Chapter 42: Surprise Gift
The next day, as they had planned, Diddy and Dixie would go to the animal shelter along with their new friends and, of course, Diddy would give the surprise gift to Dixie.
Diddy and Dixie headed to the house of their four new friends, and after that, the six were on their way to the shelter.
After a long journey, they finally arrived. The four of them were a little shy about meeting the animals there, but Diddy and Dixie told them that they were all very friendly.
"Are there too many animals here?" Melvyn asked, arm in arm with the group.
"That's right," Dixie replied. "But don't worry, they are good animals, they'll receive you very well."
They were all at the entrances of the shelter, when suddenly, one of the apes who owned that place came out and found them.
"Hey! How are you, little monkeys Diddy and Dixie?" the ape said, greeting them, and then noticed the other four children. "Oh, hello, are you new here at the shelter?"
"No, they're our new friends," Diddy replied. "They are Melvyn, Jenny, Ricky and Mandy," he added, pointing to each one.
"We were just coming to visit so you could get to know them," Dixie added.
"Oh, that's good. So, be welcome, new children, nice to meet you," replied the ape, shaking hands with each one, receiving a shy greeting from the four of them. "Well, what are you waiting for? You can pass."
The six of them passed inside the shelter. There were several of the animals hanging around the shelter and doing different activities. The four new kong children were watching the whole place carefully and that seemed to catch their attention.
"Wow! This place is amazing," Mandy said as she looked everywhere.
"It's super spacious," Melvyn added in the same way. "I think we would have come here at the beginning."
"Are they all the animals you rescued from the zoo?" Jenny asked Diddy and Dixie, pointing to all animals in general.
"They are some of them; others were already here when we arrived," Dixie replied.
Suddenly, a group of animals that were from the circus, known to Diddy and Dixie, were passing by them and greeted them.
"Diddy! Dixie! Good to see you here, how are you?" a zebra said, greeting them with joy, and then noticed the group of new children. "Oh, and who are they?"
"They're our new friends: Ricky, Mandy, Jenny and Melvyn," Dixie said, introducing them.
"Hi!" the four children greeted with some shyness.
"Wow, you made new friends on this island," commented a rhinoceros before greeting each one. "Nice to meet you, new children. Welcome."
The four greeted each of the animals; although they were somewhat shy, they were already feeling more comfortable in that place and, of course, Diddy and Dixie were there to accompany them.
"By the way, friends, the apes who owned this shelter made a banana cake," the zebra told them. "You can go eat some if you want. Oh, your new friends can eat too."
"Banana cake? That's great!" Diddy exclaimed before talking to the four of them. "What do you say, friends? Do you want to?"
"Uhh... No, thanks," Jenny replied apologetically. "We don't want to eat anything for now."
"Really? Not even a banana cake?" Dixie added, trying to cheer them up.
"No, no, it's that... we ate recently and we are full," Ricky added. "And we don't like cakes, thank you."
Diddy and Dixie looked at them again with weirdness, but they were already getting used to it when their new friends didn't want to do or say something wasn't to their liking.
"Okay, so, let's get to know the others," Diddy said.
The six kongs continued to tour the shelter. Diddy and Dixie were telling their four new friends about the place, and every minute they were introduced to animals known to the two of them, either from the zoo or the circus, and thus introduced their new friends. Those four children were gradually coming into trust with the rest of the animals and, likewise, the latter were happy to meet them.
They spent all the time introducing their new friends to all the other animals, and on one occasion or another, they offered them some food even though the four kong children never ate, which earned a few strange looks from Diddy and Dixie. On other occasions, some animals stayed talking for long periods with the six kids; it was also new that Diddy and Dixie had made new friends within that island.
Later, Diddy remembered that he had something to do, so he decided to let his friends know.
"Hey, girls!" Diddy whispered to Jenny and Mandy. "It's time; distract Dixie."
"Okay, Diddy," Jenny replied quietly.
Diddy, trying not to let Dixie notice, joined Melvyn and Ricky to go to their house to see Dixie's gift. With so many animals there, Dixie wouldn't easily realize that Diddy would be gone for a moment.
Diddy along with Melvyn and Ricky were leaving the shelter, when suddenly, just at the entrance appeared one of the gorillas that were from the circus; apparently, he had just arrived and greeted Diddy happily as well as the others.
