Chapter 33: Uncertainty

Mr. Pinky was in his living room. He looked annoyed and at the same time worried about Diddy and Dixie; perhaps he hadn't measured their words and tone of voice in scolding them for their attempt to escape. Apparently, he just wanted to keep them safe since after all, they were child kongs considered missing on DK Island.

Later, he came down again from his house and headed towards the room where the pair of little kongs was. He quietly opened the door and entered cautiously. Meanwhile, Diddy and Dixie were just sitting on the ground at the back of the room, their expressions low and cheerless. Both were clinging to each other and showing fear as Mr. Pinky was heading towards them.

"Uhh... Hey, children... I just wanted to talk to you," the professor told them in a much calmer tone. "Oh, no, don't be afraid of me, I won't yell at you this time."

Diddy and Dixie kept quiet the whole time; they just looked at Mr. Pinky with a face of anguish. Then, the teacher also sat on the ground.

"See, first of all I want you to excuse me for raising my voice to you," the teacher told them. "I know I've been strict with you since you were my students, but I still have a hard time taking action on what I say when someone makes me worry or lose patience. And I just want you to know that it's not because I was bad that I stopped you... I just tried to protect you. You have already been told: it's hurricane season and it's not good to sail on the seas; I just want you to understand that."

The two of them still didn't utter a single word about it, and continued to look at him in fear.

"Oh, I understand that you want to go back to your island and everything, but now you can't sail. It sounds distressing to you... but you can't, I'm sorry," the professor continued. "Do you know? I still remember the anguished faces of your relatives, especially Mr. Donkey's and Miss Dixie's family. And then when you two got lost, their despair increased; seeing your families like that was something that made me very sad. And when I found you here, I felt a great joy that would even take you back to your island if I could. You are declared missing there on DK Island, and now that I found you, knowing that I could protect you and something bad would happen to you, it would be one thing I would never forgive myself. And... no, don't listen to what I told you about you being stubborn kids; Mrs. Wrinkly had raved of you two when she summoned me; she said you're good kids, and... I can see that you are. And well... I also want to tell you not to worry about anything, I can let you stay here until everything passes, make yourself at home. I can even take or help you leave later to your island when the storms are over, if you want. In addition... on this island there are mail services, although in this hurricane storm it is not available, but... perhaps later you'll be able to send correspondence to your relatives to let them know about you. And no, don't be afraid of me, I know I'm very grumpy sometimes, but I didn't come to be your enemy either. Now... are you going to promise that you will no longer sail on the sea?"

"It's okay... Mr. Pinky," Diddy said in a muted tone.

"Yes, Mr. Pinky," Dixie added likewise. "Anyways... we're already well aware that we can't return now."

"Okay, kids," said the teacher, getting up and returning to the door as he looked at them more calmly. "Now I leave you, and rest well. And you already know... you can't sail for now. Be careful with that, please."

Having said all that, Mr. Pinky got out of the room and left. Meanwhile, Diddy and Dixie were still sitting on the ground with their eyes down. After so many attempts, they were beginning to resign themselves that they would have to spend a season on that island to be able to return with calm to DK Island. They were so frustrated that they were soon overcome with sadness and anguish.

"Diddy…" Dixie said weakly and with her eyes lowered. "What do we do now?"

"Nothing, Dixie... We can't do anything," Diddy replied in the same tone. "We can only wait."

"I don't want to stay on this island for three long months."

"And neither do I... Unless someone from DK Island comes looking for us, but... I doubt very much that they can get here or know that we are here."

"I wonder how Tiny, Chunky and Kiddy are at this moment," Dixie said sadly, on the verge of shedding tears. "I just hope they're okay... I don't want them to be thinking they lost me too," she added, wiping her eyes.

"I understand you... I miss Donkey so much... The last time we talked, we even had argued about those fools from school... Many times, I argued with him about it and I could never tell him the truth. I also don't want Donkey to think something terrible happened to me."

