This is actually a contest entry :3
The Little Neko Who Lost Her Sock!
There once was a little neko who loved her socks very much. It always made her smile when she got a new pair, but there was one pair that she loved and wore more than any of the others. One day, on her way out to go to Neko's R Us, she could not find the second sock to the pair, and this upset her very much. After digging in every drawer and checking every basket of laundry, she knew she would have to check the dryer. The little neko was terrified of the dryer, but since it was her favorite pair of socks, she pushed herself and headed toward it. As the little neko approached the dryer, she noticed the arm of a sweater sticking out from inside. Being so curious the little neko grabbed the sleeve and started to pull. Then, out of nowhere, there was a powerful tug from the other side and before she knew it, the little neko fell through the back of the dryer and entered a whole new world.
Vibrant green and purple trees shaped as mushrooms sprung out of the ground. The tree trunks seemed to be tie-dyed with faded shades of green and violet. The trees formed a long, narrow tunnel leading down, farther into the unknown world.
Running parallel to the tunnel of trees was a long river that seemed to stretch for miles, engaging into the area around it. Around the border of the river were tiny flowers and other small plants sprouting from the ground. The plants appeared as if they were dancing with the wind, as they blew in several directions following it.
The neko panted as she looked around the unfamiliar world. Her ears were bent down and she was terrified she would never get her sock back- or worse, she'd never get back home. The neko paced back and forth, trying to figure out what she was going to do.
"I got it~nya!" The neko jumped as she thought of an idea, "maybe I should just follow the river and the tunnel of trees! Maybe at the end is my sock~nya!"
The neko, now determined to get her sock back and return home, began to walk under the trees, following the path that was laid out in front of her. But the trees gave the impression as if they were growing taller as she walked farther ahead, curiosity got the best of her as she left behind a nervous aroma.
Her heart was beating so fast and loud, you could hear it from miles away. The neko feared this unknown world, but she kept moving forward like nothing was bothering her. It was obvious she was scared, but the neko tried to conceal her emotions, and tried to look strong in case anyone came her way.
After walking for a long distance, the neko was exhausted and decided to sit down for short break. She collapsed on the ground, under a shady tree. The neko soon began to lose consciousness, slowly drifting off into slumber. She closed her eyes and began to make a soft purring noise.
Right before the neko could fully fall asleep, she felt something lightly scratching her arm. Then something else moved by her foot. This feeling made the neko feel very uneasy, like something was there beside her.
The neko immediately jumped and landed on her feet, looking to see what touched her. She gazed under her to see what was there. The neko was pretty much covering her eyes with her paws, fearing there was a giant creature in front of her. She slowly moved her paws to get a better glimpse of what was there. Her paws then dropped, she saw a blue caterpillar crawling on the ground.
The caterpillar was about six inches long and was very wide. It had a blue back with orange spots and white stomach. The caterpillar also had large, sad looking eyes that were big and rounded. It crawled across the ground very slowly.
The neko kneeled down next to the caterpillar, "um... excuse me~nya. But... But have you seen my other sock?"
The caterpillar looked up at the neko and then shook his head, he continued to crawl away slowly like nothing had even happened.
The neko was very disappointed but still felt the need to ask a few more questions, "Are you sure~nya? It looks just like this sock, but it's for my other foot!"
The neko pointed to her left sock that was still on her foot. Her eyes stayed on the sock for a moment as she realized what details were in it. The sock went up past her knee and ended at her thigh. It was striped with a cream color and soft pink. They were thicker stripes and by far her favorite pair.
The caterpillar stopped crawling for a moment and then turned to face the neko. He began to speak in a deep voice, "wait, now that I think about it, I've seen a sock just like that in that new ramen restaurant right up that path."
"Really~nya!?" The neko began to jump up and down with joy of seeing her sock again. She was so happy someone knew where her other sock was, the neko felt a great amount of relief.
"Thank you so much ~nya! I'll head to the ramen place right now!"
The neko bowed in front of the caterpillar, showing her gratitude. She then took a deep breathe and began to sprint down the tunnel of trees and towards the Ramen restaurant the caterpillar was talking about. Her tail was swishing behind her and her ears were pointed straight up to the sky.
