Disclaimer: This licence isn't mine. The opinions express by the characters are not mine. I do not support nor encourage the illegal or dangerous acts or words present here. I can make a distinction between fiction and reality and I trust in my readership's ability to do the same.

Chapter 46: Blueberry Pie's Adventures, Part 2: Action

Blueberry Pie enjoyed the twin princesses' company, because they were only a year older than her, and they loved the same things. They all howled with laughter when Berrykin Daniel impersonated a giant groundhog, they all relished the strawberries they had for snack, and they all groused when they had to stop to play because it was bath time. However, she could not forget they were not part of the same community. The biggest difference was the size: Emerald and Tourmaline used to nicknamed Berrykin Bloom "Grandpa", and when he had reported it to the Princess Berrykin, a bit embarrassed, she had answered he should not be shocked because he had been working for the Royal Family since a so long time that she considered he was now one of its fully-fledged members. Blueberry Pie was attracted in doing the same, but she didn't dared to; as it was quite obvious Berrykin Bloom could not be her grandfather, because she was a Human and he was a Berrykin.

Moreover, there was no link between the Berrykins and her. Emerald and Tourmaline were the Princess Berrykin's daughters; Berrykin Bloom was Emerald and Tourmaline's tutor; Berrykin Daniel was Berrykin Bloom's apprentice. And Blueberry Pie was an outsider. Berrykin Bloom taught Emerald and Tourmaline how to control their sparkles or their fire, that could be "the most wonderful or devastating power a Berrykin ever held", and when they managed to use them properly, without causing any disaster, she congratulated them; but she knew she would never be able to do the same. When Berrykin Daniel was tearing his hair out (figuratively speaking, because he was bald, like all the Berrykins) on a math exercise Berrykin Bloom gave him, she simply sat next to him and thought that no Berrykin would want to be her personal private tutor.

Blueberry Pie could have brooded over her solitude for a long time if the twin princesses hadn't stuck their noses into her business.

-Where are your parents? They asked her, one day.

Neither Berrykin Bloom nor Berrykin Daniel were here to hear them: they both had to treat some rose bushes against an attack of aphid, Daniel had accidentally got soft soap mixed up with dishwashing liquid in the lotion he had prepared and they were trying to rectify this mistake. Blueberry Pie had to answer by herself.

-They are working, she said, because it was the thing everyone told her.

She had complained, once, and told Berrykin Bloom that she missed her father, and he had answered her that it was better to be alone than in bad company. Then, he had added that it was a good thing, because it proved she enjoyed every moment she spent with her father; and that a lot of people should learn how to behave the same way with their beloved relatives "before it's too late". He had looked so sad she had not made any other questions.

-What are they doing? Emerald asked. "Mum said once that your mum still has to go to school".

-It's a school for grown-up, Blueberry Pie gravely retorted.

-What do one do in a school for grown-up? Tourmaline asked.

-Berry difficult math exercises… I think.

-But your dad doesn't go to school anymore, Emerald noticed.

Blueberry Pie was feeling quite ill at ease, as she didn't really know why her parents needed to be so far from her, and what kept them so busy.

-He doesn't because he had already found a job, she answered.

-Why doesn't he bring you to his job, with him? Tourmaline asked.

You may think that the twin princesses were cruel and tried to prove poor Blueberry Pie that her parents did not like her. You are entirely wrong, even though their questions sound tactless. Their ignorance was sincere, since Berrykin Bloom, their tutor, used to bring them everywhere he went, even in his daily chores. For them, it was natural to follow him through the whole orchards, and they sincerely wondered why it was not the case for Blueberry Pie, who had herself a human father.

-Because his job is too far from Strawberryland, Blueberry Pie answered.

But all the old questions awoke again in her mind. Why was her father so far away? Did he want to?

Maybe he wanted to get rid of her?

Or maybe he was missing her, too?

The only way to be in the know was to meet him in Green Meadow Village.

-It's a such long trip for a little girl like you, Strawberry Shortcake said after Blueberry Pie had exposed her desire to meet her father. "Be a sweetheart, and quietly wait for him. He will be here, without fail, in three days. You can wait three days, can't you?"

