A Hundred Acre Charge
M.C. Deltat

Chapter 5: The Overwhelming Shadow

Pooh looked away. This whole conversation seemed to have brought him down, it seemed. Well, I couldn't find fault in that, I suppose. If there was definitely one thing I learned in my time away, its that life never gives you a break. Failure, somehow, always finds you.

And some days are worse than others still…

I sighed. I turned away from Pooh, pivoting my gaze towards the sky. It was dark. The clouds had been rolling in for some time now, but I had always been able to easily spot the sun; that was no longer the case. The harsh cloud cover had invaded, and promptly defeated the clear blue sky that once rested overhead. The pleasant warmth once radiating from the sun now filtered through a dense overcast, leaving a gusty chill in its place. I don't know how pleasant the beach would be in this weather. With that thought in my mind, along with my gaze fixed towards the sky, I soon found myself momentarily blinded as a bright flash pierced through the air. Even as I blinked the bright spots away however, I could still count.

One. Two. Three…

Like clockwork, the bolt blasted us with an electrical wall of sound on that third second. How far was the storm when we started? Eight kilometers? It had already made it more than halfway on its way towards us. Although, the dark skies shepherded by the strong winds should have already made that much more obvious. Turning around to look back at the grass field we had just walked though, I could scarcely see anything tall enough to completely engulf us; not in the manner it had when Pooh and I walked through it anyway.

"It has gotten quite windy hasn't it." Pooh said as he wrapped his arms around himself. He was quieter somehow, more distance; Muffled if you will.

Oh wait, that was because Pooh had kept walking and had once again built a lead on me. I quickly ran right up. "Sorry, what did you say?" I asked. The damn wind had gotten annoyingly loud. Being just a few full strides away was enough to drown him out near completely.

"The wind is very powerful." Pooh said slightly louder. He turned to me, having just caught up, before continuing. "I do hope that Piglet is okay. He was to meet us somewhere here." He began gazing, looking for the small pig.

I joined in looking. It was difficult, given the constant shade we found ourselves in, but I soon spotted a bright spot in the ground a few paces west of us. "There," I pointed out to Pooh. We both walked up to what was soon revealed to be a colorful blanket on the ground. I kneeled down, aiming to pick it up. It was really soft. "Piglet? Are you here?" I asked as I unwrapped the bundle.

Or at least I attempted to. I quickly found that the blanket was much larger than I. Even fully stretched out, I could not raise the piece of fabric completely off the ground. "Pooh, is Piglet there?" I asked.

"I can't see him." Pooh confessed as he dug through the remainder left upon the ground. He kept probing though. "Piglet! Are you … wooh." He suddenly cried out.

The breeze suddenly kicked up once more, lifting the rest of the blanket off the ground. It failed to rip it from my grip, but it certainly made a good-natured attempt. "Where can he be then?" I asked.

"I don't know. That is definitely his blanket." Pooh explained. "He mentioned that he was bringing it to the beach for the party."

"Well, he must be here somewhere then." I voiced the hope. "I don't think Piglet is the type to litter with his property." I looked at Pooh, who nodded in agreement. "He must be here somewhere."

We both started to look for our small friend, but we were quickly faced with an issue. We didn't know where to look. Unlike with Tigger before, where we were within a forest with nooks to dive deep into, we currently stood on a largely barren field. It was verdant, but most of the plant-life didn't arise higher than our ankles. I could see exceptionally far, because there was so little to break line of sight.

"Maybe he isn't here." I tilted my head back in exasperation. "I can't see where he could be hiding."

"Of course, you can't." Pooh said. "If you could see Piglet, we wouldn't be having any issues."

I deeply exhaled. Whether it was due to Piglet's missing status, or due to Pooh, I didn't know. Although, I almost forgot to breathe back in as I saw a small bright spot high in the sky. I would have not seen it, were it not for the juxtaposition of bright blue against the dark sky. Could it be? "Hey Pooh," I hesitated. "Did Piglet say he was bringing anything else to the beach beside the blanket?" I asked.

Pooh began rubbing his chin in thought. "I believe he also mentioned an umbrella."

Oh no. "Pooh, he is there." I frantically pointed at the spot in the sky.

Pooh knelt forward, trying to follow my sightline. Based on the narrowed, unsure look on his face, I didn't think he could. "In the sky?" Pooh asked. "Where? I can't see anything."

I shook my head. We didn't have time for this. "Follow me." I ran, following that blue spot in the sky. I went as fast as my legs could take me. I expected Pooh to completely fall behind, but to my shock, when I turned around, he was right there keeping pace. Huh, what do you know? That has to be the second most surprising part of today. While it took a little longer than I expected, we did eventually make it right underneath the flying blue pinprick. Despite the howl of the wind, Piglet's cries of terror still managed to rise above it. Time may pass, but some things will never change.

"OH, DEAR OH DEAD OH DEAR" Piglet cried out.

I brought up both hands to focus my voice. "PIGLET!" I shouted. "WHAT HAPPENED!"

By now, Pooh seemed to have caught on. I assumed as such anyway, based on the distinct change in posture followed by his gaze matching mine. He saw Piglet by now. "PIGLET! HOW DID YOU GET UP THERE!" Pooh shouted.

"POOH IM SCARED!" a terrified Piglet voiced. "I CAN'T HOLD ON MUCH LONGER!"

Sweat beaded down my forehead as I watched Piglet desperately hold onto that bright blue umbrella in the sky. No doubt he was trying his hardest, but the umbrella fought back as the wind forced quite the erratic flight pattern. In a manner of seconds, the umbrella seemed to accelerate, pivot back, crash, ascend… there seemed no predetermined pattern. There was only chaos to its movement; chaos that seemed fixated on launching piglet to who knows where. What could we do?