Suddenly, Diddy also began to shed tears from his eyes. Dixie leaned on Diddy's shoulder as they both began to emit small sobs and shed their tears silently at the same time, wiping them continuously.

"This is all my fault, Dixie," Diddy said, still wiping away tears. "For... having gone out to sea that night."

"No, it's not... In fact, it's mine," Dixie replied in kind. "I mean... I shouldn't have listened to that orangutan."

"And so what? He threatened you along with those other fools and you had no choice but to give them my pyramid and follow their orders... On the other hand, no one ordered me to go out that night; I shouldn't have vented like that."

"No, Diddy... it really isn't," Dixie said, wiping away another tear. "And we can't change anything anymore."

The two were silent for a few minutes. They were just looking at the floor, thinking how everything had changed since a week ago, when they were still on DK Island and had the opportunity to have done things right so that at least they didn't end up far from their island.

"Do you know what this reminds me of Mr. Pinky?" Dixie said after a while. "That time when we had just met you, and we wanted to return to our island where I lived, but then you arrived and told us not to leave because we didn't know the way and we could get lost."

"Wow, so... that's how Mr. Pinky must have felt," Diddy mused, still staring down. "In fact... that time I thought the same thing he told us: I had saved you from those evil apes, you were fugitives, and if I, having the opportunity to continue helping you and something bad happened to you, I'd never forgive myself for that. But... I also understand now how you felt: you needed to return to your island... just as we now want to return to DK Island."

"That's right. But... it wasn't bad in the end," Dixie said, starting to smile a little again. "If we had left that time, I don't know what would become of us now; maybe we would still be going from island to island looking to survive or we would have had a terrible fate. But luckily it was not like that; DK Island has been... as a second chance of life for us. In fact, we feel it as if we have been living there for much longer. And about you... we still consider you our hero," she added, smiling again.

Suddenly, Diddy changed his face and smiled at Dixie's words as well. Seconds later, he placed his hand on hers, and Dixie leaned her head on his shoulder. Then, Diddy hugged her albeit with a little shyness and, in the middle of the moment, Dixie gave him a kiss on the cheek, making him blush immediately and feel some nerves near her, although more confident this time.

"Well... will we go to sleep or what?" Dixie asked minutes later, parted from the embrace.

"I don't know, I'm not sleepy yet," Diddy said with a shrug.

"Me either. It's not even midnight."

"And then what?"

"What if we go outside for a walk?" Dixie suggested.

"But Mr. Pinky is going to see us."

"But this time we won't go to the beach, much less to the sea. We're just going to walk a little bit."

"Well, you're right," Diddy added, shrugging and smiling again. "And if he finds us, he won't tell us anything. So... let's go right now?"

Diddy and Dixie stood up and climbed back up the high window where they had recently escaped. They went outside the house and, likewise, came down from the tree trying not to make any noise so as not to wake Mr. Pinky. They crawled through some bushes, then walked under the trees outside before running again, but this time, aimlessly.

Moments later, they began to walk through various places on the island, in turn trying not to lose sight of the way to the house of Mr. Pinky. A short walk around the island wouldn't be bad after a huge frustration.

"Look, what's that over there?" Dixie pointed toward a cliff that emitted a dim light.

"It looks very bright, let's see."

The pair of kongs headed towards where they had pointed. When they arrived, they saw that it was a cliff not so high, where under it, there was a huge lake that had a particular turquoise color. The place was so nice that the two were amazed and stayed to contemplate it for a couple of minutes.

"Look, we can go down there," Diddy pointed to a descent toward the lake.

Both immediately went to the indicated point and descended carefully until they arrived and could see the lake more closely. Although by the time they arrived, they had noticed that the lake now had a violet color.

"What happened to the lake?" Dixie asked in confusion.

"Wait... Now it's turning green?"

