Chapter 37: Hanging Out Day
The next morning, Diddy and Dixie said goodbye to the teacher and, before long, they were heading to visit their new friends. They still didn't know how it all happened in a single day, but they were excited to have met new kongs their age.
When they got to their house, they went up. The first thing they would do was knock on the door, but they stopped when they discovered that it was wide open. They approached to look inside the house, but for some reason... there was no one.
"Where did they go?" Dixie questioned, looking into the house.
"Oh, no. Maybe that bad gorilla they were talking about took them away?" Diddy said worriedly.
"I don't think so, maybe they just went out to eat or something," Dixie speculated. "Why don't we come back later?"
Diddy and Dixie searched around the house, but there was no trace of either of the four kids. Both began to worry a little and feared that something bad had happened to them, since they hadn't even left the door closed. But they didn't want to think about the worst yet, so they decided to leave.
They both headed back to Mr. Pinky's house. They waited until after noon to return back to the house of their new friends, and they did.
In the afternoon, Diddy and Dixie returned again to the new kongs' house. They hoped that this time they would find them at home, but to their surprise... they were also not present and, moreover, the door was still open. That was really worrying for both of them. Then, they came down from the house while wondering where those children were.
"How strange," Dixie said thoughtfully. "They don't seem to have been here; the house is just as we found it this morning."
"Diddy! Dixie!" a female voice that seemed to belong to a kong girl exclaimed behind them.
They turned to look and realized that it was those children, who were in the distance heading towards them. They were both glad to find them and relieved to see that they were okay... In fact, the four of them looked somewhat more presentable than the day before. They even wore different clothes; for start, the two girls now wore ribbons in their hair: Mandy wore a red bow in addition one fuchsia vest over her pink blouse, while Jenny now had a ribbon paired with her blouse and hair pulled back with a bow; as for the boys, Ricky now wore a blue shirt over his yellow T-shirt, while Melvyn now wore a red and white striped T-shirt under his overalls.
Diddy and Dixie were surprised at first to see them, as they now seemed to look like normal children and no longer as much as lost children as they were the day before. But anyway, they smiled to see that they were okay.
"Hi! How are you?" Dixie said to them as they arrived, and they returned the greeting. "We were looking for you."
"Yeah, we had come in the morning but we didn't find you here," Diddy added. "I thought something had happened to you."
"Oh, no, nothing happened," Jenny replied with a little laugh. "We had gone to look for food and just arrived."
"And besides... we went to heal Mandy's leg," Ricky added, pointing to Mandy, who could now walk normally, unlike the day before. "She's already better and can walk well."
"Really? Did she recover so quickly from an… injury?" Diddy questioned, looking at her strangely.
"Yeah, it's that... Well, it wasn't so serious after all," Melvyn replied. "We found a medicine ape who was able to help us heal her injury."
Diddy and Dixie were somewhat confused and looked at them strangely at what they said. But they didn't take much importance since at least, the kong girl was already well after the fall of the previous day.
"Wow, and how did he make her recover quickly?" Dixie asked, pointing again to Mandy's leg.
"Well... is that he told me to immerse myself in a spring with medicinal waters," Mandy replied with a smile with her teeth. "And we saw that it worked a lot, I already feel the best."
Diddy and Dixie showed a face of not being entirely convinced of what they were saying; their anecdote sounded like a fictional tale that they even wanted to laugh at, but they held back and decided to continue.
"Well, the good thing is that she's recovered," Diddy said, trying not to laugh. "So, it mustn't have been so serious."
"Hey, by the way, do you want to go for a walk with us today?" Dixie proposed. "We were going out again with Diddy and wanted to know if you guys wanted to come too."
"Oh, sure! If you say so," Jenny replied excitedly along with the others.
"And where can we go?" Melvyn asked them in the same way.
"Well, we have some places in mind," Dixie said as she thought about it for a while. "Do you like extreme activities?"
"Extreme in what sense?" Ricky asked them.
"You know, to have fun in high places or throw ourselves from high heights," Dixie replied, smiling with excitement.
"Uhh, well…" Jenny replied, showing a forced smile. "We're just a little scared of heights and stuff like that."
"Oh, don't worry, it won't be too bad," Dixie told them, smiling at them.
