The Adventures of Squirllo Squirrellson: The Garden

“Lookin good there, Squirrlo Squirrelson!” he said to himself as he peered at his reflection in the window of the human’s home, “I bet there isn’t another squirrel with as good looking fur as yours.”

He ran his paw through his soft, silvery fur to feel its magnificence in warm afternoon sun. A slight breeze blew around him completing the picture. His attention was stolen by the sound of the human’s moving metal box coming down the hard path. Interestingly, they called the hard path a driveway and their metal box they called a car. As the human’s car came into sight, Squirrlo took a step backward to run. Forgetting he was perched in a window sill, he fell face first into the dirt below.
“Nooo, not my fur!” Squirrlo muttered as he pulled himself up, brushed himself off, and scampered toward the nearest tree. He perched in the tall branches of the tree for some time as he looked down upon the human's home. Squirrlo was always fascinated with the humans. As time went on, the humans came outside. There were three of them. He watched as the short haired human and the long haired human sat next to each other, held paws, and talked as their little human played. The branch he currently laid on was his favorite branch that he used quite often. It gave him the perfect vantage point over the human’s and their flower garden. He adored that flower garden. All those pretty colors were nearly irresistible and the smells were more enticing than anything he’d ever smelled before.  
“Squirrlo! Time for dinner,” came a familiar female call from the tree. Though he enjoyed observing the humans that talked below, he became extremely excited because his favorite meal was being served tonight; nuts! He perked his ears in anticipation then raced along the branch he was perched on. He lept to the next branch over. As he soared, he noticed the little human pointing at him and giggling. Pride welled up in his heart. He felt like a superhero and showed off even more until he reached his destination. He looked back one last time before he closed the door to his tree.

*****

“Hahaha, did you fall off that window again?! That’s a nice dirt beard,” Brad taunted as Squirllo scampered into the room.

The rest of the Scurry laughed and mocked as he crossed the wooden room to grab his tray of nuts. Brad was Squirllo’s brother. He seemed to enjoy pestering his siblings, especially him. Squirllo figured it was an older brother thing so he just rolled his eyes. He grabbed a tray and placed several of his favorite nuts on his plate. An older and authoritative voice emerged from the corner, “Over here, Squirrlo!”

It was Papa Squirrel; the oldest and wisest squirrel in the Scurry. When he spoke with that powerful tone, everyone would listened. Squirrlo made his way over to the seat and sat down next to Papa Squirrel. He began to quietly crunch on his dinner. He knew he was in trouble.
“Am I to understand that you visited the humans again?” Papa Squirrel inquired in a calm voice.
“N… Nooo...” Squirrlo tried to sound convincing.
“I thought we had this discussion already? Putting you and the humans together is trouble. Remember the water hose incident?” Papa Squirrel’s voice was still calm. Too calm. It made Squirllo nervous.
Squirrlo’s mind flashed to the long haired human spraying a seemingly endless stream of water at his shiny fur. He cringed at the memory.
“But that was a long time ago. I’m older and smarter now!”
“That was last week, Squirrlo…”
“But, Papa. The humans aren’t dangerous. They have an entire entertainment disc about cracking nuts! Umm, what did they call it? Oh oh, the Nutcracker! How could anyone be dangerous if they have entertainment about cracking nuts?” Squirrlo argued.
“I didn’t mean that the humans were dangerous; only that putting you with the humans is. Stay away from them,” Papa Squirrel stated, “I just don’t want to see you get seriously hurt, Squirllo. The humans are great creatures, but they are very protective of their property. Now, this discussion is over, Squirrlo. Finish your dinner and mind what I’ve said,” Papa Squirrel ended the discussion as he stood and took his tray to the kitchen. Squirllo sat in silence continuing the discussion in his head. The humans aren’t bad. They aren't dangerous. They’re fascinating creatures! Squirllo sighed and finished his dinner.