"Diddy! How is it going? Long time no see you," said the gorilla, shaking his hand, before also looking at Melvyn and Ricky.
"Hi, how long," Diddy replied in kind, before introducing him to his new friends as well. "Oh, yes, they're our new friends, over there there's also Dixie with other new friends... Huh? What's up?"
Diddy was confused when suddenly, that gorilla had completely changed his face... Suddenly, he was static as if he had seen a ghost while it was looking specifically... to Ricky.
"I-I can't... believe it," the gorilla said with a stutter as he made his way toward Ricky.
The three kids were too confused, and at the same time, Ricky seemed to be getting uncomfortable at the gorilla's strange reaction to him.
"My son!" exclaimed the gorilla when suddenly, he took Ricky in his arms and embraced him in an affectionate and emotional way.
"Say what?!" Ricky replied, showing everything confused.
That gorilla began to shed tears, apparently of happiness, as he hugged Ricky... But Ricky, it seemed, was still confused and didn't know what was going on. Some animals walking near them turned to look at the scene.
"I can't believe it, my son!" said the gorilla while Ricky was still so confused. "Hey, everyone, I found my son!"
Several of the animals turned to look at the gorilla. Some approached the scene while muttering in amazement and others with joy. In the crowd, Dixie and the two girls also gathered to watch what was happening in that crowd.
"My child, you don't know how long I waited to see you again and-"
"No, no, no! Wait a minute, sir!" Ricky interrupted, looking scared and trying to break free from the gorilla's arms. "I think you have been confused, but I don't know you."
"What are you saying? I'm your father!" the gorilla said, pointing to himself. "Look at you, you've grown up since the last time I saw you when I got caught by those circus tamers and-"
"Wait a minute!" Diddy, who was also confused by the event, interrupted. "Are you sure he's your son?"
"Of course he's; he even liked to dress like that with these shirts over one another," the gorilla reaffirmed taking Ricky's blue shirt. "It's my son Tommy!"
"Hey, no, sir! There must be a misunderstanding here," Ricky insisted, letting go of the gorilla completely. "My name is Ricky, maybe you confused me with your son you mention."
"Yeah, he's Ricky," Diddy reaffirmed. "He's our new friend; he's never told us he has a father," Diddy added before pointing to the other three. "And they're Melvyn, Mandy and Jenny; they're our new friends that we met a few weeks ago."
All the animals present were left confused as they kept muttering about the situation they had just witnessed.
"Oh... So, he wasn't," the gorilla said with a low look before speaking to Ricky again. "Uh, sorry, kid, it's just that... you look a lot like my missing son, who in fact... maybe he's gone. Seriously, it was identical to you... You even have his same voice."
"Oh, I'm so sorry, sir," Ricky replied in a compassionate tone. "But I'm not your son... I hope one day you'll find him."
The other animals were also shocked. According to the ape managers of that shelter, such scenes were usually repeated almost daily where some of the animals used to reunite with relatives or friends they had before being captured or disappeared, and sometimes there used to be confusions as well.
Later, everyone dispersed and Diddy, Dixie and their four kong friends were reunited.
"Wow, I thought you were really his son, Ricky," Dixie said.
"Of course not, I swear I had never seen that gorilla," said Ricky, still confused and the other three kids said the same.
"As far as I can remember, we don't know him," Mandy added in the same way. "That was crazy."
"Hey, and you were going somewhere or what?" Dixie asked the boys curiously.
"Ahh, yes... yes, we were going to go for a walk out there," Diddy replied, trying to disguise along with the other two boys. "And well, we won't be long, okay?"
Diddy, with Melvyn and Ricky, left the shelter. Now they were on their way to see Dixie's surprise gift, although on the way, what they were talking about the most now, was about the scene of confusion with Ricky that they had had when leaving the shelter.
Diddy also stopped by Mr. Pinky's house to pick up some letters he had written for Dixie during the early morning; those would also be in the surprise gift. Then, they continued on their way to the house of the four. Upon arriving there, Diddy finished arranging the gift for Dixie and realized that everything was in order just as he had left it the night before. Later, the three kids returned on their way to the shelter.
At the animal shelter, Dixie was still with Jenny and Mandy. The three of them walked around the place together and talked to the other animals. Later, they saw Ricky and Melvyn enter the shelter, who then headed towards them. Diddy, apparently, hadn't gone in with them yet.