Diddy and Dixie then took the four children to one of their favorite places they visited in recent weeks. They walked for long minutes until they finally arrived. It was a mountain of medium height that had several paths around it to climb it. The four kong children were astonished as they looked up at it.
"Come, let's go up!" Diddy motioned them upwards.
The whole group began to climb the mountain paths, which were somewhat narrow, so they had to go one after the other. When they had reached a considerable height, they stopped to contemplate the environment.
"Wow, it's amazing!" Ricky said without looking away from the panorama along with the other three kids. "We can see much of the island here."
"It's like being on top of the whole island," Mandy added in the same way.
"And there is even more. Come this way," Dixie pointed out.
Diddy and Dixie led the four kids to another corner of the mountain. At that new point, it could see a huge slope of smooth appearance that headed toward the ground where the mountain began. Diddy and Dixie used to slide down like a ski slope.
"Let's go! We're going to go down here," Diddy announced, standing with Dixie on the edge of the slope.
"W-what?... Over here?!" Mandy exclaimed, showing a fearful expression. "But it's very high."
"Come on, nothing will happen. We'll fall on those bushes over there," Dixie pointed to a pile of bushes on the ground, right where the mountain began.
The four children seemed not so enthusiastic about the idea of going down from such a considerable height, since they were insecure and feared of being able to go down.
"I'd like to try. B-but... we can hurt ourselves," Jenny added in a trembling voice. "What if any of us get hurt again?"
"Oh, come on!" Dixie said, turning with Diddy towards them. "Then we'll hold you."
"No, no, wait…"
Diddy took Ricky and Melvyn by the arms, while Dixie held Jenny and Mandy, and then they all began to slide down the slope. Diddy and Dixie showed a face of excitement as they felt the adrenaline, unlike the other four, who only screamed while clinging to Diddy and Dixie.
When they reached the end of the slope, they landed on the leafy bushes that were there. The four of them, peeking out of the bushes again, had frightened faces as they breathed heavily.
"Did you see? Nothing happened to us," Diddy told them, calming them down.
"Hey... it wasn't too bad," Ricky said, starting to smile and adjusting his shirt.
"It was fun after all," Jenny added, finally showing excitement.
"Do you want to go somewhere else now?" Dixie suggested, smiling at them.
Diddy and Dixie continued the walk and now took their new friends elsewhere. This time, it was a huge cliff that surrounded an extensive lake, but which, in turn, had several vines crossed from end to end above the lake. Diddy and Dixie used to swing on all the vines in that place and, on some occasions, throw themselves into the lake from that great height.
"Wow, this place is amazing," Mandy said with a big smile, peering intently at the landscape. "It's so beautiful!"
"Come, let's go up to the vines. You're going to like this," Diddy told them as he brought a pair of thick vines and handed one to Dixie.
Both kongs linked the vines to ones that were extended above the cliff. Those vines would end up descending towards the ground on the other side of the cliff.
"Will we go down there on... those vines?" Melvyn asked them with some trepidation, to which Diddy and Dixie nodded.
"But... what if we fall?" Mandy questioned in the same tone.
"Don't worry, we've come down here a bunch of times," Dixie said as she took the girls again by the arms and Diddy took the boys the same way.
"Besides, if we fall, it'll be into the water," Diddy added.
The four of them were as if they wanted to try, and at the same time, as if they were afraid. But Diddy and Dixie finished convincing them, and each of the two held on to a vine, while the other four held on to them. Then, they threw themselves into the void as an aerial transporter. Everyone was as if they were riding some amusement park game. Diddy and Dixie screamed with excitement as they descended at speed... while their new friends screamed in terror and clung to both of them tighter.
"Hold on! We're going to land!" Dixie exclaimed.
Diddy with the other two boys landed on dry land first, but Dixie with the girls could not land completely, so Dixie let go of the vine and used her hair to land. Being all on dry land, the four of them were only agitated, with one hand on their chest and panicked faces, although they later smiled.
"Hey! That was great," Jenny said, smiling again along with the others.
"You're right! It was fun," Melvyn added.
"Well, how about we get into the water now?" Dixie suggested as she headed with Diddy toward the lake in front of them.