"Oh Piglet." Pooh cried. "HOLD ON! HOLD ON AS BEST YOU CAN!"

I looked over to Pooh. There was panic clear on his face. Frankly, it felt wrong. It felt like something pure had been corrupted. That emotion upon my bear friend's visage was an emotion that Pooh should have no concept of. I turned back to Piglet with fresh determination. I would deal with this.

Who else could?

"IM SLIPPING" Piglet shouted. His voice a strange cross between panic and exhaustion. Who knows how long he had been up there for? "PLEASE!" he cried out before a fresh gust forced his umbrella into a new heading. He said nothing further as his full attention was dedicated to not losing his grip.

I forced my gaze away from Piglet. It would help no one if I watched Piglet until he fell. I looked for anything that could help, but to my despair, there was nothing. We were in an empty field with nary a tree or pond. My determination slowly morphed back into shame, as I offhandedly played with the blanket still in my hands. Was there really nothing I could? I turned back to Pooh. He was frozen, head firmly pointed at the sky.

Wait a second. My heart beat as my brain skipped in thought. Wait a second. I brought the blanket in my hands up. Would this work? It was stupid, but … well I didn't have any other idea. My head turned unconsciously as my brain searched for anything more viable.

"POOH!" Piglet ripped my indecision away from me.

Alright. This was the plan. It wasn't great, but it's the best I have. "Pooh," I shouted.

That shook Pooh out of his stupor. After a visible shake, he turned to me, back to piglet, then back to me. "Robin! We have to help him!"

"I know." I answered. I gave Pooh two corners of the blanket, while I held firm the other. I then took a step back to stretch it taut.

Pooh, gaze firmly at the blanket, had an air of disbelief. "Uh, Robin… I don't know if."

"I can't think of anything else," I admitted. "We have to make do. I see nothing else here that would even come close to being feasible."

Pooh only nodded in response.

I looked back up at Piglet. His trajectory was indeed random, but the wind did seem to keep his overall average position similar enough. Doing some quick maths in my head, I dragged us to what I judged was the best position for Piglet. Now in place, I gulped. That was the easy part. Now comes the hard part. Doing my best, I swallowed my worry away before opening my mouth. "PIGLET!" I shouted. "CAN YOU SEE US!"

"OH I CAN'T". Piglet cried back. He had been slipping slowly down the haft of the umbrella. As best I could tell, he must have less than half of it left. "I CAN'T LOOK. I'M TOO SCARED!"

"PIGLET! YOU NEED TO BE BRAVE!" Pooh shouted. To Pooh's credit, he held the blanket as hard as he could. Along with my corners, the blanket remained taut and firm, even despite the wind's greatest efforts.

"BEING BRAVE IS HOW I GOT HERE!" Piglet whined. "OH, I TRY AND TRY, BUT IT NEVER WORKS OUT!"

That is strange. What did Piglet mean by that? I turned to look at Pooh. He had a resolute look on his face, as if he knew exactly what Piglet was talking about. I didn't know what to add. I just focused on making sure we positioned the blanket in the best place for Piglet; shifting to the south or west every few seconds.

"PIGLET!" Pooh refused to relent. "FAILURE IS NOT HOW YOU REACH THE END. GIVING UP IS. NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU FALL, YOU MUST GET UP AGAIN."

"I…I…" Piglet stuttered for a few moments, barely able to get his thoughts out. The wind definitely didn't help, that was for sure. "POOH… I AM SO TIRED. I JUST DON'T KNOW IF I CAN KEEP TRYING… I JUST DON'T KNOW IF…" he trailed off.

I didn't know how quite to respond to that. Turning my head towards Pooh, I could tell that he didn't know how to respond either.

"PIGLET!" I tried crying out. "CAN YOU HEAR ME?" I asked

He said nothing, unwillingly content to sail on the winds.

"PIGLET! PLEASE!" I tried again. Nothing else for me to do anyway. "YOU DON'T HAVE TO LOOK. JUST… JUST SAY YOU HEAR ME!"

"POOH, THAT IS A NASTY TRICK!" Piglet eventually shouted. "I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU ARE DOING THAT, BUT IT ISNT FAIR. I KNOW CHRISTOPHER ROBIN ISNT HERE!"

I swallowed. "PIGLET, IT IS ME!" I shouted.

"YES, PIGLET. CHRISTOPHER ROBIN IS RIGHT HERE!" Pooh agreed.

"What?" Piglet muttered. I could barely hear it, but I did. His head seemed to turn down to us for a peek. "OH DEAR! OH DEAR!"

He must have opened his eyes to look. Alright, that's progress then. "DID YOU SEE ME PIGLET!"

"I DON'T WANT TO… OH NOOO" Piget cried out as the umbrella suddenly sank as the wind momentarily ceased. Best as I could tell, he dropped a few meters, before the wind picked back up again, relaunching him back to his original height.

This isn't good. If the wind were consistent, we would at least have time. If the wind is dying as the storm moves on, that makes everything more difficult. "PIGLET, IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I'VE SEEN YOU!" I tried a different approach.

"Christoper…" Piglet whimpered. I could barely hear.

"PIGLET, THE WIND IS DYING OUT." I kept firm. "THE WIND IS GOING AWAY, AND IT WON'T KEEP YOU IN AIR ANYMORE." I felt a tug on the blanket. I looked down to Pooh, who seemed to have a question.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Pooh whispered. "No more wind means that Piglet won't be in the sky anymore."

"Only if the wind speed lowers in a controlled manner." I answered. "If it isn't, then its bad."

"AHHH," Piglet faltered a bit when the wind went through another cycle of dying then reviving.

Even with the wind blowing it away, I could feel sweat beading down my forehead. This is bad. "PIGLET! I AM SERIOUS!" I ordered. "YOU LOOK AT US. DON'T TURN AWAY!"

