3

Yoshi and Pauline continued through the night as they started seeing signs of their departure from Bowser's evil kingdom. The dark and evil lava fields have since been replaced by tundra and the sky was no longer polluted with volcanic ash and smoke. Pauline shivered in the bitter cold, since she was only wearing her red dress and her feet were frozen from the absence of adequate footwear. Yoshi tried offering Pauline his shoes, but they were unable to fit, since Yoshi's feet are shaped differently. Luckily, the two of them managed to create a small campfire with the help of rubbing two dry sticks together, coupled with plenty of dry grass.

Frost had already accumulated on the ground as the air continued to get cooler. Pauline sat next the fire with her closest to keep them warm. The rest of her body shivered uncontrollably as the wind started blowing. Yoshi also shivered, for he was only accustomed to living on a tropical island as were the other Yoshies that lived in his native land south of the equator. He was as close to the fire as he could get without making himself too warm, however his back remained frozen so he periodically switched his body around to warm the other side until the front of his body became cold again.

"It sure is freezing out here!" Pauline said in a shivery tone. "I wish I had shoes to keep my feet warm."

"I wish I was back on my island." Yoshi said. "My people need me. Without me, there is no one to look up to for advice or spiritual guidance. You see, we Yoshies are a very religious race. Throughout our long history, we've looked to nature for answers to our deepest questions and we have since developed an intimate relationship between the other races that roam this planet, including you humans. In fact, we consider the human race as our closest ally. We help feed each other and provide each other with faster and more efficient methods of agriculture and transportation. In this case, I'm helping you find the Mario Brothers and you are helping me return to my island."

"It's my pleasure to help you," Pauline said, "although something still doesn't seem clear to me."

"What's that?" Yoshi asked.

"How come your race hardly speaks back in the Mushroom Kingdom as well as in Sarasaland? What keeps from talking to the humans?"

Yoshi looked at Pauline for a minute, for he did not know how to answer the question. It never occurred to him that any human would ever ask that question for as long as he would live.

"To be perfectly honest," Yoshi began, clearing his throat in the process. "The reason why our race keeps its mouth closed is because we tend to be very shy creatures. That's why, in order to be a leader of our island nation, you have to have the willingness to interact with other intelligent beings without being spoken to first. Not only that, but as the leader of Yoshi's Island, and any other world leader, you have to meet up with a lot of different people from around the world and negotiate with them to create healthy trading and business practices. For the longest time right up to this day, the evil dictator Bowser is the only world leader that has no other allies and is the enemy of everyone else simply because he wants everything to himself and to his liking."

"He's tried many times before, but has failed every time." Pauline asked. "Why would he take you away to his kingdom is he knows that you hate him? Does he want something from you that he doesn't have?"

"That's exactly right." Yoshi replied. "For almost twenty years, Bowser has been trying to claim our island and claim it as part of his own territory. He believes that the only way he can truly claim it is to kidnap its leader."

"How long have you been trapped?" Pauline asked.

"I want to say about a year or two." Yoshi replied. "Since then, Bowser has been too wrapped up in this current evil enterprise to even care about taking over our island. I know for a fact that the other inhabitants on Yoshi's Island are still alive and well, because the Koopa Troops at my jail cell would always have the television volume maxed out. That was the first time, I've ever seen a television, for you see, our island is devoid of certain modern technology."

"And why is that?" Pauline asked. "There's got to be some way that your people keep up to date on everything going on in the world."

"Our island may not have television, but we do have radios." Yoshi said. "Unfortunately, there are times where the radio signal fades in and out, for you see, our radios strictly operate on radio signals which bounce off of radio towers that lie over fifty miles north of Yoshi's Island. We don't quite have enough resources to build our own satellite dish equipment, which is why we don't have television."

"How were you able to figure out how a television works so easily if your island doesn't have that kind of technology?" Pauline asked.

"That's easy." Yoshi replied. "Our people have always had a deep interest in the way things work. Like I said earlier, our people our very religious, however our people are also very scientific. Not only that, but our nation is the only place in the entire world that recognizes both religion and science as two concepts that go together. Most people in the world today would either recognize science or religion as the prevailing force to explaining everything, depending on where you are in the world. But our ancestors were able to able to hold strong to both of these and has been that way ever since."

"That's rather intriguing. You'll have to explain that to me more." Pauline said.

"I can't explain it right now. It's something you'll have to find out once we get to Yoshi's Island, that is, after we find the Mario Brothers." Yoshi said.

"I wonder where they're at now." Pauline asked. "Did they make any more progress in their quest?"

"I just hope that the elders' predictions are true." Yoshi said. "But I highly doubt that they would be wrong. After all, they seemed very certain that the Mario Brothers would save the world, especially since their little episode back in their infancy which took place on our island."

"Mario has told me about that before." Pauline said. "But I never quite believed him until rather recently. He's already saved my life twice."

"Well, wherever they're at," Yoshi said, "I'm sure Mario and Luigi are making some heavy progress. In the meantime, I think we should try and get some shut-eye for tomorrow. We need to be as alert as possible in case any Koopa Troops try to capture us again."

"I'll try." Pauline said. "Hopefully I don't freeze any more than I already am."

"I'll keep the fire going tonight so that we'll stay warm." Yoshi said.

"But what if Koopa Troops see us?" Pauline asked.

"I'll be sure to keep an open ear for any unusual activity." Yoshi replied. "You get your sleep, alright?"

"Okay." Pauline said. "Like I said, I'll try."

"A little sleep is better than none." Yoshi replied.

With that said both Pauline and Yoshi laid next to the fire and started closing their eyes as the flames of the campfire started to get slightly smaller as the cold wind continued blowing across the tundra.

Finally, a new chapter is up! Sorry for such a long wait. I've been on spring break for over a week so I was not able to be near a computer during that time, but it was fun.

Pauline and Yoshi are now stranded in a cold tundra along the outskirts of Bowser's kingdom, trying to keep warm next to a fire that they built. As they sit, Pauline learns a little more about Yoshi and his culture and is surprised to learn that the reason his race would never talk to the humans was because of the fact that they're shy. Yoshi however lacks the shyness that his fellow Yoshies have, which Pauline learns is the reason why he is the leader of the inhabitants of Yoshi's Island. Afterwards, the two focus on finding the Mario Brothers and finding the safest route that would ensure Yoshi's return to his island home. Stay tuned to find out what happens next. Until then, as usual, I will see you guys later :)

saturn95