WtP: Lost Treasures chp1

The sun was bright and hanging high in the blue sky as a burgundy red car made its way through the forest that afternoon. The highway twisted and turned for miles in the thickets that composed the beautiful boreal forest that covered most of that region of Britain. The colors of late summer and early autumn blended in beautifully in the treetops. The birds that flew overhead seemed to be enjoying the happy atmosphere that was in the air just as much as the driver in the car below them was.

The man with thick brown hair took a deep breath and smiled. These parts were very familiar to him. He had grown up here as a boy; from the day he was born to the day he left home for college to become a teacher. Now, thirty years of age, he returned to the woods he had so long loved.

He had been offered a job at the school where he attended in his childhood, and so he, his wife and his four-year-old son were moving from the bustling city of London to the peaceful countryside in the giant forest. It was a relief that this place had been left unspoiled by the age of technology the man had seen in London.

"Christopher?"

The man blinked his light blue eyes and then turned his head to look at the golden-haired woman sitting in the passenger's seat. She smiled wryly at him. "Day dreaming, hm?" she teased.

Christopher shrugged in reply and looked ahead. "I can't help it," he admitted. "I've always done it, you know that."

"Yes, far too well."

"Well, what did you need Tanya?"

The woman looked down at the magazine in her hands. "I said, how long has it been since you've last been here again?" she asked.

"Oh." Christopher smiled. "Many years. Ever since I was… nineteen, I believe. Eleven years. Yes, that seems about right."

"Are we moving in with Grandmother, Daddy?" the little boy in the backseat asked. He was currently playing with a toy airplane, pretending to make it soar through the air.

His father looked over his shoulder for a moment. "Yes," he said. "Until she moves into the manor in town."

"Grandma told me she doesn't want to go there. She says it smells of old people."

"True, but your Grandma is very sick and she needs a nurse there constantly for her. And being in such a huge house is going to be too much for her."

"Didn't you offer that we could care for her?" Tanya said.

Christopher looked at her and chuckled. "Of course I did," he said. "But she said she'd rather live with a naggy nurse than a son who can't clean up his own room."

His wife threw her head back and laughed, just as their son leaned forward and poked his father's arm. "Are you going to show me your playworld when we get there, Daddy?" he asked.

Christopher turned his head. "Playworld?"

"Yes; you know, the Hundred Acre Wood."

That name brought back so many memories. Memories of spending the best times of his childhood with the greatest of friends, and sharing fantastic adventures every day.

And one of those friends… his best friend… stuck out more than the rest. A round, plump, silly old bear… the one he cared for the most.

The one he had not seen in ten years.

Christopher smiled at his son. "Yes," he said. "After unloading the moving van, I believe I'll have time to do just that."

*****

"How does dis look?"

"Horrible. Do it again."

"We've been rearranging dis silly clothesline for hours, Longears!"

A beige rabbit crossed his arms and tapped one of his large feet against the forest floor, all the while glaring at the striped feline standing at the top of a ladder. The sun was still shining brightly over the Hundred Acre Wood just as much as it was further into the forests surrounding it, but at the moment, all the organized critter could think of was sending that bouncing companion of his to Timbuktu. "We've been doing this for five minutes, Tigger," he groaned. "But you keep asking how it looks every five seconds!"

"Well, what did you expect from a guy who's been forced to hold up a clothesline?" Tigger moaned as he tiredly held up one end of Rabbit's clothesline near his treehouse. "My arm's gettin' a little tired, Rabbit. Can't I just put it up here and—!"

"Absolutely not! If it's not straight, all of the sheets will tilt and slide into one another."

"Why do I have to do dis again?"

"Because you're the one who tore it down when you bounced it."

Tigger giggled here and wagged his striped tail. "Oh yeah, I forgot, heehee!"

Rabbit groaned and slapped his forehead, just as the sound of someone running up his yard caused his ears to perk up. With a questioning look sweeping his grumpiness aside momentarily, he turned around and watched as a little pink pig and a baby kangaroo wearing a blue shirt ran down the path around Rabbit's garden. "Rabbit, Rabbit!" they cried out in unison while waving their arms about in the air.

Tigger, simpleminded as he was, let go of the clothesline and waved cheerfully at his friends. "Hey there, Pigelet and Roo-boy!" he greeted.

Rabbit gasped in horror as his clean sheets fell into the dust and dirt on the ground and restrained himself from slapping Tigger in the face. Taking a deep breath, he waited for Piglet and Roo to come to a stop before questioning their behavior: "What is it now? Did you see another Heffalump? A Whoozle? Or maybe a Jagular?"

"N-n-n-no, Rabbit, nothing like that," Piglet replied while waving his hands before him. He waited for Roo to catch his breath and then pointed over his shoulder. "P-Pooh just found another empty honey tree."

Although this may seem to be non-threatening news to most, it was certainly not the first time Rabbit and Tigger had heard it. The two of them raised their heads and widened their eyes in shock. "Another one?" Rabbit gasped. "Show us where, Piglet and Roo!"

*****