CRYSTAL WHITE BANANA: PART TWO

CHAPTER 9

Beware The Old Forest.

“It’s actually a lot of fun!” Explained the Professor as he blinked his enormous monkey eyes through his magnified glasses. “The owls won’t be expecting us this early so ask for Boris. Tell them I sent you, but show only Boris what’s inside this bag. When it’s just the two of you, release Snowball. Remember, don’t let Snowball out until you have met Boris. Snowball is too fast, no matter how much of the Green Banana Leaf you inhale. Then Boris should fly you up the mountain and then back here before nightfall.”

“What do you mean, should?” muttered Juniper.

All this danger was a little much for Juniper. She trusted the Professor completely but she was deathly afraid of The Old Forest and everything that lived inside it. The stories she heard from other animals in the jungle did not help. There were countless tales of how the sinister owls preyed on the flesh and bones of the jungle animals that tried to enter the forest. 

Then came another fit of laughter from Monreau. She could tell he was in pain as he gasped for breath between the laughter. He had also grown pale since she brought him to the Professor. 

“You have to understand that Boris is a very proud and traditional bird,” explained the Professor. “Life in the The Old Forest is different from the jungle. He might not even talk to you because you’re a girl monkey, so you need to keep him focused on the bag and what’s inside.”

“What does it matter if I’m a girl monkey or guy monkey?” asked Juniper.

“Tradition,” replied the Professor. “Look, Juniper. These are their rules. Not mine. But as long as you have Snowball you have a chance. Just remember, you need to be back here with a mushroom before the sun sets, and I have something that will ensure you do. Just as the fruit of the Crystal White Banana and fungal nature of the mushroom has their power, so does the leaf of the Green Banana. It is more, how should I say... existential.” 

“What does existential mean, Professor?”

“Well, monkey, it’s all about your perception of the world. For when the leaf is set aflame it releases a magic vapour that slows your perception of time without your body being affected by it.”

“Why would I need that? It would just slow me down,” said Juniper.

“Oh silly, monkey,” answered the Professor. “You will think as you normally do, but your body will move faster than it ever has as the world around you slows down to a snail’s pace. Have you ever wondered why Toddy Tortoise always knows what’s going to happen next? His mind is so quick that he’s always ahead of everyone else. His body just can’t keep up. For you it will be the reverse. How long do you think it will take you to reach the forest boundary from here?”

“A few hours at least, that’s why I need to leave now!” urged Juniper. “Monreau is getting worse by the minute, we don’t have time for these existential theories of yours.”

“Oh but you do have time, monkey,” said the Professor holding a Green Banana Leaf. “This will give you all the time you need and then some. Although you will feel like you’ve been swinging for hours, only a handful of minutes will pass by. Now, I will do my best to make Monreau and the rest of the children comfortable until you return. There is more than enough Green Banana Leaf in that bag to get you there. There is also enough to get you up the mountain and back here again, in case you have any trouble with Boris.

Remember:  One leaf will get you up the mountain and then another will bring you back here. But you must be careful. For if you use more than one leaf at a time, the vapours will make you as slow as the world around you.”

CHAPTER 10

Juniper closed the door to Monreau’s room, but they could still hear his laughter. In just a few minutes, it turned from a good old belly laugh to a pitch that was riddled with panic and despair. The Professor was hard at work refitting the glass tubes and beakers in his laboratory. Juniper couldn’t believe her eyes. An intricate maze of glassware snaked this way and that way throughout the room — and even inside the walls. Soon some of the tubes were bubbling and steaming as boiling water pressurized Professor Klingery’s intricate glass contraptions. Setting a small piece of a Green Banana Leaf on a metal tray, the Professor placed them under a glass case. A hose sucked out all of the oxygen. He then lit a Bunson burner and a bright blue flame sizzled underneath. Soon green vapours were billowing through the water filled pipes towards a corked end. Juniper thought the whole set-up was a bit excessive, but the Professor was a professor after all and this looked like science to her. 

The Green Banana Leaf is one heck of a trip.

“Stand here, monkey!” he urged.

“Where? This whole thing seems a bit ridiculous, and the afternoon sun will be here any minute!”

