DaGrblz

The Sacred Silver and Golden Gerbil Seed Journey

“Wake up,” I whispered, tapping Zipper’s light tan and white fur coat. “I made you some oatmeal. Zipper, are you awake?”
As he turned around, a sad face followed. Zipper was shedding tears upon tears. His scruffy paws were laid over his wet, black eyes.
“It’s— it’s gone!” he muttered.
“What’s gone, Zipper?” I wondered.
“The seed—the seed is missing, Scajé! The sacred and wonderful silver and gold seed of glory has disappeared!” Zipper managed to say. He shuffled through our neatly shredded bark, grass, and leaf bedding, and pulled out a cube-shaped box. It glowed the color of silver. To have its good old obsidian glow back, it needed the gold kernel part of the sunflower seed, which had been stolen. Right in front of my eyes, Zipper opened the small black box. A large silver sunflower seed shell sat in it. There was something wrong though; the seed had no inside. The kernel was missing somehow.
“Relax, Zipper. What would you say if I said that we could leave Gerbil Palace and go on an exiting adventure to find the golden sunflower kernel, the orb that protects us from evil and darkness?”
“I’d say ‘Great!’” shouted Zipper joyfully.
“Fantastic, because I have a pretty good idea of who might have taken our golden sunflower kernel,” I announced. “Do you remember that maroonish-brown gerbil that turned away from us? She used to be a citizen of Gerbil Palace until she was kicked out for good as a permanent penalty. I think that she still knows how to unlock the powerful shield of the sacred seed, considering she was once a citizen. My guess is that she is the one who took the golden kernel. She must have gotten frightened by the clock when it struck 12:00 AM and jingled its tune. When she was startled, the dark-hearted gerbil only took out the inside of the seed. We all know where she lives, but the exact place could be a rumor. She’s know to live near the Painted Platypus Pond, where Angel the platypus lives. Do you remember her?”
“Of course I do, Scajé. Let’s embark on the sacred silver and gold gerbil seed journey and catch that criminal-crook-critic! Shall we?” Zipper shouted excitedly.
We both scampered among the shredded grass, dirt, bark, and leaves of our burrow. Zipper and I searched every nook and cranny for essentials that we’d need for the long, exciting trip. These included scrumptious foods, water canteens, blankets, pillows, fire-making supplies, a map, Zipper’s lucky jacket, and backpacks filled with other necessities needed. I picked up the map excitedly, wanting to set to the first destination. My white minuscule fingers traced a path that was titled Deserted Doe Desert. Apparently, I thought, deer used to live there.
Zipper peaked over my shoulder. “Deserted Doe Desert?” he asked strangely. “What kind of a name is that? I never knew deer could survive out in a desert.”
“Neither did I, Zipper,” I added. “Maybe that’s why it’s deserted,” I teased.
“Very funny,” he mumbled under his breath.
“See here, bud; this is the route we need to take through the desert.” I poked a swirly spot on the path. “I’m sure we’ll make it all of the way to the seed and back with no problem! Come on, buddy. Let’s get going!”
So then, we set off on our adventurous journey to find our sacred item that protects us gerbils. The shell holds the shield over Gerbil Palace, and the kernel binds it with power. We passed many wondrous places. We climbed monstrous mountains and crawled through tiny tunnels. We swam across raging rivers and waded through sweltering swamps. We walked down treacherous trails and ran down rugged roads. After a few very tiring, extremely laborious days of climbing, crawling, swimming, wading, walking, and running, we finally panted and limped to the beginning of the Deserted Doe Desert.
The scene was the opposite of unattractive, though. Although empty, it was a wonderful site for our little, black eyes. The cacti were blooming flowers, and there were other giant rain-catcher plants, too. The flowers on some green plants were bright red and pink. Some even had spots of yellow on them. The spikes on the cacti were very long and spiky. Oh how we could stare at it for hours, but there was a task we had to do and accomplish!
“Talk about deserted,” remembered my brother. “I sure do enjoy being in a desert without eagles, owls, or snakes. Oh boy! I hope there are mice to accompany with.”
“Don’t count on it,” I sighed. “Have you forgotten the whole meaning of deserted? Besides, we’ve got things to do other than chat all day and look at this wonderful view. This could take days to cross, predators or no predators.”
