- Chapter 3 -

"Constant Companions"

A few moments have passed by, and it was at this point that Laa-Laa decided to do some fun activities with Calvin in Teletubbyland. On the other hand, it would seem rather unusual from an audience's perspective that a readily broadcasted episode would veer that far away from the original schedule, mostly because of his uplifting spirit she felt that only the Teletubbies could, contrasting with his innocent and timid yet down-to-earth personality that led her to make the decision.

But she didn't expect the creators of the program to have a trick up its sleeve for naive newcomers like him: by assigning the human as an unknown catalyst for a new, top secret event to take place and replay until it evolves into something quite over the top.

Meanwhile, an idea had struck her – she wanted to bring her "Favourite Thing": her large carrot-orange ball and play a variety of games with him.

"Laa-Laa has forgotten to bring something from inside!" prompted the Narrator.

"Ah, yes! Thank you for reminding me again!" she smiled back. "Cavin... can you wait around this area for a few minutes? I'll be back in a jiffy!" she requested.

"Sure, I might even sit down here if you want... you have all the time you need. Go!" Calvin concurred and slowly settled down between two parallel patches of flowers.

She dashed away to a giant hill structure with a circular entrance containing thick pneumatic sliding doors similar to that of a high-tech laboratory, multiple protruding semicircular windows with window panes designed to look like the petals of a sunflower, a large aperture at the top that can conveniently fit up to two Teletubbies at once, and an encircling main pathway that branches out into several sub-pathways towards many of the innumerable hills across Teletubbyland. Named the Home Hill, or in older terms: the "Tubbytronic Superdome", it's located at the centremost point of Teletubbyland in both latitude and longitude, where they carry out their indoor activities.

Clanking, crashing, breaking, smashing, and other kinds of comedic cacophony from inside the Hill could be heard from quite a distance, which brought his attention towards the structure. He was fretted when he overheard her act of clumsiness.

"Laa-Laa, are you okay in there? Is there anything I can do to help in your search? Can I come inside now?" he loudly questioned from afar.

"I'm fine, Cavin, thank you for your concern! Still looking for it in a pile somewhere, so hold on for a minute or two!" she responded, with the reverb of the house amplifying her voice.

Ignoring her previous request, he crept towards the entrance to get a glimpse of the interior. While reaching closer, the same destructive yet cartoonish sounds got incrementally louder with each passing step, so fearing the possibility that the object Laa-Laa found would propel at high speed to either his face or body at any time when the door opens...

...at least, that's what he presumed, he decided to back up a few yards in front of the entrance and waited for a sign of her to come out.

Eventually, it didn't happen, but what jolted him was that instead of casually walking through the front entrance, she launched herself out of the aperture along with her bouncy orange ball like a firework!

"Weeheehee! Eh-oh, Cavin! Stay right here, I'm coming!" she enjoyed the thrill of the launch, and landed on her feet with the ball softening her fall, all while watching him muddled out of his mind.

She smoothly slid down the green roof and approached him as fast as she could, diverting him from entering inside.

"Is that a gym ball or an oversized party balloon I see, or both amalgamated into one? Is my depth perception acting wonky lately, or is it truly as big as her from aerial to sole?" he thought, with more questions overflowing his brain than the information he processed in the same amount of time.

"Laa-Laa finally brought her ball!" the Narrator followed up late after she reached him.

"Haaa, it's been a while since I've last taken it outside! Look, this is my favorite thing! See how wiggly and bouncy it is? Check this out!" she presented while demonstrating an assortment of parkour moves and bouncing tricks with the ball, which completely caught him off guard.

"Excuse me- how are you able to do all of this with just an orange ball?! HOW!? Am I in another zone or what?" he exclaimed and pinched himself multiple times to make sure that it wasn't another dream or that he's seeing the world of psychedelia invade him all over again.

When she placed down the ball near him after playing for a minute...

"Uh-oh, it's bigger than you! Awkward!" she guffawed when she measured the height difference between him and the 6' ball, which was a paltry 2".

"Huh. I can see the difference here, thanks for pointing that out..." Calvin sneered and voluntarily tumbled towards the ball, bounced off and flumped to the side of the Hill, utterly demoralized.

"Hey, cheer up, pal... it was just a joke!" she laid next to him and jiggled his belly. "Let me tell you something I've probably never shared before..."

"What?" he mumbled.

"We never once go moody or display any negative expressions, especially when we're stuck in the most frustrating and complicated of situations. Trust me; I've been there more times than you can count. How do we fix this? It's rather simple: we approach and solve it with nothing but optimism and hope! Once you maintain that attitude, I can guarantee you; everything will work in your favor, no matter how hard the situation can be in your life! Remember, trying to speak to me for the first time? That's you regaining your confidence, and it's because you decided to handle things with a positive attitude!" she recited and cuddled him, and made him feel much better about himself.

"Wow... for the life of me, I couldn't believe that I'm getting real-life encouragement advice from Laa-Laa, a Teletubby, of all things! What's going wrong with my mind lately?" he whispered to himself but found out later that she heard every word he said, no matter how loud or soft. "You know... I've never even thought of it until now. Thanks for the positive reinforcement, Laa-Laa. I might hold on to it as much and as long as I possibly can..." he softly praised.

