Days 34-37: Catching Up

Mei spent most of the next few days with his grandmother or with Mii, since he didn’t know how long it would be before he saw them again once he returned to the Emerald Forest. Given how old his grandmother was, there was a chance he would never see her again.

He spent a whole day picking berries with his grandmother in the Peri Peri Woods, through which he had come on his first visit to Para Para Fields with Tapu and Mii. Kuro-san was busy showing Mii around the meadow, just as Mii had shown him around Sawa Sawa Mountain on his first visit there.

As they picked, Mei told Grandma all about the new friends he and Gabu had made in the Emerald Forest.

“I’m glad you two aren’t alone there,” Grandma said. “Have you met any other goats yet?”

“I don’t think there are any other goats for miles around,” Mei said. “No one had even seen a goat until I arrived.”

“That’s a shame. If you ever wanted to start a family, you’d have to move somewhere where there are other goats.”

Mei sighed. “I’ve already told you, I don’t want to have kids. I’m happy just being with Gabu.” Mei had known that he didn’t want to start a family since long before he met Gabu, and had told his grandmother and the other adults that every time the topic came up.

“I didn’t want to have kids when I was your age either. But one day, I—”

“You met someone you wanted to spend the rest of your life with?” Mei interrupted.

Grandma smiled. “Yes, your grandfather.”

“I’ve already found someone I feel that way about. I climbed over a mountain just to be with him. Just because Gabu isn’t a goat and we can’t have kids together doesn’t mean I can’t be just as happy as I would be with another goat.”

“If that’s what you want,” Grandma said. “Does Gabu want kids? Err, pups?”

“We’ve never talked about it. Maybe next time I come to visit, I can bring him with me and you can ask him yourself,” Mei said, expecting his grandmother to recoil at the thought of meeting a wolf up close.

“That would be nice,” Grandma said.

It took Mei a moment to realise what his grandmother had said. “Wait, you actually want to meet Gabu?”

“Of course. If he’s really as important to you as you say he is, how could I not meet him?”

Mei smiled. “I’d like that.”

On the fourth day of their stay in Para Para Fields, Mei, Mii and Grandma were lying on the grass with Kuro-san and a few of the other goats, enjoying the sunshine and the gentle breeze. Mei was glad to spend some time with his friends and family without having to keep secrets from them or defend his relationship with Gabu.

Mei was lying facing the forest, whereas the other goats with him were facing the opposite direction, into the meadow. As a result, when a bush on the edge of the Peri Peri Woods rustled conspicuously, Mei was the only one who saw it.

Now alert, Mei watched as a pair of eyes peered out from the bush and scanned the meadow. It was a wolf, almost certainly from the Baku Baku pack, since they were the only wolves who counted this as their territory.

Mei stood up and said to the other goats, “Nobody move. There’s someone in the bushes.” Before anyone could react, Mei strode purposefully towards the edge of the forest where the wolf was hiding.

“Mei, what are you doing? Is it a wolf?” Mii called after him.

“Don’t follow me; I know what I’m doing. If anything happens, run.”

Mei met the wolf’s eyes, which widened in surprise. He lowered his horns as much as he could while still maintaining eye contact and kept walking determinedly towards the wolf. As Mei drew nearer, the wolf overcame his surprise somewhat and started to growl and edge forward.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Mei said. “The last wolves to chase after me ended up crushed under a mountain of snow.” Strictly speaking, that hadn’t been Mei’s doing, but Mei was counting on this wolf, who looked to be barely an adult, not having been there to witness that.

Sure enough, the wolf hesitated. “Wait,” he said, “you’re the goat Gabu was friends with, aren’t you?” The wolf’s manner changed immediately. Before, he had tried to make himself look big and intimidating. Now, he regarded Mei with curiosity, his desire to eat Mei apparently gone.

Mei glanced back to the other goats, who were watching anxiously. They still couldn’t see the wolf, and Mei wanted to keep it that way. He gave them a quick smile to reassure them and turned back to the wolf.