"Hey, Dixie," Melvyn said, walking toward her. "Diddy is waiting for you out there."
"He has a surprise for you," Ricky whispered.
"A surprise?" Dixie exclaimed in confusion.
"That's right, that's why he went out," Mandy added with a few small laughs, which made Dixie more confused when she saw that the girls also said the same thing.
"Go, what are you waiting for, Dixie?!" Jenny said with excitement.
The four of them hinted to Dixie about the surprise gift, so she headed outside the shelter wondering what it was.
As Dixie came out, she met Diddy, while the four had agreed to stay near the shelter so they could give their two friends privacy.
"What's going on, Diddy?" Dixie asked curiously.
"Uh, it's that... I have something for you," Diddy replied somewhat shyly. "Come on, let's go home for a while."
Dixie was still curious, so she accompanied Diddy, and they both walked towards Mr. Pinky's house. Diddy already wanted to see Dixie's reaction. For a moment, he also remembered the time when he was going to confess his feelings to her on DK Island, although he no longer wanted to remember that bad outcome either. This time, Diddy was calmer and also happy because he knew that now Dixie would reciprocate. Dixie, on the other hand, kept wondering what Diddy's surprise was.
After long minutes of walking, the two arrived under the tree of Mr. Pinky's house. Diddy was already prepared to give the gift to Dixie; it was the first time he did a detail to her and he was excited and nervous at the same time.
"Wait for me here for a moment," Diddy said to Dixie.
Diddy went to the bushes under the tree, for there he had left the gift hidden when he had returned along with his friends. After picking up the gift, he took it to Dixie. When she saw it, she couldn't help but smile instantly and look excited; receiving a surprise gift was something that certainly made her day.
"It's for you, Dix," Diddy said, smiling and handing her the box.
"A gift for me?!" Dixie exclaimed with excitement. "Thank you, Diddy!"
Dixie took the surprise gift and, after that, gave Diddy a kiss on the cheek, which made him blush. Diddy was happy to see Dixie like that.
"Oh, it's so pretty, Diddy!" said Dixie as she opened the box and stared in amazement at everything inside it. "Wow, an emerald! And the drawings! And the flowers... and chewing gums... At what moment did you do all this?"
"Well, that's what I went to last night with the boys; we went looking for that emerald. And then the girls also helped me assemble the whole box with those details."
"Oh, so, this was a surprise," Dixie said with a small laugh. "It's very nice of you, Diddy. Thank you, really," she said, smiling excitedly.
"You're welcome, Dix," Diddy replied, smiling back.
"Wow, this emerald is very pretty," Dixie said as she took the emerald. "And it also shines-"
Suddenly, within seconds Dixie was holding the emerald... it broke into some pieces. Both Dixie, and especially Diddy, were shocked by such a sudden event.
"What...?!" Diddy exclaimed in confusion. "Oh, no, but what happened?... I-I swear it wasn't like that all this time, Dixie."
Diddy took the emerald and examined it in detail, apparently, it had broken and he had no idea how it happened. He was quite disappointed since he had tried hard to find it for Dixie and it was the most important detail of that gift.
"Oh, no. I'm really sorry, Dixie," Diddy said with a low look. "Maybe it broke down on the way."
"Oh, don't worry, Diddy... It was just an accident," Dixie replied by putting a hand on his shoulder and with a small smile before continuing to look at the box. "There's even more here... Oh, here's a letter!"
Dixie took an envelope that, from what she guessed, was a letter inside written by Diddy. Obviously, Dixie couldn't wait to read it, but... when she opened the envelope, she stared inside carefully and showed a confused face.
"Huh? What's up, Dix?" Diddy asked, noticing Dixie's expression.
"It's that... there's nothing here," Dixie replied, showing the inside of the envelope.
Diddy was shocked again to see that, in fact, there was no letter or anything inside the envelope. Diddy was confused and disappointed again since he was sure he had kept the letter in there.
"But… how is it possible?" Diddy said as he quickly grabbed the envelope and checked back inside. "Oh, it can't be, if I'm sure I recently saved it... Or maybe I left it. Sorry again, Dixie."
"Okay, Diddy, you can give it to me later," Dixie replied, cheering him up with a light laugh.
