The day began as it always did in Happy Tree Town. With rarely a cloud in the sky, the sun seemed to be smiling. The trees were very green and the flowers were fresh. Inside the town's popular diner, a cute little pink chipmunk with a large red bow on top of her head hummed merrily to herself as she prepped the morning coffee. Just as it was done, the little bell above the door rang.
"Huh?" she exclaimed. Oh, goody! Her first costumer of the day.
A turquoise-colored bear with a light blue stomach entered the diner.
"Hmmm?" The chipmunk squinted as she observed the stranger. "Uhm…Kia Misako…is that you?"
Kia smiled. "Hey Giggles."
The little chipmunk (Giggles) excitedly came around the counter. She and Kia embraced. "Kia, it's been so long."
"I know."
"Come on, have a seat! Let's talk!" Needless to say, Giggles was thrilled to see her old friend again. She and Kia sat at a nearby booth. "Oh! Where are my manners? Do you want some coffee? I just made a fresh batch."
"That would be lovely. I missed your coffee." Kia said warmly.
Giggles quickly jumped up to fix herself a cup of tea and Kia's coffee. Now, Giggles knew many unique animals in Happy Tree Town, but she considered Kia to be one of the most special of their kind. For one thing, unlike most of the residents, Kia had natural violet-colored eyes, whereas everyone else had black ones. Also, she was a very accepting being and rarely, almost never, criticized others beliefs and ideas. She was wise for her age and she seemed to have a habit to automatically bring out the best in everyone.
Well, almost everyone. Giggles thought to herself. It would take some miracle to cure Lifty and Shifty of their kleptomania. And then there's…
She immediately brushed those thoughts aside. There was no need to get Kia upset on her first day back. After all, she's pretty much been through hell and back. She brought her tea and Kia's coffee to the table.
"Thank you." Kia said. "It smells delicious."
Giggles beamed. "Do you want some sugar?"
Kia shook her head. "Not today. I need it to be very strong."
"Bad news?" Giggles asked grimly as she sat down.
Kia sighed. "I got a call from my mother's doctor at the mental facility yesterday."
"How's she doing?" Giggles asked.
Kia sipped her coffee. "Although she's somewhat showing improvements, she's apparently been suffering from insomnia for the past two weeks. Dr. Adel said that's to be expected after all that she's been through. It's apparently one of the many stages of grief."
"Oh Kia, I'm so sorry!" Giggles exclaimed.
"It's all right." They were both silent for a few minutes.
"Are you going to at least let your mother go to the memorial?"
"No. I don't want to expose her to anymore sadness, considering all that has happened in the past few years. It's best that we try to avoid that for a long while."
"I understand. Right now she needs to concentrate on getting better." Giggles said.
Kia nodded in agreement. "So…did you give him my message?"
"Well…" Giggles twiddled her thumbs. "I sorta just asked him to come here for old times sake, that everyone's been missing him. I figured he wouldn't come if I…oh, I hope I didn't offend you in any way!"
"Not at all." Kia managed a sad smile. "That was probably the best thing to do. Good thinking on your part Giggles."
"Thanks! By the way, do you need a place to stay? You can bunk at my place."
"I appreciate the offer, but I've already made arrangements to stay with someone else."
Giggles raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Who?"
"Uhhh…just an old friend…" A slight shade of pink appeared in Kia's cheeks.
"Come on Kia! You can tell me." Giggles said.
"It's no big deal…really. All that matters is that I have a place to stay."
A sly grin spread across Giggles face. "You're staying with Russell."
Kia coughed as her coffee slid down the wrong tube. "Y-yea…so…so what?" She spluttered.
"Save the act Kia, it's no secret here that you two have a thing for each other." Giggles couldn't help but…well…giggle. It was rare to see Kia stumble over her words, but when she did, it was pretty damn funny.
"That's not true! We're just really great friends who have a lot in common. We both love to fish and swim. Our favorite food is seafood. And we both also love to scuba dive and study sea life."
"Uh-huh." Giggles rolled her eyes. Then, for some reason, she and Kia both burst out laughing. They needed it, as the atmosphere between them was somewhat depressing. They no sooner finished their coffee and tea when more costumers started to stream in. "Well, looks like I have to officially open shop. We'll talk again later?"
Kia wiped away the tears that had built up in her eyes from laughing so hard. "Of course. Maybe later on in the next two weeks, we can do something with the rest of the gang."
"Sounds fun!" Giggles stood up and went over to give Kia another hug. "I'm so happy you're here, even if it's just for two weeks. Everyone's really looking forward to seeing you again."
"I'm glad. I could use the friendship." Kia said.
"See you later. Oh…you and Russell have a nice evening together." Giggles said with a mischievous wink.
"Oh, shut up!" Kia laughed.
Giggles wasn't kidding when she said that everyone was looking forward to seeing Kia again. Almost all those who came to the diner that day stopped by to greet her. Petunia, a blue skunk with OCD, wanted to know about the latest household cleaning products that have been created in the human world and even showed off her newest air freshener, which she wore like a necklace. Kia gently bounced little Cub on her knee while Pop spoke about the unusual weather they've been experiencing. Even Nutty, who only stopped to consume anything with sugar, said hi to her. Well, in all honesty what he really wanted was to ask if she brought any of her homemade chocolate. At this point, Kia opened her purse and pulled out a bag that contained an assortment of her chocolates. She asked him to wait until he got outside to consume them. Nutty immediately jack hammered his way out of the diner, and sure enough Kia happened to glance out the window to see Nutty zooming down the road as a tornado. It made her laugh. Unfortunately, she felt her pleasant mood begin to dim as two o'clock drew near. At about ten till, Giggles began seating customers all the way on the other side of the restaurant so that Kia had a whole area to herself. Two o'clock finally rolled by, and her's and Giggles' eyes immediately locked on the door. Fifteen minutes had gone by, and Kia still sat alone.
"Kia…he might not show up." Giggles said sympathetically. "You know how unpredictable he can be."
"He'll come." Kia insisted. No sooner had she spoken when the door opened…and Kia's guest finally walked in.
"Hi Giggles. Sorry I'm late." He said. "Lumpy managed to fall a tree on the road. I swear, that damn moose has a peanut for a brain."
"Heh…that's Lumpy for ya." Giggles squeaked nervously.
"So, what was it you wanted to-" He stopped in mid-sentence when he spotted Kia. Her astounding eyes remained calm and solemn, whereas his hardened and shot cold daggers at Kaida.
"You." He said in a chilling whisper.
Kia took a deep breath. "Hello Flippy."
