The Boy and The Squirrel
Part Two
The new sensations that accompanied being
human sparked Trowa's interest in every way. He examined himself from head to
toe and marveled at his new form.
He noticed that he was a lot taller than
his once twelve inch body and he also had a lot less fur. Maybe his excuse to
have less fur earlier wasn't bad after all. The wind definitely felt wonderful
as it brushed against his skin.
He also noted that his paws were replaced
with hands and feet. His hind legs had disappeared as well. What had replaced
them were a pair of long, slender legs that looked absolutely stunning.
There was one part of him though, that had
remained the same. It was his favorite feature. He had been initially reluctant
to go through with the change because he thought that he would have to give it
up. This feature, his trademark and crowning glory was no other than his unique
hairstyle that concealed half of his face. How could he give up the long,
silky, brown, pride of his existence?
"Ahem."
The sudden sound had interrupted Trowa's
ongoing self-exploration.
"Trowa, you might want to put some clothes
on. You know, in the 'human' world, you would be put in jail for running around
like that."
The now humanoid Trowa ignored Mother
Nature's suggestion and continued staring at himself in awe. He thought that he
was perfect and he tried to find several hundred ways to express that fact to
himself. Alas, it was getting late and he knew that he'd have to find a place
to stay.
Of course, before he could even find that
warm shelter for the night, he would have to walk towards wherever he desired.
"This is going to be a problem." he
thought. "My movements will be unstable and awkward now that I have these long
legs."
He cautiously moved one foot forward, wanting
to test the feel of his new legs. To his surprise, he didn't slip nor did he
even waver with each step he took. He had mastered the art of walking within
seconds.
With the knowledge that his body accepted
the change, he gleefully skipped around and swung on the branches. He noticed that he had such grace, such
precision when he walked and attempted different movements.
"Oh for crying out loud!" Mother Nature
finally broke out. "I might as well put some clothes on you."
She worked her magic and within minutes,
she was able to dress the still agitated Trowa with a pair of jeans, a green
turtle neck, and a nice pair of shoes. She decided that he looked a lot better
without them, but it would be too dangerous and not to mention too scandalous
for him to walk around like that in the 'civilized' world.
"Ok. It's time to head on out before dark."
Mother Nature pushed Trowa gently with a
gush of wind and continued doing so until the skipping lad decided to venture
forth on his own.
It was almost dark when Trowa reached the
nearest town. His instincts told him to run for the nearest tree in hopes of
finding a night's sanctuary, but his common sense drove him toward the inns
that had occupied the town. He wasn't a squirrel any more and he would obviously
not fit into a tree.
His attention was caught, however, by the
numerous establishments that surrounded the place. He found that he couldn't
concentrate on his mission. He was too enthralled by the different lights that
danced before his eyes. The colors being emitted by the bright bulbs as well as
the variety of people with vibrant clothes that walked by were more than enough
to seize his attention.
Now that he thought about it, he had never
been anywhere near a town as populated as this one. The closest thing to
civilization he had ever experienced was in the presence of the boy Quatre.
Soon it was dark, and he still didn't have
a place to stay. He knew that he should've felt alarmed, but he really wasn't.
The place was too busy with activity that his attention was only diverted to
the ongoing bustle around town.
Mother Nature had noticed that her favorite
squirrel was too distracted and decided that she help him a little bit more
than she had intended. She called upon the force of the skies and caused a bit
of a drizzle.
"I don't think he'd get that cold." she
thought. "This *has* to force him to stop standing there like a total idiot."
As expected, Trowa ran for the nearest
shade, but he was still in some sort of trance.
"Ahh! He just doesn't get it!" cried Mother
Nature. Her voice could not be heard of course, although the effect of the
voice on the world below was different. The drizzle suddenly turned into a
slight storm as the skies were filled with the sounds of roaring thunder.
Everybody was now running for shelter.
Children cried out in fear while their parents tried their best to calm down
their frightened youngsters.
Trowa, however, still didn't wake up from
whatever daydream he was having. It was either he was still too amazed with the
changes he was experiencing or he was just used to the way Mother Nature
worked. After all, he had spent almost his entire life living in the forest.