Days and days of the desert were there to stay for a long time. The ice cold and refreshing water canteens came in big handy. At night, we’d lay out our sleeping bags and pillow, because as surprising as it sounds, the desert nights are as cold as ice sickles. During the day, though, the weather was as hot as a boiling mug of hot chocolate. Zipper’s lucky light brown and white jacket had to transport to his backpack, because it was so hot that we were sweating 12/7. One day, the weather was sweating enough to make mirages. They seemed so real! One mirage made our hearts leap, because it was a falcon. She was showing her talons sharp at us, ready to capture her prey for her babies’ breakfast meal. Why would she want to eat me? I thought. I am cute and cuddly! The falcon mother swooped as her sharp rock-like nails went right through us. There were no marks or injuries. There was just a, “Scajé, we’re alive! That was just another mirage! Pheeewwwww!” from Zipper.
The day after that was like a massacre. Winds were picking up speed and strength. The desert did not seem so positively beautiful, anymore. Zipper and I had to squint out eyes to keep from the flying sand to get into them. We were nearly helpless and were running out of water. Not very much later did the mini sandstorm turn into a large one as enormous as the whole sky itself! The whispers in the wind became shouts of the grainy sand. There was no stopping us– until the worst part sadly happened. We were separated apart from each other. Zipper and I were concentrating more on the path through the storm than each other.
I spent days and days yelling for Zipper after the malicious storm calmed down. I dripped a few– or a lot– of tears. My hopes were as lost as a family corpse lying in front of me. I had to move on, with a new life. As I traced a new path on the map, I read Frozen Forest of Foxes. Yet another strange name. I couldn’t help but shed one other tear and whiff another sniff.
I reached the entrance of the Frozen Forest of Foxes and thought, This is even more beautiful than the desert. I slowly crept to a direct halt by a tree. I sure do hope there’s no foxes, bears, or wolves here, I hoped. I pulled out my warming sleeping supplies to cuddle up in and to fall asleep, shivering.
I nibbled on a sunflower seed treat for a fantastic bedtime snack when I heard a faint and quiet voice in the distance. I decided it was just me or nothing, which happen in dreams. My eyes were nearly closed when I saw a fuzzy, blurry black image. It’s just a dream, I persuaded myself again. The yelling was getting repeatedly louder as I was just getting to shape out the words.
“Scajé.....!” yelled the figure.
Could it be? I asked myself. Of course it is! It’s Zipper!
When the image showed up into Zipper with his luckiest jacket on ever, he sarcastically asked, “Is it Christmas? Let us know. Let us know. Let us know!”
“No, silly! It’s not Christmas.” I smiled back at him. “This place it called the Frozen Forest of Foxes. Who’s the one responsible for making up these names?! It sure does have beautiful blankets of snow, though. I’ll give you that.”
He giggled. We were back together again. To celebrate, we set up a campfire with some wood, sticks, and twigs. I scooped up some snow in our canteens, because eventually, the snow would have melt into fresh water to drink.
The next morning, after frolicking a bit, Zipper and I were on our way to the Painted Platypus Pond. There, we were supposed a colorful, eye-catching pond and also the colored platypus named Angel, whom we have already met before. She was so beautiful. When Zipper and I arrived at the pond after so many days of traveling, we set to work by scavenging for her. Finally, she showed up.
“Hey there, Angel. It’s great to see you again! We are on a hunt for Gerbil Palace’s lost seed–“ I announced before I was cut off by Angel’s soft voice.
“I’ve heard! I knew that you guys would come eventually. After all, you are the guardians of the seed. I found your golden kernel down there by the rocks. Go ahead and take a look.” She pointed her web-like paws down over by the colorful water. Zipper and I hurried down to the pond water that was all different kinds of colors. We gasped when we found that the golden glow was fading slowly. The golden seed kernel sat neatly between a few small, wet rocks. I surprisingly looked at Zipper and then slid my scruffy paws under the seed to pick it up.
“It’s the seed,” whispered Zipper in a strange voice, “and it’s alone.
We both hurried back up tp Angel and gave her a large hug. “What can I do for you guys next? So you need information, or perhaps a lift will do?”
“We could use both,” I suggested. “The dark gerbil lives somewhere near, doesn’t she? Can you give me her living gerbil ID?”
“Sure thing, sugar,” Angel proudly said.
I lifted the golden sunflower seed kernel up into the air, and Angel announced and unfamiliar ID of the gerbil who stole the kernel in the first place. This created and eternal lock on her, making her forever forbidden to Gerbil Palace!
Angel gave us a lift home from a shortcut in Painted Platypus Pond. She dropped us off with pleasure, and we gave our thanks to her and blessed her greatly for helping us out.
“What a journey!” I yawned as I stretched lazily. Zipper and I were both very tired. We ere getting ready for bed, when we heard a distant cry outside of our cave. Our ears perked up to the unpleasant noise. Our “o”-shaped mouths turned into grins from ear-to-ear when we looked up at each other. Another mystery; another crime for us to find!!!

Piczo