Chapter 40: A Proposal
It had been three weeks since Dixie and Diddy met their new friends, and they had done pretty well with them. All of them had been very friendly with the two of them and, in the same way, Diddy and Dixie hoped that this friendship would continue to grow and they could get to know them much more, since they spent hours of fun with those new children. His days on Hurricane Island hadn't been so bad after all.
Diddy and Dixie were again heading to their new friends' house. Arriving there, the four of them were outside the house this time, in fact, they were all lined up on their sides as if they were waiting for Diddy and Dixie and could tell them something important.
"How are you, friends!" Diddy greeted them with joy, and they returned the greeting.
"Are you ready for another adventure?" Dixie added in the same way.
"Of course we are!" the four replied looking excited.
"Today we were planning to go to the hillside we saw yesterday," Dixie told them. "We can make fun games there."
"Sounds great!" Jenny replied along with the group.
"We have a new game to show you too," Melvyn said, jumping with excitement.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Ricky said. "Let's go right now."
Diddy and Dixie started walking with their group of friends, happy to spend another day with them. When suddenly, they both noticed that the four kids were slowing down their steps while they seemed to whisper and beckon to each other, so they turned to look at them.
"What's going on?" Dixie asked them, smiling and looking at them strangely at the same time.
The kong children kept waving or nudging each other as they pointed at Diddy and Dixie.
"Well, friends, it's that…" Jenny said with a smile. "We have a proposal for you."
"Proposal?" Diddy asked. "About what?"
Suddenly, the four of them were looking at each other in smiling ways as if they were about to want to tell them some good news.
"You see, we know that you want and need to return to your island," Ricky said before pausing, "and well... I think we can help you."
"But we need your help too," Mandy added before giving them an important detail. "And so maybe you can return to your DK Island in a few days."
Diddy and Dixie got an extremely strange look instantly upon hearing that, and thought that their friends just wanted to explain a game to them.
"Really?" Dixie asked them, looking at them strangely and crossing her arms. "And... how?"
"Do you remember that we mentioned to you that we knew DK Island?" Jenny reminded them, to which Diddy and Dixie nodded. "We know a route where the hurricane does not pass," she added, whispering.
"Really?!" exclaimed the two, instantly astonished.
Diddy and Dixie looked at them confused at what they were saying. At first, they were as if they didn't believe them, since there would be nothing they could do to return to DK Island for the time being, but at the same time, they were curious to know what they were planning, since their new friends always came out with some occurrence.
"But, how are you supposed to help us?" Diddy questioned in disbelief as emitting a few small laughs. "Are you serious?"
"Well, we were thinking about building a ship," Mandy told them. "But a large and very resistant one, that can withstand storms. And we wanted to know if... you want to join too."
"Yeah, and then we can take you to your island," Ricky added, smiling at them. "And if we rush, it could be ready in a couple of weeks or less. You'll be on your island in less time than expected!"
Diddy and Dixie kept looking at them strangely for what they were saying; for a while they thought that the four of them were just talking as a game or just wanted to play a joke on them. Although if it was true, they no longer wanted to have any illusions of trying to return to DK Island before the hurricane storm passed, since they had already resigned themselves to staying on Hurricane Island. However, they still had doubts about what their four friends were telling them.
"Wait, wait," Dixie interrupted, still in disbelief. "But are you sure you know well that 'safe route' that can lead us to DK Island? I've not heard anyone here who knows anything like that."
"Oh, come on!" Mandy said with a shrug. "You're talking to a quartet of kids who have spent almost their entire lives exploring islands. We've been through that route whenever it's hurricane season."
"And do you know how to build a... big ship?" Diddy asked them, still not quite believing them and crossing his arms.
"Of course we do," Ricky told them. "How do you think we have moved from island to island? We have learned to build everything from rafts to ships. We can teach you too."
"Wow... You hadn't told us you knew how to make ships," Dixie said, smiling at them with some strangeness.
Diddy and Dixie questioned it for a while, but then thought it might not be a bad idea to try... Although for the most part, they still thought that their friends were just proposing it to them as if it were one of the many games they have already made with them.
"Okay, but... there's just one problem," Diddy said. "What would Mr. Pinky say? Remember that we had promised him not to try to cross the sea again in these times."
"Don't worry, if you want, don't tell him yet," Jenny replied.
"Or are you just inviting us to play at being sailors?" Dixie asked them with a little laugh.
"No, no, we really tell you," Ricky reaffirmed. "Seriously, we want to build a boat with you and we'll help you."
"This has to be just a game," Diddy added in the same way as Dixie. "We can't go to DK Island just like that."
"Hey, no," Jenny replied. "This is serious, we're going to build a real boat. And by the way, we won't necessarily build it from scratch; we can use those pieces of boats that are on the beaches of this island."
Diddy and Dixie thought about it for a while longer. Would it be safe to accept such a proposal from kids? What if things didn't go well again as they hoped?... Or if they better try one more time? Maybe it would just be a game, after all.
"Wait a minute, please," Diddy said as he elbowed Dixie lightly and made signs at her.