When it almost looked like he wasn't going
to react, lightning suddenly struck him. Multiple screams were heard from all
directions while Trowa shivered. This was apparently caused by the left-over
electricity circulating his body.
Nobody dared go near him save for a nice
looking girl with curly brown hair. She had so much concern etched on her face
that it looked like her own family had been struck down. She immediately ran to
Trowa's side, asking him several questions the first of which was his name.
Trowa didn't say a word and his face was
blank. It was obvious that he wasn't going to say anything, let alone his name.
"Well then, Nanashi it is." the young lady
said, teasing him.
After making sure that he was fine, she
helped him up and decided to take him home with her with the help of some good
citizens. The lightning bolt that hit him didn't seem to be as strong as it
looked. He was fine now, but he was sleeping. He probably felt too exhausted from the events that went on that day.
"Well, well..." Mother Nature said. "It
looks like my little temper tantrum worked after all."
She quieted the skies and gradually turned the rain into a soft drizzle once
again. When she was satisfied, she looked at her favorite squirrel one last
time and said "You're all on your own now, Trowa. Take care of yourself."
Trowa woke up to a new day, noticing that
he was no longer amidst all the colorful lights he was in the day before. He
was now on a warm, comfortable bed inside a trailer. He thought it peculiar
that he was able to find himself shelter for the night. The last thing he truly
remembered was being engulfed in the presence of radiant light that caused some
sort of a tingle in his body.
"Oh, well." he thought to himself. "At
least I'm no longer out in the cold rain. Now I'm off for my second mission,
which is..."
"Are you feeling better?"
He was startled to find before him a
familiar young lady. He remembered seeing her from the night before. His eyes
widened with surprise but his face did not confirm it.
"Oh, how rude of me." she said. "My name is
Catherine and I work in the circus. You're in my trailer right now. Would you
like some warm soup for breakfast?"
He nodded indicating that he, indeed,
wanted some.
"Soup" he remembered. The boy Quatre once
fed him soup. It felt really nice in his stomach. He just hoped that it felt
the same way in his new body.
He walked up to the table that was set and
sat on one of the chairs. He looked at the spoon on the table and decided that
he better learn how to use it before he makes a total fool of himself.
He tried to remember how Quatre had done
it. Yes, fill the spoon with the warm liquid and slowly sip it. Remember, don't
make any slurping sounds like the boy Duo did. If not, some other boy with
short, brown hair will hit you upside your head.
"Umm, here's your soup."
Catherine handed Trowa the bowl while
examining the peculiar young boy in front of her. Why was he practicing how to
use his spoon? She decided that it would be best to ignore his oddities and
start a friendly conversation.
"So, what's your name?" she asked.
Her question was met with silence.
Trowa said nothing but in truth, he was
trying to work his vocal chords into saying "Trowa" That was his name after all
and it would be a shame if he didn't know how to say it.
He tried so hard to say it, but no matter
how hard he tried, the words just wouldn't come out. He tried to offer an
apologetic look to Catherine but failed miserably.
"I guess it'll be Nanashi for now. I was
just teasing you yesterday, but I guess it'll have to do." she said, knowing that she was not going to
receive a response. She tried not to look hurt because the young man was
unwilling to give out his name. Maybe he was just too shy.
"Oh great!" Trowa thought dejectedly to
himself. "Not only did you upset the very first person who helped you out, but
you've also managed to turn your name into something absolutely repulsive. What
kind of a name is No Name? Ahh! I can't even work out my face. Great! I can't
talk and I can't express myself, but I can walk and run. That can't be good."
All of a sudden, his thoughts were flooded
with the remembrance of Mother Nature's warning. "You will have to face the
same hardships humans have. You will have to relearn everything you already
know as a squirrel."
"That is just great!" he thought again to
himself while Catherine was staring expectantly at him. "Relearn everything. I
thought that all I had to do was move. *This* is going to be a problem."
He then looked back at Catherine while
trying to contort his face in different directions, hoping that it would
express a variety of emotions. Catherine, in turn, just stared back wearily at
the blank face before her.