CLEANLINESS

I trudged through the shrubbery, which wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do considering I was barefoot. Hey, when you live on a sandy beach your whole life, shoes are not usually the first thing on your mind; especially in the last few days, I was definitely not bent on the latest bran' spankin' new in season flip-flops. Who needs shoes anyway? The island was very soft and spongy. It was like a giant botanical zoo. Even from my brief aerial glimpse of the isle it was just a big sparkly glob of green. No flowers; just grass, moss, leaves, and other green vegetation. Besides the freaky lack of blooms, there wasn't any sound either. It wasn't an eerie horror film silence, but a peaceful sleepy one. 'This isn't so bad,' I thought. 'It's very…clean-

Squish

I regretted my words. What a weird sensation to be suddenly ankle deep in an oozy Technicolor blue liquid. I was brought back to a time when my da-I mean, Slightly thought it would be funny to dump home-made Nickelodeon like slime on my head after seeing it on 'Figure It Out'. Too bad I was allergic to avocados. Not so fun. I felt a twinge of loss…my dad.

"Kiiii-kiii-ri-KIIIII!"

Why was it that every time I was seriously thinking about something I was oh-so-rudely interrupted? Whether it was extreme bouts of exhaustion, loud screams, or the prying eyes of forest creatures…This time it was a very loud echoing crow. The crow was impossibly earsplitting, and the sound of it seemed to wind its way around me twice before it slowly died away. I pictured a giant rooster foaming at a large, sharp beak quickly running (or whatever it is roosters do) through the jungle heading exactly in my direction. If I had actually stopped to think about my giant rooster theory I probably would have laughed. But instead I did the same old-same old: I panicked, I screamed, and I ran. Or at least I tried to run. My efforts earned me a mouthful of the very rank tasting blue goo. I somehow rolled out of the stuff and bolted leaving a sticky trail of the mess behind me. Five minutes I ran until I reached the outcropping of a small hill. I bent over catching my breath and trying to relieve the stitch in my side. The land ended suddenly and a dusty hill led to the brush below. It wasn't a very big drop, but I could imagine not a very comfortable tor to fall down.

I about-faced and peered down the trail I came from. I stood up hands on my head, breathing deeply, and sweating; not to mention still dripping the sticky blue muck, when the forest suddenly burst into life. When I mean burst I mean BOOM! Right before my eyes every flower and bloom opened up all at once. Having never seen plants move this rapidly before I was a little shocked…okay more than shocked I was scared out of my pants! I stumbled backwards, but there abruptly wasn't any more land to stumble on. I rolled…that sounds to comfortable: I bumped my way down the hill and crashed through the brush when the land finally leveled off.

I laid still for a few minutes, still feeling the pain of every rock hitting me on my way down. Slowly, I got to my feet groaning. My whole body hurt, I was filthy, but luckily nothing was broken, well as far as I could tell. Great time for the forest to spring alive, and my was it ever alive. No longer silent the land around me was ringing with the chattering of birds. Well, at least I thought it was birds. These bird calls were unfamiliar to me. The sound that caught the immediate attention of my ears, though, was the sound of running water. I immediately registered my extremely dry mouth. I hadn't noticed how parched I was in the past half an hour that I'd arrived on this horrible island. Starving and dehydrated I was driven to madness and nothing would stop me from getting to that water. It seemed to be coming from my left. I turned and began to walk but quickly stopped. A bush filled with large menacing yellow thorns was separating me from H20 bliss.

Heck, no. This was it; I was not taking any more crap from this island. Scanning the vicinity, I found there was a large tree hanging over the thorns. It was slightly embedded in the bush, but what was a few pricks for a drink of water? Little did I know I would soon find out, but these pricks weren't of the bush variety. Soon, I was scrambling up, which was not my area of expertise. I reached a thick branch that led out over the thorns and held onto the brown bark for dear life. I clung to the limb and scooted my way over the thorns. The bush was bigger than I thought and it took a while to clear it, but much to my dismay the limb ended before the thorns did. Luckily, so did the land that the thorns were on just a few feet beyond that of the thorns. About thirty feet below me there shined and sparkled a large, clear lake. Without thinking I stood up and bounced on the branch. It was a lot different than flat springboards, but it would work. My fear of falling was instantly replaced with my need of water and cleanliness. I bounced one more time and then threw myself over the thorny ledge.

