Chapter 10: Epilogue
Mumble gave Gloria one last hug before saying goodbye. Beside him, Emaline was nuzzling Ben, who was balancing a white sphere on his feet. The females were leaving for yet another long winter.
This was only his second winter without Gloria, and Mumble already missed her. Worse, still, he would be without his daughter as well. This year, however, he would not be meticulously protecting an egg—it was simply too soon after all that had happened.
Soon, Emaline pulled herself from her mate's embrace, and set off with Gloria and the other females. Mumble looked over at Ben. He looked the same way Mumble remembered feeling last winter: excited, scared, lonely…and tired.
"So…", he asked, somewhat awkwardly. He liked Ben, but he had never spoken to him much. "Have you decided on a name yet?"
Ben looked thoughtful, "we decided that if it was a girl it would be named Gracie" he replied.
"And if it's not?"
Ben looked over at him, "I wanted to call it Louis, but Emaline had her heart set on Mambo".
Mumbled couldn't help but grin. "I'm afraid she inherited her stubbornness from me".
Ben frowned at him. His intelligent eyes no longer seemed piercing to Mumble, but rather sincere. "What was it like, when she hatched?"
Mumble looked out over the horizon, putting his flipper on his son-in-law's shoulder. He felt unusually wise when he said: "I was the saddest, most painful thing I've ever experienced…and I'd give anything to do it again."
Songs in order of appearance:
"Hey Jude" by the Beatles (modified)
"Silver Street" by Ben Folds (modified)
"Lullabye" by Ben Folds
"The luckiest" by Ben Folds (modified)
"Elanore Rigby" by the Beatles (modified)
"Emaline" by Ben Folds
"Losing Lisa" by Ben Folds (modified)
"Carrying Cathy" by Ben Folds (modified)
"Still Fighting It" by Ben Folds (modified)
"Help" by the Beatles
I do not own any of these songs, nor do I own Happy Feet
Well, that was fun. As you can see, I really like Ben Folds, and he was somewhat of an inspiration for the character "Ben" in the story. I know this story is null and void with the upcoming Happy Feet Two, but I decided to do it anyway. I liked the idea of a less death-ridden one for once. I also seem to be unable to resist the urge to have Mumble sing, so I decided to have his voice improve slightly, just as he is constantly losing more of his baby feathers. As always, please review and let me know what you think!