My Mumbling Thoughts

So for one of my lectures I have to write a short story. It can be up to 5,000 words and it's due in a couple of weeks. I've started mine, but I'm sure I'm going to run way over our word limit and will have to spend a lot of time trimming it down. I want to keep all of the original though, and figured I could share it with y'all as I'm writing it up.

It's about a strawberry named, Sabrina, and a milk carton called, Mitch. I know. Cute, right? They end up having a baby strawberry milkshake, Peaches, who wants to travel and explore the world. And this is what I have so far....

P.S...don't forget that this is a very, very rough draft and that there is going to be a lot of editing. I'm sure I've made about a zillion mistakes.

***

In an open field where all you could hear were the crickets chirping and the frogs croaking, there was a tree that stood quiet and tall. It seemed out of the ordinary in the open field, but you could tell that it was old and had been there for many years. Kids footprints were left behind from when they climbed all over the branches, and it provided a canopy to the random farm animals that passed by on hot summer days.

Down below there was an even more out of the ordinary elephant leaf that was called home by an even more out of the ordinary family. A strawberry named, Sabrina, and a milk carton called, Mitchell, made a comfortable house out of the giant leaf and lived their days out in the cool shade.

Mitch worked on the farm that was near the tree, minding the cows and making sure that each bottle of milk that was produced was A-OK approved by him and his highly trained staff, while Sabrina was a stay at home wife who kept everything neat and tidy, and made sure that the house was run smoothly. They were a happy and loving couple that lived a simple country life, and each day was full of sunshine and ladybugs.

Sabrina was more than happy to stay at home and decorate the giant elephant leaf and tend to her garden. She was particularly proud of her sunflowers that grew tall and added shelter around their house. Although, she was getting up in age and she told Mitch that she would like for them to try and have a baby. She had always wanted a little family to call her own, and nothing would make her happier than to have a tiny child running around in the grass, and chasing after the butterflies. Mitch, being the caring husband that he was, would do anything to make his wife happy. He smiled, gave her a hug and a kiss, and told her that he would also love to have a little baby.

It wasn’t long until little baby, Peaches, was born under a rainbow. She was a tiny strawberry milkshake and was the apple of both her parent’s eyes that could do no wrong. While Sabrina took care of the daily chores, baby Peaches would run around in the garden playing with the friendly grasshoppers and butterflies. She had a habit of wandering off into her own little world until Sabrina would call her back closer to the elephant leaf.

"You know I don't like it when you go too far my dear. I like to be able to keep you within eye and ear shot. There's a great big world out there that you don't know about, and I'd like to keep you safe and away from all of the outside dangers," Sabrina explained to her young daughter.

"I know mama, but that's what I like. I want to go explore everything and see what is out there that I don't know about. It's all so terribly exciting," Peaches said with bright, sparkling eyes.

"Terribly exciting, sure. But terribly dangerous as well. Just keep close to me for now. One day you'll get to see it all, but not yet. I'm not ready for you to go out there just yet."

Peaches sighed, slumped her shoulders and went to sit down in a patch of grass where her mother was doing some gardening. She knew that her mother worried about her and wanted to keep her safe, but Peaches couldn't help but wonder what else was beyond all of the sunflowers. Her friend's crazy uncle, Terry the tomato, would always tell the girls stories about where he had been and all of the great adventures that he had been on; places called the "supermarket" and the "restaurant" and how he managed to slip away from the monstrous grasps of "people." Peaches wanted so badly to see all of these different things. She could only sit and imagine what it all must look like and be like when she was sat at home with her mother in eye and ear shot.

One day, when Peaches was playing alone in the tall blades of grass, she heard something rustling to the right of her. She leaned in a little closer, then looked over her shoulder to see what her mother was doing. Sabrina was busying herself with preparing dinner for that evening, and had her back towards Peaches. Peaches then took this opportunity to investigate the rustling and stepped through the wall of grass that was separating her from the intriguing noise.

She was surprised to see a chocolate Hershey's bar crouching and looking rather startled. He was squinting his eyes and covering his head when he looked up at her.

"Hi," she said and smiled to him.

"Hi," he said back with a little apprehension.

"I'm Peaches," she said and put her small hand up in a sort of wave.

"I'm lost. And slightly confused. Where am I?" he asked her.

"You're in my backyard," she laughed at him. "Where are you from?"

"I'm from Hershey, Pennsylvania. I've escaped and am on the run. I'm trying to get back to my hometown. Do you know how I can get there from here?" he finally straightened up and dusted himself off a bit.

"You've escaped? From who? Are you on an adventure? I'd love to go on an adventure. I'm unsure how to get from Hershey, Pennsylvania from here, but I'm awful good company and would love to join you if you don't mind too much." She was so excited about this new friend she had found and would do anything for him to let her come with him.

"Whoa now. I don't even really know who you are. Besides, I'm more of a lone traveller. Company really isn't my thing." He cleared his throat. In truth, Henry, who still had not told Peaches his name, had "escaped", but it wasn't as exciting as he was making it out to be. He had simply fallen off of the delivery truck that was carting him and the rest of the chocolate bars to their nearest store to be sold to grubby little kids that would beg their mothers at the checkout counter for the sweet treat.

"Oh," and Peaches slightly hung her head and was visibly disappointed.

"I'm sorry," he told her. "But I just don't want to be kept very long. I've got friends and family back in Pennsylvania. You understand."

"I suppose, yes," Peaches said, and sniffed a little.

"Now, now. Don't cry," he said to her in a gentle tone. "I'm sure you wouldn't want to go traveling with me anyway. While you may be excellent company, I'm probably terrible and would not be a decent companion. Besides, you live here. Why go so far when this place seems nice?"

"Because I want an adventure!" Peaches yelled out, and startled herself a little bit. She didn't mean to be so loud and harsh. "I'm sorry," she said, and composed herself. "I've just always wanted to see what else is beyond this place. Yes, here it's nice, but I'm curious to see what else is out there. I've heard stories from others about what lays beyond our sunflowers, but I want to see it myself. It all just seems so exciting and new."

Henry looked at the young strawberry milkshake and smiled a little. He liked her and thought it wouldn't hurt if she came along. At least for a little bit. Besides, she probably knew this area better than he did himself.

"I suppose," he said slowly, "you could come with me for a little bit. But only to get me out of these thick sunflowers. They're everywhere, did you know that? Once we've made it to the edge and I'm back on the road that I came from though, you should turn around and come back here. Would that be enough of an adventure for you?"

Peaches' face lit up and a big smile came across her face.

"Oh thank you!" she said and started jumping up and down.

"I'm Henry, by the way," and he extended his chocolate arm out towards her. Peaches stepped forward and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Henry. Let's start this adventure shall we?"

***

To be continued...