No! Blueberry Pie wanted to have her answers right now. This night, she tried to fall asleep berry hard, but she could not to: her mind was working at full capacity, and she could not have rest. Who could she trust? What if her father stopped visiting her? Why didn't he let her stay with him? Why had her mother to go to school, like a little girl?

Blueberry Pie slipped out of her bed. If Strawberry Shortcake did not want to drive her to Green Meadow Village, she would go there, by her own means. She filled her schoolbag with some clean clothes, just like Strawberry did when her father invited her for the weekend. She knew the way to the train station, and there she would only have to embark and wait. The whole Café was silent: it was the middle of the night, and Strawberry Shortcake was deeply asleep. Blueberry Pie went downstairs without making any noise. What a great surprise they would have! She opened the front door. It was full dark, and a chilly wind greeted her. Blueberry Pie considered went back upstairs, in her room, but her desire to see her father was stronger.

She went out.

-… I'm not mad at you, sonny: practice makes perfect.

Berrykin Daniel was exhausted, and his empty lunch box seemed to weight a ton to him. It was almost midnight, but Berrykin Bloom, walking next to him, still appeared to be in great form, or maybe he only pretended to. They only had to water the night blooming plants, and then they could go to bed. But when they came up to the Café, they noticed something was not right. The front door was half-opened, and, at the second floor, a room was lit on.

-Maybe Miss Shortcake had a late visitor? Berrykin Daniel supposed.

-I have a bad feeling, Berrykin Bloom muttered. "We should make sure everything is alright."

-Are you sure, sir? We're not invited. It would be indiscreet…

But Berrykin Bloom paid no attention to his objections and ventured into the Café, taking advantage of his tiny size to pass unnoticed. As he had feared, Strawberry Shortcake was not receiving visitors: the main room was quiet and empty, and, upstairs, no voice was hearable. Berrykin Bloom was sure of it: his particularly sensitive Berrykin hearing had never deceived him. A belt and suspenders approach being always best, he climbed upstairs in order to confirm what he had guessed: Strawberry Shortcake was asleep in her bed. However, Blueberry Pie's room, the one where the light was still opened, was empty.

-Daniel? He whispered, speaking Berrykin. "I need your help. We have to find young Blueberry Pie!"

Being as silent as possible, they both search Strawberry's house, from the basement to the attic, opening each closet, looking behind each door, under each piece of furniture, but they had to face the terrible reality: Blueberry Pie was gone.

-She's left to her own devices, outside… and she's only three years old, Berrykin Bloom muttered.

-Do you think we should wake Miss Shortcake?

Before her… disappearance, Apple Dumplin' had run away several time, Berrykin Bloom thought. Each time, it had been a terrible shame for Strawberry Shortcake, who always took it as a personal failure, as if she was nothing else than an unworthy young lady unable to control her little sister. And her panic! Maybe she was already foreseeing Apple's tragic end? He didn't want her to experience this once again, after all that she had to cross. Her mourn… without even knowing if Apple was dead or alive. And living it again, one more time, with Huckleberry Pie and Blueberry Muffin's child! This time, her culpability would be too strong. If he could spare her from this ordeal…

-Blueberry Pie cannot have gone far away, he said. "I'm sure we would find her quickly. When it will be done, we will upbraid her in a way she would never do it again, and we will see her back in her room. We won't even have to tell Miss Shortcake about it."

-I'm not sure it's a good idea.

-We don't have time to argue, sonny. Follow me, we must hurry up.

The two Berrykins had totally forgotten the night blooming plants. The only thing they were thinking of was the place where they would go, if they were three years old, lost in the middle of the night, and inhabited by an odd need to run away.

-I think we should check first the places where Blueberry Pie likes to play, Berrykin Daniel purposed. "There, she is supposed to find well-known surrounding, it must be reassuring for a little girl… Anyway, this is just my opinion."

