Chapter 2 - Farewell Apricot

Focus: Angel Cake

As the minibuses speeded out of Strawberryland in a race against time, Angel Cake thought back to the first time she met Strawberry when they were only kids, and how she helped her bake a cake for Strawberry's baby sister Apple Dumplin's first birthday. Then, she remembered the time that she, Strawberry, Orange and Ginger met Apricot, and what unfolded after that.

Time had flown by, and now they were in their early teens. Apple Dumplin' was now an independent 10-year-old, hanging out with her own friends barely any of the rest of them knew about with the exception of Strawberry. Apricot was one of Apple's friends despite being a bit older than she was.

They soon pulled up to Apricot's cottage on the outskirts of Strawberryland. It wasn't as big as the rest of the other homes, but it was cozy and snug enough for Apricot, her pet bunny, Hopsalot and one or two guests.

The officer opened the door of the minibus. "Would anyone like to help me get Apricot?"

"I will!" Angel Cake stepped out of the van, and walked up the pathway to the front door of the cottage, the officer following behind her. She rang the doorbell, but there was no response after a few seconds.

Angel rang the doorbell again. "Hello? Apricot? You there?" Just then, the door slowly opened…and Angel saw that it wasn't Apricot, but it was Apple Dumplin', brimming with tears.

"Hey Apple! Is Apricot here? I need to tell you two about something, it's an emergency."

"Apricot is gone…" Apple's voice was cracked, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" Angel stared at Apple, puzzled.

Apple just burst into tears on the spot, and Angel bent down to comfort her. "What's going on? Why are you crying?"

"It's fine." The officer walked up next to Angel. "I can handle this. I suggest you get back inside the minibus before you're spotted."

Spotted by who? Angel Cake pondered to herself as she headed back into the minibus.

A few minutes later, Apple, wiping her tears, joined them in the bus with her pet, Apple Ducklin' and Apricot's bunny, Hopsalot. Apple was carrying a pile of clothes in her left hand.

"Oh hey Apple Dumplin'!" Ginger greeted her. "Where's Apricot, huh?"

Apple felt her heart was too heavy to reply. The officer sadly poked his head into the minibus and took off his hat.

"Is…everything ok?" Rainbow Sherbet asked him. The friends turned to the officer with worried faces, except for Apple, who was wiping away the last of her tears.

"When Apricot and Apple Dumplin' were playing..." the officer began. "They were attacked. By two unknown people. Apricot tried to defend herself and Apple but...they threw something over her."

The whole minibus fell silent.

"It was…. the concoction."

The silence was even more deafening as the whole minibus tried to process that information, for the concoction was what could melt away any animated cartoon characters like them.

"They melted Apricot?!" Ginger rubbed her eyes, hoping it was all a dream.

Angel felt her heart sink as her eyes began to brim with tears. Apricot may have been a pathological liar when she and her friends first met her...but she was one of the brightest girls she had ever known. "Oh…god…no! She was too young…" Angel sniffed as she wiped her tears away with a tissue.

"I hope she's in a better place now." Rainbow sighed, looking towards the sunny sky over the land that could be gone soon.

"But how could they do this?!" Ginger was still trying to deal with her shock. "She was only a child! They couldn't just…melt her."

"I wanna…SPEAK TO THE ASSHOLE WHO DID THIS!" Peppermint launched out of her seat, her teeth gritted, as her friends leaned forward, trying to calm her down. "Sorry about that." Peppermint quietly subsided and slunk back into her seat.

Hopsalot was being confronted by the other pets in the van, Apple Ducklin', Chocolate Chipmunk, Vanilla Icing, Shoofly Frog, Cola the Chameleon and Triple Ripple Toucan.

"Poor Hoppy." Angel sighed as she gently picked him up, placing him on her lap. "I know how it feels. We just lost our friend too." She stroked his head gently between his ears.

The officer shut the door, climbed back into the front passenger seat, and they drove off again. Apple, saddened about the melting of her friend and leaving her big sister, Strawberry forever without saying goodbye, cried even harder in Peppermint Fizz's comforting embrace.

"How are we still driving away knowing Apricot's melted?" Huck, like the rest of his friends, thought he was dreaming.

"I have her remains." Apple held up what once was Apricot's hat, clothes, and shoes…

The passengers were in shock. Even Ginger couldn't say anything for once.

"Poor thing…" Rainbow thought aloud.

This can't be happening. Angel said to herself, inside her head, as she looked at what was once what Apricot wore, and then glanced at her friends. She still couldn't process what had just taken place...