8. S1: Bessie the Snail

If you were to ask Hop Pop which animal he liked the most, the most obvious answer would be what he had the longest. In this case, it would be Bessie the snail; the Plantars' only mode of transportation and loyal companion. Bessie here had been part of the family for as long as he could remember, in fact long enough that Bessie might as well be a Plantar. He had travelled the world with the girl and opened up his eyes with new experiences. An average and common snail but irreplaceable.

"Here we are, Bessie. Home sweet home." Hop Pop sang with a happy tune, looking over to the Plantars' house from on top of a hill. He was riding on Bessie, a leather leash in his hands. The snail squealed in delight.

With a light fwip of the leash, Bessie crawled her way to the Plantar homestead. While she's just a snail, she wasn't as slow as one would think. Fast enough to reach the destination on time while also comfortable, creating a pleasant ride.

Hop Pop steered the snail with a slight tug, leading her into the barn; Bessie's own little bedroom. Most would say that storing your hard-earned produce in the barn with a giant snail was a bad idea but Hop Pop and Bessie had an unbreakable bond. He knew that the snail wouldn't eat his crops.

Once arrived, he removed Bessie's leash and tapped her on the shell twice, signalling to her that it was resting time. He walked by a large barrel and scooped up some mushy snail food, pouring it into the trough nearby.

"There ya go!" Hop Pop exclaimed, adding a handful of mushrooms in the mix as an extra treat. He liked to do that from time to time, something special for her hard work.

"SQUUIIII!" Bessie squeaked happily as she munched down on her well-earned lunch.

While she gorged herself, Hop Pop went to the back and grabbed the groceries he bought. Thanks to Sasha's brilliant haggling skills at the weekly market, those tomatoes sold 50% over their original price. She was a quick learner and just as quick at using them.

"See ya in the morning, Bessie!" Hop Pop said, closing the barn doors. The closed doors were so that no pests could come in but there were a few windows nearby that provided some natural light to enter. Bessie didn't even notice that Hop Pop left.

The old frog opened the front door with a creak and placed his bags onto the kitchen table. He was quite happy with what he bought and while it did cost a pretty penny, he felt that it was worth it. He didn't usually spend this much; not even for his grandkids. But this time, it's a special occasion.

"Hehe, Bessie's gonna love this." Hop Pop chuckled quietly to himself. He didn't need to, knowing that the kids were out of the house at the time being but it was a force of habit.

"What'cha got there, old man?"

"Nothing much, Sasha. I just went to town to buy Bessie something speci— WAIT, SASHA?!"

Hop Pop immediately turned around, facing straight at Sasha's suspicious face. She was eyeing his grocery bags, so Hop Pop quickly jumped in front of them, blocking her view. "What are you doing here?! I thought you went out to play with Sprig and Polly!"

"Oh, I did." Sasha nodded. "We went to the lake you told us not to go and the monster was still there, so I'm just back here to grab a few of your super spicy peppers to throw at it."

"Wait, the lake? MONSTER?! There's a MONSTER in the lake?!"

"Yep." She replied, popping the 'p' at the end.

"If you knew that, why did you go anyway?!" Hop Pop shrieked. Sasha shrugged nonchalantly. "It's not the first time me and Sprig dealt with it. We even got eaten by it once. It's all cool."

"YOU GOT EATEN BY THE MONSTER IN THE LAKE?!" Hop Pop started croaking in panic, seemingly at the verge of a heart attack. He slowly crawled his way to the sink, desperate for a shock. He turned the tap and filled a basin full of water, before dunking his head in it and screaming.

"Phuow!" He yelped, his head finally out and his lungs filling itself with oxygen once more. Hop Pop stared at the partially filled basin with horror. "W-why are you telling me this?"

"Oh, because it already happened and there isn't really anything you can do." Sasha replied with an uncaring tone. "Also, I get to see what you bought."

Hop Pop turned around and saw Sasha rummaging through his groceries. Both of her answers were correct and she fully used them to her advantage. That sly gal.

"Woah ho ho, what's this?!" Sasha gleefully asked as she pulled out a small canister, the size of her hand. It had trims of gold and turquoise and had some fancy cursive art on its surface, giving it an expensive but mystical look. She was also sure that the canister glowed in the dark.