"Wait a minute, I think this is the lake that changes color, the one that the circus animals had mentioned."

"Really?"

They moved a little closer to the shores of the lake and now it was turning a shade of green. Seconds later, it was turning a light blue color.

"Wow, this lake is awesome!" Dixie exclaimed, bending down to touch the water with one finger.

"Wait! Don't touch it," Diddy interrupted immediately. "Hadn't they said that this water had toxic substances?"

"Well, it doesn't look like that," Dixie said, laughing a little before splashing water on Diddy's face.

"Hey!" Diddy exclaimed before also grabbing some of the water and splashing Dixie, but she started running away.

Suddenly, they both started running around and trying to reach each other while laughing. But later, they got a little tired and continued walking.

"You know? If this lake has toxicity," Dixie said, "it would be perfect to give someone you hate a good dip."

"Can you imagine throwing those fools from school there?" Diddy added with a malicious look.

"Hey, that would be crazy," Dixie added with the same expression.

The two continued to walk and, between times, played on the shores of the lake. There was also a spacious grassy ground beside more than several trees in the background; the place was very nice as one of those to go for a walk at night after a long day.

After several minutes of walking and running, Diddy and Dixie stopped to sit near the shores of the lake. They wanted to feel a little better after their attempts to return to DK Island didn't work; after all, at least they were alive and in no danger so far. But they still wished things had been different.

"We're going to miss the vacation trip," Dixie said disappointedly, crossing her arms. "There's not even someone who builds aircraft like Funky to fly us away."

"I know, I'm sure even Cranky and Wrinkly will return to DK Island before us," Diddy added. "And only left that they know that we got lost."

"How do you think they will react?"

"Well, Wrinkly is obviously going to get really bad," Diddy replied earnestly... before switching to a joking tone. "But I'm sure Cranky will only say 'in my day no brat got lost like that'."

Dixie began to laugh a little at Diddy's imitation, to which he joined later to laughter. But later, they became serious again when remembering their current situation and were left thinking about various things.

"Geez, I didn't think this would end like this," Dixie said with a low look, before sighing.

"I didn't even imagine that we would end up on an island that I haven't heard of in my life... And besides, with climatic phenomena that won't even let us return now."

Both continued another moment of silence while thinking and remained serious after the disappointment they had just had. Later, Dixie only leaned her head on Diddy, to which he also settled by her side.

"The good thing about all this is that at least... you're here with me, too, Dixie," Diddy said before reacting and being nervous about what he said. "Uh, I mean... good thing you're here too, Dixie, I'm glad to spend time with you... No, no, I mean-"

"I know, Diddy," Dixie replied, laughing and trying to figure out what he meant. "I also like to spend time with you, I always enjoy your company, even... you make me feel a little better in the midst of this whole situation."

"Uhh, yeah... Yes, that's what I meant," Diddy said, scratching his head as his face turned almost to the same shade as his cap.

"Oh, you look adorable when... you blush," Dixie told him before laughing playfully.

"W-what? No, I'm not," Diddy exclaimed, crossing his arms and trying to act normal.

"Of course you are; I've seen that face before," Dixie added, tickling him and with a playful tone.

"Hey, Dixie!" Diddy exclaimed amid the laughter, and then tried to tickle back.

In the midst of tinkering with each other, Diddy had bumped his face into Dixie's, causing them to stop instantly and blush while laughing somewhat shyly. Suddenly, feeling a little more confident, Diddy decided to play along with Dixie and looked at her playfully after seeing that she had also blushed intensely.

"Now who is the one that blushes?" Diddy said in a mocking tone.

Dixie gestured angrily and gave him a little push when she was defeated, while Diddy laughed quietly. Seconds later, Dixie looked at him again and also began to laugh.

"Hey, Dix…" Diddy said after a while.

"Yeah?"

"It's that... I wanted to tell you something," Diddy pronounced, looking sideways, but at the same time trying to look confident.