Berrykin Bloom, by his side, was seriously trying to guess the reasons for which Blueberry Pie had escaped. Strawberry Shortcake was so nice with her! Thinking was the only thing he could do: Berrykins did not used to have a good night vision, and to make things worse, his sight had decreased a lot because of his advanced age. Let's recap: Little Blueberry was only three; at this age, children were mostly leaded by their whims and feelings than by their reasons. What kind of whim could have pushed her into leaving her home in the middle of the night? Maybe she wanted to gaze at the moonlight? He must admit than a round, shiny moon taking center stage into a sky as black as ink was indubitably a delightful sight; but if it was the case, Blueberry Pie would not have felt the need to move away from the Café. It could not be that. Well, if little Blueberry had run away without reason, using his reason to solve this mystery would be useless. He would have to use Berrykins' special power… their intuition. The power humans could not understand. For a Berrykin, this intuition consisted in feeling plants' and animals' state of health, not by examine them as a doctor would do; but by mentally merging with them, and to feel how they felt, with their heart and soul. Maybe Berrykin Bloom was almost blind, but he could brag about having the most powerful intuition of the whole community; and he did not even need to be close to the one asking his assistance to discover what was wrong with it, and what it needed. He stopped trotting and focused, forgetting the ground under his feet, the wind in his ears and the cold on his skin. He was now a part of Mother Earth's big heart, where all essences of Life mixed up. And one of them was not right: he could feel plants' élan vital, impassive and steady; but the one he had noticed was different. Physically speaking, it was perfect, but it released a huge distress. Not plants nor animals could feel a such complex emotion.

-Daniel? He muttered. "I've found her."

Then, the most difficult thing was to stay focused on this source of gloomy passion, while they were trying to join it.

-Can you feel her? Berrykin Bloom asked to Daniel.

The young Berrykin sadly shook his head.

-Please, make an effort.

Berrykin Bloom was walking ahead of them, as he was the only one able to locate Blueberry Pie thanks to her sadness. Her sadness was so strong than it had kicked her out of her own house… It was so demoralizing that Berrykin Bloom would have cried, too, if he had had the time for it. It reinforced his determination in finding her as fast as possible. All alone in the dark, lost with her gloomy thought… One could do anything out of despair. But, as he could not himself release her, he felt an incredible need to pray.

-With other ministrations thou, O nature! Healest thy wandering and distempered child: Thou pourest on her thy soft influences*, he declaimed.

-That was nicely said, Berrykin Daniel remarked.

-Wordsworth, he laconically answered.

-Of course, words worth.

-I mean these verses aren't mine. They had been written by a poet named Wordsworth.

Berrykin Bloom was rushing straight to his target, without caring in his precipitation about staying on the path, because he could also feel that little Blueberry was herself rushing the other way. Now that he had recognized her élan vital, it was like he was following a bright breadcrumb trail through the orchards. His low night vision was no longer a problem: with his intuition, his eyes were useless. He only needed his heart.

-Watch out! Berrykin Daniel cried.

At this moment, Berrykin Bloom felt the floor vanishing, under his feet. He desperately tried to keep his balance by beating his arms, but gravity unavoidably attracted him toward the ground and he felt… into a deep, chilly water.

In his precipitation, Berrykin Bloom hadn't noticed he had been heading straight for the lake. The first thing he did has been to sink like a stone, but fortunately his extremely light weight let him rise to the surface before he had fear to drown. Spitting the water he had swallowed, he put his pince-nez back in place and paddled to the bank where Berrykin Daniel was offering his hand.

-Are you alright? He asked, pulling his master out of the water.

-I am, but poor Blueberry Pie won't be if we don't find her quickly.

Berrykin Bloom was furious against himself, as his stupid fall had made them waste precious time. However, Blueberry Pie's distress had no lowered, and he did not take long before feeling again her élan vital. But something had changed: it no longer moved.

-Daniel? He whistled. "Blueberry Pie is motionless. She may had had an accident. We must hurry!"

He started running, something that made him a little bit warmer, Berrykin Daniel following him.

-Sir? He called. "I can recognize this way. We're heading to the train station!"

-Sonny, I'm glad to have your eyes.

So, Blueberry Pie was standing still at the train station. She was certainly waiting for a train, not knowing that no one would come at this hour. Anyway, she had attempted to run away. Why? They would have to discover it.

