimed "Nice to meet you, i'm Brynn."
Brynn took the marker and wrote her name on the other side. Buddy looked at it and smiled, nodding to say he understood. Brynn looked around, the world looked so much bigger from the eyes of a tiny person. A chocolate bar was as high as a basketball hoop, the soda bottles could fill a swimming pool of tiny people and the teddy bear under the billboard looked big enough to be a large animal. Brynn watched as Buddy walked over a plate of doughnuts and jumped inside.
Brynn fallowed close behind saying "Wow, if we could somehow shrink every person in the world to our size, I bet there's be enough food here to end world hunger."
Buddy emerged, chewing on something. Brynn was about to ask when Buddy blew a large pink bubble and he kept blowing until the bubble gum made him float over Brynn's head, making her giggle and laugh happily.
Once Buddy got down he got some candy canes and began beating a bunch of stuff lying around like drums and together Brynn and Buddy made quite a beat.
After they got tired Brynn noticed that Buddy looked very sad and hung his head sadly as he looked out the window sadly. Brynn noticed Buddy was crying and gently wiped away his tears saying "Why are you so sad? Are you lonely?"
Buddy nodded and pointed to a picture of some friends hanging together on a box of cereal and Brynn understood "Oh, I get it, you miss your friends. Did something happen to them or... did you get lost?"
Buddy nodded sadly and Brynn gently turned his snout to face her before she kissed his nose with affection "Don't worry Buddy, I'll help you find your friends. No matter what."
"HEY LADY!"
Buddy and Brynn jumped at that shrill sound. It was Heather! Heather burst in and began looking for Brynn as she shouted "Hey Candy lady! Oh, where did that lazy worker go?"
Brynn and Buddy hid behind a box and Buddy shivered with fear. Brynn noticed some gumballs and threw them, sending Heather looking the other way while she helped Buddy escape. They were about to make a clean get away when suddenly Heather grabbed Buddy by his tail and yanked him up harshly.
Brynn was terrified as she watched the giant face of Heather look down on her while Buddy helplessly dangled in her grasp, but the sight of the rat made a spark of courage burn brightly in her heart as she shouted at the top of her lungs "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
With another flash of light and series of pops, Brynn was back to normal as she jumped in front of Heather shouting "BOO!"
Heather was so surprised she fell over, dropping Buddy and Heather ran away in fright, shouting "DADDY!"
Brynn quickly picked up Buddy and said "Are you alright my little friend?"
Buddy nodded, he was alright and he was glad she saved him from that awful girl. Then his ears picked up and he smiled as he began bouncing in Brynn's arms happily.
Buddy pointed to the door and Brynn opened it. Once she did she was surprised by the sight of so many park animals gathered at her feet. There was even a pug who barked at her the moment she saw Buddy in the young woman's hands.
"Look! There's Buddy! I told you I'd find him!" Precious exclaimed
Brynn noticed how happy Buddy looked and got down on her knees saying "So these are the friends you've been missing, you sure are a popular guy."
A purple squirrel ran towards her and Brynn used her other hand to scoop up the squirrel as she gasped "Oh my... it's a real purple squirrel! I thought those kinds of squirrels were just... wow!"
Surly smiled at her and the moment she connected her hands together, Surly hugged his best friend tight. Buddy was more then happy to hug him back as Surly said "I was so worried about you Buddy, don't you ever wander away from me ever again."
Buddy nodded and motioned for Brynn to take him closer. Brynn brought Surly and Buddy close to her face and Buddy planted a great big kiss on her cheek and Surly did the same on the other side. Brynn gently placed the pair down and they took off for the remains of the park, saving Brynn good bye as she waved good bye back... and suddenly she felt so inspired she knew what she had to do.
'Buddy and his friends inspired me to do more then just get a job. They inspired me to be a friend to all living creatures and to make myself more useful to my community then I had originally planned.'
In the present day, Brynn, now called Grandma Brynn, had finished telling her seven year old granddaughter Lucy as she gave the little girl on her bed the scrapbook of everything she did and her continuing friendship with the animals.
"Because of that purple squirrel, I was inspired to open my own bakery; The Purple Squirrel Bakery. And I have been baking goodies in Oakton ever since."
"Is it really a true story Grandma?" Lucy asked curiously.
"That's what I remember, yes." Grandma Brynn said "Maybe one day you'll see a purple squirrel yourself and when you do, you'll find that your far more special then you know."
After Lucy was taken home by her parents, the first thing she did was grab a bag of nuts and walked over to the large oak tree in her backyard where a squirrel family had moved in. Out of curiosity, Lucy grabbed a nut from the bag and flung it towards the knothole.
It wasn't long before she saw paws coming from the entrance of the knothole and she called out "Hello Mr. Squirrel."
At first Lucy thought that the squirrel was going to be brown, or grey or even red like her mother and father predicted, but instead when the squirrel came out, he had a fur color Lucy had never thought she'd see; a purple fur coat!
Lucy's eyes went wide as the purple squirrel took the nut and looked down at her with a smile before he winked at her.
The End