Ellise was a girl of small stature, with wild, curly brown hair and dark eyes. She lived in a trailer in the woods with her mother and her two orange cats, Jelly and Omar. They were somewhat secluded where they lived, but this was of no consequence to the girl, for she enjoyed her own company the best. Ellise and her mother had never known any riches, but found most of their wealth in the wild forest where they lived. Ellise, most of all. She seemed to have an almost supernatural connection to the earth, and since her most recent birthday, had made startling discoveries. She felt the life within the plants around her and even sensed the emotions of animals. This is how she knew that Jelly was constantly jealous of Omar.
There was a particular day of interest where the girl found herself rather encircled by forest life and ended up serving them lunch. This is the day that I wish to tell you about now.
“Ellise! Come inside! It’s time for lunch!” Mother called out.
Not wanting to keep her mother waiting, Ellise did as she was told and ran back to the trailer and through the front door.
“I’m here. I’m here.” She panted.
“Come on, make yourself a sandwich.” Mother sat down on the couch and set her own sandwich on the coffee table while she waited for her daughter.
Ellise made her favorite: peanut butter, apricot jelly, and a few potato chips for textural excitement. She went to grab a paper towel to wrap her sandwich in so she could go back out into the woods. She was making her way to the door when her mom stopped her.
“Ellise, where are you going?” She furrowed her eyebrows.
“Back to the forest, I made my sandwich, and I’m taking it with me.” She answered.
“But I wanted us to eat together. Come sit with me.” She instructed.
“But Mother, I really want to go. I will eat with you tonight.” Ellise was slowly getting closer to the threshold.
Mother sighed deeply. “Alright, I’ll see you tonight, little one.” She sounded sad.
Ellise did feel bad and had half a mind to stay as her mother wished her to, but she resolved to go ahead with her plan; they could eat together later. She ran outside, sandwich in hand, going straight for he favorite climbing tree. She did not realise that her delicious-smelling sandwich was getting the attention of others in the vicinity.
She hummed to herself while she walked and listened to the soft crunching beneath her feet as she passed over sticks and brush. Ellise was in love with the smell of this wooded area, fresh and crisp like linen in the breeze. There were mushrooms and slimy orange slugs that greeted her as she walked on. She carefully stepped around them. The sun broke through cracks in the branch-covered ceiling, the light ever changing like that of a kaleidoscope. This was just as much her home as the trailer she shared with her mom, and it was always welcoming.
There was a crack in the distance. Ellise stopped abruptly and scanned the surrounding area. She saw nothing of consequence. She carried on but switched to a whistle instead of a hum. She could not escape the growing feeling that she was being watched. The sensation slowed her pace a little. Then she stopped and turned around quickly! Nothing there. She had the distinct feeling that she was somehow being tricked, so she walked more slowly this time and tried to open her ears up a little more. When she heard the snap, she did a dramatic spin jump without stopping at all.
She screamed. Right in front of her face was a wet, black nose, two beady dark eyes, and a large mouth with sharp, yellowing teeth. A massive bear had been following her. Frantically, trying to back away, she tripped on a root and fell on her bottom, looking up at the large beast. Ellise was trapped in icy fear, unable to move, frozen in place with her mouth hanging open. But the oddest thing happened. The bear sat back on its bottom and tilted its head as if confused.
‘Okay,’ she thought to herself, ‘if the bear was going to eat me, it would have already gobbled me up. So it must want something else.’ She couldn’t think of what that could be. Then, she followed its line of sight right to her sandwich.
“You want my sandwich?” She asked gently.
The bear blinked.
“Well, this one is mine, but I can probably make you one if you want.” She offered.
The bear stood back up on its four legs, and she took this as an answer in the affirmative.
“Umm…alright…well, follow me, I guess.” She started back towards the sandwich ingredients.
Ellise was so…perplexed. ‘I’m walking a bear home so I can make it a sandwich,’ she thought. This was not a typical experience, despite her powers within the natural realm. She could feel when a grey squirrel was hungry, knew when an owl was tired, and understood when Jelly rubbed against her leg, he wanted to cuddle. But wild animals did not usually approach her. She didn’t know how to respond, whether she should try to make conversation, or if her quietness was considered rude. What were the rules on interspecies communication and social practices? She laughed out loud, realizing that all the tenseness had left her back, and she was feeling nearly casual about the whole situation now.
She turned her head to check on her companion and saw that someone else had joined them on their endeavour. A very handsome-looking coyote was strutting behind the bear. It appeared jolly, with its toothy smile and tongue hanging out to the side. Its fur was thick and soft-looking, dark grey with silver tones in the sunlight. Ellise was surprised, but unafraid. She waved awkwardly at the happy creature in greeting.
