"Are you sure you don't mind?" Brave Heart said to Me Bear. "Of course not, Dear," Me Bear said to her Mate. "You two were friends long before I met you. Go to your meeting with her. Don't forget your lunch and don't worry about me. Just try to be back in time for supper. Time flies when you're talking with an old friend." Me Bear watched from the door as Brave Heart headed down the path for the monthly meeting of 'The Secret Hearts Club' .
Sharika kissed Too Loud Bear goodbye and grabbed a picnic basket. Too Loud hollered "have a good time" as she walked to the meadow. He shook his head in wonder. It was hard to believe that she had been able to keep a life long friend. As he watched her walking away he thought out loud "you get to be Shreeky again. It's hard to believe that a bad little girl could turn out so good as a grown up."
Sharika hugged Brave Heart and then sat beside him as they got ready for their monthly ritual. "Do you realize how long we have been doing this now?" she asked. He smiled and said "off and on for thirty years now, Shreeky. That's a lot of meetings and a lot of heart mending. I don't know how I would have been able to cope with life if it weren't for you. "Same here" she said. "Do you remember how all this got started?" "Sure" he said. "I remember it like it was yesterday."
Harmony and Cheer were gabbing away as they walked down the path. They didn't realize Brave Heart was sitting behind the rock they were passing. The teen Cubs were discussing the dance that always followed The Care Bears and Care Cousins annual Festival of Friendship. "I got asked by Brave Heart if I had a date for the dance" Harmony said to Cheer. "I told him I have a date even though I don't yet." "Good move" said Cheer. "Who would want to dance with him? Yuck!"
Brave Heart was stunned by what he had over heard. He stumbled his way to his favorite hiding spot in the nearby meadow. He tried hard not to cry. Big boys aren't supposed to cry. He hung his head and tried to forget what he had heard.
Shreeky was in a bad mood. Uncle No Heart had chewed her out for arguing with Beastly. Then he confronted her with the note he got from The School of Wizardry. She had gotten into a fight with another teenage Mage. They got caught zapping each other. The note said Shreeky had trouble making friends. If only her teachers knew how desperately she wished she had a friend.
Shreeky had tried to make friends with other girls. It didn't matter if the other girl was a Mortal or a Mage. Shreeky's attempts for friendship usually ended in a fight. She had finally gotten up the nerve to talk to several boys. None of them showed any interest in having her as a girl friend. At a school sponsored dance she waited for any boy to ask her to dance. When no boy asked she wondered if she was an ugly girl. Her self confidence plummeted.
Shreeky decided she needed some alone time. She remembered seeing a nice meadow while gathering herbs for a school project. As she made her way there she started crying. Bad girls can hurt inside just as much as a good girl.
Shreeky looked down at her mirror as she walked. She couldn't believe she had cried. She felt like zapping someone with her mirror. She nearly stumbled as she came to a quick halt. She had spied that do gooder Care Cousin lion. She was about to zap the unsuspecting lion when she realized he looked like he might be crying. She heard him mutter to himself "no Care Bear or Care Cousin likes me. I will never find a girl friend!"
Suddenly she lost all desire to hurt him. She turned to sneak off when she accidentally dropped her mirror. A startled Brave Heart sprang to his feet. He instinctively jumped toward her. He stopped himself just short of hitting her. The two natural foes eyed each other. He thought to himself "can Shreeky cry? She looks like she has been crying too." He reached down and grabbed her mirror. She was shocked as he handed it to her. "Here" he said. "You will need this if you want to zap me."
Shreeky was speechless. Brave Heart stammered as he said "now you can see just how screwed up I am. Even The Care Bears and Care Cousins don't care about me. They are supposed to heal hearts but they broke mine." He sniffed as he tried to hold back his tears. Shreeky wiped her eyes. "Well everyone thinks I have no heart. They think they can yell at me and say bad things about me and I shouldn't be bothered by it. I do have feelings and right now I am feeling bad. No one ever seems to care about me."
