The Boy and The Squirrel
Part Six
"No! I am not talking to you!" Trowa huffed
in his tiny squirrel voice as he crossed his arms and looked away.
"Aww, C'mon Trowa. At least you're not
today's dinner."
The wind blew the branches of the oak trees
gently, causing the precious nuts that were attached to it to fall to the
ground. Trowa's little eyes sparkled with mirth but the sparkle vanished when
he continued his resolve, quite irritated at the bribery.
"Hmph! You can't just win me over with a
couple of acorns you know!"
"Look on the bright side, Trowa," Mother
Nature said, hoping to console the angry and disappointed creature. "At least
you could talk now, you could express yourself more and you kept that weird
thing hanging in front of your face."
"Don't insult my hair!" he huffed again.
He wasn't able to keep his anger up for
long because after a few more grunts and irritated stares, he finally fell back
on a tree and sagged down his now furry body to the ground.
"I was so close," he wailed as tears
streamed down his face. "He kissed me too."
He covered his face with his tiny paws and
shook his head in disbelief. He knew that his fairytale had to end some time
but he didn't understand why his had to end too soon.
"I'm sorry Trowa, really," Mother Nature
said, the sincerity of her words evident in her voice as she watched the
helpless creature cry.
His tiny body shook as he sobbed and Mother
Nature couldn't help but feel pity for him and disgust at herself for doing
just what she had done.
It seemed that the little favor she had
given him caused more harm than good. Perhaps it was a mistake to have him hope
for more and yearn for something that was quite a feat to accomplish. She just
hoped that her Trowa's precious blonde boy appreciated all that he had gone
through for him.
"I'm sorry Trowa," she said again and found
the one she was talking to fast asleep and huddled against the dry leaves by
the tree.
The continual screaming and constant
sobbing finally caught up with him and put him into a sated slumber.
Mother Nature sighed. She was hoping that
it wouldn't come to this. Never had she done anything of this type during the
many years that she watched over the earth. True, there were tales roaming
around about infamous animals supposedly changing forms by the powerful working
of Mother Nature's magic. All those were but false misconceptions of reality.
In truth, she deemed such acts implausible and unnecessary.
However, when the love-struck Trowa
approached her with his request, all rational thoughts evaded her. She gave in
to his wishes without considering the complications brought on by such a rash
decision. She learned later that it was risky for both him and the perfect
balance of nature. That was why she had taken back the gift.
When she witnessed the aggressive and
frightfully intimidating young man approach Trowa in such a threatening way,
she thought that then would be the perfect time to change him back. She thought
that Trowa would be vulnerable and thus, more accepting of the
transformation. She was surprised,
however, when Trowa rejected the escape, showing her how his spirit had not
wavered in spite of his troubles.
He was a very strong and persistent being.
She knew that. But it was possible that the turn of events may have traumatized
him both physically and mentally. It was something she expected and she
couldn't help but chide herself for her cowardly ways. She never told him the
truth behind the transformation but then he never really asked her.
He trusted her. That was yet another blow.
He hadn't questioned her and just sobbed like a child, eventually falling
asleep.
She noticed his slightly shaking form and
directed the warmth of the sunlight toward him.
True, she did not withdraw her decision to
keep the balance of nature but she wanted to find a way to make up for her
mistake. She somehow had to set things right for him, probably hook him up with
some other hot squirrel so he'd take his mind off the blonde boy.
Of course, she couldn't brainwash him
despite her desire to do so. He'd just have to live with the memories and force
himself to make new ones. That was the way things were. That was the proper
balance of nature.
With that thought still lingering, she left
Trowa to rest but not before making sure that he was warm and cozy around the
leaves and the branches that have fallen on the ground. Just to complete
things, she added a couple of acorns by his side for him to enjoy once he'd
awaken from his deep sleep.
Hours later, Trowa woke up to find his
nightmare a reality. Everything he feared happened in a flash, too fast to
comprehend and too devastating too accept.
He felt horrible for giving Mother Nature
such a harsh condemnation but still felt that she had betrayed him in the worst
way possible. He couldn't understand why she had given him this fate of
unfulfilled hopes and meaningless existence.
Now that he was back to being a squirrel,
he could no longer indulge in some of his favorite activities, the most
treasured of which were his daily meetings with his beloved blonde boy. There
was just nothing more to look forward to.
He sighed, slumped back on the tree and
landed on the stack of nuts prepared for him by Mother Nature. He picked one
up, intending to eat his troubles away but then realized something pertinent to
his situation.
"This is what's separating me from the
human world," he said aloud.
His indulgence in acorns was but a clue to
this new revelation. He began to understand his dreams as well and almost
smacked himself in the forehead for not realizing it sooner.
He had to be human in both mind and body
because the body was just another random and useless object without the mind.