"It's no problem... glad I can help! See, we're happy always and forever, and you should embrace that feeling too!" she beamed.

"Phew, that was a sight for sore eyes..." the Narrator mused. "Laa-Laa wanted to play some volleyball with Calvin," he cleared his throat after a few seconds of silence, breaking the ambiance.

"Oooh, I love volleyball! Can you play with me, Cavin? Please, please, please?" she gasped and entreated.

"Yeah, why not? I have barely anything productive for myself to do, other than just sitting here and contemplating the rest of my time with you in this wonderland, so I'm game for it. And it's been a hot minute since I've last exercised. Ready when you are, don't hold back!" he instantly agreed and prepared himself for a friendly one-on-one match with Laa-Laa.

"Ohohoho, I'm thrilled! Here... we... go!" she cheered and served the ball to him, commencing the first set of the game.

While they continued playing for multiple sets, the fact that the jumbled-looking contraption from where he had come from had disappeared, skipped through his mind entirely. The portal to his home had vanished along with it, which means that he's permanently stuck in Teletubbyland, for now.

But all of that didn't faze him from having pure, wholesome fun after many years. Socializing with a Teletubby made him feel alive again, instead of slouching at home, making tracks day and night without good sleep and proper rejuvenation. He also had his "game face" on, which made her burst out into laughter when she saw a multitude of his goofy facial expressions!

An hour and a half passed by without any breaks, and because of the intense energy required for the sport, out of which Laa-Laa has in abundance, Calvin conceded the match because of his lack of stamina essential to push him forward, leaving her to celebrate victoriously. But she knew that it doesn't want to be one-sided because she wanted to share the experience of euphoria with him as well, so she cheekily planned another surprise with help from the Narrator.

"Hah... that was... the hardest... game of... volleyball... I've ever played. Heh... how are you... able to... endure this?!" he attempted while panting heavily.

"It's a secret... shhh. I can't tell you what it is; otherwise, it'll spoil the fun!" Laa-Laa teased by silencing him. "I've enjoyed a lot playing with you, though, and you're a very competent opponent! We should play again soon!" she remarked.

"That's vague, coming from a Teletubby who obliterated me at every set I played but one. At least teach me some tips and tricks you have in your arsenal so that I can perfect my passing skills and stamina!" he requested but to no avail.

"Laa-Laa loved playing games with Calvin, and Laa-Laa loves Calvin, very much," the Narrator gave way.

"Um, can you explain to me what's going on here?" he doubted.

"Cavin... I've been waiting forever for this moment the second I saw you through the TV!" she gasped with exuberance.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there – hold your horses! When was that, and what are you talking about? Tell me what's happening – I didn't hear what the Narrator said!" he faltered significantly.

"I wanted to give you my biggest of big hugs from the start, and now the time has finally come!" she revealed with a pose.

"Wait, please don't tell me you're gonna-" he quavered.

"Yup, I have the freedom to squeeze you as much as possible, for as long as possible!" she announced with excitement.

"Uhhh... isn't that a tad too excessive, or is it just based on preference?" he asked, but she knew that he was stalling for time.

"Come on, Cavin... what are you waiting for? We've had so much fun together! I'll make sure we'll enjoy it every single day of our lives, and that starts with a big hug from me to you, from the bottom of my heart!" she graciously called with arms outstretched, ready to grasp him.

"What in the world? Okay... if you say so. I mean, there's no harm in doing that, of course..." he sighed. "Alright, I think I'm ready. You better not yank me like you did last ti-" he coaxed and slowly approached her.

"Too late!" she snatched him quickly and clasped him entirely.

"Oomf-! Ack... it's... way... too... tight...! Ah, stop it! Please! HELP! AAA-" he seized the chance to scream until it got muffled by her warm embrace.

"Awww, I love you so much, to the end of time! Big hug!" she lovingly concluded.

He initially assumed that something irreversibly abnormal would affect his body on contact with an unknown creature, particularly a Teletubby.

He was wrong.

Very wrong.

A state of pure tranquillity unlike anything he has ever experienced before has now replaced the previous feelings from being cuddled by her, all because of her soft, silky and comfy fur and her loving, fun, positive and friendly attitude. After a few seconds, wind chimes and sparkles started ringing and emanating from inside her tummy and her back respectively, which prolonged a whole new class of weird thoughts going awry in his brain, yet they carried on hugging each other.

And the cherry on the cake – according to her, he's the most humble, honest and genuine living being she had ever met.

So she kissed him on both cheeks to return the favor, which then left everyone, including the Narrator and the creators of the program agape for a long time.

"I can't believe my eyes, not even for a single second! I just witnessed Laa-Laa kissing a human! Argh, why can't this happen to me, since I devoted my hard work and soul into keeping this program going like a well-oiled machine, up to date where it should be?!" the Narrator howled to himself.

Time will tell, my friend. Time will tell.

Meanwhile, everything went out of control, while Laa-Laa, ignoring the madness around her, continued to squeeze him tighter, and tighter, and tighter!