*****

“Stay away from them, Squirrlo. They’re dangerous, Squirrlo,” Squirrlo mocked as he meandered the ground below the trees. Minutes later, he looked up and became aware of his surroundings. He was standing next to the flower garden of the long haired human. He noticed the extravagant colors of the many flowers as they swayed in the warm breeze under the fading evening sun.

“How is this dangerous? I’ll just take a sniff at the pretty flowers and be on my way. No. No no. I shouldn’t. Papa Squirrel forbade it... Well, actually, he said to not get near the humans and there are no humans in sight,” Squirllo rationalized. He carefully scanned the area to see if anyone was watching. Feeling confident he was alone, Squirllo crossed the boundary into the garden. He took another moment to look around as if something might happen. Everything was silent. Squirrlo began to jump and whoop with excitement as he ran around sniffing every flower he could jam into his nose. They smelled heavenly. Squirllo's heart filled with pleasure and excitement at the variety of scents. There was nothing quite like the smell of a flower. Then, all of a sudden, he noticed something new. A feeder, filled to the brim with nuts and seeds held together by a sticky substance, was planted into the ground just a few feet from him. It was the holy grail of food. It stood into the air, hanging on a tiny metal pole. It glowed with the orange color of the setting sun.
“Silly humans. Don’t they know it’s too difficult for us squirrels to climb that tiny pole?” He thought out loud as he playfully rolled his eyes, “Fortunately for the humans, I know how to get up there!”
Squirrlo backed up to the edge of the flower garden and sized up the pole. He took a deep breath and sped ahead, jumped in the air, and grabbed onto the crate holding the food. The crate rocked back and forth under his weight. He picked off several seeds and nuts then dropped himself to the ground where he laid himself in a small patch of tiny flowers. He stared at the colorful sky, contemplating contemplation itself as he crunched on his prize. He grabbed a red flower from his left and sniffed so powerfully that ever petal, every flower, and every blade of nearby grass seemed to point inward toward his powerful nose. A strange yet welcomed feeling flowed over Squirllo’s body.
“Oh! Too much flower! Too much flower!” he exclaimed excitedly, “Uh oh, Flower coma!!”
Squirllo then drifted off into a deep sleep, snuggled warmly by the patch of flowers.

*****

Squirrlo suddenly awoke to a darkened sky painted with shiny, twinkling specks. The crickets were out singing loudly their joyful songs of night. He gingerly raised himself to a sitting position and rubbed his eyes.
“Wow, I didn’t expect to sleep that long,” he spoke aloud through a long yawn, “Alright, time to go home before Papa realizes I’m gone. Where’s my flower?”
Squirrlo patted the ground around him and grabbed his flower, closed his eyes, and brought it to his nose for one last sniff. To his surprise, the flower no longer smelled good. He opened his eyes to a horror. The flower was completely dead, wrinkled into a dried up brown shell of its former beauty. He suddenly looked around to behold a scene of true terror. Every flower, every living thing in that garden and even far beyond the garden was dead, brown, and dried up. The majority of the human’s yard was dead. Squirrlo’s heart began to race and beat loudly. The nighttime symphony of crickets seemed to transform into a song of accusations. Even the moon seemed to glare a beam of accusatory light onto him. His mind raced with paranoia as the cricket’s accusations became louder and louder. What happened? Did he do this? Did he sniff so hard that he sniffed the life out of the garden? Did his disregard of Papa Squirrel’s warning cause this? What will the humans do when they find out? Will the humans kill him? The questions swirled harshly around his mind until he burst into tears and darted as fast as he could back home. How could he have been so stupid? Papa Squirrel was right all along. He tore through his house in the tree and burst into the room where Papa Squirrel was preparing for bed.
“Papa! Papa! Papa!” Squirrlo screamed with tears streaming down his furry cheeks, “I know you told me not to but I went anyway and now everything is dead and the humans will find me and kill me and use my magnificent fur for a scarf!”