"I CAN'T…" Piglet began, but I didn't let him finish.

"LOOK AT ME!" I shouted. I couldn't conceive of what must be going through Piglet's head right now. Fear, obviously, but what else was there? Was there anger? Did Piglet have any rage for the shouting, for the fury that was directed at him when he was in such a moment of weakness. Did he want pity instead?

I watched as a faraway Piglet slowly turned his head towards us. There was some brief hesitance, a moment where I thought he wouldn't obey, but then he made himself heard. "I… oh dear… I CAN SEE YOU TWO!" Piglet shared.

I nodded. Alright, we made some progress. Now comes the harder part. "ALRIGHT PIGLET. THE WIND IS CYCLING BETWEEN BLOWING AND NOT BLOWING. YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION. ONCE THE WIND STOPS BLOWING, YOU NEED TO JUMP TOWARDS US." I explained as I gestured to Pooh and I. "YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE EXACT, JUST CLOSE. WE WILL DO THE REST!"

Piglet said nothing for a moment. Did he even hear us? He answered that question fast enough though. "WHAT?! YOU…YOU… YOU WANT ME TO JUMP?!"

"I DEMAND IT!" I replied. "THAT IS THE BEST WAY FOR YOU TO GET DOWN."

"NO! JUST NO!" Piglet cried. "I REFUSE. I'll JUST WAIT FOR THE WIND TO SLOWLY DIE DOWN. IT'LL GENTLY CARRY… ON NNOOOOO!" Piglet suddenly cried as one of the umbrella's supporting strands snapped under the load. Without the uniform area, the wind began pushing erratically on it, making Piglet's flight path even more annoying to track.

"PIGLET!" I shouted. "TIME IS ALMOST OUT! EVEN LESS THAN WE THOUGHT!" We couldn't stall anymore. With the umbrella breaking, Piglet's idea definitely couldn't happen. How could I…

"DEAR ME!" Piglet suddenly screamed once more, drawing me out of my thoughts. I looked up yet again, to see that another piece of Piglet's umbrella had broken. Dang it.

"PIGLET!" I shouted. "THE MOMENT THE WIND DIES, YOU NEED TO JUMP! DON'T BOTHER AIMING; JUST TRY TO GET DISTANCE FROM THE UMBRLLA. IT WILL CRASH RIGHT AFTER YOU. YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE YOU ARENT ENTANGLED."

"CHRISTOPER, I AM TELLING YOU," PIGLET began, "I CAN'T DO THAT!"

The wind, I could feel it. The whispers in the air spoke to me. "ALMOST PIGLET. A COUPLE SECONDS LEFT."

"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME!" PIGLET CRIED.

I looked up. At least, the irritation steeled him from the fear, however slightly. He wasn't sobbing, eyes closed, into the shaft anymore. Baby steps.

"CHRISTOPHER ROBIN!" Piglet tried yet again.

I channeled all the rage I could. Every piece of my being was channeled into my throat as I took a deep breath. Then, I felt it. It might as well be a punch to the chest with how obvious it felt to me. The wind was about to die.

"JUMP! JUMP NOW!" I commanded.

The fear inspired in Piglet must have dazed his mind, for he jumped without complaint. My tone, my order, was likely not something he ever expected to come out of my mouth. No matter, Piglet had listened. As predicted, the wind had died down. To make it better, while he had probably not consciously intended this, the fear caused by my command likely caused him to jump with energy. The umbrella crashed to the ground a significant distance away from Piglet who slowly fell. I peeked down to Pooh, who was staring at me intensely. "Move!" I spoke. Then without waiting for a visible reaction, I ran. There was a bit of tension in the blanket at first, but it followed me quick enough.

I did my best to track Piglet while he fell. As hoped, Piglet's path seemed to be straight forward enough. But it was important to remain diligent, important to watch for any trace of wind. Pooh and I stepped into position, a second later. Piglet was halfway to the ground, yet not really traveling that quickly. I suppose such a small soft thing like him can only be pushed so hard.

I could feel my fingers tighten on the blanket as I watched Piglet. They were likely moments away from causing my nails to draw blood. Even without that, I was very much aware of how much both hands were shaking in fear. It's so much easy to pretend to be brave when someone else's life is at risk. You don't have to deal with the consequences; not really anyway.

Quarter of the way there; so close. "Pooh!" I began. "Pull the blanket tight. The moment you feel resistance, loosen it. Then tighten once more." I said. Pooh said nothing for he didn't have the time.

Piglet smashed into the blanket a heartbeat later. Luckily, Pooh followed my directions to the letter. The blanket held firm for a breath as Piglet crashed, only to immediately relax, stealing energy away from the falling friend. Once the blanket reached its apex, Pooh and I retightened our grip once more, stealing what little momentum Piglet had left. He bounced up and over the blanket, softly landing onto the flat ground. With our friend saved, we both collapsed onto our bums, exhausted from this whole ordeal.

"Oooff," Piglet cried as he rubbed his sore bottom.

I laughed, then shrugged. "That probably hurt less than it would have otherwise." I told Piglet.

"W-W-W-well I never." Piglet chided. "I would have preferred nothing hurt at all."

I shook my head, before gazing up into the sky. Seems like the wind had passed for now, but it would come back. The perpetually dark cloud cover promised that much. Is it still worth making this beach trip? Common sense said no, but I felt compelled to finish this, as the shoreline seemed to call for me. There was something my soul wished to see. I wonder what it was? My attention was then reclaimed by Piglet who was still moaning. Yet again, I chuckled. I slowly stood up, then made my way over to the fallen pig.

"Piglet, time to get up. We still have an appointment to keep." I laughed, as I held my hand out.

Piglet, who was clearly aware of me, ignored the hand. Instead, he rewarded me with a bit of a scowl. To be honest, felt a little awkward seeing that look on him. "I am not getting up until you apologize to me," Piglet grumbled.