"Uhh, no, no, no!" the four of them hurriedly exclaimed.
"Huh? Why not?" asked Diddy, still smiling at them.
"It's that... Well... we don't know how to swim," Mandy replied slowly. "Why don't we go somewhere else?"
"Really?" Dixie asked them, surprised. "Oh, don't worry, we won't swim in the deep areas and we'll save you if something happens to you," she added, smiling at them.
Suddenly, a few drops of water were beginning to fall on them, and they were falling more and more around.
"Look, it's starting to rain!" Diddy exclaimed, jumping with excitement and pointing to the sky. "We can bathe and jump in puddles."
"Oh, no! WATER!" the four of them screamed suddenly in a desperate way as they began to run in an aimless direction.
Diddy and Dixie looked at them weirdly at their reactions, and then began to chase after them. The four kids ran in terror as if they were being chased by a beast, until later, they stopped under a huge and leafy tree that had enough capacity to cover them from the rain. Diddy and Dixie arrived where they were, and saw that the four of them were frightened and trembling.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Diddy asked, looking at them still strangely. "Are you… afraid of the rain?"
"Oh... we'll tell you the truth," Jenny replied as she trembled along with the group. "We don't like water, and we don't want to get wet."
"What?!" Dixie exclaimed in surprise along with Diddy. "But why? Who doesn't love water!"
"It's t-that you wouldn't understand... How do we explain this to you?" Melvyn replied with a stutter. "Allergies! We suffer from water allergies."
"What?! Really? The four of you?" Diddy questioned, placing his hands at his sides, to which the four nodded still trembling. "And... so, how do you bathe?"
"Well... with special waters," replied Mandy.
Diddy and Dixie looked at each other with a disguised smile in a dubious way; they were starting to think that maybe their new friends were a little weird. But even so, they knew that they would have to understand them well before thinking like this.
"Wait a minute, and hadn't you said that Mandy healed her injury in medicinal waters?"
"Yes, with that same kind of water we bathe and we also drink it when we get thirsty," Ricky replied. "The medicine ape we mentioned has helped us a lot with our allergies."
"Wow, I've never heard about water allergies," Diddy said, surprised at that. "It must be uncommon. Have you always had them or what?"
"Yes, and it's been hard to deal with," Jenny replied with a shrug, "we've hardly ever been able to enjoy the beach or the lakes. And not to mention when we have to cross from island to island by sea, it's terrible!"
Diddy and Dixie looked at each other quickly again, as if they were surprised at what their new friends were telling them.
"Oh, that sounds very bad," Dixie commented in a tone of compassion, "not being able to enjoy the water because of allergies."
"How bad," Diddy added in the same way.
Suddenly, a few drops began to fall through the holes between the leaves of the tree, which only made the group of kong children run out again, although this time under the same tree. The four moved to a corner where they had more leaves on top to protect them from the rain. Diddy and Dixie went to follow them immediately.
"Here I think we'll be safer," Mandy said as she clung to the group and they looked fearful.
"Wow, we didn't know this about you," Diddy said when he saw them. "We're really sorry."
"Don't worry," Ricky replied, smiling a little. "We've lived with this since we were little. Our allergies I think are already from birth."
"Too bad, I never imagined anyone would have them," Dixie added.
Diddy and Dixie also sat with them in the same corner; while they wanted to go out and have fun with their new friends, they also wanted to respect their situation and decision to take refuge from the water. The rain continued to fall, although minutes later, it calmed down a bit.
"Hey... can I ask you something?" Dixie said later, to which the group nodded. "Have you... really always been alone? Haven't you had a fixed home?" she asked them with some insecurity.
The four of them all looked at each other with serious faces for a few seconds, although they didn't seem to have any problem answering them anyway.
"Well... yes, the four of us have always been alone," Jenny replied, looking serious. "You see, we… were abandoned by our parents when we were toddlers."
"What?!" exclaimed Diddy and Dixie successively. "So... from a very young age?"
"Yes, it was a time when there was a massive abandonment of children," Ricky replied in the same way. "Not only us, but many other ape children were abandoned in the middle of an island and left alone. We don't remember much about our parents."
