"Looks like I'm done for now." Tommy patted his brown fur to get rid of the built-up dust. He looked around the room, taking note of his work. Tommy tried his hardest to make sure their home was as clean as it could be. "Hmm… what should I do now…? I know!" Then he pulled out a pack of cards from his fur and smiled. "Me and Annika can play cards!"
Tommy ran upstairs to Annika towards room and shouted "Annika, Annika, let's play a game! Let's play some cards!" Then he paused.
"Oh wait… Annika can't play cards….he's sick in bed."
Tommy remembered how scared he felt when Annika fainted from the poisonous medicine he bought from a mysterious vendor at the city. Annika hoped that he would become invisible so he could play pranks on the Colour Kids and eventually invade Rainbowland. However, this medicine did not make Annika invisible. Instead, he became very ill. A doctor visited Annika and Tommy's home to treat him, but Annika's condition was so severe, the doctor put Annika to sleep and asked Rainbow Brite and her friends to look for the antidote to cure Annika. While Rainbow Brite and her friends were looking for the antidote, the doctor recommended that Tommy do some house cleaning, because Annika would heal faster if the house was clean. Thus Tommy stayed behind and cleaned all the main rooms of their home.
Tommy frowned and walked slowly downstairs with his eyes downcast and his antennae drooping. Peering outside, all he could see were dead trees and gray skies. Usually, when Annika left Tommy alone, Tommy would secretly visit Rainbowland. During these visits, he would take his time enjoying the beautiful colours or playing with Puppy Brite. But he wouldn't do those things today. Tommy was not in the mood to see Puppy Brite or to take a peaceful walk. There was an aura of uncertainty about when or if Annika was going to get better. His health completely depended on whether or not Rainbow and her friends could find the antidote. And who knew when that would be? Annika could be asleep for days. Or even weeks. Only time would tell, and the more he thought about the situation the sadder he felt. He cried, just a little.
Then Tommy said to himself: I guess I should get something to eat. Looking at the Pits isn't going to make me feel better, that's for sure. In the kitchen, Tommy opened the fridge. He scratched his head and said:
"Hmm. Now… what should I eat?" As he scanned the fridge, he noticed a bowl and took it out. "I know these grapes. These are Annika's favourites…" Tommy returned the bowl back to where it belonged. "Maybe I should have some milk and cookies instead."
He brought the milk and chocolate chip cookies out onto the table and sat down. As he was eating the cookies, he started to wonder about what he should do while he waited for Rainbow's return.
"Poor Annika. I wish I could do something to help him feel better. But what? …I know! I'll make a present! I love presents and Annika loves them too! …I think…."
Tommy dropped a cookie into the milk and bit into it.
"But…. Annika hates a lot of things…"
Then Tommy remembered the sour grapes that he pulled out a moment ago. He pounded his fist into his left hand and said, "That's it! I'm going to cook a sour grape cake! Oh boy, oh boy, he's sure going to love that!"
Tommy gathered all the ingredients for the cake and scattered them on the table, including the sour grapes.
"But wait… where's the cooking book? I know I put it somewhere I wouldn't forget." Tommy scratched his head trying to remember. Then Tommy looked at the fridge and noticed the corner of the cookbook hiding out from under it. "There it is. I'm so good a hiding stuff!" He bent down and stretched his stubby arms as far as he could. When he got the cookbook, Tommy lifted it as high as he could and said, "I got it Annika! Oh wait…Annika isn't here…" Tommy frowned and added "…Well I guess I better start working then."
He opened the book on the table and started to look for a recipe for the cake.
"Okay. Let's see now… It says you need 2 cups of flour." Tommy picked up two drinking cups and filled them up with flour before pouring them into a bowl. "Then it says, put 1 cup of sugar…and umm... 1/4 cup of milk." He poured the ingredients into the same bowl. "That was easy. What's next… 6 egg whites?" Tommy didn't know what to do. Egg yolks are yellow, but what's an egg white? If only Annika was awake; he would know what they were. Then he said aloud, "Oh, I know, they're egg shells because egg shells are white!" Tommy cracked six eggs and put the eggs shells into the batter.
"There. Almost done. Now I just got to put in the sour grapes." Tommy poured the grapes into the bowl and mixed with all his strength. Bits of the batter splashed out, but, Tommy was so focused on his task that he didn't notice how much of a mess he was making. When he was done mixing, he put the mix into the stove for the cake to bake.
"Done! That wasn't so hard. I just hope that I was right about the egg whites."
Tommy crossed his arms and said to himself, "But what should I do now? It's going to take a while before this cake is ready." Then his eyes widened and he said, "Maybe I should give Annika another present! You can't have too many presents!" But what were other things other people gave to sick people..?" Tommy tapped his fingers against his chin while thinking.