The wind whistled in my ears again that day, but this time it was a lot more enjoyable. I splashed into the water and did a quick somersault, I didn't want to hit my head on the bottom, but the lagoon was a lot deeper than I first thought. I took in my surroundings. The lake was set into a little niche between the forest and a gigantic, rocky cliff. The running water I heard was the sound of a small waterfall trickling its way down the cliff's face. I submerged again. Should I drink it? It seemed clear enough…this place was rather unsoiled…well…what the hell? I took a deep gulp. It was wonderful, purer than even the most expensive bottle of Evian.

I opened my eyes and swam around a little before coming up again. I paddled to the shore and looked around for prying eyes. I was no stranger to skinny dipping, but not in front of other people. God no! Seeing and hearing nothing but the trickle of water and the cackle of birds, I peeled off my clothing and set them on the bank to dry. I swam around a bit, doing some flips and getting all of the grime out of my hair before I settled for floating around. It would have been peaceful, too, if not for the flip of water a few feet away from me.

I scrambled to the shore and hid behind the nearest bush. I had a feeling I knew what this was…"MICAH!!"

A fiery green head popped up. His face was a tye-dye of pink and moss. "Ah, um…see…I came looking for you because I didn't catch your name before and I think I found your bracelet-

"BEA! My name's Bea!!" I screamed. He was looking very panicked, and I was looking…well…very naked.

"Bea…I'm sorry," his blush deepened. "I swear I didn't see anything-

"Anything he didn't like!"

I spun around and two small boys with pointy ears and hair as green as fresh spring grass were pointing at me and laughing hysterically. I tried to shove myself further into the bush when one of them giggled and said, "Momma always said Pixie's were easy!"

………..............

My heart was soaring, I hadn't felt like this for a long time. I was flying again, and on the search for pirates. My sword thumped against my side. Oh, was there ever going to be a bloodbath today…I smiled as the island blurred by below me.

Splash. Laughter.

I skidded to a stop in midair and almost fell into the treetops grazing my toes. I knew that laugh. I searched around me for the location of the sound, and my eyes settled on a lagoon not far from where I was floating. I flew fast and landed quietly on a high branch above the water. Stealthily, I crawled to the end of it, and remained hidden behind the green foliage. Below me a girl resurfaced. First I saw a shock of pink hair…damn pixies. They're always frolicking about, being stupid. I almost left, but then I saw her eyes. It only took a glance and I knew who I was looking at. 'Wendy?' But how? And with pink hair? Her eyes crinkled into a smile and I knew…I didn't know how…but I knew it was her.

I floated off the branch and almost bolted down to the water to her, when she floated to the edge and looked sheepishly around. I paused for a moment when she began to peel off her clothes. I could feel myself redden. Don't get me wrong, I had seen a naked girl before. The pixie's are always giggly, naked, and teasing, but this girl obviously did not want to be seen. In spite of myself, I felt a new longing and sat myself down on the branch again. She floated around below me and I studied her, but I found I became interested in other things besides her face. She was tan with long limbs, but she curved in all the right places. I longed to touch her, to thimble her…and other things besides…

The girl turned sharply to stare at something and my studies were interrupted as she scrambled onshore. I caught the briefest glimpse of her again before she hid herself behind a bush opposite me. "MICAH!" she screamed. Despite the harshness of her exclaim her voice lulled me into a stupor. Yup, definitely Wendy…I spied a very green boy with red hair pop out of the water…curious. A male Undine…, "Ah, um…see…I came looking for you because I didn't catch your name before and I think I found your bracelet-

"BEA! My name's Bea!!"