Papa Squirrel stared at him with a startled and heavily puzzled look glazed across his face.
“Good heavens, child! Calm down and tell me what’s going on,” Papa Squirrel said.
“Umm. Ok ok. Ok,” Squirrlo said as he began to calm down. He took a deep breath and continued, “After dinner, I went for a walk underneath the tree when I went to the human’s flower garden. I took some of the food in a feeder and fell asleep with a flower I picked and when I woke up, everything was dead. I caused it! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”

In disbelief, Papa Squirrel lifted the curtains away from his window and looked down on the human’s yard.
“Squirrlo, I specifically said to stay away for this very reason!” Papa Squirrel reprimanded. He ran his paw through the fur on his head with a loud sigh, “Now that this problem has reared it’s head, all we can do for now is deal with it.”
“But how?! The garden and the yard are completely dead!”
“Lady Vida,” Papa Squirrel suggested after a few moments as he scratched his chin in deep thought, “She was handpicked by her highness, Mother Nature, to care for all the plants and animals in the entire region. If anyone can help, I bet she can.”

“Lady Vida?” Squirllo asked unconvinced, “How can she help if the garden is completely dead?”

Papa Squirrel’s eyes wandered to the floor as he looked for the best way to explain his thoughts.

“Her highness, Mother Nature, has divine power over all the living creatures of the world: plants, animals, and humans alike,” Papa Squirrel explained, “She broke the entire world into regions then handpicks a caretaker from her most devout followers to watch over a particular region. Mother Nature then bestows a limited amount of power to these caretakers to aid them in their task. This region’s caretaker is Lady Vida. If you can call to her, she will answer and you can plead your case.”

“How do I call to her,” Squirllo asked. He was still unsure of this plan, but Papa Squirrel wouldn't have suggested it if he didn't think it had a good chance of success.

“Down past the park behind the human's home lays the Dark Forest. Within that forest is an old ritual site. If you perform the ritual properly, Lady Vida will hear your call and will appear to hear you out. If she deems your cause sincere, she will agree to assist you. You must leave now and perform the ritual before sunrise. Otherwise, the garden can't be saved.”

“The… the Dark Forest? I can't go in there,” Squirllo said with fear in his voice, “Wait! I have to go alone?! I'll die in there!”

“If you wish to show Lady Vida that you are sincere in your remorse, you must go alone. I can go with you as far as the forest’s edge, but you must travel alone from there,” Papa Squirrel said. He placed a paw on Squirllo's shoulder and continued in an encouraging tone, “I know you can do this, Squirllo. I believe in you.”

Squirllo still wasn't convinced he wouldn't die in there, but the encouraging words from Papa Squirrel instilled a sense of determination in him.

“All right. I'm ready to go now, Papa.”

*****

The trip from the house to the forest didn't take very long even with the darkening sky. Papa Squirrel and Squirllo had gathered the supplies he’d need to call to Lady Vida. He needed dirt to symbolize the earth, a dead flower from the garden to symbolize death, and a live flower of the same kind to symbolize life. The trip to the Dark Forest was mostly silent except for Papa Squirrel’s voice as he explained how the ritual worked. It was a simple ritual. Squirllo would have to arrange the dirt in a circle then place the two flowers in the center to form an X. He would then recite a simple prayer with his hands on the pedestal. They arrived at the location where the two had to part ways. The darkness of the forest loomed over them casting a sinister aura over the area. Squirllo guessed this is why it was named the Dark Forest. Papa Squirrel dropped the small bag of ritual supplies from his shoulder and handed it to Squirllo.

“This is where we must part ways, son. You remember what to do from here, right?” Papa Squirrel asked.

Squirllo nodded his head, “Yes, sir.”

