I'm sad to say that this is the last chapter to As I Am. I will be writing a A/N for the next update just to tie up any loose ends. I hope you guys enjoy the conclusion to As I Am.
Funeral for a Friend
As the morning crept up on the Central Park zoo, Skipper could be seen outside the zoo walls, preparing for his special mission. He had to make sure that everything was perfect before he woke the others.
Once he was satisfied with his work, Skipper headed back to the HQ to finally wake up the rest of his team.
He climbed down the ladder, grabbed a cup of fish coffee, and stood in front of the penguin's bunks.
"Rise and shine boys!" He barked as he took a sip of his coffee, "We've got an important day in front of us."
The three penguins hopped out of their beds and stood straight up in front Skipper, flippers pressed against their heads in a salute.
"At ease men." Skipper said as he took yet another sip of his coffee. The three penguins dropped their feathers to their sides.
"Today we are going to embark on probably our most important mission yet, especially for one of us." Skipper continued as he smiled warmly and looked at Rico.
Rico was confused; what mission could they possibly go on that had any importance to him?
"But sir what is today's mission exactly?" Kowalski inquired, "We haven't received any information on it." he said as he furiously flipped through his notes.
"That's because I haven't given you any Kowalski." Responded Skipper. He put his coffee down and motioned towards the ladder. "Shall we begin?"
Private, Kowalski, and Rico gingerly made their way towards the ladder, filled with anticipation.
"Oh I can't wait to find out what were doing!" Squeaked Private as he exited the HQ
"I wouldn't get to excited Private." Skipper said sternly; he knew today wasn't going to be fun, he knew today wasn't going to be filled with joy, but he did know that today had to happen.
"Why is that Skippa?" Private asked, concerned with Skippers tone.
Skipper, however, didn't answer Privates question. He though it would just be better for the young penguin to find out for himself.
The four of them, behind Skipper's lead, left their habitat and moved towards the exit of the zoo. They exited out the side gate and found themselves standing in the park.
Skipper slid on his belly as he led the rest of his team to a tree in the middle of the park. Underneath the tree was a dirty shovel and a small hole Skipper had dug out earlier that morning.
Private, Kowalski, and Rico all popped up from their belly slides and circled around the hole. They stared down into the it, wondering if this had anything to do with the special mission.
Kowalski pulled out his abacus and started to crunch some numbers. "I'd say by my calculations that this hole is 3.2 feet deep" He declared to no one in particular.
Rico was still confused; was this hole part of the special mission? He was about to ask Skipper but Private beat him to the punch.
"Skippa what are we doing here? And why are we standing around this hole?" Asked Private, equally befuddled as Rico.
"We're doing this, all of this, for Rico" Skipper answered. He walked behind the tree, returning with some flowers and a duplicate picture of Rico's mother.
"Rico I think it's time we give your mother a proper burial." Skipper continued. He put the flowers down and handed the picture to Rico.
Rico stared longingly into his mother's eyes. He let one tear fall from his cheek, and with a kiss he handed the picture back to Skipper.
Skipper took the picture and slowly put it into the hole. He then took half the flowers and put them in there as well.
"We are here today to lie to rest Rico's beloved mother. Even though only one of us ever met her, all of us have been touched by her story. She would be proud to see her son now. Not only is he a great solider, he's a great penguin, and a great brother. You will be forever missed." As Skipper finished his statement he grabbed the shovel and handed it to Rico. "I think⦠you should do the honors."
Rico grabbed the shovel and stuck it into the ground. He pulled the shovel up from the ground and held it over the hole.
"Goodbye." Was all Rico said before he started to fill the hole with dirt.
Skipper than placed the rest of the flowers on top of the grave. He turned to face his team. He noticed that Privates eyes were red from crying, and saw Kowalski hiding behind his clipboard trying to hide his emotions.
His eyes then fell upon Rico. He was just staring blankly towards the sky, shovel in hand.
"Do you think she's watching?" Rico asked quietly not taking his eyes off the sky.
"I don't think she's watching Rico, I know she's watching." Skipper responded confidently. He walked up behind Rico a placed a comforting flipper on his shoulder. Rico looked over his shoulder to see Skipper.
"Thank you Skipper." Rico said sincerely.
Skipper patted Rico on the shoulder a few times; Rico knew this was his way of saying "your welcome".
Skipper left Rico standing alone as he went to talk to the rest of the team.
"Hey Rico we're going to go back to the HQ, you come when your ready ok?" Skipper told Rico as they were on they're way back to the zoo.
Rico just nodded his head signifying that he heard him.
Rico stood staring at the sky for a few more minutes before he decided to speak.
"Well mom I guess you're finally home." Was all he said. He dropped the shovel and headed back to the HQ.
An overwhelming sense of joy passed through Rico's body. He was finally, with out a doubt, one hundred percent sure that his mothers soul had been laid to rest.
Ok well there it is. I hope you guys enjoyed the whole story, don't forget to review and tell me what you though of As I Am. As I said before in my last chapter (and I'll probably say it agian in the A/N) I will be writing a Skilene next. I do have a few things to adress that are improtant to the story in the A/N so I would recomend reading it. Well until next time arriverderci!