"About what?" Dixie asked, looking at him.

"It-it's about what I told you this afternoon," Diddy took a little breath so he wasn't so nervous. "I really… like you very much, Dix. Y-you are very special to me, and I feel... too many things for you," he said, smiling somewhat shyly.

Dixie instantly blushed again after hearing those words from Diddy again, and then smiled at him too, unable to help herself.

"Oh, Diddy," she said, emitting a few small laughs as she continued to blush. "You also sound adorable when you say it."

"Hey, are we going to continue with the same game?" Diddy said in the same way, before speaking to her more calmly again. "But yes... I wanted to tell you that."

Suddenly, Diddy took a hand from Dixie as she settled in front of him, and smiled tenderly at her. She felt her heart pounding, while Diddy couldn't describe what he felt as he saw her and had her in front of him.

"Dix... when I met you with Kiddy, Tiny and Chunky, I never imagined everything you would make me feel later... At first, I thought 'oh, no, I can't feel these things', but… it happened. I always tried to tell you on several occasions but I couldn't. But now that I did, and that apart you also knew it, of course... I want to tell you that I really like you and I feel so much for you. You have also made that these days haven't been so bad, because almost every time I'm with you... I feel so good. I really... love you, Dixie, and I wanted to ask you if you'd like... you and me to be-" Diddy stopped immediately when he realized what he was going to say, and even nerves attacked him. "Uhh, W-well-"

"A c-couple?" Dixie continued trying to help him finish the question, but then she was a little embarrassed too and feared she sounded too direct. "Uhh, I meant-"

"Y-yes, yes... that," Diddy continued, smiling nervously before pausing again. "Uhh... I don't know if now is a good time while we're on this island to say it, and-"

"No, don't worry about that, Diddy," Dixie interrupted with a few small laughs and taking courage to tell him what she felt too. "I... I always expected to hear that from you. Don't think that it's not a good time, I mean, just look: a week ago we were on DK Island, then in a zoo and now on this island without being able to return... Tomorrow, who knows. I have waited a lot for you, as you cannot imagine, and the truth... I wouldn't want to let this moment pass. So... what would you say if I told you that... Yes, I'd like to?"

Diddy froze for a while as he smiled little by little and had a feeling that went from his stomach to his heart and then it began to beat so fast.

Suddenly, Dixie approached Diddy and hugged him with all the affection she had in store for him as she had never done before, and, within a few seconds, Diddy reciprocated the hug feeling an enormous joy that made him completely forget all the heavy week they had had.

When they parted, they stared into each other's eyes while holding hands subtly. Gazing at Dixie's emerald green eyes was something that left Diddy mesmerized. Dixie gave him a kiss on the cheek shyly, so Diddy blushed heavily. Then, being close to his face, Dixie gave him a little kiss on the lips... It was something small but it made Diddy feel much more excited at that moment.

"Oh, Dixie…" Diddy said, smiling tenderly and stroking her hair. "I waited so long for this moment."

"Me too... Diddy."

Diddy got closer to Dixie, while she did the same. Both were settling down and closing their eyes and, suddenly, their lips joined again in another warm kiss. The two felt their hearts racing faster than ever as they felt their lips together with each other. They forgot for a while about the setbacks they had had in those last days and just enjoyed the moment. When they parted, they stared at each other for a while longer and smiled with tenderness and emotion... An emotion they didn't know how to describe how good it felt.

Then, they held each other for a long time while enjoying being so close together. Afterwards, they kept sitting in front of the shores of the lake. They talked again about DK Island, wondering what they would do now that they had to stay on that island for a long time while they watched that lake of changing colors. Despite the recent bad moment, being in each other's company and sharing some quality time, made them return the spirits... as if by magic. And so, they passed for several minutes, before they later returned to the tree of Mr. Pinky's house; while it was something they didn't plan either, they didn't feel so bad having a more comfortable sleeping space.