"What?" I asked, genuinely confused. "Apologize for what? Saving your life?" I asked.

"You were very mean to me" Piglet explained. "You yelled, shouted, and were just plain rude".

Despite myself, a reluctant smile formed on my face. The smile wasn't one of joy, but of awkward anxiousness. "Come on now," I waved my hands placatingly, "I don't think I was that bad." I turned my head towards Pooh, who was still lying on the ground. "Pooh, do you think I went too…"

My mouth went dry. The Umbrella. I forgot the umbrella. I collapsed back onto the ground, slamming in a giant puff of dust.

"What's wrong?" Piglet asked confused. I don't know what he expected, but it wasn't me crashing right next to him.

I didn't say anything. My mouth was still too dry, any words that would have come out were quickly sacrificed to dry puffs of air. In a moment, my vision narrowed as all other senses simply faded. Smell went first, quickly followed by hearing, finally culminating in the seconds just bleeding away. I was magnetized to the tattered, dusty, ragged remains of Piglet's umbrella. Its final place on this world, a scary monument to my hubris. To think I could save the day… to think I could save the day. Foolishness. My hands might have started shaking, but I couldn't tell for sure. All I could see was the umbrella piked into the ground right next to where Pooh sat. Nary a few dozen centimeters away from the bear, the umbrella was upside-down, point firmly pierced into the ground at about a forty-five-degree angle. How strong must have its fall been, to crash it into the earth so? How unlucky must the fall have been to land so close to us.

How spiteful must God have been to decide that the umbrella had to fall onto Pooh instead of me?

I took the lead. I wanted to sound like I knew what I was doing. In truth, I almost had but… but… it was always the smallest detail; the edge case that I don't consider. It's been like that for my whole life; grasping dreadful failure from the jaws of victory. This had simply been another in list of hundred similar cases. When the umbrella was sufficiently separated from Piglet in the sky, I had banished it from my mind. Fate had almost decided to punish my poor decision making… my poor thoughtfulness. I had almost saved Piglet, at the cost of lancing Pooh.

This was a warning form God himself.

My back, at that point, decided to no longer support itself. I landed flat onto the ground; head caressed by some very uncomfortable blades of grass. I closed my eyes in disgust at myself. I didn't want to see reality for a few seconds. Lord, I can't do anything right.

Beat…Beat…Beat… Strange. It got a lot darker, a lot quicker. Was the storm advancing that quickly?

"Christopher Robin?" an inquisitive voice asked. "Are you alright?"

Despite my exhaustion, I opened my eyes once more to the cruel world that suffered me. Both Piglet and Pooh stood over me, each on one side of my body, with their heads hovering over me.

"Is something wrong Christopher?" Piglet asked. The worry was obvious on both of their faces, quite a pivot from how Piglet looked mere moments ago. Honestly, that almost made me laugh, but I crushed that back down. Both of them were the ones at risk, from the environment and from me. Yet despite that, somehow, the attention is back on me… the failure.

I sighed. I didn't know what to say. I opened my mouth a few times, before quickly closing it in hesitance. Eventually, I just decided to go with the safest thing I could saw. After a deep deep breathe, my lips spit out the apology Piglet had originally asked for. "I am sorry Piglet."

"What?" Piglet stammered. That got a little chuckle out of me, one that escaped before I could suppress it. The confusion was extremely clear on his face. The concern in his heart, along with my clear desperation, did not sum up into an apology from me it seemed.

"You asked for an apology earlier Piglet." I explained. "You said I was rude. I agree. I was extremely unpleasant to you when you were the one in trouble. For that, I am extremely sorry."

"W-w-well," Piglet stammered. His eyes erratically shot about, turning from me to Pooh before returning back to me. He clearly hadn't expected me to remember, not after my …. my moment. "Uh, …" Piglet began, but I interrupted before he could continue.

"I am not done yet." I declared, as sweat beaded at the palms of my hands. Might as well go forward with this; Deep breaths. "I am also sorry…" This was difficult. "Not only was I rude to you in your – stressful situation," All our eyes subconsciously glanced at that point in the sky, less windy now, but still painted by the dark cloud overcast, "I managed to make the aftermath about me too." Despite myself I found myself chuckling.

"What?" Pooh asked this time. I turned my head to him, confusion being the first thing I saw. Concern was the second… damn it.

I slowly raised a hand to point at Piglet before continuing. "You, Piglet, were the one that should have fallen to the floor in a panic. You were the one at risk, not me. If anything were to go wrong, the consequences would have affected you first." I brought the hand back to gesture at myself, "Yet, here we are with me on the floor, and the both of you standing over in worry." My hands dropped back to the ground, grasping mindlessly at the grass. "Pathetic. Just moments ago, you were in fear listening to me. But now? Well, you know…" I let my head drop towards the ground, letting the question hang in the air. Words didn't need to be said. They knew what I meant.

A few heartbeats went by before I raised by gaze back, partially I admit, in fear Pooh and Piglet might have left. Instead, I saw Piglet considering what must have been some very complex thoughts. Pooh didn't have such hesitation. I turned my head to see him already in the process of sitting down next to me, his hand reaching towards my back. I didn't refuse the comforting motion, but Lord did it confirm what I just said.

"I…" Piglet began, before hesitating once more. He closed his mouth, swallowing, as if the words rejected the very notion of coming out. I watched as Piglet raised his own hand up to his head, and rubbed the top of his head. The action flopped his ears about in a very amusing manner, one that got caused the hint of a true smile to form on my face. The hand froze on the back of his head, as his head tilted to the ground. Then he just paced back and forth for a few moments.

"Piglet?" I asked in confusion. What could it have been that was so difficult for him to say?