"It was hard to survive among us, but we had to get used to it," Melvyn added with a low look. "And not to mention that the other children treated us the worst; they always did us evil and told us that we were weirdos... They also made fun of our allergies!"
"Oh, no, how cruel those children were," Dixie said, hands at her sides.
"But so... no one else has taken care of you?" Diddy asked them.
"Just some gorilla ones, but they also abandoned us," replied Mandy. "The four of us have been best friends all our lives, and we were tired of living with those other stupid kids and that's why we decided to make our own lives and left that island. Sometimes we have met them again, but we just greet them; we don't get along with them."
"And from there, we have gone from island to island moving," Ricky added.
"But even so, we haven't been able to find a good home where we can live peacefully," Jenny finished before heaving a sigh. "Not to mention that many animals we've met have treated us like trash."
Diddy and Dixie were shocked by what they were saying. Diddy, for a moment, remembered his classmates from school for the way the four of them were treated by the children they mentioned. Dixie also remembered again when she and her family were fugitives. Now they understood why those four kong children walked alone with no fixed place. They felt a little guilty for thinking that they were weird because of their attitudes, so they began to have a little more compassion for them. After all, they had liked the four of them and didn't understand how other ones could treat them as they mentioned, because they didn't seem to be bad children at all.
"Wow... it's like being in our classroom," Diddy said. "And... why were they abandoning children? What kind of parents would do that?"
"We never knew why," Melvyn replied with a shrug. "But we don't care much about them anymore."
"Wow, we're really sorry," Diddy said in a tone of compassion. "We didn't know that."
"Yes... but that's what we had to live," Ricky replied before sighing. "The only current bad thing is that we have hardly been able to make any more friends."
"Well... but at least you're okay," Dixie said, smiling at them. "And we can also be your friends."
"Yeah, we won't stay here forever," Diddy added, "someday we'll return to our island. But we can be very good friends while we are on this island."
"And please... excuse us," Dixie added with a little embarrassment. "I see that you don't like heights and water; so sorry to make you come down from that mountain or that cliff."
"Oh, no, don't worry about that," Ricky replied with a little laugh. "It was fun after all... Although we do fear heights."
"Look! It's stopped raining," Mandy said, pointing skyward. "What if we continue visiting places?"
"Oh, right," Dixie replied, smiling at them. "This time we can go to some waterfalls. And don't worry, we won't get into the water or do anything extreme, we promise."
"Okay, so let's go," replied Ricky cheerfully along with the group.
The rain had stopped by then, so Diddy and Dixie led their new friends to another place they had been visiting frequently in those days. This time, it was a hill from where it could see a huge waterfall that was beyond the lake; the place looked so nice, that the new kong children were amazed at the view they had.
"Wow, look at that!" exclaimed the kong children looking at each other as they pointed towards the waterfall in the distance.
"Hey, that's awesome," Melvyn added, jumping with excitement. "I think we hadn't seen this."
"It's something to take a dip in," Mandy said excitedly, before looking down. "Oh, but our allergies don't allow us to."
"Don't worry, we can go see it up close anyway," Dixie told them, smiling at them.
"Come, let's go down there," Diddy added, pointing in one direction. "So, we can go and look at it better."
The six kongs began to walk until they reached a downhill path that seemed to be heading towards the ground, from where the river and waterfalls could be seen up close. Diddy and Dixie were the ones who went to the front to guide the other children; this time they would go to make a calmer plan.
"By the way, what was your island's name?" Jenny asked the two curiously as they walked.
"DK Island," Diddy and Dixie replied.
"DK Island?!" exclaimed the children, opening their eyes fullest as if they were shocked.
"What?... Do you know it?!" asked Diddy and Dixie, also shocked at their reaction.
"Of course," Jenny replied.
Diddy and Dixie stopped and gaped; they felt as if a little hope came back to them upon hearing that, and they thought that maybe those four kong children would have some valuable information for the two of them.
"Really?!" exclaimed the two excitedly and with a small air of hope returning to them.
"Uh, do we know that island?" Melvyn asked, looking confused.
"Yes, Melvyn, do you remember that gorilla's head shaped island?" replied Mandy, turning the propeller of Melvyn's cap. "You are a forgetful clueless."
"I'm not clueless!" Melvyn protested.