Then, Diddy went with Dixie to a corner to talk privately and see what she thought about that proposal they made to them.
"Do you think they're serious?" Diddy whispered to Dixie with a few small laughs and disbelief at the same time.
"I don't know, but I think it sounds interesting what they're saying," Dixie replied with a shrug. "What if we just accept their proposal? They may just want to play."
"But what about Mr. Pinky?"
"We can tell him later anyway. Apart... I don't think we'll finish a huge ship in just two weeks as they say; maybe we finish it just when the hurricanes are also over," she whispered in the last sentence.
"Well, so... will we go back to them and tell them?"
Diddy and Dixie returned to the four kids to tell them if they would accept the proposal. The quartet was hopeful that they would be given an affirmative answer.
"Okay, friends... We agree," Dixie announced, smiling.
The four kong children looked at each other again, and then looked at Diddy and Dixie. They showed faces of joy in addition to taking small jumps of excitement.
"Yeah!"exclaimed the four excitedly.
"It'll be a great adventure and we'll have a lot of fun; you'll see," Melvyn said with excitement.
"By the way... why do you want to do this?" Diddy asked them, still somewhat confused.
"Oh... it's that, well... we just wanted to do something nice for you," Jenny replied, smiling more calmly. "You've been very good to us all this time we've known you."
"Yeah, only you have accepted us as we are," Mandy added with a little shyness. "You're one of the few who don't make us feel discriminated against."
"And we think this is a great way to return the favor to you," Ricky continued in the same way. "We haven't known you for long, but... I think we haven't ever had friends as kind and great as you."
Diddy and Dixie looked at each other and were moved by those answers and, at the same time, made them feel very good, even though they kept thinking that the ship would be just a game.
"Oh, you didn't have to worry," Dixie replied, smiling at them. "You know you can count on us whenever you want."
"And for whatever," Diddy added likewise. "We'll be with you for anything; that's what friends are for."
"But we want to help you anyway," Ricky said, still smiling at them. "You deserve it."
Diddy and Dixie were happy, not only to have made new friends, but also that they had given smiles to a quartet of homeless children.
"Well, how about now we play 'frozen monkey' and then go to the hillside?" Jenny suggested excitedly, to which the rest joined.
The group of now six kong children began to run as a game; as expected, everyone was playing another of their favorite games.
Diddy and Dixie weren't entirely sure about being able to build a huge ship in just weeks, but still, they thought it wouldn't be bad to try just for fun and sharing more moments with their new friends.
At another time, Dixie was reunited with Jenny and Mandy and, likewise, Diddy with Ricky and Melvyn. It was also very common for only boys and only girls to hang around together.
Suddenly, Diddy was thinking about something he had planned for a few days, and he was just with his two friends whom he wanted to ask something about it.
"Hey, friends," Diddy said quietly to the two boys. "I need a little help."
"Yeah? What do you need, Diddy?" Ricky asked along with Melvyn.
"It's that... I want to give Dixie a gift, but I still don't know what it could be."
Ricky and Melvyn looked at each other for a few seconds and looked confused, as if they didn't know what to answer Diddy.
"A gift, you said? And... what do you plan to give her?" Ricky asked, his hands at his sides.
"I don't know yet, that's why I'm asking you if you have any suggestions," Diddy replied, putting his fingers together and smiling. "In fact, I have something specific to give her; I was thinking about an emerald. But I need more things to add, you know... those gifts with details. You said that you have had a girlfriend, didn't you give them some kind of gift like that?"
Ricky and Melvyn were thoughtful for a moment, as if they were also undecided, since apparently, they didn't know much about gifts for couples either.
"Well... The truth is that I never gave anything to my ex-girlfriend," Ricky replied with a shrug. "As I told you: we barely lasted a few weeks and she even had me as a choice."
"Neither do I," Melvyn added in the same way. "I didn't even have time to give her a gift because then she cheated on me."
"Oh, so... you have no idea how to make those kinds of gifts, do you?" Diddy asked them.
"But we could help you anyway, buddy," Ricky replied, smiling. "You see, with the emerald, maybe we can help you get it. But for those details you say, ask the girls that; they know more about those couple gifts."
"Right, we know an underground cave that has many precious stones," Melvyn added. "It's right here on this island. If you want, we can go later or tomorrow."
"Really? That sounds good," Diddy replied with a smile. "Okay, friends. So how about we go this afternoon, almost at night? What do you think?"
"Yes, at that time it's fine," Melvyn replied.
"No problem. So, we'll see you later," Ricky replied with the same smile. "We'll meet here at our house, okay?"
"Okay," Diddy said, smiling. "I really thank you."
"It's nothing, Diddy," Ricky replied, patting him on the shoulder. "This is what friends are for."
The three then continued on their way in the small group, and then reunited with the girls later.
The rest of the day, all of them spent playing as usual and stayed until mid-afternoon. Diddy knew that he would have to be home before the night and then go with the boys to get the emerald for Dixie; since it was a surprise, she wouldn't have to find out yet...