Eventually, he stopped his pacing, with a somewhat firm look on his face. There was clarity, but there were also scars. Piglet brought his hand back down to the ground as he slowly bent over to sit next to me. He didn't look very comfortable, and I suspect that wasn't due to the spot he sat on. Eventually, he accepted that fact and ceased shifted about. Then, with a few more seconds of gulps, he began to speak.

"Christopher…" Piglet hesitated, "I'm tired." He slouched a bit as he spoke, face seeming to darken a bit; even despite the ever-darkening skies.

My mouth went dry. I wasn't quite sure how to respond. "What?" I asked. My fingers gripped firm against does blades of grass I had been playing with.

Piglet took a couple breaths, each deeper than the last, before continuing. "I … I am so ti-tired of being scared." His voice seemed to almost catch at every word. "Each day seems to be harder than the last." He took a moment for another long, unsteady breath, doing his best to swallow back the tears. Hugging his knees against his chest, he managed to continue though. "Often, I wonder why must every challenge I face be tougher than the last." Pooh dropped his head in shame. "Some days, it's a fight to even get out of bed, let alone out of my home."

Piglet stopped talking for a moment, as a choking sniffle stole away his voice. I took the moment to turn my head towards Pooh, who appeared to be stuck in the exact same stupor I was. Pooh noticed I was looking at him. He locked eyes with me, firmness in his visage. Despite everything, it felt like Pooh understood where Piglet was going with this. Indeed, there was an emotion I couldn't quite place in his pupils. It wasn't despair, nor shame, nor sadness. I think it might have been … disappointment? But that didn't make any sense. Baffled, I turned my gaze back to Piglet, sniffling now largely suppressed. He seemed to have collected himself, enough to speak again anyway.

"That terror of the new day, it's all consuming, I think." Piglet began to explain. "It's a voice that echoes behind every thought you have, every desire, every hope…" Piglet paused. He hadn't been looking at me the entire time he had been speaking. That ceased now. He turned his head, capturing my very essence within his purview. All my subtle movements and actions, they froze instantly. Fingers gripping the grass, legs jittering, and for a moment, even breathing… it all stopped; Such was the intensity of his gaze.

"I have spent so much time, so much of my life, trapped within my own head." Piglet brought both hands up to his head, caressing his temples ever so gently. "But I realized something. I could spend every moment of my life stuck within the prison cell between my ears, being judged by a tormenter holding a script of my darkest thoughts." Piglet shifted his hand from his head to my heart. "Or, what I could do, is to keep moving; Stay busy always. The thoughts only come in silence, after all."

My head and all the thoughts therein contained spun. I felt like my very soul was in a whirlwind. I considered what Piglet said. I couldn't help but reject it. "No," I cried out as I shook my head in refusal. Piglet pulled his hands back in, as I spoke. "No, it can't be that easy." Now, I felt the tears which I tried to fight back with all my might. I dropped my head so that neither Piglet nor Pooh could see my losing battle. As I did, I couldn't help but notice how small my legs seemed to be. Then again what part of me was small? What had I done to deserve feeling big? I pulled my legs up, wrapping my arms around as I did so. Despite the turmoil, or more than likely because of it, I could feel Pooh's gentle caress on my back.

"I never said it would be easy Christopher" Piglet said. "No, far far from easy." Reluctantly, I steeled myself to face him again. There was not a hint of judgement on his face, only understanding. "It would be the easiest thing to give up; to surrender into despair. After all, it is far harder to get something moving, than to continue something already in progress. You just get past that initial hurdle, then you just have to keep your feet going. Every day you find the energy, the will, to brave forward… well that's another day victorious."

"How do you start though?" I asked. "Each day, how do you silence the shadows left over from the darkness?"

Piglet nodded, understanding exactly where I was coming from. "Each day I wake up," Piglet explained, "I ask myself a question." He paused, feeling the need to stress what came next. "And no matter what, it's always the same question."

My body shook. I did my best, but I shook regardless. "The same question?" I asked, gazing at Piglet.

Piglet nodded at me. "The same question." He confirmed. "Do you know what that question might have been?"

I didn't trust my gestures. "No," I stammered out.

"Don't worry, it's a simple one." Piglet promised. "Every morning, I saw to myself, 'I wonder what exciting thing is going to happen today?'" he finally revealed.

"That's it?" I couldn't resist the scoff that came out, even flavored as it would have been with stuttering. I looked back to Pooh, who still had that same face of disappointment. Was this the source? I looked back to Piglet. "Exciting thing?" I asked for clarification.

Despite everything, a smile seemed to peek out from the corners of Piglet's cheeks. "Indeed. The exciting thing, the very act of asking myself the question, well it's a promise." He paused to take a breath. He brought up his hands to enunciate as he spoke. "It's a promise that each day has something to look forward to, a reason to get out of bed each morning."

So then," I nodded at the sky, "How was your exciting thing for the day? Was it everything you expected?" I swallowed. "Was it worth getting out of bed today?" Somehow, the smile didn't leave Piglet's face. It almost triggered rage in me, how easy it seemed for him. Why couldn't I be like that? As he opened his mouth to speak, I knew the wildfire in me was only at risk of growing.

"Who is to say, that the interesting thing of the day happened yet?" Piglet innocently asked as he looked towards the sky. "Despite the clouds, and the darkness they bring, I think we still have plenty of time left today."

"Do you really believe that?" I asked. I swallowed before repeating myself. "Piglet… Do you really believe that?"

"I must." Piglet nodded firmly.

I shook my head. No, I still couldn't take it. "Piglet, I'm sorry, but this feels like a lie. It sounds like you are going through every day lying to yourself."