Berrykin Daniel was right: Berrykin Bloom's intuition leaded them right to the train station. There, they no longer needed to focus on the vital essences they could feel: they could distinguish a little figure, curled on a bench. Blueberry Pie. The two Berrykins stopped, being kept at bay by Blueberry Pie's distress. Then, Berrykin Bloom thought that gazing at her secretly would not help her, so he came toward her.

-Good evening miss Pie! He said, trying to sound friendly (he didn't want to scare her and to have to chase her one more time). "What a beautiful night, don't you think?"

Blueberry Pie slowly turned her head toward him. Her cheeks were bathed in tears.

-I don't care about the night, she answered with a choked voice.

Berrykin Bloom nicely walked toward the bench, and jumped on it in order to sit down next to her.

-So, what if you tell me what you are thinking about?

-I'm thinking about my dad! She said, a bit curtly.

-I see. Can't you think of him in your bedroom?

-I would prefer him to be with me, she retorted.

Berrykin Bloom understood what she meant. The train station was the place where her father always appeared; it was why she had decided to wait for him there.

-Dear miss Pie, no train will come tonight. It's too late. Your father will be here this weekend, you know? You can trust him. Did he even miss one of your rendezvous?

Blueberry Pie stayed silent… before bursting into tears.

-This is not fair! She cried. "Emerald and Tourmaline have their mother and you, and I, I have to wait for my dad all the time!"

-Stay hopeful, Miss. It is just hard time. One day, you will be gathered forever, he said, nicely patting her elbow (the highest part of her body he could touch).

-You always say that, and it never happens, she sobbed.

-The only thing I can tell you is to be patient, Berrykin Bloom said, feeling little Blueberry's sadness touching him. "There's nothing else we can do. Please…"

-Why does dad always have to be so far? She grumbled.

-My dear child, he has to earn his life.

-But why is he so far? She cried aggressively.

Berrykin Bloom could not understand her, she thought. He would just repeating her the things she had already heard a billion time before. That her mom and her dad loved her a lot, but that they had to work in a berry big town, and that they will fetch her, one day, and they would be happy until the end of time, like in the fairy tales. But fairy tales were so much lively than her own life, where she only had to bore to death in Strawberryland, waiting for the weekend. She had any memory of her with her whole family. She was waiting for their reunion since her birth, but it never came; and she had no idea of the moment when the grown-ups would stop singing the old tune ("Wait quietly for your father, your mother will phone you next week, one day you'll live with them"). Maybe they would never stop. Maybe they were all lying to her since always. Maybe her father had no will to live with her?

-I understand what you feel, Berrykin Bloom slowly said. "You wonder if your father ran away from you."

Still sobbing, Blueberry Pie nodded.

-Let me tell you a story. A story of which you are the main character. When you had come into the world, your father, Huckleberry Pie, was bogged down in debts. He was so poor he hardly had something to eat. He was also homeless. Do you now when this situation stopped?

Blueberry Pie shook her head. She was no longer crying.

-After your birth, of course. Your father had done a series of mistakes, following which he believed he had lost everything, and only had to let himself waste away. But when he became a father, he decided he must be a model for his daughter… you, little one. He wanted to be trustworthy for you, someone you could always rely on in case of hard blow. The love he feels for you made him get back on the horse. He got this job in a pet shop in order to save enough money to build a comfy home for you. You'll tell me he could have picked a job in Strawberryland. But what can he do here? He's not a Berrykin. He could have been a checkout assistant, or a gardener, but that did not suit him. He would have perished… Trust me, I'm berry strong for feeling this kind of thing. He chose the job in which he was the best, because he wanted you to be proud of him.

Berrykin Bloom winked at the little girl.

-After that, if there's one person who loves you, it's your father.

Blueberry Pie was only half-reassured.

-That's all well and good, but what about my mum?

My mum who's never here, she thought angrily.

-Dear child, she's doing the same. She's attempting school were she's learning a profession that would assure her a good way of life.

Berrykin Bloom considered it was needless to tell Blueberry Pie that her mother had originally planned her arrival to be a little bit later.

-Dad often comes to visit me, she said with a voice full of reproach. "Mum rarely does that. Why?"