"Be careful! I spent half of our tomato savings on it!" Hop Pop yelled, running towards Sasha and grabbing it out of her hand. He also slapped the same hand once for good measure.

"OWW! What the heck?!"

"That's for telling me the truth!" He scolded. He returned to the metal container and carefully stared at it. "Oh, I hope you're not damaged..."

While Hop Pop rubbed away any prints with his own fingers, Sasha leaned forward, peeking around his shoulder. "So... You're gonna explain what that is?"

Hop Pop sighed. "I'm guessing you're not gonna leave until I answer, huh?"

He didn't even have to turn to know the answer.

"Well," Hop Pop began, turning around to face her. "This here is a Goldycep, short for golden cordyceps. Extremely rare and expensive, and usually used for medicinal purposes."

An eyebrow raised in question. "What, are you dying or something?"

"Hehe, not yet." He answered with a chuckle. "I didn't buy this for myself. I bought it for dear ol' Bessie. You see, her birthday is coming up and I always buy her something special, usually in the form of food."

"And you bought it a mushroom?" Sasha exclaimed, poking the golden cordyceps with her finger. Hop Pop immediately pulled it away from her and slap her hand again, receiving a brief shriek of pain.

"STOP THAT! And this here ain't no ordinary mushroom! Legend has it that this here cordyceps is one of the four ingredients needed to make the Elixir of Life."

"Well, has anyone ever made this 'Elixir of Life'?"

"No, it's just a legend." The old frog realized he was getting distracted and promptly shook his head. "L-look, that's not the point! It's supposed to be special for Bessie!"

With a sigh, he waved it off. "You wouldn't understand, Sasha. You don't know what it's like to have your own snail."

Now, both eyebrows were raised. "W-wha?! I've had pets before! I know what it's like to have one!"

"Bessie ain't no pet, she's family!" Hop Pop argued back. "She's been in the family since I was Sprig's age! In fact, she's older than you are which makes her your elder!"

Sasha stared at Hop Pop with wide eyes. The snail was actually older than her? Man, she didn't think she'd find that out. To be fair, she did guess that would've been the case but she preferred it to not be true.

Sasha then proceeded to laugh. "PFFFFFTTT— Hahahahaha! The snail's my elder? Hehehehe—!"

The older frog frowned. "It ain't funny, Sasha. It's true!"

Sasha wheezed as she continued laughing. After a few coughs and chest bumps, she started breathing normally. "Hehe, L-look, I'm not laughing because it's not true. I just think it's funny that you think some snail can order me around."

Hop Pop's frown deepened. Here she was, a guest that he (initially) was sceptical of and yet letting her stay at this little cottage by a lake, and she was laughing at dear 'ol Bessie. He knew what it was like to deal with rude children but this just took the cake.

Hop Pop wasn't just angry. He was disappointed too. But mostly furious.

"Well, it settles then." Hop Pop said, crossing his arms. "Since you're not going to give Bessie the respect she deserves, I guess you don't need her to buy you your supplies, right?"

Abrupt and instant, Sasha stopped laughing. Her expression changed from happy laughter to sudden death by horror in less than a second. However, that didn't last either, quickly changing to a serious stare.

"You wouldn't dare..." Sasha glared at the older frog, not buying his bluff. She knew how to deal with people and that meant knowing when they're lying. There was no way Hop Pop would let her starve or worse; eat his cooking.

And she was right. Hop Pop was in fact bluffing. He might be mad at the moment but that didn't mean he was unreasonable. But Sasha missed one glaring issue; Hop Pop is old as heck, which meant he also knew how to deal with children like herself.

"Oh, I would. I know you can't eat my delicious cooking because of your human body, but that don't mean you can't eat other stuff. Heh, before you came living here, you told me you ate mushrooms and herbs." Hop Pop replied, doubling down on her.

"That's not a way of living!" Sasha yelled. "I was at the brink of death! I need a balanced diet!"

"And you can. You'll just have to use the same ingredients I use from my usual grocery run." He then smirked. "I hope you like grasshopper legs. They're a delicacy around these parts."

Sasha glared at the older frog's confident face, and Hop Pop did the same at her serious expression. Neither was willing to back down, being the stubborn mules that they were.

Although Sasha wanted to continue calling out his unconvincing bluff, she slowly realized that it just wasn't worth it. Why get caught up over a dumb snail anyway? Her own pride might be against it but she was convinced that there was no reason to continue.