Papa Squirrel wrapped him in a hug and wished him good luck. Squirllo took a deep breath, gulped down his fear, and entered the Dark Forest. It was a scary experience. The trees stood tall overhead with the moon light trickling through the dense leaves leaving soft beams of light spread around the forest. Dark patches of foliage blotched the portions of the forest untouched by the moonlight. The songs of the night critters filled the air, though the songs seemed frightened instead of joyous. The wind whistled an eerie tune through the forest as if to compliment the night critters’ ballad. Squirllo felt as if he were being stared at from beyond the darkness. Every step he took felt like it drew the attention of every dangerous creature in the vicinity. He barely dared himself to breath. An owl added to the menacing nature with every echoing call it made. Even with the sinister darkness, Squirllo couldn't help but feel slightly amazed at the new atmosphere. There were so many differences between here and the tree home he was accustomed to. A few hours later, he had ventured fairly deep into the forest following the landmarks that Papa Squirrel had given him. He looked around with curiosity until his eyes settled on a single flower. Papa Squirrel had warned him not to stray from the path, but his curiosity peaked at the sight of the flower. It was much like a single Snapdragon but it was twice as large as Squirllo. It was colored with faded browns and greens as camouflage for the forest. Squirllo reached his hand out to pull the flower in for a sniff. He suddenly regretted it. As he brought the tip of the flower to his nose, he swore he felt the flower breath. He stood frozen in place. The flower moved then growled. The tip of the flower bent downward to reveal a pair of eyes peeking from the stem. The bud split into four equal parts, each bearing its own set of razor sharp teeth. Squirllo had heard about this plant before, but he’d never seen it. It was called a Dragon Flower. The name was misleading because seemed to be alive like an animal. Suddenly, the Dragon Flower uprooted itself and towered over Squirllo, snarling with its terrible teeth and thrashing at him with a pair of branch like arms. Squirllo allowed a loud, terrified squeak to leave his lips before he turned and scrambled away as quickly as possible. The Dragon Flower pursued. Its root like feet pounded the earth. Squirllo ran frantically as far as his four paws would allow with the Dragon Flower quickly in tow. He tripped over a surfaced root and plowed head first into the dirt. The pounding of the earth beneath him told him the Dragon Flower had caught up. It gave a blood curdling roar of triumph. Squirllo rolled over and placed his arms over his face to protect himself when he suddenly realized at the sight of his paws, I’m a squirrel! Why am I on the forest floor when I could be bounding from branch to branch? Squirllo looked up with determination and rose to his feet to face the terrifying flower with defiance in his eyes. His legs quivered beneath him. The flower responded with a roar and swung its branchy arm. Squirllo ducked under the arm then raced over to the nearest tree and climbed as high as he could. He looked down to see the Dragon Flower scraping at the tree trunk desperately trying to climb the tree, but it was unsuccessful. Apparently, Dragon Flowers can't climb. Squirllo looked around to see where he was. He had stepped off the main trail and ran but didn’t keep track of where he went. In the distance, Squirllo spotted a faint light that brought a sense of tranquility to him that he had never felt before.

“That must be the place!” Squirllo said excitedly.

