An Equal and Opposite Reaction

 

            “Oh, thanks, sweetie,” said Ramona. “That makes life a lot easier all of a sudden!” She tossed the red Bic in her hand a couple of times.
            When she looked at her toe again, she decided that it wasn’t really broken, just bruised. This cheered her up quite a bit. She wiggled all ten toes around just to make sure and see that all ten worked. They did!
            So, though somewhat delayed, she set to building a new fire, which smelled like burning oatmeal for a while, not too bad of an odor and soon over. Once it had burnt down to coals some, she hung her pot of oats and raisins over the fire to cook. As she moved around the fire, she forgot about her toe, as it wasn’t bothering her at all.
            “What language do you suppose that big guy was speaking,” she asked Ralph.
            “I have no idea! I wonder where he came from and where he went, for a matter of fact,” said Ralph. “But wherever he came from, that must be the local human language, well, maybe. It might be an exotic Forest Keeper language from Somewhere else.  I guess we’ll never know.”
            She gave Ralph her long wooden spoon, saying, “you mind the oats, will you, and I’ll go tell the kids that the excitement is over.”
            When she got inside, she sat on the side of the bed. She saw that Cherry was under the quilt, so she peeled it back and said, “okay, you two, it’s safe to come out!  I don’t think that big one would have hurt you.  But I understand that having him appear suddenly was a bit of a shock. He even scared me a little. But,  he left us just as suddenly as he appeared.  He’s gone.”
            Cherry crawled into her mother’s lap and seemed perfectly happy.
            Twigg came out from under the bed, looking just a little bit sheepish after his rapid retreat. “He was so big, and I just didn’t know what to do, mommy,” he said. “I think I’m happy that he’s gone.”
            “Yes, I think it’s probably best, but he might have been perfectly friendly, we’ll never know,” said Ramona. “Help me for a minute Twigg. Will you take our bowls and spoons out?”
            Of course, he did, and they all went back out to where Ralph was stirring the oatmeal and raisins, so it didn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. “I think it’s just right!” he said.
            While Ramona was serving up the oatmeal, Berry came strolling back into the Home Clearing, looking very carefully casual, as if he had not run away like a baby kitten. Just like any other day, he settled down beside Twigg and did that cat thing where they rub the side of their muzzle on a person, and bunted him good and hard, puma style, several times.
            “Ow, Berry! Where’s Bob?  He ran away too,” said Twigg laughing. But Berry made no comment, because he didn’t like to talk. It was a personal choice of his.
            “When I saw Berry running to hide in the woods, I followed him to make sure that he was alright,” said Bob, who had suddenly appeared, even more casually than Berry.
            “Oh, yes,” said Ramona. “I believe you Bob! We all do!”
            Bob’s dignity was somewhat diminished by the laughter, but he stood it well, and they were all friends anyhow, so being laughed at a little was okay.
            “Say, Ralph,” said Ramona, “why did you say you blamed it all on the comet?” She put her spoon back down in the bowl and looked at him, eyebrows up.
            Looking a little surprised, because he had quite forgotten saying that, he said, “oh, Maeve said that comets are often omens of trouble and nervousness, causing strange things to happen and people to drop stuff and lose stuff and stub their toes!” He put his arm around her, squeezing her tightly.
            He looked around the fire and smiled at the happy group there, thinking things could hardly be sweeter.
            The last bit of ozone and Durian and skunk had blown completely away, leaving the forest air clear and clean and cool.
            By the way, pumas like oatmeal pretty well once it has cooled down.