Bea? Who was Bea? This wasn't Wendy…she was an imposter. My heart sank into my stomach and sizzled. I was so sure…but her eyes. I felt rejected for no reason and soon I was making up excuses as to why Wendy went away in the first place. I thought, 'Besides even if she did come back, Wendy wouldn't want me anymore'…I looked down at myself in disgust. My body had grown longer and broader. I was a man now.

Through the time I was in my willow, I could feel it. The crushing weight and pain that had plagued me for a long time after the boys left lessened. I began to have a different sort of hurt. While I was in my willow my legs ached and my arms cramped, apparently something called growing pains. I sat on the branch and let my legs dangle below me. My hair had even grown somewhat darker…maybe that's why Wendy hadn't come back. She knew I was a man somehow and couldn't bear the sight of me anymore.

Deep down, I knew this was a stupid thought, but it didn't stop the white hot anger that seared through my body. I lifted off the branch and soared into the sky once again, when I was greeted by a bouncing ball of light. She jingled at me…

"Yea, sorry Tink. I was heading toward the sea…I guess I got sidetracked." My anger flared. "Tink I'm just going to go back to the…" She flew into my face and rang violently. "Ok maybe not! Wait…a city? A city of PIRATES!" My anger died and was replaced by a growing excitement. "Lead the way, Tinkerbelle!"

…….........

"She ain't a pixie, you dolt!" The boys giggled again. I raged and turned a pink that I'm sure rivaled my hair.

"How do ya figure, Kehlo?"

"Well…" he made a motion over his chest. I fumed and my hands flew over my exposed appendages. They just laughed all the more. One of them was actually on the ground at this point. "Pixie's don't have much of those, Snatch."

My anger snapped, "WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"

"Hold on there little miss! I'm Khelo," he bowed mockingly. "My brother Snatch and I were just frolicking around the forest like the good little elves we are, when we happened upon you, and your lack of…modestly, should I say…" Snatch was hysterical now taking deep breaths between his racking laughter.

"Khelo…and Snatch…" I couldn't help a smirk of my own.

"Bea…" I heard Micah's pleading tone. "But I thought you told me you were a pixie…"

I turned around. "Micah…I am not a pixie," I said sharply. "I am just a girl with pink hair who fell out of the sky and is now having one of the shittiest days of my life!" The elves gasped and giggled at my colorful language. Fuming, I tore out of the bush, not caring who looked at my very bare body. I pulled on my soggy clothing and turned to the elves. "So now that I know there are animals around here, take me to your leader." The joke was wasted, and the elves gave me an odd look.

"What are you talking about? You're from the ciudad…aren't you?" This Khelo character was obviously the leader, as Snatch just seemed to stand there and nod like a dashboard doggy at whatever Khelo said. My clueless look must have answered his question and he smirked at me. "Where have you been? Must be new, this one. The ciudad is-

Snatch grabbed his arm, and everything went silent, even the birds, and surprisingly so was Micah. They looked at each other, turned, and ran off through the woods. No! I was just getting some information about this blasted place! "Wait, come back." I screamed.

"BEA!" Micah hissed behind me and I turned around. His face was a pale green and his look of panic was one that quieted even me. His eyes were wide and he said in a whisper, "Run!" Then he ducked below the surface. Why was everyone so cryptic around here! His behavior didn't scare me at all; it just made me even more annoyed with the mer-boy. 'Well you know what little merman I think I will just take my sweet time in getting wherever I want to go, thank you very much,' I thought while turning around.

I chocked on my own spit, and my heart burst into race of panic beats. A very ragged, hairy, crazy-eyed old man was standing directly in front of me. He took one look at me, tipped back his head, and cackled.

…………………..........................

Ten points to whoever remembers what Figure It Out is!! Have a great and golden rest of the day, and thanks for stopping at Karma Chameleon! P.S Thanks boogalaga and Dreamless-Mermaid.

-Gwen