Sasha rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine, I'm sorry I insulted your snail, Betty—"

"It's Bessie!"

"Barnaby, whatever." She waved. "There, you happy?"

Hop Pop scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well... It ain't the apology I wanted but it'll do. Though, I still say if you had your own snail, you'd understand."

This again? Sasha wasn't going to fall in this trap. "Well, I don't have my own snail and I know you aren't going to buy me one. So we're stuck like this." She casually remarked.

Listening to Sasha's words, Hop Pop suddenly had a great idea. Personally, he thought it was dangerous and he wouldn't trust Sasha with any animal but he believed it could work. He just had to keep an eye on her.

"That's it!" Hop Pop shouted, snapping his fingers. He placed the golden cordyceps on the table before running he then t to his study. Sasha watched as he ran gleefully in and pulled the door closed. Random noises and funny sounds came out of the closed room and after a few long minutes, the door reopened, letting out a cloud of dust and cobwebs into the living room. Sasha coughed as the air rapidly deteriorates in terms of quality, though it quickly ended.

"Here we are..." Hop Pop exclaimed with a smile, carrying with him a big and really old-looking book. He walked up to her by the kitchen and dropped the book on the table, just next to the cordyceps.

"This here is Bessie's log. In it are all the records of her life on the Plantar residence, starting from the day I got her till today. I write new entries every month or so." He then tapped his chin in thought. "Which reminds me, I should update it right about now."

Sasha looked at the side of the book, taking in the number of pages the book had. It was the thickest set of pages Sasha had ever seen in her whole life, and she's been to her city's library before. She grabbed a handful of pages and flicked them rapidly with her thumb, giving out a shrttt sound.

"Holy heck, old man. I didn't think you can write this much, or even read this much." She exclaimed with a whistle.

Hop Pop proudly patted the book, a smile adorning his face. "This log has over 50 years worth of history between me and Bessie. It's irreplaceable."

"Uh-huh..." Sasha nodded. "So, why are you showing me this again?"

"You see, before you can learn to drive another person's snail, you need to know the history behind it. Now, I planned on giving this to Sprig when he comes to age but since you're here with obvious disrespect towards Bessie, I think it's best for you to try out first."

While Sasha stared at Hop Pop, she processed his words and after a second or two, she blinked. "Oh ho, no way. I don't need to learn to drive a snail. They're so slow and gross."

"Sasha, you ride Bessie with us every time we go to town."

"And I'm not taking back those words."

Hop Pop sighed in irritation. "Look, you don't even have to ride Bessie. Just read the book and maybe you'll understand what it's like to have one." He waved the book in front of her. "Come on, just try a few pages. It's not like you have anything better to do."

Walking backwards, the teen defiantly crossed her arms. "Nothing better to do? I help you on your farm every day! That's already a pretty big something."

Sasha shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "I just don't see what I could gain from this." She said with a mocking tone. Hop Pop, however, was having none of that.

"If you read at least ten pages word by word, you get to skip work for the whole week."

"Deal."

The next day, Sasha was sitting by the living room, prepared for what's to come. She had the book ready on the table and next to it, a basket of her favourite treats. After hearing about Hop Pop's 'challenge', Sprig jumped around in joy and anticipation. Apparently, he was looking forward to being able to read the leather cover book, something about being tradition or whatnot.

In response, he went off to buy a bunch of snacks from town to give her the energy needed and finish reading the book. Sasha, however, did not plan on finishing it. After all, Hop Pop specifically said at least 50 pages. So that's her milestone.

Also, Hop Pop had begun trusting Sprig more recently so now he's allowed to walk to Wartwood whenever he wanted. Though, he had to bring Polly with him; a safety measure due to his history of mishaps and problems. Then again, the pollywog wasn't exactly complaining.

So yeah, now she has a lightly-decorated straw basket filled with a bunch of different foodstuffs.

"Time to get started!" Sasha exclaimed out loud, though no one was there to actually hear it. She sure hoped talking to herself won't become a habit in the future.

Once sat down, Sasha grabbed the book and pulled it closer, feeling the weight of history behind it, only to be counteracted by her 'not caring'. She flipped the cover open and began reading...