That feeling suddenly disappeared as the dragon flower let off a long and loud shriek of surrender. It bounded off back to its resting place to await new prey. Squirllo took the opportunity to plot his jumping points along the branches of the trees. Satisfied with his arrangement, he took off running on all fours toward the next branch. He leaped and soared through the air and caught the next branch under his paws. He repeated that process several times over. The light he had spotted continued to grow in brightness signifying that he was coming closer with each branch. Never had he felt so alive than he did right now as he flew from branch to branch. For a few moments, he had forgotten about the human’s dead yard and that he was in the middle of the Dark Forest amongst some very dangerous creatures. He even forgot the terror of the Dragon Flower. The feeling of the chilly night air through his fur was unforgettable. He approached the area where the light emerged from and broke through the leaves with one giant leap. He landed on the ground and completed a flashy summersault to avoid hurting his legs from the fall. He stood with his hands on his hips in sign of glorious victory as the light shone over his silvery fur casting a shadow in front of him. His lungs burned as he stole several strong, deep breaths and his heart beat as loudly the Dragon Flower’s roar. He began to look around. Behind him was a pedestal that rose out of the earth beneath it. It glowed with soft white light that crept into the forest creating ominous shadows that danced along the forest floor. The pedestal was made out of old grey stone that appeared ancient with cracks running along its edges in all directions. A tablet rested on top of the pedestal that was equally as cracked. The tablet’s edges were covered in symbols that appeared similar to the ones acquainted with Mother Nature. There was enough room in the center of the table to create the symbol with the dirt and the flowers along with two black hand prints, one on each side. Squirllo slowly approached the pedestal. It flowed with a power he had never felt before penetrating through every fiber of his being. Unable to take his eyes off the pedestal, he dropped the bag from his shoulder and into his hand. He was able to shake his eyes off the soft glow of light long enough to pull the dirt from the bag. He cupped the dirt in his hand and let it spill from the bottom of his fist. When he completed the circle of dirt, he reached into his bag and pulled the flowers out. He laid the dead flower first in the center at an angle. He then place the live flower that hadn’t yet faded over top of the dead flower to create an X. He was still not entirely sure of what would happen or if Lady Vida would even help him. That is, if she answered him at all. He took a deep breath and placed his paws on the black hand prints. He prayed aloud in a soft voice that barely came off as an unintelligible murmur. As Squirllo neared the end of the prayer, he felt his paws become hot, but he kept his eyes closed. He finished the prayer and opened his eyes. The circle of dirt and the flowers had melted into the pedestal and appeared as ancient writing as if it had been written on the tablet centuries ago. Squirllo stepped away from the pedestal wondering if his prayer had worked. Then, the symbol glowed with a violet light growing ever brighter. A loud humming noise emerged from the pedestal that turned the violet light into a beam. Suddenly, the beam transform into the shape of a person. The violet light then vanished as quickly as it had appeared. The pedestal and the surrounding forest was once again bathed in the same soft white glow it had been before the ritual, only this time, a young woman was sitting on the the pedestal as if it was a throne. Squirllo couldn’t help but stare with wide eyes. She was incredibly beautiful. She wore flowing white robes that blew with the cool night breeze. Her straight hair was a shiny brunette that ran down to the middle of her back complemented by her bright brown eyes. A crown a small colorful flowers adorned her head. She had with her a staff of two intertwined branches. At the top of the staff, the branches opened up to cup a pink crystallized rose. The intertwined branches bent over slightly to secure the rose in place so it wouldn’t fall from the staff. When she stood, she was slightly taller than Squirllo. She had a strong essence of caring about her. Lady Vida looked back at the pedestal then at Squirllo as if she were puzzled then spoke with a voice that was very calm with a melodious beauty that made Squirllo stare even more.

“I’m impressed. I didn’t think the younger generations even knew how to call upon me; much less what the calling pedestal is,” She said.

“It… It…” Squirllo stammered still taken back by her beauty, “My Papa told me about the pedestal. I confess, I had never heard of it before.”

“You’re honesty is refreshing,” she said with a smile. “Tell me, child. Who are you and why have you called to me?”

“My name is Squirllo, my Lady. Umm. I hope you don’t leave when I tell you this…” Squirllo paused and gulped down a speck of fear, “I was playing in the human’s garden and I think I accidentally killed it… I was hoping you could help me bring it back to life so the humans won’t hate me.”

Lady Vida’s smile faded slightly as she thought about what he said. The silence made Squirllo nervous. Would she help or would she leave the garden dead to teach him a lesson. He couldn’t stand the suspense.

“Please,” Squirllo begged with a tear strolling down his cheek, “I didn’t mean to hurt the garden or the yard. I just wanted to enjoy the flowers. I promise I won’t go near it again if you help me.”