“That’s right. If you want me to tell you anything else, we can talk in the forest. But you’ll have to promise not to eat me or any of the other goats here, at least for now.”

“Yes, I promise,” the wolf said, quickly enough that Mei was sure he meant it. “Please, tell me if Gabu’s alive.”

Mei led the wolf a short distance into the forest, careful not to let the wolf block his way back into the meadow in case he needed to run. When Mei turned and looked at the young wolf properly, something seemed familiar about him. It couldn’t be, could it?

“Are you Boro?” Mei asked uncertainly.

The wolf, Boro (Mei was sure it was him), seemed surprised that Mei recognised him. “Yes, I am. How do you know my name?”

Mei smiled, relieved that this pup whom Gabu cared so much about was still alive. “Because Gabu’s told me all about you,” Mei said. “We actually met a couple of times. I was the goat who let you chase me for a while when Gabu was teaching you how to hunt. That was a fun day out, wasn’t it?”

Boro stared in disbelief. “But you...that goat...THAT WAS YOU?!”

“Of course it was me. What other goat would Gabu get for you to chase?”

Boro looked like he was trying to make sense of that, but gave up halfway through. “If you’re here, where’s Gabu? Is he still alive?”

“He’s fine,” Mei said. “Gabu and I have been living happily together ever since we escaped the pack. I’m sorry to hear not everyone survived the avalanche, by the way.”

“So many wolves died that day,” Boro said sadly. “I had no idea whether Gabu was one of them. Giro, Bari, so many others, all gone.”

“I heard the rest of the pack isn’t doing too well. Do you have a new leader yet?” Mei asked.

“Not really,” Boro said. “Some of them are following Lala now. Others, like me, are trying to survive on our own. So, Gabu really is alive? That’s...good. I’m glad for him. Would it be all right if I talked to him?”

“He isn’t here. I came here alone to visit a few friends. But I think he’d be glad to see you and know you’re okay. Next time I visit, I’ll bring him with me. We’ll come and find you.”

“Thank you so much,” Boro said earnestly. Mei found it a little odd for a wolf other than Gabu to be looking at him with such gratitude.

“I should be getting back now. Can I count on you to not hurt any of the goats here?”

“I won’t, I promise,” Boro said.

A thought occurred to Mei. “My friend and my grandmother, the two other white goats, will be passing through this forest on their way back to Sawa Sawa Mountain. Can you make sure they arrive there safely?” Boro looked hesitant. “Gabu did the same for us the first time we came here. He wouldn’t want anything to happen to them any more than I do.”

“Well, okay. I’ll do my best.”

Mei smiled. “Goodbye, Boro. Keep yourself safe.”

When Mei emerged from the forest unharmed, everyone was relieved to see him. “Mei, what happened? Who was in the bushes?” Mii asked.

“It was a young wolf called Boro. Gabu was like a brother to him. He was planning to attack the Para Para herd, but he promised not to when he realised who I was.”

“He promised not to attack us just because you’re both friends with Gabu-san?” Kuro-san asked in amazement.

Mei nodded. “He’s a good kid. He was really worried about Gabu, and I offered to tell him what happened to him if he promised to leave us alone.”

“You will never cease to amaze me, Mei-san,” Kuro-san said with a warm smile.

“That was very brave of you, confronting that wolf all by yourself,” Grandma said. “What would you have done if he’d attacked you?”

“I’d have figured something out,” Mei said. “Anyway, that reminded me, I think I should be heading back to the Emerald Forest before long; I want to get back in time to see the full moon with Gabu. Thank you for hosting us here, Kuro-san.”

“Actually,” Kuro-san said, “Mii-san and I have been talking. We want to go with you and meet Gabu-san for ourselves.”

It was Mei’s turn to be amazed. “Really? You want to come to the Emerald Forest with me?”

“I wish I could come too,” Grandma said, “but a trip around the mountain is a little more than I think I could handle. I’ll stay in Para Para Fields for a few more days and then head home.”

Mei hugged his grandmother. “I really hope you’ll get to meet Gabu one day.”

“I will, Mei. One of these days. We’ll be one big family, together at last.”