Page 1

I have procured these set of parchments bounded by twine and leather as to document the monthly entries regarding my newly and legally won prize, a travel snail by which I have named it "Bessie", as per Plantar tradition set by—

"Urgh, old man. Why did you write like this? What's with all the words?" Sasha complained, barely finishing her first paragraph. The first few pages were really just a compressed history of Hop Pop's life. It was... detailed, to say the least.

Thus, she made the wise decision of skipping these pages until she reached the parts about the snail. Unless Hop Pop decided to quiz her on his life story instead of Bessie, then she was sure she'd be fine.

Page 12

I decided to skip a few pages for future use, should this ever become a snail's journal. I'll fill them later when I finally get my first snail.

Just today, during my daylight hours in the Wartwood's valley fair, I had share glance with a majestic creature on display; a travel snail almost twice of my tallness. Her shell was pristine and untouched and I realized she was fair of a young age, much so than the ones sold from Wartwood's neighbouring town.

T'was the grand prize, the sharply dressed salamander said. For whom that can acquire an unreasonable number of tickets from the large variety of fair games, shall be prized the young snail. I don't know why but I felt a connection to her, something new to me.

"I'm gonna win this snail!", the young frog announced from on top of a wooden box. The folks around turned to stare and watch. They whispered and mocked but he felt no nervousness; he was simply stating the truth. "I gonna win her and we'll have grand adventures! Just like the stories Pops tell!"

So says Hopadiah Plantar.

Ma quickly pulled me down and was scolding me for such inappropriate behaviour, but I could not for the life of me remember what she said.

Page 13

I went back to the fair the next day with nothing but a bag of gold and copper, and the clothes on my back. I took every carnival game, every challenge and every lottery. I spent a whole year's savings and worked my behind off. Some of the stall owners sympathized with me, wanting to give me a free game.

As for the folks by the stalls, I refused their offer. If I were to make Bessie my own, it shall be from my own hands.

"Sheesh, old man. Romantic, much?" Sasha muttered to herself.

Though, she understood what he meant about not wanting to accept help. The teen didn't like to take charity and any debt she had, she'd always try to pay in full. It was also why she had such a good reputation in school; her deals are always good.

It wasn't out of honour or anything. She just hated owing things to people.

Sasha flipped the short page for the next one. On the new page were a bunch of crude calculations, probably about Hopadiah's money management. Sasha wasn't a fan of math, though it wasn't like she was bad at it.

So she ignored that page and moved on to the one next to it.

Page 15

It's been a few days and I can taste victory already.

I spent a lot of time with Bessie and learned so much about her. She's pretty much eats anything but has a taste for fungi. She also likes music and well, I'm not good at playing instruments but I can learn. I think she'll like it.

And yes, I named her Bessie. Thought it'd be cute.

Underneath the paragraph were several sketches of different instruments, most of which had been crossed out with think black lines. There was also a small doodle of Bessie, surrounded by musical notes.

"Aww..." Sasha cooed in delight. It was adorable to know that Hop Pop had tried various instruments to learn music, but from the looks of it he only managed to learn the recorder aka the baby's instrument. She wasn't saying that she hated the recorder, just that everyone learned to use it at some point in school.

Even when the next page turned, Sasha still giggled at the thought of the old frog playing a recorder.

Page 16

It has taken me a good few days but I have finally done it! I have acquired the number of tickets necessary to afford her. A lot of blood, sweat and tears had been poured to get here, and a lot of money spent for sure. It was time to claim my prize.

"You shall be mine! And we'll be the best of friends!" Hopadiah yelled, jumping on his bed. Well, not really. He yelled in the form of a whisper since Ma would've scolded him otherwise. Something to do about bothering the neighbours.

It seemed as if they have less of them each year.

As usual, I went to valley fair but not for the purpose of tickets today. No, this time, it shall be the last day I spend in this place. During my days of earning tickets, I had gotten accustomed to the folks that worked there. There was Charlie the young frog who manned the cotton candy stall, Omaha the gruff-looking toad who sells balloons and of course, Jiminy the talking magical cricket.

I wasn't sure if Jiminy was real or my eyes were deceiving me, but apparently he got eaten by a child the day before so there goes that.

When I arrived by the ticket booth salamander, he was still in his sharp red-and-white carny suit and hat. With the tickets in my satchel, I politely ordered, "One snail, please."

Though, a bunch of people had stared at me in a weird fashion. Do these people not know what politeness means?

