Evelyn, the Warrior

Wee Evelyn awoke from her afternoon nap and blinked into the afternoon sunlight, trying to orient herself. The unmoving puppy Pa was there, the blanket ja-ja was there… where was her ninny, her pacifier?

Clutching ja-ja ever tighter, she looked down, hoping to spot it down by her feet. She kicked aside the bootie that had come off her foot to clear out a potential hiding place, to no avail. She exchanged a worried glance with Pa, who told her with a look that he didn’t know where it was either.

She cried for a few seconds and then stuck part of her hand in her mouth, just to have something to suck on. She thought so much better when she had something to suck on.  She could still tell that her hand wouldn’t be an adequate replacement, and began growing restless with anxiety. She needed the ninny to go exploring!

As she was squirming about, she craned her neck to see above her head, and spotted several of Pa’s friends lining the top of her crib. There was also a new friend, a round green turtle. She gave Pa an questioning look, but he didn’t know. The turtle had descended into the group the evening before, and they was still getting to know each other. Evelyn looked again at the turtle, spying closer until she spotted something… wait! Could that be?!  Her ninny!  Under the brute’s foot!

Her mission clear, she rolled over onto her tummy to ootz ever closer to the offender’s paw. She could swear she saw the turtle trying to push her ninny further beneath him, and she scooted faster.  Reaching the turtle, she tried to push her chubby hand under his paw but couldn’t reach. She ootzed forward a bit more, aware that she may lose her hand in the battle. Yet she was not a cowardly girl and kept reaching, straining so much that she was slipped onto one side. She still couldn’t reach.

She swore she could see a look of sly satisfaction on the turtle’s face (though this may have been her lopsided view), but feared she would lose her last chance at her ninny. She changed her strategy and, instead of going for the ninny, grasped the soft turtle’s arm, and yanked him towards her.  The turtle was caught off guard and, in a final burst of effort, she was able to lift him off of her ninny, to the point that she could throw him out of her crib.

Slightly out of breath but triumphant, she ootzed the final inches to retrieve her ninny, and put it in her mouth, victorious. She reached for Pa, who gave her a high five, and tucked him under her arm and blinked sleepily a few more times.  It isn’t easy making things right in the world, she realized, but that was one opponent vanquished.

This story was prompted by several things. First, I have seen “Writer’s Dice,” just dice of different characters and subjects, to help people develop stories.  I like the idea and, ahem, adapted it for my own personal use.  (I stole nothing. 😉 ) Today, the combination was child/ruler/crisis/vanquish/survive, and I decided to write a little story I would be pleased to read my unborn daughter. This was fun to do and I think I’ll try more for her.