Bubbles

Chapter 17

Nalia drifted away from Kula, much to the latter's dismay. They stayed friends, but Nalia seemed distracted and apprehensive whenever they were together. Almost like she was trying to stop herself from doing something.

Brendan, on the other hand, proved to be an excellent friend. He and Nalia were pretty different, too – where she was loud, he was quiet. Where she was excitable, he was subdued. It was refreshing.

That didn't mean that Brendan wasn't funny. He had a dry, snarky sense of humor, not unlike his sister's. He had a way of making Kula believe even the most insane of things.

"Hey, I was wondering about something." Brendan had been drawing. He loved to draw, and did it every chance he got. He was good, too – much better than Kula and much better than Nalia, who could barely draw a straight line.

He looked up, a slight smile on his face. "What's up, Ku?"

"So, I noticed that trees always sway in the breeze. Why is that?"

Brendan closed his sketchbook. "I can see that Nalia isn't a very good teacher. She really didn't tell you about tree gnomes?"

Kula was horrified. "Tree... what?"

He sighed. "This is why you needed me. Tree gnomes are little creatures that live in... well, trees. They eat the leaves on trees – that's why the trees end up bare in winter. But they don't have arms. So, when you walk by, they use the trees to wave. It's easier in the breeze, because breezes give them energy. Duh."

Kula was wide-eyed. "They... they want to say hi?"

"Yeah. Pathetic little things."

After a few hours of watching Kula try to find the tree gnomes, Brendan finally told her the truth. He did things like this so often, it was a wonder that it still worked.

Life was good for Kula. She had finally picked up reading, and now spent much of her time doing it. She learned how to ride horses, and she often went riding with Nalia.

One day like that, Nalia seemed to be in a good mood. They were riding up to a beautiful spot that Nalia had been told about, laughing and talking, just like old times. Kula had forgotten how happy Nalia made her. Her sense of humor was razor sharp and witty, sarcastic and clever. Kula's was open and soft, and involved a lot of puns. Nalia loved the puns, unlike Brendan, who had long ago decided that puns were the work of Satan.

"So, Nalia, I have a question." Kula spoke as they rode.

"Shoot."

"Where do you find a cow with no legs?" She'd read this one in a book. She was excited to try it out.

Nalia was already trying to keep from laughing. She wasn't good at composure. "I don't know, Ku, where do you find a cow with no legs?"

Kula struggled to keep her own composure. She wanted Nalia to laugh, and laughing herself would ruin it. "Right where you left it."

A moment. Two moments.

Then Nalia got it. She almost fell off of her horse laughing.

"Nalia, it wasn't that funny. It was kind of stupid, actually."

"No, it... yeah, it was, but-" she collapsed into helpless giggles. Kula felt a warm glow of pride, and an even warmer affection for her friend.