Chapter Text
Here we see Piper Finch as she spends her last moments of summer in the woods behind her house.
With her, some of her best friends in the whole world: An owl, a donkey, a piglet, a rabbit, a tigger, a kanga and roo, and, most of all, a pooh bear which she had since she was a wee babe. All her friends were plush and stuffed with fluff (in the donkey's case, sawdust), but to her, they were just as friends as those of flesh and blood.
All of them were sitting around a picnic table, which has been dressed in a white table cloth. Plastic silverware, dishes, napkins, and cups surrounded the sides of the table. A cake was placed in the middle of the table, infused with honey, with a pitcher of honey lemonade which stood beside it. Honey flavored frosting adorned the top of the cake with writing that said, "Happy Last Year of Boarding School!"
Piper got up from her seat to slice the cake. She gave a slice of cake as well as poured a drink to each of her friend, who were dressed with party hats and white bibs, before serving herself. She herself was also dressed in a white bib and party hat, plus a pretty blue sundress. She raised a glass before giving a speech.
"My dearest friends," she started. "It has been a great pleasure to have you by my side again for this, our last summer break, together. For I may be gone, have joy that this is my last time away. While adulthood and university will be within my grasps, and with that comes the fact that we may need to... say goodbye to these woods for a while longer..." She lowered her glass as if to mourn the loss of a loved one before continuing. "Know that when that time comes, you shall be with me on my journeys. Till then, let us enjoy this final get together, before the one that will be forever. And I will wish you farewell! Cheers!"
She took a sip of her glass before sitting back down at her place on the bench. She began to eat her slice of cake. But, before she could swallow her next bite, she heard a voice in the distance shout her name. The surprise caused her to choke on the piece of cake she had in her mouth. She pounded her chest with her fist to get it out before looking at the direction of the voice.
"Piper!" The voice yelled again, upon glace she saw her mother walking angrily towards her. She wore a beekeeper suit and still had a few bees swarming her. "I kept trying to call you! We leave for boarding school in 10 minutes!"
Piper, puzzled but filled with anxiety, pulled out her phone and turned on her lock screen. To her shock, the time on her phone said 9:50am. Bellow it displayed multiple missed calls and texts from her mother ranging from 45 minutes ago to 5 minutes ago. Piper was supposed to be back at her house by 9:30 to prepare the rest of her stuff for moving day to leave at 10:00.
"Oh d-d-dear! I'm sorry, Mum," Piper exclaimed before hurriedly and frantically packing up the party. Starting with the food, she placed all the uneaten slices of cake back into the slots of the cake she cut them from. She went on to pour all the lemonade from the cups back into the pitcher. "The party was so lively, I lost track of time!" She placed the cake and the pitcher of lemonade into the wagon she brought along to carry the supplies before going on to fetch the silverware, cups, and plates.
Piper's mom looked around as if she was searching for someone, but could not find it anywhere. "You said the cake and lemonade were for a 'Farewell Party' that you were having with your friends," she said, almost worried.
"I did," Piper said with a confident and truthful smile as she placed the utensils and table cloth in the wagon, "that's what this get together was after all."
Her mother took a deep breath as if she knew where this conversation would lead, but decided to press on in hopes that this time was different. But with the looks of Piper's stuffed animals with the hats and the bibs, her hopes were slim. "Did your friends already leave?"
Piper stopped her tidying up for a second, as she herself knew where this conversation was going. It always made her feel awful. But, maybe this time her mother will be more... accepting? Would that be the right word? After all, Piper was becoming an adult, so her mother will have to respect that this is who she is eventually.
"My... my friends are right here..." Piper said, picking up the donkey plushie and placing him into the wagon, not daring to look at her mother and just hoped, begged to herself that she would just say "ok" and let her move on with the rest of her life.
But, of course, her mother gave a disappointed sigh. God, that stung Piper more than a thousand bees ever would. The one thing she hated most was making those around her unhappy. And, once again, it happened this year.
"Piper," her mother started. "When you said that you were having a party with your friends, I hoped that maybe you were inviting some..." she tried to choose her next words carefully. "Some real friends."
There it was. The 'real' friends conversation that Piper and her mother have been having since she was 5. Why were her stuffed animals not considered 'real' friends to her mother? They were 'real' to her. No matter the trifles or strife that Piper's life had given her, they never left her side. She could always return to the woods, return to them. Why doesn't her mother see that?
Piper was going to argue that thought to her mother, but chose against it. She was never one for confrontation and did not want to make her mother more crossed than she was already. So, she simply did not give an answer. She instead placed the rest of her stuffed animals in her wagon, not giving a glance at her mother.
As if her motherly instincts could tell what was in Piper's head, her mother went over to her daughter and made sure she was looking directly at her. While Piper found it uncomfortable, as well as her current emotions telling her she was definitely not ok with it, she tried to keep eye contact with her mother as to not seem rude. But, Piper was somewhat comforted by the warm smile that adorned her mother's face once she glanced at it.
"Hunny," her mother started. "You know just as well as I do that I would not be pushing this on you if I knew that this is not something that you want as well."