“Relax. Simply inhale like you’re about to dive underwater,” the Professor pointed to the cork at the end of a complex system of valves and tubes. “Now you won’t have this fine piece of science with you, so just light a small fire and throw in one leaf. Snowball will no longer be in the bamboo shoot so use that to inhale the Green Banana Leaf. There are only four leaves in the bag just in case you lose one or have trouble with the fire. But remember, only inhale one. Any more and it will take you a week to get back, not an hour. Do you understand? Cause once you leave this treehouse there is no going back. Repeat the steps.”

“Swing to The Old Forest, find Boris, show him Snowball, fly up a mountain, collect the mystical mushroom and then fly back before sundown to save Monreau and the jungle children,” said Juniper. A little weak in the tail, she stepped up to the complex contraption of valves, tubes, boiling beakers and green smoke.

“Relax, Juniper. You are stronger than all the monkey’s on this island. You’re our heart that helps us play all day. It’s going to be as easy as banana cream pie. Now. Deep breath.” 

The Professor removed the cork and Juniper inhaled the vapours. It tasted both sticky and icky at the same time. Then silence. The Green Banana Leaf’s effect on time happened almost immediately. The sound of boiling water rushing through the tubes, Monreau’s uncontrollable laughter and even the sounds of the Fall Festival were muted. The Professor was as still as a statue. Then Juniper noticed his huge magnified eyes started to slowly close and then slowly open again. His eyes rarely blinked at the same time so it appears as if he was winking at her. 

Juniper was shocked, the Professor was right that tiny little piece of Green Banana Leaf actually slowed down time. But then again, if there was one thing the Professor knew it was his bananas.  

Quickly swinging down to the jungle floor, Juniper double checked the contents of her bag. The bamboo shoot was no longer buzzing, but she could now hear clawed feet scampering inside it. Juniper peered through a tiny hole in the shoot. A small beady eye was staring right back at her. It seemed the Green Banana Leaf had little effect on the small white mouse. Juniper was now travelling at almost the same speed as the white blur that ran continuously on the wheel inside the Professor’s lab.

“Who are you and what have you done with the Professor?” asked Snowball.

“Oh! Hello. You must be Snowball. The Professor asked me to deliver you to Boris this year.” The pink eyes of the tiny mouse almost filled the circumference of the bamboo shoot. 

“B-B-Boris! Nooo. The P-professor promised me this t-time it would be d-different. Pu-pu-please take me b-b-back!” stammered Snowball.

Juniper didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to take Snowball against his will, but it was the only way to save Monreau and the jungle children.

“Sorry, Snowball, but you don’t have much choice and we don’t have much time.”Juniper grabbed the largest vine on the tree and swung as if the fate of her entire village rested on her shoulders.

CHAPTER 11

As Juniper swung through the vast jungle towards The Old Forest she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Feeling extremely light headed and a little slow, the jungle that once sang with the chorus of hundreds of animals and thousands of bugs was eerily silent. Fallen leaves stalled in mid-air as she blew past them, birds stayed afloat despite the quick flapping of wings. For the first time in her life the jungle didn’t make a single noise — besides for the muffled pleas of Snowball from her satchel.

As usual the Professor was right about everything. When she finally made it to The Old Forest it felt as if she’d been swinging for hours.

“WHoo! Hoo! Hoo! Whooo! dares enters this place? And speak quickly for I have yet to catch my lunch today,” said a bellowing voice hidden among layers of prickly pine trees. 

Boris the Owl, Sentry of The Old Forest.

Juniper was too out of breath to focus on the predicament she now found herself in. All she had the energy for was to look up. High atop a large pine tree perched the largest bird she had ever seen.  

“I... I am... looking for the owl named Boris. Professor Klingery sent me,” was all Juniper could say before she fell to her knees exhausted. The effects of the Green Banana Leaf were wearing off as quickly as they started. As Juniper stared at the ground trying to catch her breath, a great whirl-wind rose up from behind her. She was afraid to look, but remembering all those small jungle children laughing hysterically around her had filled her with newfound courage. Slowly lifting her head, she saw a great horned owl, much larger than the one in the tree, looking curiously down at her. 

