Week 7 Part 2: Blue Moon

 For this journal I chose to continue what I had started writing in my discussion board post.

This day was supposed to be as ordinary as any other. The sun was shining, the skies were crystal clear, and Lilian had just started her daily morning walk. She always enjoyed walking on a trail at the nature preserve that was by her house. The trail wasn't too long and twisted and turned next to the river that accompanied it.

Everything was perfectly normal. Lilian found herself feeling breathless, so she decided to take an abrupt stop and sit next to the river. The sun beamed down on her and only made Lilian feel even more sweaty and exhausted. She reached down to unclip her water bottle from the small brown backpack she always brought with her. Shaking the water bottle, Lilian realized that its contents were almost empty, and she knew she had only a miniscule amount of water left for the rest of her journey. It felt like the heat was starting to get to Lilian and she almost believed it truly did. A squirrel had emerged from the brush that surrounded the edge of the river. 

Lilian watched to squirrel with some amusement. She had never seen one of those little brown bushy tailed rodents so close to the river before. There had to be some reason for this rodent's sudden appearance. Suddenly, Lilian remembered what her grandma would always use to say to her.

"If a squirrel walks up to you and initiates a conversation, you listen."

Lilian chuckled-- she'd read about many peoples encounters with talking squirrels, but she never took them too seriously. With so many absurd events going on in the world already, the last thing Lilian needed was a conversation with a squirrel. That was all about to change though. The squirrel noticed Lilian and turned around so that it was facing her. Lilian found her chuckling came to an abrupt stop. She almost felt her jaw drop when she heard the first words uttered out of that little squirrel's mouth.

"I'm going to need you to give me some help over here," the squirrel clasped its two paws together, as if it was no better than a common street beggar. From that moment forward, Lilian knew her day was only going to become more interesting.

                At first Lilian refused to believe what she was seeing was real. There was no possible way that the squirrel that was frantically pacing back and forth in front of her could talk. Even if that squirrel could talk, what were the chances that it spoke perfect English. Lilian found her grandma’s words repeating in her mind, the achy scratchy voice continued to tell her to cooperate with the measly rodent.

                Lilian took in a deep breath, almost not believing the words that followed next, “Why sure, I would be happy to help.”

                The squirrel ran up abruptly into Lilian’s personal face, continuing its pattern of dashing back and forth, its bushy tail scrunched up in excitement.

                “Oh joy, oh joy!” the squirrel stopped its frantic movement for a short second, “Trust me my dear…”

                “…Lilian…”

                “Lilian! Yes, Lilian! Trust me, you will not regret this!”

                The only thing going through Lilian’s mind in that moment happened to be: Why do I have a feeling I’m going to end up regretting this.

By the next time Lilian found herself standing up, it had felt as if a whole millennium had passed. All she had wanted to do was to take a small break to catch her breath before she would continue her walk. Instead she had spent well over the past hour listening to a squirrel of all sentient beings, drone on and on about a “war of the trees” between the squirrels and chipmunks that competed for control over the forest floor.

As if that wasn’t enough, the squirrel that just so happened to ask for her help went by the ludicrous name “Colonel Hawkeye”, as if Colonel had been rejected from the cast of Hogan’s Heroes. Somehow though Lilian knew that she would have more fun following Colonel around compared to having to finish the long list of chores her mother had gave her before she left.