Dixie felt a little bad for Diddy, but she didn't want to make him feel guilty, and continued to cherish the gift. Then, she took some of the flowers that were there: they were all varied, which caught her attention and she started looking at each one of them.
"Wow, the flowers are so pretty," Dixie said as she examined the flowers. "All are of different colors and also- AAAHHH!"
Suddenly, Dixie started screaming loudly, which alarmed Diddy. She began to shake her arm in desperation as she dropped the box to the floor and, with it, the jar of chewing gum. Upon better watch, Diddy noticed that small carnivorous plants, apparently among the flowers, were biting Dixie's arm aggressively.
"Don't worry! I'll help you!" Diddy exclaimed when he hastened to help Dixie.
Dixie screamed in pain as Diddy struggled to remove the plants from her. After several attempts, he succeeded... Although at the time of removing them, it was hurting Dixie's arm much more. Diddy threw the plants to the ground immediately as they were very aggressive.
"Oh, no, Dix. Are you okay?" Diddy said as she held her bruised forearm.
"No, it hurts a lot!" Dixie exclaimed, complaining of pain.
Then, Dixie showed her arm better to Diddy. Both were shocked to see that she had considerable injuries, since those plants had scratched Dixie's forearm quite a bit.
"Oh, no, you got hurt a lot. Forgive me, I didn't know there was a carnivorous plant there!" Diddy explained, all disappointed that his surprise gift had ended in disaster. "We'll call Mr. Pinky! Come on!"
Diddy and Dixie went upstairs to the house. Diddy had to help Dixie up, as she couldn't get it right with one of her arms. Immediately, they knocked on Mr. Pinky's door, and then he came out within a few seconds.
"Yeah? What's going on, guys?" the teacher asked them before noticing Dixie's expression as she held her arm.
"You see, mister, an accident happened," Diddy said, still holding Dixie's arm. "I gave Dixie a surprise gift, and it was carrying flowers. But apparently, there were carnivorous plants inside and they attacked Dixie on the arm."
"But what are you saying?!" the teacher exclaimed in alarm. "Let me see your arm, Miss Dixie."
Mr. Pinky examined Dixie's arm and made a gesture of oblivious pain at the sight of her injuries.
"Oh, you should be careful when you are handling wild plants, children," the teacher advised them with concern. "Come in, I'll put something on Miss Dixie's arm."
Both went inside the teacher's house and sat on the sofa to wait for him, while he searched inside a medicine cabinet for some product for the wounds. A couple of minutes later, the teacher walked towards Dixie and proceeded to clean her wound and put a bandage on her. It was obvious that the wound was still not going to heal completely and would continue to cause Dixie discomfort.
"Where did you get those flowers you gave to Miss Dixie, Mr. Diddy?" the teacher asked.
"Our new friends had them," Diddy replied.
"Hmm, you must ask them what happened there; it's very strange," the teacher added, finishing bandaging Dixie's arm. "It's done, Miss Dixie, you should rest now."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Pinky," Dixie replied, still in pain. "You are very kind."
Diddy and Dixie left the teacher's house, and then went down to the porch where their room was. They were going to enter until they noticed that some known silhouettes were under the tree of the house.
"Hey! Diddy! Dixie!" their four friends called them.
"Ah, hi, friends!" Diddy replied, leaning out. "Can you go up for a moment please? I wanted to ask you something."
The four of them went upstairs to the house because Dixie would have a hard time going down for the time being.
"How about it, friends? How did you go on with your surprise gift?" asked Mandy before noticing, along with the other three kids, Dixie's arm.
"But... what happened to Dixie?!" Jenny asked in shock.
"You see, friends, I don't know if you've noticed before, but... in the flowers you showed me was a carnivorous plant and it attacked Dixie," Diddy explained.
"What?! A... carnivorous plant?" exclaimed the four, looking confused and shocked.
"But what are you saying? There were no carnivorous plants in those flowers, it shouldn't," Mandy said, looking at them in confusion and carefully grasping Dixie's arm.
"We checked them well and there was nothing," Jenny added in the same way. "Oh, no, we're really sorry, friends. It must have been our fault," she added with a low look.
"No, don't worry, maybe that plant infiltrated by accident," Dixie replied, calming them down. "Oh, and I also thank you guys for helping Diddy with the details... even if it turned out like that."