Lady Vida took a moment to consider his words. After a few moments she broke her silence.

“Do you know why Her Highness, Mother Nature, chose me as one of her caretakers?”

Squirllo shook his head.

“She chose me because of my love for nature. Much like you, I couldn’t help but be near to nature, or to sniff the flowers, or to enjoy its beauty. Her highness knew, that as I learned, She could count on me to take care of the land she assigned to me,” Lady Vida explained.

Her eyes stared into the distance as she reveled in the memory. She came back to reality and gave Squirllo an empathetic look. That look gave Squirllo some hope.

“Because of your similar love for nature, I will help you,” Lady Vida announced, “Like you and I, that garden, and the rest of nature, is a living breathing thing that surrounds us all. We are all connected to it. When any part of nature hurts, we all are affected. That is a lesson we must all learn. We must each do our part to care for it whenever we can.”

“Yes, my lady,” Squirllo said with sincerity, “I will remember your words.”

Lady Vida smiled again and grabbed her wooden staff.

“Come to me, Squirllo. Let’s go to the garden and see what I can do to help.”

Squirllo lifted his head, took a step closer, and took her outstretched hand. She lifted the staff into the air. The crystal rose lit up with bright white light and the world around them seemed to spin as the light overtook Squirllo’s vision. A moment later, Lady Vida and Squirllo were standing outside the human’s home next to the garden. It was still frightfully dead, though, the panic that raced through Squirllo’s mind upon the first glance at the dead flowers was gone. In its place was hope. Papa Squirrel was standing nearby as if he had been waiting for them. Squirllo couldn’t help but smile. That meant that Papa Squirrel had believed in him so much that he knew he would succeed. The area was silent with awe as they waited to see what Lady Vida would do. She began to speak in words that Squirllo and Papa Squirrel didn’t understand. She then planted her staff directly in front of her as the crystal rose lit up once again. Several streaks of light flew from the crystal rose and dove into the affected ground. The crystal rose dimmed as the streaks of light dissipated into the garden. Nothing happened at first. Squirllo held his breath with anticipation. Suddenly, where the streaks of light entered the ground, the spark of life started to show. The green of the grass began to glow in a soft steady green light then spread outward like a ripple. Squirllo and Papa Squirrel both watched with their mouths hung open as the entire yard was dimly illuminated. The grass had fully greened and the flowers began to pick themselves up with their immense colors flooding back into their petals. The entire area was immersed once again in the sweet scent that Squirllo loved so much. The garden had been fully restored. Tears welled up in Squirllo’s eyes. He turned to Lady Vida and wrapped her in a hug with a soft, meaningful, thank you. She smiled and returned the hug.

“There you go, Squirllo. The garden and the yard have been fully restored,” she said, “Remember my words so you can avoid this in the future.”

Yes, Lady Vida,” Squirllo said in a thankful tone with a reverent bow.

Squirllo then scampered off while whistling a happy tune of relief. Papa Squirrel came to stand by Lady Vida’s side.

“That was an impressive display, my Lady.”

“It was, wasn’t it,” she responded with a playful pride, “I must say. I’m so glad you came to me. It’s been far too long since we last saw each other.”

“Indeed it has, my Lady. It’s been far too many years since we saw each other last. The last time was at your Caretaker Initiation at the hands of Mother Nature herself, I believe,” Papa Squirrel said in remembrance.

“You're still that smart squirrel, too.”

“Yes I am,” Papa Squirrel said with a devious smile, “I knew Squirllo wasn't listening to me when I told him several times to stay away from the humans. I knew that if he thought he killed the garden, he would begin to listen to my warnings. I also knew that you would be able to make the garden appear to be dead and make a convincing recovery effort. I must say again, that was a very impressive display,” Papa Squirrel complemented.

Lady Vida chuckled then wrapped him in a hug.

“It’s always a pleasure to help my favorite squirrel.”