Nimeway woke up to an empty house, Milo, Ross, and Molly were all gone. Even Baloo was nowhere to be seen, which Nime thought was odd. Though she shrugged it off, going to her office to straighten up her office area. After that, she wandered out of the house and out for a walk. Nime hated to stay in an empty house for she felt the pang of loneliness. And since she did not get a chance to travel to Bree as often now that she was so far along in her pregnancy.
The path was cool with a fresh coat of rain laid upon it. Nime stepped pass Arieway, who was distracted by a patch of grass. The horse paid no attention to Nime, which she normally greeted Nime excitedly. A soft sigh escaped Nime’s lips as she continued down the path alone. That pang of loneliness hit her once more.
It had been a long time since Nime felt lonely, she normally had Ross with her if not Baloo or Milo. Though now all of her friends seemed to have wandered off. So Nime was alone, she had been alone for a little while. When she managed to wander to a tree a few yards from the homesteads.
After sitting underneath the tree for a few hours, a little squirrel padded onto a branch over Nime’s head. The squirrel dropped an acorn onto Nime, who had dozed off. The acorn tumbled down through the air and thumped Nime on the head, causing her to jump up and direct her eyes to the sky.
Another acorn came tumbling down, missing Nime by a hair’s width. A sigh escaped Nime once more, and down came the squirrel tumbling after an acorn. Luckily, Nime managed to catch the little beast in her arms, keeping it from hitting the ground below and injuring itself.
The little tongue from the squirrel’s mouth slipped out, licking Nime’s face in gratitude. When Nime sat back down, releasing the squirrel, it simply crawled back into Nimes’ lap and slept. The loneliness faded from Nime, making her feel comforted for once.
With a smile on her face, Nime said softly, “Hey there little girl, do you mind if I call you Anice?” The squirrel let out a soft squeak as it rolled onto its back and slept, making Nime grin larger, “Anice it is.”
Nime didn’t expect the squirrel to follow her home later in the day, but Nime was happy enough to let her. Anice found a spot on the top of the bookshelf in the main room to lay down and watch Nime as she bustled around the room. Then a loud knocking on the door rang out, making the squirrel duck behind the ledge. Nime answered the door and Baloo came marching in.
Without greeting Nime, he immediately surged to the bookshelf and snarled. Nime snapped at him, “Baloo, behave yourself. Anice is not food.”
Baloo lowered his head, eyeing the little squirrel who peered over the edge. Instead of attacking Anice, he listened to Nime for once and made his way to the rug in the office. Anice stayed on top of the bookshelf as long as Baloo was in the house, but at least Nime had made a new friend.
“Not much goes on in the mind of a squirrel.” –Kate DiCamillo