"And what about the other things in the gift?" Ricky asked. "Was everything okay?"
"Well, in fact everything was ruined," replied Diddy, disappointed in himself. "The emerald broke, the letter was lost and the chewing gum fell off when Dixie was attacked by that plant."
"Oh, no, we're so sorry, friends," Melvyn said, pitied along with the other three.
The four were baffled by the event, as they had all made an effort to help Diddy with his surprise gift for Dixie.
"Uh, hey... but I think we have something to fix this," Jenny told them after a few seconds. "Is your injury serious, Dixie?"
"Yes... and it hurts a lot," Dixie replied, rubbing her arm.
"Well, do you remember we mentioned that we know a medicine ape? He had a remedy that can heal wounds in less than five minutes."
"You mean what he used to heal my injury, Jenny?" asked Mandy.
"That one!"
"In less than five minutes?" asked Dixie, looking at them strangely. "Are you saying it... seriously?"
"Yes, literally, in less than five minutes it leaves you without a scar," Ricky said. "It worked with Mandy last time, do you remember?"
Diddy and Dixie were incredulous at first; a wound of that magnitude was not going to heal completely in such a short time, so they thought the four of them were exaggerating. But then, they remembered the first days they met them when Mandy had hurt her leg and the next day she was like nothing had happened, so they decided to try what they said.
"Okay, if you say so... let's see if it's true," Diddy replied with a smile of disbelief. "Let's see the medicine ape you say."
"Uhh... is that there is another detail," Jenny said. "To go where he is, you have to inform him in advance and... it will take much longer, so we could go just the four of us since he already knows us and will give us that remedy instantly."
"And besides, he's kind of grumpy too," Mandy whispered. "He doesn't want anyone to visit him, but he already knows us."
"Yeah, just wait for us here and we'll bring it to you," Ricky added. "We won't be long, okay?"
"Oh, okay, no problem," Diddy replied.
"Yeah, besides I have to rest," Dixie added.
"Well, so, we'll come back later, friends," Mandy said as everyone said goodbye.
The four came down from the house and went in search of the remedy they mentioned. Although on the other hand, Diddy and Dixie just wanted to laugh about it; their four new friends always had something strange to tell or show. Even so, they made them smile with every occurrence they told them.
"Do you believe them about that remedy?" Diddy asked Dixie, trying not to let out a laugh.
"I don't know, I think they made it up; such a wound doesn't heal completely in a week," Dixie replied in the same tone. "But we'll see if it's true."
"Our friends are kind of funny," Diddy said with a smile.
Dixie still had to take a break, so she sat outside on the porch of the house, and Diddy also stayed next to her. It was clear that Diddy felt too guilty; he had tried hard to plan a surprise gift for Dixie, but it ended in disaster and even an accident.
"Hey, Diddy, but seriously, you were very nice about the gift and-" Dixie said before turning and looking at Diddy's low expression. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, I really wanted to give you a surprise gift... but it all went wrong," Diddy replied with disappointment. "Truly, I'm sorry, Dix. I didn't want this to end like this. Look at you, you even ended up being attacked by a plant."
Dixie began to feel sorry for Diddy as well. She didn't want him to feel bad about it, since after all, she at least knew that he had the good intention, and she appreciated that quite a bit. Dixie just glanced at him, and then hugged him for a while.
"Don't worry, everything was still nice and you made me smile a lot, believe me you did," Dixie told him as she held him in a sweet hug and smiled at him. "And this wound will heal... If you want, you can give me another new surprise gift later."
"I know... but everything was ruined, not even the bubblegums were left," Diddy added.
"It doesn't matter anymore, Diddy, at least you tried and I still thank you very much for the detail you had with me," she added before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I love you so much, Diddy, and you always make me so happy."
Diddy couldn't help blushing, and automatically smiled again; he knew that at least Dixie would be glad that he had thought of her and had some surprise detail, even though a disaster had come out. Then, Diddy smiled at her and hugged her too.
"I love you too, Dix," Diddy replied, stroking her cheeks and then her hair.
The two held each other for a couple of minutes; being together like that was something the two of them enjoyed very much and made them feel like nothing else mattered for a moment.
"Hey, and... what do you think if we go out or something?" Dixie suggested after a while.
