In the morning, Tia woke up to the beautiful songs of the Pecku birds in the trees. After such a worrisome day yesterday, Tia felt almost rested and refreshed. And even though the first thing she thought of was the fear of losing their home, Tia knew that she had work to do. Teaching the young ones was always a challenge, but it will be even more so when word gets out about the possibility of losing the forest.
As Tia heard the rest of the family start their morning with laughter, she shifted her thinking to a more positive one. Pa always said not to count the berries before they bloom, she thought.
“Good morning everyone,” Tia walked into the main room with a smile.
“Good morning Tia,” Ma and Pa said together.
“What lessons do you have planned for the class today?” Ma asked.
“I think that I will focus on blessings and appreciation today,” Tia smiled at her Ma.
“That’s a good idea,” her Ma said.
After the family had their breakfast, Tia walked to the school area with her little sister Olivia while Jack ran ahead of them. Tia noticed some leaves that were falling from high in the trees so she looked up.
“What’s wrong Tia?” Olivia asked.
“Have you ever seen any small green-looking creatures around here?” Tia stopped and looked at Olivia.
“Oh, you mean like Greck?”
Shocked by hearing Olivia say his name, Tia whispered, “you’ve seen Greck before?”
“Yes, many of my friends have. He’s actually right above us,” Olivia pointed up into the trees. “Greck and his friends watch out for us.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about him?” Tia asked.
“I don’t know. I guess, I didn’t think that you would believe me if I did,” Olivia said.
Just then, cousin Bo fluttered up to Tia and Olivia, “how was your day off yesterday Tia?”
“It was fine, thank you. I will tell you more about it later,” Tia said.
Bo nodded his head with understanding and then flew ahead.
While Tia gathered her students and sat them down for a busy morning, Pa walked over to his brother Drew’s farm. Pa told Drew what Tia told him, so they decided to plan an elder meeting for that afternoon.
“I’ll send Andrew out to let the other elders know,” Drew said to his brother.
“Okay, thank you, it saves me time,” Pa said.
After Drew asked his son to inform the other elders about the meeting, Pa decided to visit with his brother a little bit longer. It has been just over a week since they had a chance to just chat with one another.
Back at the school area, Tia saw Olivia talking with her little friends and pointing at something. Tia walked over to them and asked what they were doing.
“Look Tia, it’s Greck and his friends. One of them was hurt by something,” Olivia pointed.
Tia looked just past the bushes and saw Greck comforting one of his buddies as he had a bloody cut on his leg. Not sure what to do, Tia stepped into the bushes and carefully picked up the hurt little bugger. She grabbed a few leaves too and carried them over to a mushroom table. Greck followed Tia and Olivia over to the mushroom table but Greck also jumped up and down like a monkey.
“What’s wrong Greck?” Tia asked.
“No hurt bugger,” Greck said.
“I’m not going to hurt your friend Greck. I’m trying to help him,” Tia said as she blotted the bloody cut with a leaf.
“Olivia, fetch me some water please.”
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