"But I thought you were against caring and good feelings." Shreeky seemed taken aback a bit by his words. She looked at the ground and shuffled her feet. As she looked back up at Brave Heart she suddenly looked so much different to him. She didn't look like a teenage brat of a witch. She looked like girl who needed a little love and attention. Shreeky stepped backward and stumbled. Brave Heart leapt forward and caught her before she hit could the ground. As he held her she suddenly leaned forward and put her head on his shoulder.
Brave Heart held her in a hug as she cried. He could not believe what was happening. He truly felt sympathetic for her. "There, there" he said softly into her ear. "Here, sit with me on this moss and we'll have a talk." As the unlikely twosome sat side by side each took turns spilling their guts. Despite being different sexes and different species they both suddenly realized they had much in common.
"Do you feel better now that you got that off your chest Shreeky?" "Yeah, I do feel better. I just wish I had a chest. Maybe then some boy would take notice of me." "Oh don't worry, I don't know much about humans but I'm sure you still have some growing to do. Some day you will be a fine looking woman. Right now you are a cute girl, human boys and wizards must be dumb if they don't notice that."
Shreeky smiled. "I can't believe how dumb girl Care Bears and girl Care Cousins can be. You are a handsome lion. You are also much smarter than they care to admit. If I were a Care Bear or Care Cousin I would be ecstatic to get asked for a date by you."
Brave Heart suddenly had a wild idea. "Well, we could never be lovers. But we could be friends. I know your uncle would never allow that. The Care Bears would not like it either. We could be secret friends, what do you think? We could have our own secret club."
Shreeky looked a bit bewildered. "Me and you as secret friends? I don't know how that would work out. How can we be sure we won't turn against each other?" Brave Heart took her left hand into his right paw. He bent down and kissed her hand. "I, Brave Heart, swear to be your friend and to never hurt you. I will always be willing to help you." Shreeky sighed. She knew what she was about to do went against everything her Uncle and others of the Dark Side had taught her. She bent down and kissed his paw. "I, Shreeky, swear to be your friend. I promise I will never hurt you and I will try not to do evil when I'm with you."
"I have a true friend now! I feel so much better." A tear of joy had trickled down Brave Heart's cheek as he spoke. Shreeky smiled and sounded shy as she spoke. "Other than Beastly I've never had a friend before. I am so glad to find a friend like you. However, let's never kiss again." Brave Heart laughed. "No kissing is the first rule of our club. Ah, what should we call ourselves?"
Shreeky giggled. "Well everyone thinks I have no heart and they like breaking yours. I guess we need to have a secret hearts club. Brave Heart laughed in delight." 'The Secret Hearts Club' is hereby officially opened for business. How about meeting like this once a month. We can talk about what's bothering us and do whatever else comes to mind."
Shreeky actually looked happy. "My lucky number is thirteen. How about the thirteenth of each month, no matter the weather." "Sure thing" said Brave Heart. "One P.M. is the thirteenth hour of the day, so let's meet at that hour. As bad as my life has been number thirteen should turn out to be lucky. I'll be here next month on that date." "And I'll be here with a picnic basket full of goodies. I promise not to bring baddies." The meadow echoed with their laughter as the first gathering of 'The Secret Hearts Club' drew to a close.
As the months passed meetings came and went. A special bond developed between Shreeky and Brave Heart. They were in essence Soul Mates. Over time the club would not be a secret. No Heart had become suspicious as he noticed Shreeky sneaking off on a regular basis. He had sent Beastly out to spy on her. When Beastly told No Heart what he saw and over heard he was shocked by No Heart's reaction. No Heart said to leave them alone and pretend not to know what was going on. It was good to know that Shreeky could get along with someone.