"I think it's a good idea," Diddy replied. "But don't you have to take a break?"
"Oh, that's true," Dixie complained, looking at her own arm. "Or what if we go up to the last terrace up there? It would be something like a date, but without leaving home."
"Okay, then tonight," Diddy added, smiling. "Now we have to keep waiting for our friends to return with that 'remedy' they mentioned."
Both continued in that place for a while, waiting for their four friends to return, although to tell the truth... they were taking a long time and it was almost dark. It had even been half an hour and there was still no sign of them. Diddy and Dixie only thought that such a "remedy" was just an invention of their friends.
Suddenly, those four kong children appeared and called Diddy and Dixie later. The latter leaned out to receive them.
"Hey, I thought you weren't coming anymore!" Diddy said to small laughs from above. "Come up!"
The four kids went back up to the house, while bringing a small jar with a liquid of a light blue color. After all, it seemed that at least they had brought it, but now they would have to check if it really worked as they claimed.
"Excuse us, we took a long time because that medicine ape had to prepare the mixture," Mandy told them.
"And it took too long," Melvyn added, shrugging.
"Well, let me see your arm, Dixie," Jenny said as she held the jar.
Dixie, though in much disbelief, removed the bandage from her arm and showed them her wound. The four of them made a gesture of pain and compassion upon seeing it.
"Wow, that plant did hurt you," Jenny said as she held her arm. "Well, now look at this. It'll only hurt a little."
Jenny opened the bottle and poured the liquid on the wound that Dixie had, she felt a little pain because this mixture made her a burning effect.
"Now, you just have to wait," Jenny told her as she looked at the wound carefully.
Everyone crowded together to look at Dixie's arm and see what happened. For the first few seconds, everything was still the same, but to Diddy and Dixie's surprise, little by little the wound was changing like magic and, almost a minute later... the wound was closing and getting smaller and smaller to the point of recovering the lost fur of Dixie in that area of her arm. By the end, Dixie's arm had been completely healed, as if nothing had happened to her.
"B-but, how?!" Diddy and Dixie exclaimed, shocked.
"You saw, it worked!" Ricky said with excitement next to the group. "And you didn't want to believe us."
Diddy and Dixie looked at each other shocked at such an event. Dixie didn't even feel pain anymore and looked at her arm; in the end, what their friends said about that remedy had turned out to be true.
"It's... impressive!" Dixie said, cheerful and astonished. "Where do you know that medicine ape from?"
"We've known him for a long time," Ricky replied.
Suddenly, Mr. Pinky appeared, interrupting the conversation to call Diddy and Dixie. Then, he was also surprised to see the other four kong children there.
"It's time for dinner, kids- Huh?" the teacher paused when he saw the new group. "Oh, hi... Let me guess: are you Mr. Diddy and Miss Dixie's friends?"
"Yes, mister, it's them," Diddy replied, pointing at them.
"Nice to see you... Mr. Pinky, I'm Melvyn," Melvyn said, running to shake his hand like a little child.
The quartet greeted Mr. Pinky, each saying their names, while the teacher waved back... although he also gave them a look of strangeness. Diddy and Dixie had mentioned to him that they were his students, although he didn't seem to remember them well.
"Wow, so you're their new friends. Nice meeting you too, children," the teacher replied kindly. "Mr. Diddy and Miss Dixie always talk to me about you; they say you're good friends... Oh, and they tell me that you were my students, is that... true?"
"Ah, yes, Mr. Pinky, don't you remember us?" Jenny asked. "We were your students a couple of years ago."
The teacher frowned as he kept his hand on his chin as if trying to remember, but apparently, he couldn't.
"Hey... Uhh, I just want you to excuse me, but... I don't remember you," replied the teacher, earning a few low glances from the four of them. "I mean, I've had so many students; I don't always remember them all."
"Don't you really remember us, Mr. Pinky?" Melvyn asked with a sad look. "I was your favorite student."
"Favorite student?" the teacher kept trying to remember, but apparently, he couldn't remember them. "Oh... I'm really sorry, kids, but I don't remember seeing your faces. But don't worry, I could meet you again," he added, smiling at them in the last sentence... But suddenly, he changed his face again. "Hmm, although... excuse me for a moment."