“Are you here for a sandwich as well?” She asked.
The coyote blinked.
‘Is that a universal thing here, blink once for yes?’ she wondered to herself. She shrugged and continued walking. Now she felt like she was the leader of some marching band that had lost its instruments. And as she currently had two guests, she was no longer able to change her mind and give her lunch away; there was only one sandwich. She was certain that her followers would not be interested in sharing, so making additional sandwiches was her only option. Just then, the sound of additional footsteps brought her out of her thoughts.
Ellise stopped and turned, looking to the right of the bear, past the coyote, to a pretty red-orange fox. Her eyebrows raised. How had another creature learned of this sandwich mission so quickly? It was just plain weird.
“Hello!” She yelled down to the fox. “You joining us for lunch?”
The fox blinked.
‘Oh boy, I hope we have enough bread,’ she thought to herself as she turned around. They continued, and Ellise thought about different scenarios in which she introduced her mother to her forest buddies. She wondered if Mother would even allow her to make so many sandwiches. This was a troubling situation, and she couldn’t think of any way to break the bad news to her companions if her mom refused them. She shook her head. She was being silly. Ellise never knew her mother to be anything other than hospitable; despite the fur and number of legs her new acquaintances possessed, she was sure they would be welcomed with open arms.
Ellise unexpectedly heard a loud screeching sound coming from behind her. It sent shivers down her spine, like nails on a chalkboard. She spun around instinctively, with a rather disagreeable expression. The bear, coyote, and fox were all acting as they had been, and there was nobody new standing behind them. It hit her like a train when she saw it. No, nobody was standing behind them. But a great big hawk was flying low, just after the fox. It had joined their line. With golden brown feathers and a wingspan like nothing she had seen before, at least not up close. The majestic creature looked down at her.
“Hi.” She said meekly. She cleared her throat. “You looking for something to eat?”
The hawk did not blink, but it squinted in a manner that gave away its intentions, and Ellise knew it wanted peanut butter, apricot jelly, and potato chips between two slices of bread. All she did was nod in exchange and continue walking. Now she felt rather cool; all of these animals wanted to hang out with her. How many people could say that? Perhaps this would become a regular occurrence. The girl considered whether she might have to bring extra food on a routine basis. Her mother would have to start buying groceries in bulk.
They were almost to the trailer when Ellise did a quick check on her guests. She was positively flabbergasted. The five of them were now joined by a grey squirrel, a doe, and her fawn, a tall moose, and a pointy porcupine. ‘I definitely don’t have enough bread,’ she thought. She stood facing all the animals in front of her home, and they all stared at her in response. She didn’t have a picnic table or even a stump for them to eat at. She wondered if any of them would take their order to go.
“Umm…okay, everyone, just…uh…stay here, alright?” She said nervously.
They all blinked, except the hawk. Naturally.
“Mother, can you help me make some sandwiches?” She asked as she walked in the door.
“Sure, sweetie, what do you need them for?” Mother asked in response.
“Well, I made some friends in the woods, and they wanted my lunch, which I haven’t even eaten yet, and so I told them they could come back here for a sandwich of their own. But there are so many of them now, I’m not sure we will have enough ingredients.” Ellise said this all quite quickly.
“Well, how many of them are there?” Mother asked.
“Nine.” her response was a quiet murmur.
“How many?” Her mom strained to hear her.
“Nine.” She said a little louder.
“My goodness! I didn’t even realize that many kids were living in the area.” Mother’s eyebrows shot up.
“Well, they aren’t all kids.” Ellise looked off to the side.
“What?” Her mother looked very concerned now.
“Umm…just come see them, they are waiting outside.” Ellise walked over to the door and opened it, motioning for her mother to follow.
When Mother saw all of the animals sitting and standing patiently, waiting for their sandwiches, she could not speak. Not for several seconds.
“They are very hungry, Mother.” Ellise reminded her.
“Right.” She nodded, still looking out the door with wide eyes. “Let’s…let’s go make them some food.”
Once in the kitchen, the two of them took inventory of their ingredients. They had plenty of peanut butter, apricot jelly, and potato chips, but there was only enough bread for four sandwiches. They looked at each other.
“Maybe some of them can have theirs as a wrap?” Mother asked with a shrug.
“Yeah, I don’t think they’ll mind.” Ellise nodded.
They whipped up the sandwiches faster than a song at a contradance and brought them out to their hungry guests. None of them approached. Feeling that they were a bit apprehensive, Ellise took the wraps and sandwiches and went around to everyone, setting them down on the earth in front of them. The bear, the coyote, and the moose stayed for a minute to eat the food there; everyone else picked it up in their mouths and walked in various directions. But all of them made sure to say thank you before they did.
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