Chapter 6: Day at the Beach
As it had been planned a week ago, the Kong family gathered at the beach to spend a fun day there. Some of them bathed in the sea, others learned to surf with Funky, others enjoyed some refreshing drinks, while others played in the sand.
Diddy was at sea playing with his four new friends. They used to hang out more with Diddy, since he was more contemporary with them and they understood each other better when it came to games. Sometimes they would have competitions to see who could swim the fastest to the shore or who could reach the deepest part of the water.
"Hurry up, Diddy!" Tiny exclaimed as they ran towards the beach shore in a competition.
The five finished their round of races and began to decide who had come in first place. Later, Chunky and Kiddy went to Funky's to surf and, meanwhile, Diddy, Dixie and Tiny started building castles in the sand.
"Hey, what if we see who of the three of us builds the best sand castle the fastest?" Tiny suggested excitedly.
"Okay. I'll win you," Diddy responded with a defiant tone.
"We'll see about that," Dixie added in the same tone.
The three of them began to build their sand castles as fast as they could. Dixie was about to finish her castle and, to give it the finishing touch, she was going to place a small flag on top. But when she was about to take it, Diddy took it first to put it in his castle.
"Hey! That flag is mine, I saw it first," Dixie claimed.
"Oh, too bad, but I took it first," Diddy said mockingly.
"Give it to me!"
They both began to compete for the flag and tried to take it from each other. But during the move, Diddy collapsed a part of Dixie's castle with his foot by accident.
"Hey! My castle!" Dixie exclaimed, annoyed.
Immediately, and as revenge, Dixie also purposely brought down Diddy's castle.
"Hey, that's not fair! It was an accident!" Diddy protested.
They both began to argue, in a friendly manner and with laughter involved, of course. In the middle of it, Tiny began to observe the two of them, and she seemed to have a curious idea in her mind... She even adopted a suspicious look.
"Hey, Diddy," Tiny told him, making them calm down. "By any chance... have you ever had a girlfriend?"
"What?" Diddy responded with a strange look. "No, I don't even think about it."
"And you, Dixie, have you had a boyfriend?" Tiny asked again with a few small laughs.
"Are you crazy? Don't you know me?" Dixie responded, looking at her strangely.
"Oh, I was just asking," Tiny said, laughing. "Well, my castle didn't collapse, so I won. See you later!"
Without further ado, Tiny ran off to the others, purposely leaving Diddy and Dixie alone. They both didn't understand anything and were confused by those random questions.
"I think she's a little crazy," Dixie said with a shrug and a little laugh, before looking back at Diddy with a 'thirst for revenge'. "Well, what were we up to? Oh yes, you brought down my castle!"
"I already told you it was an accident! Besides, I saw the flag first," Diddy told him in a mocking tone.
In the middle of the "fight," Dixie suddenly took off Diddy's cap.
"Hey, give me my cap!"
"Go get it, cheater!" Dixie said as she ran off with the cap, before Diddy went after her. They were both running so fast until Diddy managed to catch up with her and, in revenge, he also took off her beret. "Hey! That's not fair, give it back to me!"
"If you give me my cap, I'll give you yours back," Diddy said, twirling Dixie's beret in his hand.
"Well, you'll have to catch it!" Dixie replied.
Then, both kongs continued playing and chasing each other until they entered the jungle and climbed the trees, jumping one by one, and using vines for a better escape. Later, Diddy ran towards the tip of a tree branch and Dixie consequently went after him. The tree was tall and there were no longer any vines to hold on to.
"Ha! You won't be able to escape anymore," Dixie told him in a malicious tone and was about to reach him.
Dixie, seeing that Diddy would no longer have an escape, rushed towards him to catch him, but unfortunately, she pushed him very hard, causing him to fall to the ground abruptly.
"Diddy!" Dixie exclaimed, looking instantly scared.
Dixie came down from the tree immediately. She headed towards Diddy and, when she reached him, she took him in her hands to revive him.
"Oh, no! Are you okay, Diddy? Tell me something!"
"Yes... I'm fine, my head just hurts a little," Diddy said, getting up in pain.
Suddenly, Dixie realized that Diddy had a small wound on his head from the fall.
"Oh, no. I'm so sorry, Diddy, I didn't mean to," Dixie apologized desperately.
"Don't worry, I'm somewhat used to getting hurt," Diddy replied with a small smile.
"You've got hurt a lot," she said, helping him up. "Come, I'll give you something to heal you. Let's go to my house for a while."
Diddy was still rubbing the wound on his head and he did feel sore, but he agreed to accompany Dixie anyway. They both headed to her house, which was not that far from there.
Upon arrival, Dixie put a bandage on Diddy, who, by the way, still had the one on his eye, a product of the beatings of his bad classmates at school; poor Diddy looked like he came out of a hospital. Finally, Dixie placed his cap on him.