After walking for a bit more, the neko could finally see a light at the end of the tunnel of trees. She stopped to look at it for a moment, the light suddenly faded into a building.
Up ahead, there was a cream colored brick building with large glass windows. The windows were giant and almost took up a hole side of the building. It was a decent sized placed, about the size of any ramen shop. The place had a red roof with a brick chimney, and smoke was coming out of the top. Right out in front of the building was a giant sign that read;
"Ramen Restaurant- The tastiest place in town"
The name rung a bell in the neko's head, but she couldn't put a finger on what it meant. Instead, she rubbed her eyes and thought deeply for a moment, trying to recall anything related to the restaurant's name or slogan. The neko gave up with a long sigh and decided to head in and continue searching for her lost sock and a way back to her home.
She eagerly pressed forward, running to her heart's content until she reached the doors to the building. The neko ran up to the door, placing her paws on the door knob. Taking a deep breath, she turned the knob and pushed opened the door with her eyes closed tightly.
The door swung open, making a small tinkling sound from a bell that was placed above the door indicating that there was a new customer to serve.
The neko slowly opened her eyes, telling herself she was prepared to see the inside. It made her feel a bit more confident. With that tiny bit of a hope and the warm feeling of confidence inside of her, she opened her eyes with a smile on her face.
It was just like any normal Ramen shop. There was long counter to the right where everybody could eat their noodles. On the other side of that counter was a few chefs, they were preparing the ramen for the costumers. The setup of the counter was exactly like a bar, it even had stools for people sit on. To the left of the counter were a few tables and chairs. On each table there was a small container of soy sauce and some neatly folded napkins, along with chopsticks.
Some waitresses wearing aprons visited some customers at the bar and table, asking them what they would like to eat or drink. There was only two of them out though, one had long brown hair and the other one had short blue hair that was tied up with a ribbon.
The neko slowly walked over to the Ramen bar and took a seat on a stool. She placed her hands in her lap and waited patiently for someone to take her order. While she waited, the neko took a moment to take in the scenery.
After minutes of waiting, someone came up to the neko and asked her what she would like to eat. The neko paused for a moment like she was trying to recall why she was here in the first place.
The waitress tapped her toe on the ground, trying to waste time while the neko decided on what she wanted to eat and what she wanted to remember. The waitress serving her was the one with dark blue hair that was short and tied up with a ribbon.
The neko sighed once more, she turned her head down and looked at her one sock. The neko thought the sock was lonely, because its pair was in a different place. She then found her eyes wandering off the sock and in a whole other direction. The neko then found herself staring at the waitress's feet.
The neko jumped out of her chair in excitement, "excuse ma'am! But where did you get that one sock~nya!?"
The waitress looked down at her feet, "oh, this?" She said in a high voice, "I found this one sock in the river. I absolutely love this sock! You see, I adore socks and love each pair."
The neko didn't want to ruin her happiness that the sock brought her. But, the neko had already come this far, and she didn't want to leave without her favorite sock. She decided she would ask for her sock back.
"Excuse, but I think that is my sock that you have on~nya." The neko and the waitress looked at each other's socks.
"Oh, I see, I'm very sorry I ended up with your sock." The waitress frowned and then slipped the sock off. She held it in her hand for a moment. "You know what? The least I could do for you is wash the sock and stick it in the dryer for you!"
The neko nodded her head in agreement. Then the waitress rushed off to wash the sock.
"Wait! The dryer~nya!?"
Before the neko knew it, the waitress called her to the back to retrieve her sock from the dryer. The neko was very hesitant to open the door to the dryer, she feared she'd be sucked into an entirely new world again. The neko feared she'd never get back home.
She tried to push those thought aside for a quick moment, but her heart was still racing. The neko swallowed up her fears with a large gulp and then swung open the dryer door. She closed her eyes and she leaned in to grab the sock.
When the neko opened her eyes,she was back home with her sock in her hand. She then put her sock on her foot and smiled gently.
"I'm so happy I got my sock back~nya! But, now I'm really hungry, I wonder if I could get some ramen."
THE END