While her mother has the tendency to misunderstand her thoughts and behaviors, Piper knew that her mother could read her like an open book when it came to wanting a social life. While Piper was content with only having her stuffed friends in her life, the thought of having un-stuffed friends was always something that she pinned for, but never fully had the grasp of. All of her attempts were temporary, and each one of them hurt like the devil when they ended. Some much more than others.
She remembered all the night time phone calls she and her mother would have where she cried for hours about one of her boarding school 'friends' leaving her without a single reason why or bullying her into leaving them. She knew those calls were just as hard on her mom as they were for her, so she tried her best to stop those calls when she got into her mid to late teens from not forming connections at all or keeping her feelings hidden. But, she could never avoid the fact that she comes home friendless every year, and her mother finds out eventually. And it always comes back to this moment.
Piper only nodded and placed her head down to stare at the ground. She was holding onto her pooh bear plush as well, so she gave him a squeeze to give her some comfort. Her mother lifted Piper's chin up to see look at her again. Piper allowed it despite the sudden touch sending another uncomfortable feeling down her body, as she did not want her mother to think she was harming her. It just bothered Piper that she was not used to it. She should be used to it right?
"What have I always told you?" her mother said. Piper was about to respond, but her mother answered for her. "You are an incredible person. You're kind, passionate, loving, tons of fun, beautiful," she gave Piper a kiss on the forehead. Piper predicted it, so she wasn't filled with discomfort like the last touch. "Anyone would hit the lucky jackpot to have you as a friend!"
No matter how many times her mother has told her that, why could Piper never believe that herself? Maybe it was because, as a mother, she has to say that to her daughter. There was something her mother was missing out on. Something wrong with Piper. Something that, no matter all the good qualities, was keeping her from being friends with others. But, no one has ever given her an answer to what that 'something' is.
Piper just gave her mom a nod, knowing that it's what she wanted from her. That it would make her happy. And, luckily, it seems that it did based on the smile on her mother's face getting bigger.
"I know that it has been a big struggle," her mom said. "But, I know that if you just put yourself out there a bit more, give yourself more opportunities to make friends, that some are sure to come to you!" Piper could tell that her mother was trying her best to come up with solutions that she has not made in the past, but they were just wrong. She was out there, she did give herself opportunities, she tried everything and no dice.
If only Piper could give her mom a good explanation to why her efforts have failed. The only reason Piper could come up with was that something in her mind forbid her from fully understanding how people worked, or grasping how to be a 'person' her age. She always felt like the only one behind. Everyone else seemed to get something automatically while she could take months to years to get it. And by then, there was something new everyone had already mastered. No one was ever willing to be patient or accept where she was. They all got tired of waiting. Never giving her more than one chance.
Piper wasn't dumb. She had high grades in all of her classes and was considered an honors student and teachers pet. She just didn't know why it takes her so long to be a person. Or why some things she could never get a hold of. No matter her efforts, she always ended up back in the woods, with those always at the same place as her. Those who could always be patient and accepting. She would stay there if time was not a constant nuisance, forcing her body to be something that her mind was not prepared for.
Piper figured that the whole thing would have sounded ridiculous and absurd to her mother, or anyone else. And what would she do to prove her reasons were rational? So, she just kept those thoughts to herself.
Piper gave her mother the answer that she wanted. "I... did see that there would be a new nature watch club," she gave a fake smile that she has mastered at this point. "I may want to give it a shot."
Her mother beamed and opened her arms to offer a hug. Luckily, Piper was feeling more than accepting of the hug, though she still would have hugged her mom even if she was not. No matter what, she knew that her mother loved her dearly and only wanted what she believed was best for her. And while some of it may not be entirely to her liking, Piper loves her mother and appreciates the effort and care she gives in order to give her the best life possible. Plus, she's her mother, of course Piper can trust that all of what she is doing is all for the best.
The two pull away and Piper's mother puts up her index figure. "1 friend," she said. "Or acquittance. Either way, I just ask for one person in your life who you form a connection with."
Piper, again, nodded to give her mom the answers she wanted. This one was a bit more determined to make her mom happy. Even if it meant trying again to make one connection outside of family.
After she nodded, she noticed a bee had flown up-close to her. When it landed on her nose, she tried to blow it away with her breath. Both times, the bee would fly up before landing back on her nose. The third time she blew it, it went closer towards her. Piper backed away in fright and hid behind her mother, who caught the bee soon after, being careful not to accidentally crush it.
"Looks like the queen lost her way," Piper's mother said as she looked closely at the bee in her palm before enclosing it with both her hands. "I'll take her back to her hive before her workers and drones come searching for her." She looked back at Piper. "You should head back to the house, put that stuff away, and help your father. He's been packing all your stuff while we were gone, so you should at least assist with the last of it."
Piper felt a tinge of guilt from her mother's last statement, but nodded in obligation. She grabbed the handle of the wagon and she, her mother, and her stuffed friends left the woods and headed to their house. All the while Piper took glances back at the woods, waving goodbye as if saying goodbye to an old friend.
Unbeknownst to her, this may be the last time she has to say goodbye to her dear old woods.