"O-ONE SNAIL P-PLEASE!" Hopadiah cried, tears in his eyes. He was too emotional, finally being able to earn his right to ride Bessie. After all, he did spend every day at the carnival and subsequently, with Bessie. The two shared a deep as it is. Now all that's left was the pesky paperwork. Assuming that there was paperwork.

"Oh sorry, kiddo. I already sold the snail." He replied with a chipper tune. Hop Pop felt my heart ripped out and put back it but in a slight angle. Painfully and lingering, but not enough to kill him.

"W-what do you mean you sold it?!" he desperately asked. How could he have sold it? She wasn't on sale. If she was, he would've seen a price tag.

"Sold it, with two bags of gold!" The sharply-dressed salamander pointed at the large bags at the back, filled to the brim with glistening gold coins; more than all the money he'd ever seen in his entire young frog life.

"Really though, the snail was like fifty pieces of silver. That boy got duped, haha! Kkhack!, the lizard laughed uglily, choking on his words by the end.

He looked around, frantically searching for the so-called 'boy'. It did not take long, however, as he immediately saw the baby-faced newt, the one unworthy of her.

Page 17

He was jumping all over her, yelling like a maniac and rubbing his filthy money-grubbing hands on her shell, and he wasn't even driving her! She was being pulled by a butler of sorts and was clearly distressed!

All that hard work, all the sacrifices I'd taken, only to be foiled by the likes a spoiled little boy.

"... Woah.", Sasha gasped.

Bessie wasn't originally Hop Pop's? What a turn of events! Though, she knew that Hop Pop will get Bessie at some point in the future, seeing that she was here and not somewhere else, but the old frog had a way of writing dramatic tales.

She flipped the page in gleeful impatience, wanting to see what happened next. She wasn't sure how Hop Pop was going to get the snail, but she was sure it would in some honourable and legal man—

Page 18

I have decided. I'm going to steal her.

"Welp, spoke too soon." Sasha exclaimed with a deadpan expression. She continued reading regardless, curious of what'd happened next.

At least, she would if it weren't for the front door suddenly bursting open and a bunch of empty corn stalks flowed in. Sasha jumped on the couch in surprise, hugging the book for dear life. From the door, Hop Pop shuffled his way, wearing his full farmer attire.

"HOPADIAH, WHAT THE HECK?!"

"Sorry, Sasha. I was going to put this here in the cellar but the door's jammed. I'm gonna have to go through the inside door." He clapped his gloved hands clean but suddenly stopped. "Wait, did you just call me 'Hopadiah'?"

Sasha blushed. "Pft, n-no. Why would I do that?"

Hop Pop deviously smiled. "Look, if you wanted to read in peace, I advise you go to the barn. Because this here," he patted the vegetation. "is going to take a while."

Sasha stared at the old frog, still clutching on the book. "Uhh... Yeah, sure. I'll just, umm, go, I guess." Standing up, she immediately walked briskly to the door but then, stopped and turned back to the table. "I'll just take this with me." She said, grabbing the basket of goodies with her free hand.

Hop Pop watched as the teen left his view, his devious smile still going strong. He sighed, knowing fully what was happening. "What a troublesome girl..."

Suddenly, a loud crack boomed from outside, startling him. "What in the world?!" Hop Pop shouted in surprise.

From outside, Sprig's voice was heard. "Hop Pop! I got the door open! And uh... I got the door." He waved a detached handle in the air, visible from the living room window.

Meanwhile, Sasha walked towards Bessie's barn with a brisk pace, somewhat impatiently. It was no different than any other Earth barn, just that it had a greenish moss-like hue. She entered the building through a small door and after turning on the mushrooms, saw the snail, Bessie, sleeping peacefully.

Sasha doesn't really know much about snails and she's pretty sure snails here were very different than the ones she knows. For one thing, Earth snails weren't basically living cars and speak to you.

The blonde teen walked up the to sleeping snail and sat next to it, leaning on its shell. It was surprisingly comfortable and the lighting wasn't so bad, so Hop Pop wasn't lying. Shifting a bit, she grabbed a snack from the basket and took a bite, opening and continuing her read.

I don't know much about who this fella is, but he in the way between me and my one true snail.

If this is my last entry, I'm either captured or dead. Preferably not both.

