Young Beauty

"Hey Matt, do you want to follow me to the Supermarket?" Andrew invited, holding the door open. Matt, who was watching Sandy and Frisky play, looked up.

"Sure Uncle Andrew!"

"Come on then."

….

"Hi Andrew. Need anything today?" a man behind the counter asked politely. He was a skinny man, with a black bow under his neck. He wore a white shirt accompanied by black trousers. His hair was black as well. He had a moustache growing too.

"Hello Matt. What can I do for you today?" a sweet voice called from the back of the shop. Matt whirled around only to find Karen appearing from a closed room.

"Oh, hi Karen!" he replied. "I'm here with Uncle Andrew, who wants to buy things for his farm."

"I see. Why don't you come with me? I'm sure you don't want to hear their boring talk."

The true answer was 'yes'; he did want to hear what the two older men were talking about. But still, she was a girl, and could be considered a friend….

He sighed resolutely and followed Karen outside, where she led him to the Goddess Pond. Here she stopped and inhaled deeply.

"Ah, isn't the air nice and cool here?" she said. Matt nodded, feeling the cold air pinch his face.

"I think that the Goddess might appear one day in this pond. That's why I come here," she continued dreamily. Matt nodded again and continued taking in the scene, even though he had been here a mere two days ago.

At that moment, a bird came down and perched on his shoulder. Startled by something gripping his shoulder, he turned around to see….

A single inquisitive eye. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the eye belonged to a bird with blue and white feathers and a red crest. It trilled sweetly before nudging his ear affectionately then flying away to rest on a branch.

"It never did that to me before," Karen said enviously. Matt turned to see her looking at the bird with a hint of jealousy in her brown eyes.

Matt shrugged and gazed at the majestic waterfall, cascading down in torrents into the pool below. Suddenly, the crystal-clear water was distorted by ripples. Matt overlooked it until he heard a shrill cry from the object that fell in. From the corner of his eye, he saw Karen turn sharply in the direction of the object.

The object turned out to be the bird that had perched on Matt's shoulder earlier. It now flapped helplessly as waves of water started to pull it under. Matt could not bear to watch it struggle fruitlessly any longer and dashed to a side of the pool that was nearest to the bird.

He reached out towards the bird. The tips of his fingers were barely an inch away from the avian. Sighing desperately, he stretched out further. He just missed it. Giving it up, he jumped into the pool, on hand still lodged firmly on the edge of the pool. He was surprised to find that the bottom of the pool barely reached his shoulders.

His hand stretched out once more towards the bird. This time, he succeeded. He brought the soaking-wet bird back with him onto dry land, where Karen was waiting anxiously.

"Oh, thank goodness you found it," she gushed as soon as he stood up. Dismally, he shook his head in an attempt to shake off some of the water. The piteous bird lay shivering on his palm, out of danger but still almost paralyzed with cold. The cutting wind was not doing either of them any good.

"I'm going to the farm to change my clothes. I'll f-find something to keep the bird warm," Matt sputtered between chattering teeth. Karen nodded and trailed him back to the farmhouse.

"C-Can you wait here as I change into new c-clothes?" he suggested as he took dry clothes from a wardrobe. "H-Here, take t-the bird."

Karen nodded mutely and received the bird, holding it carefully in her cupped hands. The bird was shivering less violently now that it was in warm hands. Carefully, Karen draped a piece of cloth onto it, hoping to warm it up. It had worked. By the time Matt reappeared from the bathroom, the bird was already fluffing up its feathers to dry it. Soon it was flying in circles around the confined spaces of the farmhouse. Matt grinned happily as he dried his hair with a towel, glad to see that the bird was alive and well.

"Come on, we should go back to the supermarket," Karen spoke up as she stood up from a chair. Matt agreed and followed her. The bird came after them, flying at a distance. When they neared the supermarket, it landed and perched comfortably on Matt's left shoulder. Matt giggled when its soft feathers tickled his cheek.

"Hi Mom, hi Dad!" Karen chirped as she entered the shop. Her father looked up, irritated that his daughter had interrupted his business. Andrew smiled at him.

"Why Matt, is that a bird I see on your shoulder?" he said jovially.

"Yes," Matt admitted happily.

"Well, how did you get it to like you so much in such a short space of time?"

"Matt saved it from drowning," Karen blurted out, unable to restrain herself any longer. "That bird was sitting on a branch when it lost its balance and fell into the pond. Matt had to wade into the pond to get it."

All the grown-ups in the room fell silent at this. Matt felt uncomfortable. Why did she have to tell people, not only one, but an entire shop?

"Is it true?" Sasha asked in a hushed tone. Subdued, Matt nodded. All of a sudden, the villagers in the shop seemed to be swarming over him, patting his back, showering praise on him until his face was deep red…. Finally, Andrew saved him by carrying him up into his arms.