Suddenly, Mr. Pinky showed a very serious expression again as he looked at the four of them. He then specifically headed to Mandy, picked all her short hair up with one hand, and then let go. Suddenly, the teacher's face changed to an expression of shock... while Mandy was confused by his gesture.
"W-what's up, Mr. Pinky?" Mandy asked, looking a little confused.
"Your name is Mandy, right?" the teacher asked, to which Mandy nodded. "Oh, sorry, it's that... you look a lot like a girl who disappeared on this island a few months ago and they have been searching for her so much. Although she had her hair up and her name was Destiny."
The four kong children along with Diddy and Dixie looked strangely at the teacher at what he said.
"No, no, I've never disappeared," Mandy said in a confused tone. "We haven't even had a family."
"That's funny," Ricky added with a frown. "Diddy and Dixie took us to the animal shelter and there a gorilla male told me that I looked like his son who disappeared."
"Oh, it must be a coincidence," exclaimed the teacher thoughtfully. "Just forget what I said, I think it was just a confusion."
"By the way, Mr. Pinky," Dixie said. "Recently they brought me a remedy that healed my wound, look!"
Dixie showed her arm to the teacher, and he was more shocked than they were recently.
"Say what?! How is this possible?!" exclaimed the teacher without ceasing to be surprised. "But if your injury was quite considerable, Miss Dixie. What did they do it with?"
"It's with this remedy, mister," Jenny replied, showing him the bottle with the light blue liquid. "It can heal a wound in less than five minutes."
"They know a medicine ape who makes these mixtures," Diddy added in amazement.
"A medicine ape? I don't remember knowing that there was a medicine ape here," said the teacher, looking strangely. "Where does he live?"
"Uhh... well, he lives in a corner of this island, in a cave," Ricky replied. "But he doesn't want anyone to visit him, that's why he's not as well known."
"Okay, it was a good act on your part to help Miss Dixie anyways," the teacher said, smiling serenely. "By the way, it's going to be time for dinner, don't you also want to come as an act of gratitude?"
"Oh, we really thank you, Mr. Pinky," Mandy said before continuing. "But... we already have something prepared in our house, so it may be for another occasion."
"No, no, I can't just leave you like that," the teacher replied. "Or if you want, take it home, what do you think?"
The four children seemed to want to go home, but they accepted the teacher's dinner, so he just gave it to them to take with them home.
Minutes later, the four kids were already going home, but not before saying goodbye to Diddy and Dixie on the main stairs.
"Hey, I forgot," Dixie said to the four of them with a small laugh. "Thanks for the remedy, seriously, I didn't think it would work, but you have saved me."
"You're welcome, Dixie. You know, that's what friends are for," Jenny replied cheerfully along with the other three. "And we apologize again for what happened to your gift," she added with an embarrassed smile next to the group.
"No, don't worry anymore, it was an accident," Diddy replied, calming them down. "After all, another time it may turn out better."
"Well, I guess it's time to go," Ricky said, looking up at the sky. "It's getting late."
Diddy and Dixie went to accompany their friends to the outside of the house, and then say goodbye to them better.
"See you later! Rest well," Diddy and Dixie told them in succession.
"See you later, friends," the four of them replied, smiling.
"And don't forget about the boat we're going to build," Ricky whispered to them with the others.
"Obviously not," Diddy replied, gesturing at them.
Diddy and Dixie finished saying goodbye to them, and then returned to Mr. Pinky's house for dinner. That day was also a special meal, which was quite exciting for both little kongs.
While the three of them set the table, they were talking about the group of Diddy and Dixie's new friends... Apparently, Mr. Pinky was somewhat doubtful.
"Hey, it's not for nothing but... I think your friends are a little... weird," Mr. Pinky said with a serious expression.
"Weird in what sense, mister?" Diddy asked, confused at what he was saying.
"It's that... I don't know, but they have something that... Oh, I don't know how to explain it, but there's something about them that's very strange," replied the teacher looking into nothingness.
"Well, they've been called weird because they don't like water, they have allergies to it, they don't like banana cake or they don't like rain. But they're cool," Dixie said with a shrug. "We have gotten along very well with them."
"No, it's not because of those things, it's... something else they have," the teacher insisted before pausing. "By the way, is that true about the medicine ape they mentioned?"