The young Hopadiah Plantar crept his way through the woods late at night, careful and discreet. The sharp chirping of crickets and glimmering fireflies were his only companions, constantly accompanying him on his trek. After several hours of brisk walking, he finally reached the location; a large fenced-off land, at least five times the size of his backyard lake, with a huge white mansion in the middle.

While the outside of the fence was a pure jungle, the inside was completely trimmed and proper. It had gardens, fountains and all sorts of decorations, including an oddly-muscular statue made of marble.

Climbing up the fence wasn't difficult; after all, he is a frog, but Hopadiah had no idea where to start looking for Bessie, his would-be snail. He admitted how he didn't do any research regarding who currently owned her, but no one in their right mind would own land this big, especially not smack dab in the middle of dangerous jungle.

But that wouldn't stop Hopadiah Plantar. He was no quitter.

It didn't take that long though. After what was just ten minutes, he finally found her.

"Bessie!" Hopadiah cheered, seeing the snail in a cramped pen inside a large unremarkable building. Bessie blinked and made a short chirp, something the young frog accepted as a reply of endearment.

With a smile, Hopadiah ran towards Bessie and hugged her tight, slime and all. That had the unfortunate effect of covering him with said slime but he didn't care. The hug felt like hours, though it was cut short as Hopadiah quickly snapped back into reality in panic.

"Oh jeez, we got to get you outta here!", he exclaimed. Looking around, he found a rusty latch and easily pulled it open, unlatching the pen gate (the slime somehow made a good lubricant).

Not sure how but right after opening the pen, the mushrooms in the barn lit up, and Hopadiah gasped at what he saw.

Page 20

The building was filled with snails of all sorts, some young and some old, all cramped up in tight pens. Bessie was lucky to have her own pen but even then, it was way too small for a snail like her. The worst part was that even in the dimly lit room, I could see the pain and abuse on their shells.

I was horrified.

"Oh. My. Gosh. What the heck?!" Sasha angrily yelled at the book. How could someone treat their uh, pet, like that?! In her frustration, she had accidentally woken up Bessie, who drowsily chipped its usual chirpy self.

Bessie turned its head sideways and glanced at Sasha, too immersed in the book. The snail looked at the familiar book and chirped happily before laying its head on the ground, staring as Sasha continued to read without her noticing.

"We gotta help them! All of them!" Hopadiah declared. Looking around, he searched for anything that could break the locks. Bessie's might had been unsecured but the rest looked like they've been there for weeks, months even.

"I got it!" He said, grabbing a shovel used to throw in snail feed. With it, he hit every latch and lock he could find, breaking the pens open. Naturally, the snails all crawled out of their cramped homes and into the more spacious corridor in between.

"FREE! YOU ARE ALL FREE!"

The next page, Hop Pop had scribbled a doodle of himself on Bessie, extremely muscular and leading a charge with a wave of snails behind him as if it was biblical. Little drawn lightning strikes were in the background, and Hop Pop was holding a sword in the doodle. It was also the only page in the book with colour.

Sasha stared at the picture for a good minute before turning the page again, her face emotionless.

I had successfully released all the snails in captivity but it wasn't easy. For a madman stood in my way, one who would become the bane of my life for all eternity.

"Huh, what? Who are you?" said a young newt by the name of Francis. He was younger than Hopadiah and had strolled into the building with his pyjamas on and a lantern in hand. His eyes were still bleary and tired, but he immediately turned mostly awake once he saw the frog and snail. "H-hey! What are you doing with my snail?!"

"Uh..."

"G-guards! There's an intruder!" shouted Francis frantically. "He's stealing my snail!"

"Oh for the love of—" Hopadiah quickly reached for his pocket and grabbed a small pouch. From it, he threw its contents directly at the half-awake Francis. "POCKET SAND!"

The sand flew across the air and into his face, blinding the young newt boy. His eyes watered heavily, followed immediately by Francis who cried in pain.

"GO GO GO!" Hopadiah cried, waving his arms towards the door. The snails, in a fit of panic, all stampede their way across the hall and through the large door, ultimately burying the pained Francis underneath their slimy bottoms. Hopadiah climbed on top of Bessie and with a 'yip yip', the two rushed out, being the last snail to escape.