"I got it! Flowers! I'll get Annika some flowers! That will make him extra better!"
As soon as Tommy thought up of his idea, he ran outside to get the Grunge Buggy so he could drive into Rainbow Land and pick some flowers. Before Tommy got into the driver's seat, he couldn't help but look towards the trashcan that was tied to the side of the Grunge Buggy. Tommy was so used to Annika sitting there whenever they drove. It wasn't often that Tommy would drive the Grunge Buggy without Annika's company. The Grunge Buggy felt empty without him.
Tommy shook his head and got into the driver seat. Tommy tried to drive as slowly and carefully as possible. Without Annika telling him what to do, Tommy had to make sure he wasn't driving the Grunge Buggy in a way that would damage it. Tommy was well aware that he was not the most careful driver around. The last thing he wanted to do was bust up the Grunge Buggy when Annika was too sick to help him fix it.
After some time, he finally made to flower fields of Rainbow Land.
"Whew! I made it." Tommy lifted his wrist towards his face, and thought for a moment. "I wish I had a watch, so I can know how long that took. Oh well, I better start looking for some pretty flowers."
Tommy walked across the fields, hoping to find just the right flowers. To Tommy, these flowers couldn't just be ordinary flowers; they had to be special. He scanned the flower fields to see what flowers would be good for Annika's get-well-soon gift. While he was looking, he could hear rustling sounds nearby. Tommy tried to ignore it at first, but the rustling sounds became louder. Tommy became scared and hid in the bushes. However, his curiosity got the better of him and he poked his head out. As he peered out, he saw four Sprites walking together. The Sprites where red, orange, yellow and indigo. It seems like they were going on some kind of picnic, as the orange Sprite was holding a basket. The Sprites sat down on the grass to set up their picnic. Tommy couldn't see all the food that had been set up, but as far as he could see, there were sandwiches, lemonade, cookies and a pie. They looked delicious. As soon as they were finished setting up the picnic, the Sprites started talking.
The Red Sprite stretched out their arms and said, "Ah, what a beautiful day. We couldn't have picked a better day to have a picnic. Am I right Dandelion?"
"Of course Ruby. Luckily for us, the mines are closed today. If they weren't, I would have had enough time to bake my famous, homemade Wild Berry Pie" said Dandelion.
Delicious is right, Tommy thought. He could smell the pie from the bushes. Tommy let out a sigh just thinking about how delicious the pie must be. This picnic looks like a lot of fun. Maybe I should join them; they look really nice.
"So, Ruby… why the mines were closed again?" said the indigo Sprite.
"Well, Orchid… I heard that someone got sick, so most of the Colour Kids went to find some kind of antidote. The situation must have been serious enough that their Favourite Sprites got a day off."
"That's weird. I wonder who got sick?" said Orchid.
"I don't know. It's probably someone important. It's not every day the Favourite Sprites get a day off. Or any Sprite for that matter."
"Maybe it's some colour kid that we haven't heard about yet?" said Dandelion
"Can we stop talking about sick people; it's making me lose my appetite," said the orange Sprite.
"I agree, Marigold. Let's go eat. I'm starving" said Dandelion.
Tommy thought to himself: They must be talking about Annika… Oh that's right I almost forgot, better go pick some flowers! But…that picnic does look like a lot of fun…..I guess It wouldn't hurt to stop by just for a little bit…Tommy tried to get out of the bush so he could greet the Sprites, but Tommy stopped and paused when he heard Orchid speak.
"Are you guys ready for the upcoming Autumn Festival? Summer will be almost over soon."
Ruby smiled. "Oh yeah! Me, Marigold and Dandelion are going to work hard at the mines so we can be representatives this year"
Dandelion fiddled with her fingers. "I'm kind of nervous… it's my first year…what if I don't make the cut?"
"Don't worry, Dandelion. Marigold can teach you. He's the best miner out of all the Orange Sprites. Even if you don't make it, you can still enjoy the Autumn Festival. It's not like your mining skills are bad enough that you have to work overtime and miss it," said Ruby
Dandelion's mouth broke into a slight smile "Yeah, guess you have a point there."
Tommy looked away from the picnickers and sighed. "Oh….I guess they wouldn't want to eat with a clumsy Sprite like me". He left the bush with his head held low and his antennae drooping again, walking away from the picnicking Sprites. Before the Sprites were out of sight, he looked back at them. He could hear them laughing, but he could no longer make out what they were saying. After that, Tommy continued to walk further away from the group until he could no longer hear them.
Tommy looked at the beautiful field of flowers. The fields were peaceful, since Tommy was the only one standing on this side of the flower field. The fresh air and the calming atmosphere made him feel at ease. Tommy hadn't felt this happy in a long while. He was so at peace that he felt like he could just forget all about the Sprite's picnic.
