Fun with Blueberries

January 01

Berry couldn't help but smile to himself as he hefted the piece of carrot over his head. It would be small to most humans, but because of Berry's diminished size at around two centimeters tall, the piece of carrot was large enough to cover his entire back and weighed a little more than he did. He was about to put the piece down in order to throw his hook--made from a fishing hook tied to floss--across the gap made for humans to walk through when he felt a tingling in the back of his neck and heard a loud hissing. Berry turned, curious of what he would see, and he remembered that one of the few things his parents talked about with as much fear as humans were snakes. Sure enough, Berry's senses were well-founded, and he quickly lobbed the carrot chunk at the snake as he stuck his hook into the edge of the counter before grabbing the rope and jumping off the edge, eyes tensed closed for any potential rope burn.

The wind rushed through Berry's shaggy hair as the ground rushed to meet him until the rope went taunt. Berry's grip on the rope held for a moment before he let himself drop the rest of the way down, and he barely let himself rest before he began sprinting away and into the living room. Berry didn't need to hear the hissing behind him to know that the snake had already caught up and was about to eat him. Deciding that because his parents were home and never taught him how to deal with a snake, Berry decided to reveal himself to the human child called Adam.

Adam was reclining on one of the chairs in the living room when he heard an odd hissing. Confused, Adam looked around only to gasp as he saw a snake slithering towards what looked like a tiny person. Adam immediately jumped off his chair and picked up the bat his father would use to play baseball with him and his siblings before running to the snake and smashing its head with the bat. The snake went flying, making a sickening crunch as the bat connected, and it left a splotch of red as it hit the wall and fell to the ground. Adam then dropped the metal bat and looked to where the tiny person was looking up while rubbing his chin before smiling as he pointed to the snake. "Guess they must now call me Adam," Adam joked as an attempt to reassure the tiny person, "snake butcher. Are you okay, little guy?"

Berry let a small frown show as he considered his options. He tended to always see the best in people, and the human saved his life and seemed to be uninterested in killing or eating him. Then Berry felt something warm and leathery rub his head and back. "Relax," the human--Adam, as Berry remembered what the human's name was--said as he forced Berry onto his hand, "I just want to see if you're hurt. Relax little bud." Berry felt very against relaxing, as he was asked to do so but only jokingly, so he decided to look up to the human. He was very different from the people his size, as he didn't find himself terrified of the humans that towered over him, so he had many times tried to befriend someone only for his parents to scold him and move away.

"It's Berry," Berry replied with a small smile reemerging on his face and in his voice, "and I know your name. So, what now?" Somehow, Berry's words, caused Adam's grip to loosen somewhat. Not enough for Berry to fall but enough to be noticed by Berry.

"I don't know," Adam replied softly, and Berry found himself pushing himself into his hand for warmth, "but do you need food? I've got pizza and am perfectly fine with losing a bit so that way you can have some good food." Berry's mouth began watering at the mention of pizza, and Adam quietly pulled out a pizza and put it in a microwave in order to heat it up. "I'm planning on having some right now anyway, and you feel like you need something warm." He then paused next to the dead snake. "Would you like to have some to take home?"

"As much as I would enjoy it," Berry cautiously answered, unsure how to avoid getting in trouble yet again, "I was sent out here to get food, and we're supposed to be a secret. Since I tend to be 'caught easily,' as my parents would say, I know that if they were to find out, we would have to move yet again. However, if the food being taken home is something that wouldn't require cooking, then I'm sure I wouldn't get in trouble." Berry then saw as Adam's face broke into a grin, happy to be able to help. He turned off the microwave and pulled the warm pizza out before stopping suddenly.

"Where can I put the pizza so it's most convenient for you to eat, and where can I put the food for you to take home?" Alex's question took Berry off guard, and he shrugged.

"I'll just carry it home," Berry replied with a smile, "and I think I can just stand on the plate to eat the pizza. I obviously shouldn't be trying to bring the pizza back, and I should be careful to not get myself greasy or begin to smell like pizza."

"Have you eaten pizza before?" Adam asked, interested in how the tiny boy would have known that.

"I've seen and smelt other people eating it," Berry replied with his usual smile, "and they'd definitely smell something fishy; I can't quite cook, after all." As the plate was lowered, Berry threw his blue jacket to the side and jumped on the plate, causing Adam to realize Berry had tossed his socks in his jacket before throwing it to the side. As Berry proceeded to tear a small piece of cheese off the pizza, Adam smiled at the sight of the tiny boy happily munching down on the slice of pizza.