Sunday, 1 September 2024
Coping With Grandpere
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The sun set over the little town of Nutwood, casting shadows of ethereal light on the little cottages that stood proud and old fashioned among the blackberry bushes and brambles. On the roof of Rupert’s house, our young bear was looking out at the valley far off. He was a little sad about something, and that was when his good friend Little Bear showed up.
“Hey Rupert,” he said, “What’s up?” “Nothing.” said Rupert. “There must be something,” said Little Bear, “If you have a problem, I’m willing to listen! I’m your best friend, Rupert.” Rupert swallowed, rubbed his eyes, took a deep breath and then said:
“You know me all too well, Little Bear.” Little Bear gasped gently. Rupert went on: “Okay, so, you see, my great great great great great grandfather, Grandpere, died recently searching for sea treasure. There was nothing me and my family could do about it. He was eaten alive by a Great White Shark. All he had left was this.”
Rupert held up a shining golden pocket watch that gleamed in the light of the setting sun. Little Bear was amazed. Rupert opened it up to show a picture of him when he was a baby. “My dad put my picture in this watch for me.” he explained softly. “Now that Grandpere is gone, things are going to be different. In fact, the whole world is now going to be different. Sometimes years like this can be tough, can they? But sometimes, family memories are more important than family loss. This is why sons like me need to have faith.”
Little Bear just….stared at his friend in complete silence. Showing how shocked he is, Rupert fell to his knees, about to cry. Just as he fell to his knees, he slipped and fell off the roof, crashing to the ground.
“OW!”
“Rupert…Rupert…wake up.”
Rupert woke up in the Nutwood Cottage Hospital covered in bandages and wearing a yellow hospital gown covered in red flowers, as he saw Little Bear, Cheer, Grumpy, Funshine, Emily, Alexander and his own mum and dad standing around his bed, giving him warm, affectionate smiles.
“Rupert…I’m sorry I didn’t understand your pocket watch.”
“We have faith in you, Rupert.”
“You’ll always find the fun in everything.”
“You can cope without Grandpere, Rupert. You just can!”
“Emily’s right, I think you’re doing a grand job.”
Grumpy sighed. “You will cope with Grandpere’s loss, Rupert…I guess.”
“What happened to me? Where’s the pocket watch?” asked Rupert, still in a daze from his fall. Rupert suddenly gagged, turned green as a poison ivy plant, and vomited into a chamber pot near his bed. Out of his mouth came a golden pocket watch covered in green bile. Everyone grossed out, but Rupert’s dad came to look at the suspicious, bile-covered watch.
“Oh dear, another family heirloom ruined,” he groaned, “How did that happen?” “We don’t know!” chorused Rupert’s unusual friends.
Ali Ban
“Ali-Ban, Ali-Ban,
Near the golden stream,
Ali-Ban, Ali-Ban,
You might be my dream.”
Optimus strummed on his big red ukulele as he sang this song beautifully on the porch of their house big enough for even an Autobot in Alice Springs, Australia. He sat in the rocking chair, rocking gently, back and forth, and enjoying the sounds of the outback. Furaha and Orko were relaxing on the porch, reading comics. It was quite a lazy day, with nothing to get in our friends’ way. The friends were just free to relax and take it easy.
Just then, Orko looked up from his comic, and saw a snake slithering across the sand. Furaha and Orko shrieked and ran towards Optimus, sending the comics flying, only for the snake to grab them and eat them whole like it eats his prey.
“Uh oh, snake alert!” cried Orko. “They’re the most venomous animals in Australia!” “Yeah, I’m worried, they might nip us in the ankle and then we’d turn into mutant snakes who can’t walk or crawl or do anything!” whimpered Furaha. “Now calm down, you two. The snake’s gone, you see the trail of comics he left behind?” Furaha and Orko looked, and sure enough they saw a trail of scraps of comics on the sandy ground. “Oh.” said Furaha, finally calming down. “The snake’s gone.” “Our comics…” sobbed Orko. Furaha and Orko began to sob quietly.
Optimus understood all their troubles and woes. He took them in his giant arms and whispered, as the sky went orange and the sun began to slowly go down into the horizon:
“Lest we not forget the comics,
The sources of laughter and hope,
Eaten alive by a fierce snake,
It’s come to the end of its rope.
But you are still with me
Until the end of time,
And that is why I’m telling you
This very important rhyme.”
Furaha and Orko snuggled close against Optimus, and slowly fell fast asleep, still with tears rolling down their cheeks, as Optimus rocked in his rocking chair gently, humming them to sleep. Looking out into the horizon, he remembered his life from when he was a young Autobot: playing outside his house with no worries or cares. He was moved to tears by these memories, and tried to stifle some tears as he wept out his song once more:
“Ali Ban, Ali Ban,
I feel so happy forever,
Because I’ve got some friends with me…
And I’m so glad we’re…”
At once, Optimus broke down into tears, which dripped onto Furaha and Orko as they slept. But inside, he was proud of what he had done, and felt like he had accomplished the greatest task in his life: telling his friends everything will be alright.