"Wow, look at all these pretty flowers!" Tommy ran across the field without a care in a world. Then he suddenly tripped over his shoelaces and faceplanted on the ground. Tommy sat up and shook his head.
"Oh yeah, I gotta pick those flowers for Annika."
Tommy kneeled over and picked the most beautiful flower he could see, singing a song that he made up on the spot.
"Tommy's got some posies, violets, daises and rosies!"
He picked as much flowers has his hand could hold.
"And that's that."
Tommy walked back towards the Grunge Buggy. As Tommy was walking away from the flower fields, Tommy couldn't help but keep looking at how beautiful they were.
"Boy, Annika is going love these when he sees them." Then he paused, like he said something that wasn't right. He took second look at the flowers and suddenly Tommy's smile changed to a frown. "Would he?" Tommy thought about it. Whenever they drove around Rainbow Land to try out Annika's newest scheme, one of the first things Annika always complained about were the flowers. They made him sick -not "flu sick"- but sick nonetheless.
Tommy tossed the flowers up to the sky and said, "Oh no, I forgot. Annika hates flowers." Tommy lay down on the ground and looked up to the sky. "What I'm I going to do now?" He was exhausted. He went through all that trouble to get a gift that Annika wasn't going to like in the first place. It was times like these that Tommy wished he were less forgetful.
He closed his eyes and suddenly remembered the Sprite picnic. Boy, I bet they're having fun, Tommy thought to himself, with all that lemonade, sandwiches and pie. Maybe they brought over some cake too. Then Tommy's eyes widened.
"No oh, the cake…"
Tommy got up from the grass and ran towards the Grunge Buggy. He got into the driver seat and quickly drove back to the Pits. Unlike before, he didn't care about how careful his driving was. Tommy ran towards the entrance of the fort and opened the door with all his strength.
"Annika, I'm sorry I burned you! I won't accidently almost eat your sour grapes ever again!" He quickly looked back in to see if there a sign of fire. Fortunately he could not see any fire in front of him or any sign that a fire spread to Annika's room. However, Tommy noticed that black smoke was coming from the kitchen.
Tommy jolted into the kitchen and opened the stove door. Tommy coughed as a dark smoke came out from the stove and spread throughout the room. He put on some oven mitts, closed his eyes and reached his arms out to take the cake. As soon as Tommy took out the cake, he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was what looked like a charred, stiff brick. The cake barely resembled an actual cake, other than its square shape.
"Maybe it looks just looks bad from the outside…."
Tommy took a small bite of the burnt cake. He could feel his teeth crunch against the eggshells. He could only taste ashes and a mushy texture that he assumed was the sour grapes. The taste was so disgusting that he spit the cake out.
"Never mind, that tasted terrible…."
Tommy threw the rest of the cake into the trash. He wondered whether or not he should check on Annika.
Annika was supposed to be asleep for the rest of the day. With all the commotion, it was possible that Annika was awake. If that was the case, Tommy would have to call the doctor to put him to sleep again. The thought of telling the doctor about what happened made Tommy nervous, after all, almost burning the house down made him look clumsy and incompetent. Even though a lot of people knew Tommy was clumsy, the doctor trusted him with the task of looking after the house while Annika was sick. So this made Tommy feel uneasy.
But the worse of all, Annika could have been hurt from the fire. Granted, no smoke came into his room, but due to Annika's condition, Tommy didn't want to take any chances. Tommy nervously walked upstairs towards Annika's room.
"Annika, are you okay? You're not burning, are you?" He stopped in his tracks to hear if Annika gave an answer, but he heard none. He opened the door to Annika's room and said, "You're okay, right Annika?"
Tommy sighed in relief to see that there was no fire. Tommy tip toed towards Annika's bedside to take a closer look. As could see, Annika was asleep. He as looked paler than usual and was he breathing harshly. Tommy poked the left side of his cheek.
"Annika, are you okay?" he said quietly. Annika gave no response. The only thing Tommy could hear was Annika's deep breathing. The doctor must have given him some kind of powerful anesthesia for him to sleep through all that commotion. Tommy wouldn't be surprised if Annika could sleep though an earthquake.
"You keep sleeping, Annika. I got...umm…More stuff to do! See ya!"
Tommy crept out of Annika's room. Before he closed the door, he took another look at Annika. He hadn't moved since he entered the room. Tommy sighed and slowly closed the door.
As he slowly walked down the stairs, he couldn't get his mind off of how sick Annika looked. Tommy was well aware that Annika wasn't feeling well, but it wasn't until Tommy took a good look at him did Tommy realize how severe the poisoning was. Annika's condition only made Tommy feel worse about his failed attempts to make a get-well-soon gift.