"That's all, you'll get better," Dixie said, smiling at him, but then she felt very guilty about what had happened. "And I'm sorry, it was my fault, I didn't mean to-"
"Don't worry," Diddy interrupted between small laughs. "It was an accident, those fool kids at school that I told you about have hit me harder."
"Well, if you say so," Dixie replied, smiling. "Uh, why don't we go back to the beach?"
Meanwhile, on the beach, Funky was giving Donkey and Candy a stroll in the sea. Funky drove a boat at full speed, while the other two held on to ropes and stood on water ski boards tied to the boat.
"Wow! This is fun!" Donkey shouted while he felt all the wind hitting his face.
"Too much!" Candy responded in the same way. "The view from here is great!"
"I told you it was going to be great!" Funky added from the seat of the boat.
"Hey, have you seen Diddy?!" Donkey said as he watched the beach in the distance. "I haven't seen him anywhere!"
"I don't know, brother, I think I saw him for…"
"Oh, there he is!" Donkey interrupted as he watched Diddy emerge from the jungle along with Dixie.
"Hey... and it seems that the little one is not in bad company, huh!" Funky said with a smile and a raised look.
"What are you talking about?" Donkey said with a strange look, before smiling when he got the idea. "Hey, what are you saying, brother? I don't believe that."
"I don't think so either, they're still young," Candy added with small laughs. "Although who knows-"
Suddenly, the boat had an inclination that caught them by surprise and caused them a little scare.
"Geez, I think we should go back!" Funky exclaimed. "The tide doesn't look so friendly. Hold on!"
Then, Funky made a turn on the boat, causing it to change direction so he could return to the beach. Some wobbles had appeared in the boat, which was preventing them from staying out to sea.
Upon reaching the beach, they reunited with the other Kongs, including Diddy and Dixie, who had already rejoined as well.
"The tide is a little strong, friends," Funky told them as he disembarked his boat. "Be careful if you go in."
The kongs stayed on the shores of the beach for a long time, while they drank some refreshments. Later, they dispersed again into small groups, where Diddy was again with Dixie and Tiny inspecting Funky's inventions.
"Wow, you guys must have a lot of fun," Tiny commented as they saw one of Funky's boats.
"What if we'll go for a ride on this boat?" Diddy told them with emotion. "Funky said we could take it."
"And can you drive one of these?" Dixie asked him.
"I've been learning something," Diddy responded with a little laugh. "So, what do you say?"
Dixie and Tiny boarded the planned boat with Diddy, the latter being the one who would take the helm. Then, Diddy started the engine and began to accelerate slowly until he headed towards the waves. Funky had taught him a few lessons, so he wasn't afraid to drive this time.
"Hold on!" Diddy said to the two kong girls.
Diddy began to accelerate until they reached sea, where he could navigate more easily. He was going at a high speed, which caused the wind to hit their faces.
"This is great!" exclaimed Tiny, showing excitement along with Dixie while they were holding the boat.
"Too much!" Dixie added in the same way.
"Now it will get better!" Diddy exclaimed before turning the wheel.
Then, Diddy steered the boat toward a path with rock formations, where it began to move from one side to the other. The three kongs were cheerful as they felt all the wind rushing as they accelerated.
"What did you think?!" Diddy asked them as he accelerated.
"Fun!" Dixie exclaimed with excitement.
"Now let's go this way!" Diddy exclaimed before turning the wheel again.
Diddy headed down another path where he could even feel that the boat was rocking up and down, which added to the fun for the little kongs. Although suddenly... he also realized that there were small waves forming and starting to hit the boat.
"Hold on! I'm going-"
Suddenly, a wave that had been forming hit the boat with some force, even soaking the three of them.
"Hey, I think it's bad here!" Dixie exclaimed, holding on again. "Maybe we should go now-"
Dixie couldn't finish her sentence, as another wave passed over them and even caused them to lose some of their balance.
"You're right!" Diddy exclaimed, beginning to despair. "We should better-"
A few seconds later, another much stronger wave hit the boat hard, this time making it capsize and expelling the three of them from it.
"Diddy!"
Suddenly, Diddy, Dixie and Tiny were being dragged by waves and submerged at every turn. The three of them were fighting to stay on the surface, but they were having a hard time. Diddy especially was afraid for his safety, as well as for Dixie and Tiny, and he was regretting having gone out like that on the boat.
"Here!" Diddy told them, trying to hold Dixie and Tiny to stay together. "Don't be afrai-"
But the waves were so continuous that they couldn't stay balanced and just kept submerging them again and again.
And suddenly, Diddy felt a large hand grab his arm and pull him out, followed by Dixie and Tiny, who had also been taken by their arms out of the water.
