SweetkinZ Journal, Chapter 3: Autumn Park Adventure

Zeddy and his companions continued traveling by train to their next stop, Autumn Park. After spending a couple of days at the tranquil beach hotel, they were eager to visit the famous park in the foothills, particularly because it always remained in festive fall colors. Percy the cat also joined Zeddy and his companions on their travels to the park, hoping to get some fishing time in, and of course, more napping.

After they arrived at the park and settled into their cozy cabins, they set about renting items from the park staff members. Percy rented a fishing pole and tackle box, then he headed to the river to find a comfortable spot to sit and cast out his line. Content to wander, Lavender decided to venture nearby, taking in the sights and sounds of the richly colored world surrounding her. However, it was not long until she found herself patiently watching Percy’s fishing bobber in quiet anticipation. Meanwhile, Zeddy and Mable rented a kite to race about with in an open grassy area.

“Come on, Mable, you gotta keep up with me!” Zeddy’s voice was playful yet muffled while holding the kite’s spooled handle in his teeth.

He galloped along the ground to get the kite into the sky. It quickly floated way above him in the cool breeze. Mable tried to follow close behind, laughing merrily.

“Wait up! Are you going to remember to give me a turn?” Mable called out with an amused giggle.

“Heh! You gotta catch me first!” Zeddy said over his shoulder.

As he turned to sprint a little faster, one of his front hooves caught on a small gopher hole in the ground, causing him to fall forward.

“Oof!” The handle of the kite fumbled from his grip as he tumbled to the ground.

“Zeddy! What happened?” Mable asked after skidding to a stop next to him, “Are you hurt?”

“Ugh…I’m okay, I’m okay!” Zeddy hurriedly raised his head to shake off the fall and his embarrassment. Then his eyes widened when he looked for the kite, “Ah! The kite! Mable, help me catch it before it blows too far away!”

“Oh!” Mable hurried to chase the kite down just as Zeddy rose to all four hooves.

Scampering as fast as her little legs could carry her, Mable tried to pounce onto the kite’s tumbling handle as it bounced along the ground.

“You can do it Mable! Catch it, quick!” Zeddy encouraged, galloping behind her to catch up.
After missing several times, Mable eventually timed her pounce perfectly and landed on her target.

“Got it! I got it!” Mable cheered.

She clutched the spooled handle in her paws tightly. However, a strong gust of wind suddenly picked up before Zeddy could reach her, and the kite yanked the little fox off the ground.

“Mable!” Zeddy shouted, shocked to see his friend be rapidly carried away and high above him.

“Aaahhh!! Help me! This isn’t fun anymore!” Mable squealed in panic, flailing about at the end of the kite string.

“Hold on! I’m coming!” Zeddy called while pushing himself to gallop faster.

The wind gusts carried the kite and Mable directly towards a tall oak tree. Mable screamed as she collided into the top of it. She instinctively clung to one of the branches, letting the kite’s string catch in another branch above her. She waited for Zeddy to find her as she trembled from fear of falling from the towering tree.

“Zeddy! I’m stuck! Help!”

“I’m here! Hang on!” Zeddy breathed heavily from the long sprint.

He had stopped at the base of the oak tree that Mable landed in, scanning the high boughs for her bright red coat color. Mable was far too high up to just drop down for Zeddy to catch on his back, and his mind raced to think of what to do instead.

“I can see a glimpse of you, Mable! Can you try to climb down a bit? If you can make it half way down the tree, so I see you more clearly, I can catch you if you jump,” Zeddy calmly and slowly encouraged.

“I-I can’t! That’s way too scary!” Mable called back in a whimper.

“Ugh…What to do, what to do…” Zeddy paced back and forth in front of the tree while staring up into it with unease.

In the middle of his anxious contemplation, he heard hoof beats galloping from behind him. He turned his head toward the sound. To both his surprise and delight, he saw Lavender heading his way with Percy riding on her back.

“Zeddy, what’s happened!?” Lavender trotted to a stop next to Zeddy under the tree, “We heard screaming and shouting and came to investigate.”

“It’s Mable. Our kite wound up carrying her into the top of this tree. Now she’s too shaken up to climb down.”

Percy gazed up at the big old oak and its captured blue kite with calm observation. His tail twitched back and forth as he planned a possible route upwards.

“Percy? Can you climb up and help her? Please?” Zeddy asked, having noticed Percy’s silent watchfulness.

Percy gave him a small nod, “Well, let’s see what can be done about this predicament,” he then grinned and jumped off Lavender.

He leaped and climbed with expert skill up the tree until he reached Mable.