Tommy opened the door to his room and lay on his bed, trying to think. After some time, he picked up the teddy bear that was on the bedside table.
"Geez, Mr. Fuzzles. Annika is so sick; I want to make something that will make him feel better. But every time I try to make a get-well-soon gift, I always mess up. First, I almost got a gift that Annika would hate. Then I burnt his cake. This is something that should be easy, but I guess I can't do anything right."
Tommy gave Mr. Fuzzles a big hug and suddenly, he felt better. Many memories of his early childhood came back to him, like his first horseback ride at the Flower Festival, and him facing his fear of rollercoasters for the first time at the Sprite Fair. (And learning to love them afterward.) But the most important memory of all was the time his brother Broomfoot passed down Mr. Fuzzles to him. Mr. Fuzzles reminded him how things that seemed scary often weren't so scary after all.
Then Tommy got an idea. He stopped hugging Mr. Fuzzles and took a good look at him.
"That's it! I can give Mr. Fuzzles to Annika! He's good at making anyone feel better and he's not too colourful!" He was purple but it was a gloomy shade of purple. Surely Annika wouldn't mind.
Tommy got out of bed and rushed out of his room. He ran upstairs to the door of Annika's bedroom. Before Tommy opened the door, he stopped and glanced down at Mr. Fuzzles. He nodded at him and slowly opened the door.
When Tommy entered the room, he picked up the chair from Annika's work desk and placed at his bedside and sat down. Annika was just as pale as he was the last time he saw him. However, it seemed like Annika was in a deeper sleep than before. His breathing was quieter and slower. Even though he knew that Annika was too deep in sleep to understand what Tommy was saying, he wanted to say something to Annika. Thinking that Annika could somehow listen to him made Tommy feel better.
"Hi Annika. It's me again, and I got something for you," he said quietly. Annika said nothing, but Tommy continued. "This is my friend, Mr. Fuzzles. I had him with me for a long, long time. He used to be my brother's teddy bear. But he gave it to me so I wouldn't be afraid of the monsters under my bed. You know what my brother told me? He told me that when he was scared of something, he gave Mr. Fuzzles a hug and it made him feel better. With the help of Mr. Fuzzles, I wasn't scared of monsters under the bed or anything… I had him with me ever since."
He took one last look at Mr. Fuzzles and placed him close to Annika.
"But I'm giving him to you now, to help you feel better. Being sick like this must be scary. But maybe Mr. Fuzzles can make you feel better like how he made me and Boomfoot feel better." Tommy got up from the chair and walked towards the doorway before pausing.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you. You can keep him as long as you want." Then he slowly shut the door.
Tommy felt at ease for the rest of the day. He was no longer sad about the mistakes he made or the Sprite Picnic. He gave a gift that came from his heart and that kind of gift was truly the perfect gift.
Later that night, Annika slowly opened his eyes and sat up from his bed. He noticed Tommy was smiling right beside him. Even though Annika was only in a deep sleep for two days, to Tommy it felt like ages. The antidote that Rainbow Brite found had worked. Although Annika still felt a little weak, he was well enough to stand, walk, and talk.
"Hi Annika!" Tommy said. Annika shook his head and said,
"Ugh. What happened?"
"The doctor gave you the antidote. He said that you'd be back to your good old self by the end of the week."
"Ugh…What's this silly looking bear doing here!? Take it back!"
"But Annika…"
"No buts, Pumpkin Pie Breath. Take it away from me!"
"Oh…. Okay Annika…" Tommy's antennae drooped down and he took Mr. Fuzzles away from Annika.
Annika saw the sad expression on Tommy's face, but he tried not to notice. Thinking too much about it made Annika feel this strange, uncomfortable and confusing feeling, which he hated.
Annika leaped out of the bed and said,
"Come on; let's go to my secret laboratory. I have a new scheme that I want to try out!"
"But Annika, you're still sick. You should rest first!"
"If I'm well enough to walk, I'm well enough to scheme. Come on, Eggplant Nose. Rainbow Land isn't going to take over itself!"
"But Annika," Tommy ran in front of Annika causing Annika to bump into him and fall backwards.
"Oh, watch it, Peanut Brittle Brain. I could have broken my back!"
"Sorry Annika, but I don't think it's a good idea to take over Rainbow Land right now."
"Of course it is. I can take over Rainbow Land whenever I want too."
"But Annika, Rainbow Brite saved your life. She was the one who brought the antidote to the doctor. You owe your life to her."
Annika looked up to Tommy with the most distressed look that he ever saw on Annika's face.
"Tommy…"
"What's up, Annika?"
"I give me that bear. I think I'm getting sick again…."