"I'm very proud of you, Matt," he whispered softly into the young boy's ear. Matt mumbled something incoherent and squirmed uncomfortably in the old farmer's arms. Chuckling softly, he let Matt down onto the floor, where he was once more bombarded by praise and patting on the back until his ears and back were sore. Karen stood in a corner, away from the hubbub, smirking.

The news of Matt's heroic deed spread like wildfire all over the town, mainly thanks to Manna and her gossip gang. Even more villagers stormed into the farmhouse on the sole reason of praising the pint-sized boy. Matt was red-faced for the remainder of the day.

….

As for the little bird, it had followed Matt faithfully into the supermarket, but it hovered near the ceiling when the villagers crowded around its saviour to shower their praises on him. It trilled sweetly and spied the girl with beautiful brown hair standing aside in a corner. It flew downwards and landed on her head. Karen looked up, startled to feel something touch her head. The bird hopped a few steps and bent down. Karen saw a bluish head with black inquisitive eyes looking down from its perch on her head. She laughed softly and reached out to touch it. With a shocked cry it flew upwards again. Karen sighed sadly before returning her gaze to the amusing scene playing out before her, namely Matt being praised and pushed about by the villagers.

Finally, Andrew had hoisted him into his arms and walked out of the supermarket, followed by quite a number of the villagers until Andrew shooed them away. The bird circled the cramped space in the supermarket one last time before flying out of the door, tailing the embarrassed boy.

Back at the farm, Sandy was still playing with the older, more dignified dog. She playfully leaped up into the air and landed on Frisky, who was asleep. With an angry snarl, he turned around to face the younger canine. Sandy cowered when the older dog towered over her.

She whimpered piteously. Frisky continued growling. How dare a pup disturb his nap! He'll show her who's master on this farm!

"Down, Frisky!" his master ordered from the entrance of the farm. Reluctantly, Frisky obeyed and backed away several steps from the cowering pup, still growling menacingly. Sandy stood up once more, her cockiness returning now that her master was here to protect her. Just to teach her a lesson, Frisky nipped the tip of her tail. She yelped in pain and ran to Andrew's side. Matt then came down from Andrew's arms.

"Hi there Sandy!" he greeted, still rather red after all the praise he received. The puppy leaped up affectionately and licked his hand. He patted her soft furry head gently. Her beautiful plumy tail wagged madly and her eyes sparkled and shone brightly. It was then that Matt noticed that her eyes were a beautiful sapphire blue, his favourite colour.

"Ah-choo!" he sneezed suddenly, surprising the small canine.

"Come on, into bed with you. You've caught a cold," Andrew said firmly. Matt started to protest.

"But Uncle Andrew…." He whined. Andrew didn't say any more and ushered the small child into the house. Sandy trailed behind them, walking daintily on her small, petite paws. Just then, someone came pounding on the great oak door.

"Coming!" Andrew called as he tucked the disgruntled boy into bed. Sandy leaped into the bed to be with her young master. The old farmer opened the door to reveal….

Nearly half of the village, all of them waiting in front of his door. He stared at them blankly.

"Well? Can we go in?" Lesley asked impatiently. Andrew recovered and answered with a question of his own.

"May I know why all of you are here today?" he asked courteously.

"We're here to see Matt, of course!" Lesley retorted. Behind her, most of the villagers nodded in agreement. Andrew sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry, but unless you want him to catch a cold by coming out to meet you, you shouldn't ask him to come out," he objected.

"Well…." Lesley pondered her answer. Suddenly, she brightened up. "If he can't come out, we'll go in and see him!" she declared. Smiles lit up the villagers' faces.

"I suppose…." Andrew said reluctantly, pushing the door open to its fullest extent. The group of villagers entered with the force of a rampaging bull. Matt, who was snuggling comfortably in bed, shot up in surprise as the crowd.

"Hi Matt! We heard about your heroic deed today, so we came to congratulate you!" Lesley said brightly, adding sugar to her voice. The crowd behind her nodded enthusiastically and started showering praise onto the poor boy. Matt sighed, frustrated.

Won't they leave him alone? A red blush gradually crept up his face.

"Come on people, let him have some space," Andrew commanded imposingly. The crowd backed away a few steps. "Are you done yet?"

"No!" The crowd yelled and continued fussing on Matt. In desperation, Matt hid under the blankets, hoping to escape. Sandy did not help matters by jumping up and yanking the blankets off his face in her sharp teeth.

Why do I have to go through this? He thought agonizingly as the villagers continued ranting about his bravery and such. I'll get even with you, Karen!

….

In a room that connected to the supermarket, Karen sneezed. "Did anyone think of me?" she asked herself as she wiped her nose.

….

Hello! So how was this chapter? Better, or worse? Review! Please oh please oh please!