All the time he spent as a human, he never accepted his new form the way he
should have. All his time had been spent trying to alter that which couldn't be
changed and rejecting that which was natural to him.
That was the answer to the mystery behind the forms of prey he had
turned into. He was unstable and confused and this reluctance to accept the
facts of his existence was what consumed him. It was his enemy. It was the
predator that threatened to devour him.
He was too stubborn to realize that he was
just fine the way he was. Sure, he couldn't express himself as much as the
other humans did but he was, more or less, part of their world. He didn't need
to blabber on about useless facts. Quatre understood him without the words. He
was able to unearth the Trowa beneath the listless disguise.
Quatre was making progress and more
importantly, *he* was making progress. This sudden transformation didn't have
to halt his mission. He was now determined to move on with his plans, unmindful
of the certain modifications he had to make.
With his new objective and newfound
persistence, he moved up from his slumped position and decided that his blonde
boy deserved a visit from his long lost squirrel.
Sure he wouldn't expect the boy to pucker
up for a rodent but a pat on the head and a warm welcome was good enough for
him.
He ran to the direction he hoped was right
and expected that Mother Nature wouldn't mind his sudden disappearance. He had
no time to explain his theory for he was now more determined than ever.
It was minutes later when Mother Nature
returned with a bombshell of a squirrel, starry-eyed and excited at the
prospect of meeting her new partner.
"Is he as hot as you say he is?" the
creature asked while straightening out her fur and preparing herself.
"Oh yeah! Trust me honey. He has this
really, really cute tail and hair that just screams 'Look at me baby, I'm
sexy!'"
"Good ...good. It's almost springtime and
I've been looking for a mate for months. My babies will look absolutely
gorgeous if what you're saying is correct."
All of a sudden, Mother Nature felt bad for
Trowa and hoped that this female she had chosen was worthy enough for him. She
couldn't help but doubt her choice when she heard the statement about Trowa
being turned into a baby-making machine. She shuddered at the thought of Trowa
being surrounded by multitudes of tiny babies, running around for food and
handling such small creatures. She though that he was a bit too young and a bit
too adventurous to be tied down with these responsibilities.
"Mother Nature, are you listening?"
"But she was the only one available at the
moment," was her rationalization.
"Where's Trowa?"
"Trowa could always find himself another,"
she thought to herself.
"Mother Nature?"
"...although tiny squirrels with that weird
hairstyle covering half of their faces would be such an adorable scene," she
reasoned out to herself.
"Mother Nature? Are you still there?"
"Hmm, What was that dear?"
"I was asking where this Trowa was."
"Oh, he's right there by the tree."
"I don't see anything."
Mother Nature looked closely and realized
that he was, indeed, gone from his previous position. She searched within the
area. He was nowhere in sight. She doubted that he would frolic around just
after the sudden blow but hoped that the relentless creature had not gone too
far.
Beyond her realm, she could not assure his
safety. She could only protect him against those things she had control over.
She feared that if he decided to go back to the human realm that he may just
encounter things he had never thought of as threatening. His size was sure to
be a setback and an obvious weakness in his part. She hoped again and again
that he wouldn't be turned into day-old road kill just yet.
Suddenly, her mind flew to realizations of
what she could and could not do. The earlier incident with the snake had only
proven the point that she had no power over everything. During the chase, she
could only shriek as she watched the hungry and eager predator slither on after
her favorite squirrel. Although she controlled nature, she could not meddle
with it. There was always that principle of maintaining but not interfering.
Again, it was the proper balance of nature that took a hold on her.
"He better be careful this time," Mother
Nature said while the now irate and soon to be partner crossed her arms and
tapped her foot, her impatience more than obvious.
"This is not good," Mother Nature added.
"What's not good?"
"Never mind that, dear. I'm sorry but you
won't be able to meet Trowa today. He's, umm, how do I say this? He's kind of a
daredevil with a very adventurous heart. He's always open to new things and new
experiences so he's probably run off somewhere."
"What? Then that means that he won't make a
good and stable father. I'm sorry Mother Nature, but my future babies deserve
the best."
With her decision voiced out, the
prospective female left in search of her new mate.
"What a shame," Mother Nature thought as
she watched the disappointed creature head on back to where she came from. "She
doesn't know just what she's missing."
Somewhere not far from his home, Trowa
panted as he watched the civilized world in awe. Things looked so much bigger
now that he was a squirrel. He didn't remember that little detail until he
actually saw the size difference.
He knew that this was going to be a problem
especially since he ended up in a city instead of a small town like he did
before. Mother Nature wasn't around either so he really didn't know where to
begin. All he had in mind were visions of his Quatre, his goal.
It was simple, really. All he had to do was
find the other boy again and pray that this time, things would work out just
fine for them both.
"Here I come, Quatre," he said as he
stepped into the street, his intentions and objectives still present in his
mind.