"We don't know him, but they always mention him," Diddy replied, laughing a little. "We didn't want to believe them either, but the remedy they brought did work for Dixie."
"And those children live totally alone?" the teacher asked them with a look of strangeness.
"Yes, they say they've always lived that way," Dixie replied. "And that they have been living on different islands from time to time, but they have already passed through this island before."
"Oh, and they've really never had a family?" the teacher asked again. "I mean... they are just children, no one has taken care of them at least?"
"No, they say they've always abandoned them," Diddy replied.
Diddy and Dixie sat down to dinner quietly. Although the teacher was still thoughtful... as if he seemed to have seen something in Diddy and Dixie's new friends, but didn't know what it was exactly.
Later in the evening, Diddy and Dixie were leaning out on the balconies of the last terrace of the entire house, as they had agreed in the afternoon. It was a nice place, as it was all clear and, due to its height, they could better look at the sky and much of the island. It was a perfect place to hang out.
"Hey, Dixie," Diddy said. "Do you think Mr. Pinky liked our friends?"
"I wonder the same thing, because he looked a little thoughtful when he met them," Dixie questioned. "What did he mean by finding them weird?"
"Maybe they are, but I didn't understand Mr. Pinky what he meant," Diddy added thoughtfully, before just shrugging his shoulders and putting the topic aside. "By the way, how is your arm going, Dixie?"
"It's better. I feel like nothing happened to me."
"So, that remedy they brought is really effective," Diddy said, smiling... before feeling guilty about what happened again. "Oh, but I'm really sorry, Dixie, I just wanted to make a surprise gift for you."
"Oh, don't apologize anymore, Diddy," Dixie said, trying to cheer him up. "Anyway, everything is already fine, and so am I."
Seconds later, Dixie leaned on Diddy's shoulder and hugged him affectionately. Then, he reciprocated in kind, making him smile again seeing that after all, she was happy at that moment.
"Dixie…" Diddy said later, looking at her and gently taking her hair. "You know? I really feel very happy to have you; you make me feel too many... beautiful things. I feel like I could love you like this forever, seriously," he added with some joy.
"Oh, Diddy…" Dixie replied, laughing and blushing a little. "You always manage to make me smile... You are such a cute little monkey with me, you don't know how happy I'm with you."
Diddy smiled at her tenderly, and then she smiled back in the same way. Then Dixie got closer to his face so she could kiss him, and Diddy was going to reciprocate, but then he stopped suddenly.
"Wait! It's Mr. Pinky!" Diddy whispered as he heard the teacher's footsteps coming up the stairs.
Suddenly, Mr. Pinky also went up to the terrace and, instantly, Diddy and Dixie settled into normal postures.
"Excuse me, Mr. Diddy," said the teacher with a smile and looking his eyebrow up. "Haven't you forgotten something in the kitchen?"
"Oh, right!" Diddy exclaimed, looking frightened. "Wait for me, Dixie, I'll be right back."
Diddy went down with Mr. Pinky to his house, and Dixie waited for him for a couple of minutes. When Diddy returned, to her surprise, he brought a small cake, the size only for the two of them. After all, Diddy didn't want to stay without having given Dixie something.
"Uhh... this is for you, Dixie," Diddy said, handing her the little dessert.
Dixie was surprised by the detail: the cake was made of bananas and on top of it had a heart with their names drawn with cream. Dixie couldn't help showing a big smile.
"Diddy! Did you do this?" Dixie asked, looking excitedly at the cake.
"Yes, just as you were taking your break. Well, actually... Mr. Pinky helped me, of course," Diddy replied, smiling and scratching his head. "You know, I wanted to give you a surprise gift, even if it's something small."
"Oh, Diddy, you never cease to amaze me. I thank you so much," Dixie said, smiling and blushing a little, before hugging him tightly. "And well, what are we waiting for? Let's eat."
They both sat on the floor along with the dessert and were getting ready to try it. But before, Diddy made them stop.
"Wait a minute... where did we stay?" said Diddy to Dixie with a playful look.
Dixie caught the idea and returned the same look, before throwing herself at him and then sharing the kiss they had pending; they could not miss the playful laughter when they separated. After the love moment, they proceeded to eat the banana dessert together.
A/N: I search in on web, and I found out that carnivorous plants don't really attack. Anyway... suppose here those are plants like those of Mario Bros' world xd.