Piglet brought himself up close to me, as close as he could get. Even when I tried pulling back, whether consciously or unconsciously I don't know, he continued still. He brought his face right up to my face, steel of face, before talking. "You are right. It is a lie. But not all lies are bad." Piglet pulled back before slowly standing up. He turned around, as if to leave, but he spoke first. "A lie repeated enough times, listened to enough times, is destined to become a glorious truth. If I can keep myself moving through a lie, I think that is a better life than being trapped in stagnancy. Eventually, I won't need to lie to myself anymore. After all, how do you identify a sad man when he reflects a happy man?"

I felt completely on the backfoot. Was he leaving? Where? I held out a hand, about to call out, but a tug on my shoulder pulled me back in. I turned, seeing Pooh with a stern look. He didn't want me to continue. I turned back to Piglet.

"Now, if you excuse me…" Piglet began to walk away. "I have a lot left today to live out. I'll see you at the beach Pooh, Christopher."

I sat there, watching as Piglet carefully followed the dirt part before coming at an intersection. He hesitated for a moment, looking at the metal signpost, before picking a heading and continuing onwards. Soon enough, I couldn't make his figure out anymore. I couldn't see anything, even if I wanted to. His words seemed to have trapped themselves in my thoughts, endlessly echoing about. To make it worse, Piglet's words seemed incredibly stubborn, as they refused to see themselves out.

I tilted my head at the sky, gazing into the dark expanse that seemed to tint the world. I pawed my hands against the grasses, picking up loose bits of soil. Then, I brought it up, letting the sand slowly trickle out from between my fingers. When the last of it had fallen out, I tightened my hand into a fist. It quickly went red, as it shook in tension. I turned back to Pooh. "Do you think the lie is worth it?" The fear felt so real. My free hand went up, painting the edges of the clouds. "Both me and Piglet, the panic was there; clear as you'd like."

Pooh's caress morphed into a continuous tapping upon my shoulder. "Come on," His voice was soft but firm, "We still have one more friend to see." He stood up, before setting down that very same path Piglet went down on. I nodded. Slowly, I stood up, hands upon the ground providing the push needed to get me up. My body creaked. Without thinking, once I was fully up, I stretched to rid myself of the soreness caused by sitting on the dirt for so long. Then, I breathed deeply.

"We only have one more place to stop by." Pooh said. He was already at the crossroad which stilled Piglet for but a few seconds.

I nodded as I ran off the grass onto that same dirt path before catching up with Pooh. We began down the path not taken by Piglet. Within a few moments of travel, we found ourselves traveling alongside a brook. Well, it probably was a brook at one point, but the water level had become so elevated. It hadn't started raining here yet, but it was close. I could only imagine the danger when the downpour to begin, along with a trace of the winds that had trapped Piglet but moments ago. Even now, I could see rocks and sticks almost speeding downstream. There was not a doubt in my mind, that were I or Pooh to fall, there would be no recovery; we would be lost to the water. Might be the fastest way to the beach, thinking about it actually. I scoffed audibly.

"Is something wrong?" Pooh asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking about the …" I paused turning back to Pooh. He was still leading the way, towards the last of our friends. He had a weirdly serious countenance, one far more rigid than I had ever seen, ever imagined that Pooh could have. Ah, well, let's not joke about falling, I think. "Nothing serious," I lied. "I was just, uh, thinking about Piglet. It was really nice to see him again."

"Nice?" Pooh asked, kicking a rock into the water as he went. There was a hint of frustration about him.

"Well, ya," I shrugged, not that Pooh could see it. "I forgot how dependable Piglet was. I know the fear was real, for him and for me." I began explaining. "Yet, he held fast surprisingly well all things considered." I put a finger to my chin in thought. "Although, I suppose experience must have had something to do with that."

"More than you know, Christopher." Pooh nodded, subtly, but clearly. It almost framed his speech, adding emphasis to it.

My eyes narrowed. Did Pooh know something I didn't? I sped my pace up slightly so that I was in step with Pooh. It was incredibly clear what Pooh was thinking about, purely off Pooh's posture. He thought I was missing the bigger picture. Yet, it was also clear that he wanted me to ask first. Alright then, I'll play the game. "What I know, Pooh, is that Piglet is an incredibly nice soul. One that…"

"Nice is different than good, Christopher Robin." Pooh interrupted me.

"What…" I stumbled. I had never heard Pooh speak like this before. I righted myself before tripping into the water, but it wasn't graceful. "What do you mean?" I recovered.

"Were you convinced by him?" Pooh asked. "Do you think that Piglet actually is in a healthy place, or even just a satisfactory place?"

I entwined my arms over my chest and grumbled out a response. "Well, he seems better than most of the others we have seen today."

Pooh held out a paw to me. "Better in appearance maybe, but as he admitted," Pooh poked me in the chest, "that was his point."

As I knocked Pooh's hand away, I shook my head. "What is your point, Pooh?"

"You were correct in your initial guess." Pooh continued. He paused for a moment, playing with his ears. He was clearly considering how to move forward. "Do you remember what you called it?" He eventually started up again. "When Piglet explained everything to you?"

I gritted my teeth, grinding down hard. "A lie," I reluctantly answered. My eyes went elsewhere to avoid looking at Pooh for a moment. They decided to settle on the foreboding clouds. There was no longer a hint of the formerly hopeful bright blue skies.

Pooh continued anyway, despite my clear reluctance in the topic. "A lie," he repeated. "Piglet's grand attempt to continue onwards." Pooh grunted for a moment, as he carefully climbed over a rock outcropping bringing him to the other side of the brook. "The darkness he described, it's not coming from nowhere. Ignoring the issues plaguing your heart will not make them disappear." Once he was stable on the other side of the brook, he held out a paw, gesturing for me to come along.