-Your coming had been an… unexpected gift from Mother Nature, little one. Your mother accepted it, but she was not sure she was worthy of it, and I guess she's still scared of not being up to it today. And, when one is scared, its first reflex is to flee.

Blueberry Pie still thought she was quite selfish, to let her alone. She should fight her fear!

-I think she needs a little bit more time to discover your instruction book, Berrykin Bloom answered, as if he had read her mind (or her angry features).

But Blueberry Pie had a last question for him.

-Do you love me?

-Of course, I do, he said.

He was not quite surprised. Little Blueberry had crossed a touchy phase of hyperbolic doubt; it was normal for her to wonder about her relationships with the ones she saw the most often. He added:

-Everybody loves you in Strawberryland, even when they don't find the proper way to show it to you. Orange Blossom is a businesswoman, and she had her whole enterprise, plus her association, to manage. This is why she always wants everything to be quick and effective, even with you. Plum Pudding lives for dancing, while you are always so quiet. She simply does not want to force you to do something you don't want to, but she does not share your passion for reading, and she does not know how to approach you.

Berrykin Bloom sneezed.

-As for Miss Strawberry Shortcake, her story is a bit more complex. Before your birth, Miss Shortcake was living with another girl in the Café. This girl was name Apple Dumplin', and she was Strawberry Shortcake's sister. Things were not that bad, at the beginning. Then, Apple Dumplin' started to have bad company, and the situation got worse. Apple Dumplin' turned into a real little terror, and a danger for the other villagers. For the common good, Miss Shortcake had been forced to send her into a boarding school, but she ran away and no one know where she can be now**. After this incident, Miss Shortcake had been riddled with guilt, and believed everything was her fault. She's afraid of repeating the same mistakes with you, and the pressure she feels with you is all the higher because you are not her own child, and she doesn't want to hurt her dear friends… your mom and dad. You see, everybody loves everyone else here.

He sneezed again.

-Maybe, sometimes, you could do the first move toward the other villagers. Most of them are not sure of their skills in taking care of a little girl, but maybe you could force the hand of fate by giving them the opportunity of doing an attempt? Well. Have you got other point to clarify?

Blueberry Pie shook her head.

-Excellent. I think it means it's the time for all of us to join our snug beds, don't you think? I'll take you back at the Café. Promise me you won't escape once more, right?

However, Blueberry Pie was not going to get off so lightly.

-Now, it is my turn to ask you some questions, Berrykin Bloom said. His friendly air had turned into a severe face. "Would you tell me what, or who, made you think we don't love you?"

-This Princesses, Emerald and Tourmaline, Blueberry Pie said with a dour voice. "They keep asking me why I'm not with my family."

-Dear, I perfectly understand it is insensitive from them. But, please, don't pay too much attention to their remarks, because they don't know how yours works. Every family is different, and I hope our talk convinced you of the fact you are not deprived of love. With this is mind, you should never doubt again of the love your parents send you, as far as they can be. And, if I can give you a last advice… Family is not limited by blood ties. A dear friend, someone who could make the ultimate sacrifice for, may be dearest to you than one of the members of your family.

From his side, Berrykin Bloom promised Blueberry Pie he would try to do something for her father.

While they were talking, they had arrived in front of the Café. Strawberry Shortcake was still sleeping.

-Sleep well, dear child! Berrykin Bloom said joyfully. "If you have gloomy thoughts again, don't keep them for you. Share them with a reliable person, like your dad, your mom, or anyone else you like."

-I think you wanted to upbraid her, but you talked with her instead, Berrykin Daniel noticed, once they had made sure Blueberry Pie was in safety in her bedroom.

-Sonny, you may prepare an action plan, but your skills will depend on your ability in changing it, taking into account the circumstances you would meet. And the circumstances said that Blueberry Pie did not need to be sermonized, nor punished.

-Was it the heiresses' fault?

-No. They are still too young to fully understand the impact of what they do.

-So, who is to blame?

-Who knows?

To be continued…

*William Wordsworth, Lyrical Ballad with Other Poems, Volume 1, "The Dungeon", 1800

**See Chapter 41, "Baby (Sitting) Blues" for more information.