"We already have you, little friends!"
Turning to look immediately, they realized that it was Donkey, Funky and Chunky who had arrived in a larger closed boat and had taken the three of them with them.
"Carefully!" Funky exclaimed as they closed the windows of the boat and, at the same time, they were reaching the boat where the three little kongs were, with the help of some anchors.
Then, Funky accelerated the big boat and they started heading towards the beach again. Meanwhile, Diddy, Dixie, and Tiny were breathing heavily from all the hustle and bustle the waves had caused them.
"Are you okay?" Donkey asked them with concern.
"Yes... it seems so," Dixie replied, recovering. "Thank you for coming for us."
"You saved us! Thank you!" Tiny exclaimed in the same way.
"Chunky could see that you were out to sea," Chunky added. "And then he went to call the others to save them. What a scare you gave us."
"What happened, little friends?" Funky also told them, looking worried. "The sea is now somewhat dangerous; I recommend not going out like that."
"I'm sorry, I didn't think it was that much," Diddy replied, feeling a little guilty. "Seriously, excuse me."
"No, don't worry, you're safe now," Funky told them, calming them down. "But please, don't be around here. In these times, I think it is dangerous to be out to sea. It must be the effects of the northern hurricanes."
"Hurricanes?" Tiny asked curiously.
"Yes, there are some towards the North at this time, friends," Funky told them. "But no, it's not to be feared, they don't reach this island. Only the tide will have effects, nothing more."
Minutes later, Funky arrived with the boat and the other kongs on board to the shores of the beach, and then everyone went down towards the sand. The rest of the kongs approached them, especially toward the little kongs, and began to ask about their well-being and show concern for them.
"Holy heavens, little kids!" Wrinkly exclaimed, coming to see Diddy, Dixie and Tiny. "You gave us a big scare."
"Don't worry, Mrs. Wrinkly, we're fine," Dixie replied, smiling at her, before speaking to the others. "Fortunately, we are fine."
"That's very good," Candy added in the same way. "You must be very careful. We recently went with Donkey; the tide was very aggressive."
"But hey, the important thing is that it didn't get any worse," Donkey finished, smiling with relief.
The Kong family continued to comment on the sudden event that had just occurred, although this time they were already happy that nothing serious had happened. Everyone later continued their normal activities.
"Well, friends, why don't we go eat something at my house?" Funky suggested later. "It's getting late."
The rest of the kongs nodded, and then they started heading towards Funky's house. Everyone was in the front, except for Diddy and Dixie, who had stayed talking for a while and realized at the last moment that everyone was walking.
"Hey, but I'm really... sorry," Diddy said to Dixie as they walked. "Sorry if I put you through that scare."
"What are you saying? There's no problem now," Dixie replied, smiling and patting him on the shoulder. "Also, it's not the first time we have had an accident like this offshore, believe me."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah, and besides... it was fun at least before that happened," Dixie added, before continuing walking. "By the way, Diddy, didn't you hurt your eye and head injuries?"
"No, luckily not," Diddy answered, running his hand over both bandaged wounds he had. "When I get home, I'll just have to change my bandages."
"Okay, just try not to touch your wounds so hard," Dixie told him, smiling at him. Then, they continued walking together. "You know, Diddy? These days have been great for the four of us, and… all thanks to you. Seriously, I see that you are a big friendly and kind family of kongs. And that has brightened our days since we arrived here."
"Wow, that sounds great," Diddy replied, smiling at him. "We're also glad that you are better."
Dixie smiled again, which also made Diddy quite happy and he smiled back. Then, they continued on their way until they met the rest of the kongs in the pack.
For the rest of the day, the Kong family, including the four new ones, stayed to eat and hang out at Funky's house. It had been a nice day after all.
"NO! DON'T DARE!" Diddy shouted in a terrified way. "IT ISN'T TRUE! I HAVE NOT TOLD THEM ANYTHING!"
"SHUT UP, MONKEY!"
Diddy was with his limbs wrapped in vines and attached to tree branches. He was all tense and shaking non-stop as he was in front of the quartet of his bully classmates. These four kids were carrying guns this time, which caused Diddy a deep panic, not only because of that, but also because in addition to having him trapped like that, they had Donkey and Wrinkly in front of them in the same way.
"NO, NO, LEAVE THEM!" Diddy begged them, trying to shake his limbs.
"Little buddy, why didn't you tell me this before?!" Donkey exclaimed from a distance, although he seemed quite calm for what he should be in a situation like that.
"Oh, Diddy, what trouble have you gotten yourself into?!" Wrinkly added in the same way.
"NO, DONKEY! WRINKLY!" Diddy shouted. "DON'T SAY I TOLD YOU THAT!"