"We had stopped on that island once," Ricky said, which surprised Diddy and Dixie more, "but we stayed only for a day. Although we didn't have time to meet the inhabitants there."
"Really?!" Diddy asked them, waiting for a positive answer and looking at Dixie each other. "So... just in case, do you know the way to get there? Tell us yes, please!"
"Yes, but it's far away, and besides... it's hurricane season," Mandy replied. "It's difficult to sail through the sea in this storm."
"Yeah, we know," Dixie added in a low tone. "But... Really, is it really too far away?"
"Yes, and so far away," Jenny replied. "We can only tell you that we have crossed about twenty islands after leaving there."
Diddy and Dixie's hopes remained low after hearing that; they had already heard from several animals that hurricanes were a real obstacle to sailing in that storm.
"Wow, I think you're some of the few ones here who know DK Island," Diddy said before toning down. "What we want most now is to return to our island."
"Yeah, we don't know anything about our family and friends over there," Dixie added likewise. "You don't know how we wish we could go back, but we can't now. Even in the first days we were going to do it and we almost died trying."
"Wow, that must be very hard," Jenny said in a compassionate tone. "They must also be worried about you."
"Yeah, they really do," Diddy replied in the same tone. "And they must seriously be worried."
"Why had you run away from home when those tamers captured you, Diddy?" Melvyn asked.
"Well, it's not like I ran away or anything," Diddy replied. "I was just frustrated by something from school, and I decided to go out and think for a while, but I didn't know that the weather was very bad and I went out to sea, until those circus men caught me."
"That sounds scary," Mandy said, showing concern. "That has never happened to us in the middle of the sea or by humans."
"And it really was terrifying," Diddy added, "and much more the things we saw in that circus… And now here we are, unable to return home for a long time."
"Hey, but don't worry, you'll be fine here anyway," Ricky told them, trying to cheer them up. "And we can also be your friends and accompany you until you can return."
"Well, in part it wasn't all bad," Dixie added, smiling a little along with Diddy. "The good thing is that so far everything has been quiet."
"And by the way, since we're talking about this," said Diddy, "what did you do on DK Island when you went?"
"We just went in passing," Jenny replied. "We had been stranded and took refuge there for one night. The next day we left."
"Wow, look at this!" Melvyn exclaimed after a while, pointing to the huge waterfall. "I hadn't seen this place up close."
"Hey, this place is great to walk in!" Mandy added, looking closely at the site.
"I knew you were going to like it," Diddy said cheerfully. "Here we usually come."
At the site, besides the waterfalls and the river, there were also some big rocks on the latter, which were spacious enough to perch on. Suddenly, Melvyn headed towards this rocks area and climbed into them with several jumps.
"Hey, be careful, Melvyn!" Ricky told him, heading to stop him, although he didn't do it when he saw water around.
"It's okay, it's all right," Melvyn replied before jumping onto another rock. "I won't fall into the water from here."
Suddenly, Jenny and Mandy also joined to climb the rocks to start jumping one by one.
"Hey, you girls too?!" Ricky told them, hands on his sides. "We can't touch the water."
"Oh, it's not that high here," Jenny replied with a shrug, before moving on. "It doesn't look dangerous."
"Yeah, come too, Ricky," Mandy added in the same way. "Don't be a killjoy"
Then, Diddy and Dixie also joined the activity along with their new friends, and Ricky joined later, although somewhat fearful, but both helped him to continue.
"Hey, this isn't bad at all," Jenny commented on the walk and looking around. "It's like exploring."
"Do you like adventures to explore?" Diddy asked them.
"Of course," replied Mandy. "We have them very often, although as you know... sometimes we have encountered certain dangers."
Later, the group of kong children, including Diddy and Dixie, stopped at some big rocks, where they only had pure running water and the waterfalls in front, therefore, they only stayed to look at the surroundings.
"Wow, I think we should explore this island more often," Melvyn said, smiling as they watched it all.
"How long have you been on this island?" Dixie asked them curiously.
"Barely a month," Jenny replied. "Although a couple of years ago we also passed through here."
"Before this island, we lived on another one," Ricky added, before turning in a serious tone. "Although in that one we did have many mishaps, especially with other animals."