I gave him a wide eye as I followed. Purposely ignoring his paw, I crawled over the same rocks he did, in the same manner. As I crawled, I couldn't help but talk. "It seemed to work for him." I maintained. "Out of everyone we saw today, Piglet was the only one that didn't need convincing to join us." As I took that final step onto the other side, I felt a hand on my shoulder, guiding me. Once I stood back up, I glared at him. His face was harsher than mine, yet still soft.

"You should not award convincing liars for lying convincingly Christopher." Pooh chided as he brought his paw back in. Not hesitating, he continued towards a small grove, notable for only having a handful of trees surrounding a small rock outcropping. "I do not fault people with problems for having problems." Pooh paused for a moment to look straight into my eyes. "No one should be faulted for having problems." He turned around before I could respond.

I still did though. "There is a limit though, surely," I commented. "If you lay around terrified of your own shadow, or paralyzed within a crumbling home, no aid will come. At least Piglet is making an effort. That much should be awarded."

"Perhaps," Pooh nodded. "But, is his effort applied correctly?" He asked. "What I heard from Piglet, is that he will pretend he is perfectly fine and hope that any panic fades away; to distract himself from the pain." He shook his head. "All he has done is push his thoughts in a hole and bury them with distractions."

I scratched at an itch in my palms. "Fine, what would you have Piglet do then?" I asked. "What should be the way forward for him?"

Pooh sighed. "I don't know Christopher. He knows he has a problem, that much I won't deny. I just disagree with his solution. What I do know is that for a long time now, Piglet has been desperately hoping he would finally feel okay with himself." He rubbed at his forehead. "I don't know when, if ever, he will get there."

In a fury, I bent down to pick up a rock. I stood up, pulling all my strength, and tossed it as far as I could make it go. It didn't go very far. "It's so easy to point out when someone is struggling Piglet." I said louder than I probably should have. "To barely be handling what life is throwing at you, and you can't for a moment find respite." I pulled both hands into my pockets to hide the white knuckled fists they were making. "Worse, sometimes the respite is just more terror, one that you can't find it within yourself to stop." I almost walked into Pooh, who had stopped right in front of me. He was looking at me with a concerned look on his face. Perhaps, I revealed too much. I was terrified of what he might ask next.

"Tell me more about job you had Christopher." He said, stiff as stone. "You said you could handle it. I assume that ended at some point."

I grimaced. That story was a terrible one. Looking at Pooh though, well, it was clear that he would not be denied. "All things end at some point Pooh. I was doing okay at work, but nothing stays okay for long. What happened … what happened was that something dangerous, something life-ending." I didn't stop in-front of Pooh, I kept watching right past him. As I could hear him spinning to catch up, I knew in my heart I was being petty, but I didn't care. My brain had a problem. How do you explain the concept of war to Pooh? Would you even want to expose him to something like that? The constant slaughter of thousands of men for only a mile gained; no one should be exposed to that type of thing. No one.

"What, uh, what dangerous thing started?" Pooh started. "Was it something that you did?" He had caught up to me fairly quickly, although I hadn't been walking that fast.

"No, it wasn't me." I answered.

"Then who did?" Pooh continued.

I opened my mouth to answer, but I hesitated. Who indeed? I shrugged. "I couldn't tell you to be …" Wait, be careful with words. "I don't know Pooh. I don't think anyone truly understands what caused the issue."

Pooh huffed. "Seems silly to fight over something that no one can explain."

"I might be explaining it poorly then." I hesitated. "It isn't quite that no one knows the problem, it's just that there are so so many of them, all making each other worse."

Pooh's bear head tilted slightly upon hearing that. He was trying to wrap his head around it, but he seemed to be having some difficultly. "I am sorry, but what was your part in this."

I bit my lip. "Well…" Lord this was difficult to explain carefully. "Well, it was decided that you could travel to the source of the problem, and aid in solving it." No need to explain what the Continent was to Pooh.

"And did you?"

I shook my head negatively. "I considered it, I definitely considered it. My dad disagreed however." I hoped over a small ditch, pausing in my speech for a bit.

Pooh took that moment to talk. "Why wouldn't your dad want you to help. From what it sounded like; your dad would have been thrilled that you finally had a shot." Now it was Pooh's turn to hop the ditch. I stepped in to talk.

"Normally yes." I continued "This was different though. My dad took part of a … similar disagreement. He remembered how long and hard it was to solve it. He didn't much want me in a similar position." I frowned. "I think he wanted better for me."

"Well, I should expect that a parent will always want better for their child." Pooh thought out loud. "Or at least I very much hope so."

I nodded. "Yes well, it was decided that I could help just as much at home. As it turned out, the factory was needed to supply the people solving the issue. We were on task to produce leagues more than we ever had before." I stopped to look at Pooh. "It was terrible." This time, Pooh didn't hesitate to walk past me. Was that on purpose? Despite myself, I chuckled.

"I don't understand." Pooh admitted. "Why was your job involved in someone else's problem?"

"It was everyone's problem. A problem that everyone would help to solve." I explained. "If you hadn't left to help over there, then you were required to help at home."

Pooh had a careful look on his face. "And where you able to help? Did you handle it?"

"If I said yes, then I would be lying to you." I sighed. "It was a miserable experience. Every week, it seemed like more was being demanded of us. Every week, I found myself staying later and later desperately trying to hit my quotas. There were weeks I didn't even head home. There were days I didn't even get sleep."

"No sleep?!" Pooh roared. Truly, the concept of no naptime seemed to deeply resonate with Pooh as a horrible environment. A terror that he might have plain not even considered possible. "How did you live with no sleep?"

I shrugged. "I don't think any of us did to be honest." I bent under a brunch as I finally entered the grove. We had begun crossing the outlying trees bordering around the area. The ground was firmer than anything we had been on top of in a long while. "It tore at us, destroying what little sense we had. We got very desperate, even beyond what we would have accepted otherwise." I gulped.