"Well, what a shame, little monkey," Jemky said, pointing the gun at him. "You knew well what awaited you if you reported us, now abstain from the consequences!"
"NO, DON'T DO IT!"
"SILENCE!"Rocky replied, hitting him with the gun before heading towards the others. "Now! Open fire!"
"NOOO, NOOO!"
As soon as they said it, the quartet proceeded to point their weapons at Donkey and Wrinkly. Immediately, Diddy turned his head away while he closed his eyes tightly... A few seconds later, he could hear a couple of gunshots.
"Now to the monkey!" Jemky ordered.
"NO, NO, NO, YOU STUPIDS!"
Diddy partially opened his eyes and could now see the quartet aiming at him, who instantly, they started shooting at him...
"Diddy!" what seemed to be Donkey's voice was heard in a distorted way.
Diddy, at the moment of being hit, felt a strong beat on his face that made him open his eyes completely... What he saw now was nothing more than the floor of his room again.
"Diddy, what's wrong with you?!" Donkey asked him, who hurriedly picked him up from the floor and examined him.
"Donkey!" Diddy exclaimed, immediately launching himself towards him and hugging him tightly.
"Oh, all right, all right, little buddy," Donkey said, patting him on the back. "What happened? Have you had a bad dream or something?"
"Donkey..." Diddy said, separating himself from him while breathing heavily, and he even had a few small tears about to come out of his eyes.
"Oh, no, calm down, little buddy... Can you tell me what happened?"
"No, no... It's nothing serious, Donkey," Diddy replied, coming to his senses and returning to sit on his bed. "It's just... I had a nightmare... about the Kremlings... and they... held us hostage and then... they shot you!"
"What?!" Donkey exclaimed, looking at him strangely before approaching him to calm him down. "Oh, no, Diddy, but what are you saying? There are no kremlings nearby, they haven't come this way. Everything's fine. It was just a bad dream, little buddy; I'm fine."
"No, but…" Diddy felt at that moment an impulse to want to tell Donkey the truth, but like so many times, he couldn't. "Uh, no, I mean... y-you're right, it was just a bad dream."
Donkey stayed to accompany him for a while, while his nephew continued to show fear; he didn't like seeing him like that, so he stayed with him until he felt better.
"Diddy, could you explain to me better what it was you dreamed about?" Donkey asked him after a while.
Diddy, still shaking from fear, tried to think quickly so he could give a fake version of his nightmare to Donkey, like he always did.
"W-well... what happened in my dream was that there were you and me... S-some kremlings had kidnapped us and... they were carrying their weapons and then... they shot you and then me... and that's when I woke up," Diddy concluded, changing something to the story and without also mentioning Wrinkly to further lower suspicions.
"Okay, little buddy, how about you think about that whole dream again?" Donkey suggested, which earned a strange look from Diddy. "I mean... replay that dream in your mind, but this time... imagine that I manage to untie myself in time and that then those kremlings try to shoot us but their weapons are empty, and then I free you and there we give them what they deserve to all those idiots and return them to their island, what do you think?... Just try to change history."
Diddy was silent for a while as he processed what Donkey had told him... Although he couldn't really change things from how they were with his classmates, at least changing the meaning of things in his nightmare would calm him down for now.
"Do that and then try to think of at least ten things that make you happy, little buddy," Donkey added, patting him on the head and smiling at him. "And then try to sleep again, okay?"
"Okay, Donkey," Diddy replied, smiling a little before staying silent for a while and going back to bed.
"Hey, and by the way, Diddy," Donkey said, looking at his head strangely. "What has happened to you? Why do you have a bandage on your head?"
"Oh, this," Diddy replied, looking up into his head. "I was just playing with Dixie this afternoon and we went into the jungle to climb some trees, but I fell. That was true… I mean, just like the thing about my eye," he added with a forced smile. "And then, she took me to her house and tried to help my wound."
"Woah, you must have been hurt a lot," Donkey added, examining the bandage a little. "But doesn't it hurt you?"
"Well, just normal," Diddy replied. "I don't think it turned out to be that serious, but I'll still have to leave the bandage on for a few days."
"Okay, let me know if it gets complicated, little buddy," Donkey said, patting him on the shoulder, before getting up and smiling. "Still, it was a nice Dixie's gesture to help you… Playing with Dixie," he added quietly, before looking up. "You have become very good friends from what I see... Okay, little buddy, keep resting, and you know, try to think of a different story than what you dreamed of and then think of several things that make you happy."
Donkey said goodbye to Diddy, and then left the room, while Diddy just tried to calm down and follow the suggestions Donkey had given him. He managed to calm down for a moment, but anyway, he kept thinking that something like that is what could happen if he reported his evil classmates… Thoughts that always tormented him.