"Really?" Diddy exclaimed.
"Yes, nobody wanted us there," Mandy added in the same way. "We were always kicked out of everywhere we stayed, treated badly, or made fun of; they said we were nuisances."
"They even made fun of our allergies too," Melvyn added in a tone of sadness. "We were told that we are weird kids. Even when we tried to make friends with other children, they laughed at us for it and even threw water at us on purpose."
"Wow, what a bad vibe they all had," Diddy said, in an astonished and compassionate tone. "Why would you be treated like that?"
"What bad ones," Dixie added in the same way. "It can't be possible that you have been treated so ugly... You are not weird or seen as a nuisance."
"Do you believe it?" Jenny asked them still seriously. "Don't you think we're weird because of our allergies?"
"Hey, of course not," Dixie replied, trying to cheer them up. "I mean, we've never heard of that, but it's also not something that you are to blame for having. And don't worry, we'll understand... and we can also be their friends," she finished, smiling at them just like Diddy.
"Wow…" Mandy said, looking at the other three kids, before smiling. "I think you are the first or the few ones who have not told us something ugly."
"You guys are so kind," Melvyn added, smiling at them both. "We had never been treated like this."
"Really? Nobody?" Dixie asked them in a tone of concern and shocked at the same time.
"At least the ones we've interacted with, no," Jenny replied.
"Geez, how terrible," Dixie said, pitied, but then continued to try to cheer them up. "Well, but as I told you... You don't seem strange to us because of those allergies or anything, or because of your way of being, that is, you also look very kind."
"Oh... we really appreciate it from you," Ricky replied, smiling at them along with the other three kids. "That has been very cordial on your part; I hope we can be good friends."
"Of course," Diddy replied in kind. "Don't worry."
The new kong children smiled at Diddy and Dixie again, making them feel very good that they had given them some cheer. Then, the six stayed another time talking, this time about different and more joyful topics. Later, they were about to leave from that place.
"Hey, I think it's already a little late," Jenny said, looking up at the sky. "Why don't we go home?"
"Good, but what do you think if we play something?" Diddy proposed, playfully. "Do we make a race for who gets there first?"
"Okay!" they all answered in the same way, and then successively. "That sounds fun."
The six kongs returned again to the dry ground through the rocks, and then began to run towards the house in competition; they were pushing each other to get there first. It had been a while since Diddy and Dixie had played in large groups like this, and they felt good to do it again.
Later, they came to the house of their new friends. Almost all arrived equally, so the proposed game had been left in dilemmas to agree who had been the winners.
"No, I arrived first!" Melvyn exclaimed, jostling with the group.
"No, it was me!" Mandy replied in the same way. "I beat all of you, even Jenny; Jenny is a cheater and takes shortcuts!"
"I'm not a cheater!" Jenny replied. "The way I came from was also valid."
"Hey, stop the fighting," Ricky snapped, interjecting. "Let's finish this better in draws," he added, calming them down, before talking to Diddy and Dixie. "That's how they are... And right, Diddy and Dixie, don't you want to stay in our house for a while?"
"Yeah, we're going to keep playing," Melvyn added, grabbing them by the arms with excitement.
"Oh, sure, why not?" Diddy replied, smiling along with Dixie. "We'll stay with you for a while longer."
"This day has been fun, after all," Mandy said cheerfully.
Then, everyone went upstairs to the house and continued to hang out in company. They talked about various topics in their lives, as they now seemed to be getting to know each other better. Diddy and Dixie also told them about DK Island and their friends and family there. Likewise, the four new kongs told them more about themselves and their journeys. Between times, they laughed or told jokes, and later they did more group games. It was a pleasant time, since in recent times, Diddy and Dixie didn't usually meet kongs contemporary to them with whom they could share in that way.
They stayed together until it was dark. Later, Diddy and Dixie had to return to dinner at Mr. Pinky's house, but not before... having agreed with their new friends to meet again the next day at their house, even at night, as they all felt that the time they had spent together, hadn't been enough. Diddy and Dixie were even surprised at how good it felt to them to spend more time with their new friends, and they were happy about it.
A/N: By the way, those new kids are also my OCs. On Deviantart and in the Wattpad version I uploaded their conceptual designs.