Page 21

Ever since that day yesterday, I promise that I will never allow such harm to befallen my dear Bessie. She's not just a snail to me; she's family. I knew it from the very beginning and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Another picture was shown at the bottom of the page, though this time it wasn't a doodle. Instead, it was an actual photograph, taped neatly at the empty space. The colours had long since faded over time, leaving nothing but browns and greys.

In it was the young Hopadiah Plantar, alongside the snail Bessie who was much smaller than what she is now. Hopadiah looked similar to his older self, except younger, smaller, brighter and had a tuft of hair similar to Sprig. He also wore a farmer's hat and had a cattail stalk in his mouth.

The two looked so happy. At least, Hopadiah did. Bessie looked pretty much the same other than size.

Sasha dragged her fingers across the photo. It was as if she felt the history behind and reading this, she couldn't help herself but feel sad. Hop Pop and Bessie are the same as Sasha and her own friends; Anne and Marcy. And even though he only knew Bessie for a few days, he was already running through hell to save her.

Would Sasha do the same?

Here she was, stuck in the middle of a different world, and she hasn't even tried to look for her friends. She didn't even ask for help.

Sasha was afraid of the answer.

"Haa..." a sigh escaped from her lips, tired and riddled with guilt. Though, the feeling was short as a tweet took her by surprise. "Kiii!"

"Woah! Bessie?!" She exclaimed at the snail staring at her. Bessie tilted her head cutely to the side, a wordless response. Sasha instinctively stroked the snail's head, causing Bessie to purr. "Did I wake you up? Sorry about that, girl."

"I'm just... Having issues, that's all."

Bessie blinked slowly and chirped, rubbing her head on Sasha's arm; the one holding the book. "Oh, this thing? I guess you know what it is, huh? I mean, you kinda grew up with it."

Bessie shook her head up and down excitedly, making pitched snail noises. An eyebrow raised by Sasha before she looked back and forth between the book and Bessie. "What, you want me to read it?"

Bessie chirped in agreement. In turn, Sasha shrugged. "Alright then. If you say so..."

And so, the human teen continued reading. This time, however, with a snail by her side, watching and listening to every word.

"Hey, where's Sasha?"

The Plantars have a small tradition of eating together with every meal. Some might say it wasn't really a tradition; more of a cultural habit, but it technically counted as one. Since it was in the evening, the Plantars all come together to have dinner at the table.

Except for Sasha. Something Sprig had to voice out.

"I haven't seen her all day." Polly said with a bowl in front of her, just ready to be topped with whatever concoction Hop Pop made. Something only the Plantars are immune to.

"Well," Hop Pop grunted as he placed a heavy pot full of dinner on the table. "Last time I saw her, she went to Bessie's barn. The living room was a tad too busy at the moment."

Sprig, also with a howl, looked sideways worriedly. "Maybe we should check up on her. You know, to see how she's doing?"

"Well, alright then. Let's go check the barn first." Hop Pop agreed, taking off his mitts.

The frogs (and pollywog) arrived at the barn just a couple of minutes later, noticing the barn door slightly ajar. Hop Pop walked up to the door and pulled it open more, letting some moonlight enter the building unhindered.

Before the old frog could turn on the mushrooms, Sprig quickly tugged his shirt. "Wait, Hop Pop! Look!" he said, whispering.

Squinting his eyes, he noticed what Sprig meant. It was a bit dark but the lanky figure was noticeable, even in the shadows. The door opened even more, shining natural light on the figure.

The Plantars crept closer, careful from waking her up. Hop Pop glanced at the book and was surprised; Sasha had read over half of its contents. He expected that it would take at least two weeks to finish and here, Sasha could finish in two days.

A small smile grew on the old frog's face.

"Come on, kids. Let's head back." He said quietly. Sprig turned to him with surprise. "Wait, we're just gonna leave her?"

"We're gonna get her a blanket to sleep with, and maybe a pillow. I don't want to disturb her, that's all." He assured his grandson. It worked since Sprig nodded in response.

After leaving and coming back, Hop Pop struggled and pulled Sasha's unconscious body onto the flat ground, a pillow placed to support her head. He draped the blanket over her and placed the book just nearby, for Sasha to read again. All of the Plantars left one by one, leaving Sasha peacefully to rest.

"Goodnight, Sasha. Sweet dreams." Hop Pop whispered one last time.

In her dreams, Sasha smiled.