Champ had been the first Care Bear to track Brave Heart to the meeting place. When he told True Heart of what he had witnessed she said to leave them alone. She had been worried about the clumsy lion who had no confidence in himself. He now had a way to get things off his chest. She did not worry about Shreeky being with him. She had always suspected "the bad little girl of Carealot" had a good side. After all, not all Witches and Wizards are evil, some are good. Shreeky was a little of both.
As the years passed and both grew up the meetings nearly ended. As they each traveled down life's road they were often separated by circumstance. They did stay in touch through letters and visits. Shreeky had set up a communications portal near Brave Heart's home. No matter where in the World or what dimension she was in they could get ahold of one another. One of the few times she couldn't reach him had been the time she had contemplated suicide.
Brave Heart had rushed to her side after learning of it from her Mate to be. He admonished her for not finding help. It was then that they decided to resume monthly meetings of 'The Secret Hearts Club'. From that time on forth the monthly meetings had been held without fail.
Brave Heart became friends with Too Loud Bear. The odd couple of Too Loud and Shreeky were soon two of the few friends Brave Heart had. When Brave Heart and Me Bear became Mates Shreeky gave Me Bear a beautiful hand mirror. A love of mirrors was shared by the two girls. Too Loud and Me Bear were quick to learn how important the bonds of friendship were for Brave Heart and Shreeky. She may be known as Sharika by most who knew her. She would always be Shreeky to Brave Heart. Thus the bonds of their friendship would remain unbroken. Their Mates understood that Shreeky and Brave Heart needed their meetings as a way to let off steam. They heartily approved of the meetings. 'The Secret Hearts Club' would continue on with their blessings.
This day's meeting proceeded much as the others had. Each told of what was good and what was bad in their lives. Advice was shared and comfort given. At times laughter and giggles would echo through the meadow. It was almost as if the two friends were teenagers again. It seemed as if they hadn't aged since their first meeting. The latest meeting ended like most. The day had passed too quickly. It was time to end the chatter and gossip.
Shreeky was packing up the picnic blanket as Brave Heart extinguished the campfire. Both had bellies full of good food. "Those meat pies were great, Shreeky" said Brave Heart. "Those cookies Me Bear baked were the perfect dessert. Burp! Oh excuse me!" Said a giggling Shreeky. Brave heart laughed, "that's the sign of a perfect picnic. It has been a perfect day with a perfect friend. I would call this meeting of 'The Secret Hearts Club' a great success."
"There is one more order of business" Shreeky said with a mischievous look on her face. "The first rule is hereby amended. You get one peck on the cheek for this meeting." She leaned over and kissed Brave Heart on the cheek. "You are the one true friend I can lean on. I hope these meetings go on forever."
Brave Heart took her hands in his paws. "And so they will, Shreeky. You are an important part of my life. We have discussed bad times and good times. We have been there for each other through them all. I have a Mate whom I love dearly. I also have a Soul Mate who shall always be an important part of my life. You are that Soul Mate. There will always be a special place in my heart for you. I love you like a brother loves a sister. Without you my family would be incomplete. There would be an empty space in my heart."
Shreeky looked a bit shy as she kissed her finger and touched her nose. She then touched his nose with her finger. She knew that was how Care Cousins and Care Bears blew kisses. "Everyone thought I had no heart. You proved that I did. There will always be a place there for you. I can hardly wait for the thirteenth of next month to get here." After they parted Shreeky was nearly skipping as she headed home. As he glanced back at her Brave Heart said to himself "there is still a little bit of a little girl left in her. She may have had the devil in her heart. Now she is like an angel to me. Thank the Stars for that fateful day when 'The Secret Hearts Club' came to be."
Brave Heart headed for home and a late supper with Me Bear. He was whistling a happy tune. In one of those ironic twists of fate the bad little girl who had once spread misery had now spread joy. The imperfect girl and lion cub had grown into the perfect Soul Mates. There would be many more meetings of 'The Secret Hearts Club'. Will the meetings ever end? Well, that is a secret.