His sudden appearance surprised Mable, “Percy! How did you climb up here?”

Percy neatly sat on a thick branch with a confident smile, “The same way I plan to get down. One branch at a time.”

“Huh?” Mable stared back in worry.

“Just follow me down one branch at a time. Don’t think about anything else and take your time. You are more nimble than you think, Mable. You can do it.”

Percy began his descent to the next lowest branch and waited for Mable with a great amount of patience.

“Just follow the path I take. You’ll be down in no time.”

“W-Well…” Mable slowly rose up, balancing all four paws on the narrow branch.

“That’s it! Hop onto every branch that I go to, starting with the one next to you, okay?”

“O-Okay…” Mable trembled, but she was still willing to try to follow Percy’s quiet and persistent instruction.

Zeddy and Lavender waited tensely at ground level, watching and listening to the conversation.

Mable took a deep breath in, then jumped to the first bough. She wobbled a bit to keep her balance, then stilled herself while focusing on Percy. Her eyes were wide with fright and her breathing was quick and shallow.

“All right! Next one,” Percy hopped down to the next branch so Mable could follow.

One by one, slowly but surely, Percy stayed one branch ahead as Mable followed his exact path.  She slipped and scrambled on the branches now and then, but she was otherwise fairly balanced.

“You’re doing great! We’re half way there,” Percy encouraged, “Continue doing what you’ve been doing.”

Mable nodded tensely and tried to slow her breathing down, concentrating on the next branch between her and Percy.

“You can do it, Mable!” Zeddy and Lavender cheered in unison.

Mable leapt at the exact moment she heard their voices. For a split second she glanced down at them, which threw off her aim momentarily. She glanced back at the branch, only to miss it by a few inches, with her paws slipping off the side of the branch in an attempt to grab onto it.

Percy tried to reach out and grab one of her paws, but she was out of reach. At the last second, Zeddy swooped in and side stepped right under Mable in time to catch her on his back. Mable trembled a bit as she blinked and sat up slowly on top of Zeddy.

“Finally…it’s over,” she sighed with great relief.

“Are you hurt?” Zeddy asked.

Mable shook her head while forcing a small wobbly smile, “I’m okay. Just spooked, I guess. I’ve never had that happen to me before. Flying on a kite, I mean.”

“Heh. Well, next time, we’ll be sure to tether you to the ground so you won’t fly with the kite.” Zeddy attempted to make light of the situation gently, sensing Mable’s unease still.

“Mhm. Thanks, Zeddy, but I think I need a break from kite flying for a while.”

“Of course.”

“Why don’t you take Mable back to the cabins, Zeddy? I’ll stay and help Percy get the kite back,” Lavender suggested while glancing up at the kite that was still anchored in the tree top.

It was easy to see that Percy had climbed back up and was tugging on the kite string to free it, then gradually reeling it in like a big blue fish in the sky.

“All right. Meet you two later then,” Zeddy nodded.

Mable waved up at Percy as she rode on Zeddy, “Thank you, Percy!”

“Huh?” The tugging on the kite paused suddenly, “Oh! Yes, you’re welcome! See you!”

By the time Zeddy and the others all came together again, it was evening. They all sat on cozy blankets around a campfire as they talked about the day’s events.

“We were able to return the kite safely to the rental building,” Lavender informed the group, then turned to Mable specifically, “Did you get some rest, Mable?”

“I did. I feel lot better too!” Mable nodded emphatically to Lavender, then sipped her hot mug of cocoa.

“Do be careful at your next destination, please. I won’t be able to help you again if you wind up in another tree,” Percy warned.

He was curled up on a blanket and spoke while only glancing a couple times at Mable. He sounded unconcerned, but the way his ears and tail twitched anxiously said otherwise.

Mable picked up on the clues after a moment, then smiled sheepishly, “I will, Percy. Thanks for your help again.”

Percy looked over at her finally, then nodded and grinned briefly in satisfaction.

“Speaking of which, I can’t wait to get to our final destination!” Zeddy chimed in, “It’s gonna be a blast!”

Mable and Lavender cheered in agreement.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us, Percy?” Lavender asked.

“Oh don’t worry about me. I’m sure you will all have fun without me there. I am not a fan of the mountains. I’d rather stay here a while longer to fish. Tell me all about your trip when you get back home,” Percy insisted with calm decisiveness.

The others looked at him and each other in reluctance, so he gave them a reassuring smile. Knowing that Percy could be quite stubborn and confident in his answers, Zeddy and the others finally relented with a chuckle. They all continued to chat with each other until it was time for bed, then they retreated to their cabins for a good night’s sleep.

To be continued…

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