Chapter Eight: Renewed Spirits
"Sunni! Please come out!"
The girl made no reply to Grammi's
shouts. She had recently locked herself into her room and had not come out at
all. Grammi would leave her meals outside the door and when she came back,
there was always an empty tray but she never showed herself.
Grammi felt someone tug on her
sleeve. It was Gusto. The artist had come when he heard of Sunni's situation,
in hopes that maybe he could help. Grammi sighed and stepped aside, gesturing
for the sky blue Gummi to give it a try.
"Sunners? It's Gusto. Come on kid,
open up!"
The door remained shut and he could
not hear a thing. The Gummi tried a few minutes more before giving up and
retreating back to the main hall. The others awaited him anxiously, especially
Cubbi. The older Gummi looked at the pink cub and shook his head,
"Sorry Cubster. No luck."
It seems that the whole of the group
sighed as one. Then, there were interrupted by a flash of light through the
lake skylight. Immediately recognizing it as the Gummi Scope, Zummi began to
conclude its message. A minute later, he said,
"It's from Ursa. The Barbics need
help."
Gruffi took over. "Then let's go. I
know Ursa. That Gummi is so stubborn, she'd only send for help if-'
"If they're in desperate danger!"
Cubbi finished.
Gruffi and the others took off to
the Quicktunnels, but Cubbi called he be there soon. He raced to Sunni's room,
barging through her door, surprised that it was unlocked. She was sitting on
her bed, hair uncombed, clothing ruffled. Her arms were wrapped around her
shins. Her face was buried on her knees. She didn't look up even when Cubbi had
burst through her door. Cubbi jumped over, onto her sheets and shook her hard.
"Come on Sunni! The Barbics need
help!"
Sunni didn't look at him but he
heard,
"Then why come to me? Why? I know
that I'll just get in the way. I'll endanger them more."
Cubbi was normally a very calm Gummi
but he'd had it. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard.
"By Gum, maybe you're right! But I
know that it isn't because you aren't capable, it's because you don't believe
it! I don't know what got you so low in the spirits but I do know this!
Put your faith in yourself! Forget what everyone else says! You know that you
can do it and so do I. So just trust in yourself!"
Sunni stared at him. Cubbi finally
threw up his hands in agitation and ran out to the Quickcars.
The girl sat there a moment,
thinking.
"By Gum, Cubbi was right! How could
I have been so dense!?"
Sunni leapt up. Those memories, she
saw through the illusion now. Her sorrow and doubt vanished and was replaced by
anger so great it blinded her vision. How dare Celina play with her mind that
way! She saw the real feelings the others had now! They worried, cared. They
might not have understood her completely but they did care about her.
Her spirit refreshed and renewed,
Sunni rushed down to the Quicktunnels to follow her friends to Ursalia and
clear this Celina out for good.
* * *
Buddi's spirit lay still in a misty
plane, the inside of his own mind. In fact, the land virtually had no ground
and he seemed to fall forever. He kept his eyes shut, not wanting to see but
just as glad that he had receded. His thoughts echoed, although he did not open
his lips once.
"I tried but I failed. I'm not a
Barbic. I'm not even half Barbic. I don't deserve the Barbic blood I was born
with. Fate, you're a cruel player."
The cub let the tears come. They
trailed down his transparent cheeks. In this landscape, he was bare, unclothed,
the purest form anyone had. He was transparent, like a ghost.
"As it is, I'm not even half Barbic.
I failed Ursa and the others. I never was good enough for them. I'm better
here. Alone…"
He broke down crying. But stopped as
that delicate voice broke the air,
"Buddi. Buddi."
The cub's fall ceased and he slowly
opened his eyes. He looked around for the source. And gasped. He swore that his
physical heart halted in shock. He stammered, unbelieving,
"Alina…"