"What happened? I am not the best at this type of stuff, but … but it sounds like something bad happened."

Suddenly I felt very tired. Out of the corner of my eyes, I spotted a large boulder, one with a mossy exterior near the center of the grove. In silence, I made my way over, with each of my footsteps feeling heavier than the last. By the time, I made it there, I was thankful for the rock, because my body felt too heavy to stand, as if I would collapse any minute now. With a sigh, I crashed my behind onto the boulder, thankful to the moss for cushioning my less than graceful impact. I looked down at my hands, which lied upon my lap. They were coated with scratches and a distinct red tint. Today had been a challenge, and as I looked up to Pooh, I was reminded that it still was not over yet.

"It was late one night." I eventually began. "It was late and there was only two of us still working. Me and another man, one of my seniors." I swallowed audibly. "We were there finishing up an order, one due for the very next morning."

"Why was it just you too?" Pooh asked.

"Because of my lack of rank, because of fate, unluckiness?" I shrugged. "Who knows? Anyway, it was late. We were running out of time." I could feel the shadow of old aches echoing in my hands. I tried to rub the pain away. "We were very much at risk of not finishing in time. We tried desperately to keep pace, but eventually the limits of humanity proved to us that we were not meant to do it. After a wallowing in despair, my coworker eventually had an idea." Suddenly, I was very much aware of my place in this grove. The rock felt hard against me, the darkness in the sky constantly fluctuated the amount of light on my face, and the wind blew into my person ruffling anything in their way. The memories of that night weighed heavily upon my soul. I… I have tried my best to not think about it since surviving through it. Already, I had experienced it once, I did not wish to experience it again.

"Christopher?" Pooh hesitated. "If you don't want to tell me, you don't have too. It is always better to share your struggles but that is much harder for some than for others. If you want time then…"

"No no." I interrupted, breathed deeply as I spoke. "The idea…The idea…" My shoulders drooped; better to just cut right to the case I think; slowing this down will only make the hurt greater. "Okay. The machines we used, the mills, all had a number of safety features installed."

"Safety for you?" Pooh asked. "That's good then, isn't it?"

I shook my head. "No, safety for the machine. They lowered the speed the mills could operate at so as to prevent them from breaking down. Basically, you traded some output for a machine that could work for longer and at less risk of breaking down. But, the fact remains, everything was slower than it could be. My boss wanted to remove those safeties so that we might have a chance of reaching the deadline." I closed my eyes. "I didn't want to do it; I didn't think it would be worth it… but"

"But?" Pooh whispered.

My mouth went dry; biting out the words seemed almost impossible. With some difficulty, I managed it though. "I was scared" I mumbled. "I was too scared to open my mouth. Why, I couldn't tell you. Was it because I just wanted to go along with my boss? Maybe it was because I was so utterly terrified of failing; of disappointing my dad come morning who had been so proud that I hadn't completely drowned in this opportunity." I collapsed further, with my back hitting the boulder. I gazed into the sky, with nothing but a void gazing back. I could feel tears beginning to form behind my eyes, at the very cusp of escaping. I did my best to force them back, as I fiercely rubbed at my face.

"I think I understand what happened." Pooh whimpered. "You don't need to say the rest." He had gotten close to my boulder, sitting just next to it on a soft looking patch of grass.

I turned my head to Pooh. His face had sorrow on it. This small bear with whom I had been kindred with for oh so very long; if I couldn't get the entire story out to him, it would never get out. The memories would just fester for the rest of my life. I grinded my teeth in rage before fixing my posture. With hands firmly gripping my knees, almost painfully so, I continued. "For whatever reason it may have been, I didn't say anything. I just watched as every safety was undone, before obediently continuing work. It…" My breathe caught for a moment, but I fought through it. "It worked for a while, but then, almost in a single moment, it stopped working."

"What was it?" Pooh asked, confusion on his face.

"Everything" I answered. "Everything stopped working. I could hear it first, the damage. It was a promise of destruction. I ran before the promise was fulfilled." I deeply exhaled. I was a few paces before I could more clearly hear it. It was loud, loud enough that it wasn't just me that heard it, but the entire city."

That fateful night had etched itself in my mind. Yet, somehow, despite remembering every moment in shivering sanguine clarity, the recollection continued to get darker every time I recalled it. I tilted my head back as considered this, gazing at the equally dark sky, I pondered why my mind seemed to make each second longer in the memory, each emotion more heated, each color more faded. It was as if my subconscious was desperately attempting to forever erase the memory. Perhaps, were it not for my frequent visits, the thoughts would have long since disappeared from my head; to become as difficult to identify as tears in the rain.

The lightning scar across the sky drew me from my introspection exceedingly quickly. That bright white flash almost burned my eyes in its intensity. Yet, while I closed my eyes in a desperate attempt to recover, my ears found themselves wide open.

One. Two…

It was so close. The storm was oh so close to us…

"What happened next?" An inquiring voice asked. "Where did you run too?"

"AHHHHH!" I screamed in shock, falling off the boulder and crashing onto the ground right next to Pooh.

Notes:

Another Sunday, another Chapter! M.C. Deltat reporting!

Confession time. Out of the entire story, this chapter here, was probably the most difficult for me to write. I probably erased and rewrote the whole dang thing about 5 times. I spent a lot of time considering how I should portray Piglet, and what I would have him go through. Hopefully, it has some meaning, some value to you. Failing that, I will at least hope you find it entertaining. Otherwise, I would feel bad for making you read this much. In any case, this is the second to last chapter. Next week, will be the last. For some reason, each fic I write, gets long than the last. I like to imagine that its because I am learning, and figuring out more things that should be put into stories.

It could also be because I might be filling my stories with garbage. Really hope it isn't that one though.

In any case, thanks for reading. As always, I wish you a pleasant day and a happy life.