“Look, everyone! The Professor either sent me a joke or a snack from their little jungle oasis. Pathetic,” said Boris. “Worse than that, you’re breaking tradition simply by showing up a day early. There are rules to be followed, girl. And if you’re to be the next carrier of the mushrooms then you better learn and then live them.”

“I am sorry, oh great horned one...er...owl,” stammered Juniper, trying to hide the fear and now anger she felt after this strange speaking turkey called her a girl. “My name is Juniper Monkee, and I am not the Professor’s replacement. I am...” she thought carefully about what to say next, “... a friend. He has sent me to you for I need the mushroom right now or Monreau Panzee will die.”

“Oh really? So death has finally come back to Grass Garden Grove. And a Panzee no less... or no more,” snickered Boris. “And you suppose this trumps tradition. Well Juniper Monkee, you must understand what you’ve gotten yourself into. The powers of the mushrooms are a gift to Grass Garden Grove, and thus proper protocol and ceremony is required. I suggest you get comfortable, we are leaving tomorrow.”

“But that will be too late,” said Juniper. “Monreau... and all of the jungle children will die if I’m not back by sunset.”

“Now one monkey life and a few sucklers are more important than the health of an entire jungle. See how quickly things devolve when we don’t have tradition,” scoffed Boris.

Juniper couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her best friend, and all those poor jungle children were going to die if she didn’t act quickly. There was still more Green Banana Leaf but she was so tired from the first swing that she wasn’t sure how she’d get back in time. Then she remembered she had an ace up her sleeve. Juniper stared up and down as many trees as she could to ensure no other owl was in sight. She then reached into her satchel and pulled out the bamboo shoot.

“Isn’t this part of the tradition?” asked Juniper. Without the power of the Green Banana Leaf she could feel the quick scampering of Snowball’s paws turn back into a low hum of activity. “He’s all yours if you fly me up the mountain right now.”

“Oh my... is that?” Boris stopped himself. “No. Tradition is tradition.”

The look was only there for a second, but Juniper didn’t miss it. The owl wanted to play. She opened the bamboo shoot.

CHAPTER 12

Before blinking an eye, a small white streak dashed from the shoot into the bush. For his size Boris was surprisingly just as quick. The sheer force of Boris’ enormous wings knocked Juniper backward, landing squarely on her tail. ‘Tradition, tra-smishen’ thought Juniper. Playing all day is always way more fun. 

The bush began to shake violently and then it became deathly still. Juniper crept closer to investigate. Suddenly a great cry erupted from the bushes as an enormous white owl soared into the sky, knocking Juniper back onto her already aching tail. The majestic bird landed inches way from her.

T-Bird is always ready to drift.

“T-Bird wants to know, are you ready to get your drift on?” said Boris, now transformed into a creature brave and foolish enough to ride the wind swept peaks of the island.

In a flash, T-Bird pulled out a giant set of goggles (similar to the Professor’s but these ones were made with a black teardrop shape). These ‘shades’ as T-Bird called them hid a set of bright red eyes that once glowed with the same intensity as Snowball’s eyes. He claims it’s so the afternoon sun doesn’t get in his eyes. 

Juniper couldn’t help but feel extremely guilty for delivering the poor mouse to such a dismal fate. The Professor knew what would happen to Snowball, and he also knew that Juniper wouldn’t have allowed harm to come to any animal or creature on the island.

“Umm. I guess so. But you have a little…” She made a wiping gesture towards her monkey nose notifying T-Bird where he had a white piece of fuzz hanging curiously from his beak. Stretching out an ivory wing T-Bird rubbed it feverishly.

“Thanks kid. Now, hop on. And like I said, I hope you’re ready to get your drift on.”

“I still don’t know what that means,” replied Juniper.

“It’s going to be a fast ride, fast ride,” repeated T-Bird.

With her satchel secure, Juniper hopped on T-Bird’s back and the two of them were off with a puff to find the mystical mushrooms.

As the two adventurers quickly drifted towards the island’s treacherous mountain peaks and towards the rainbow covered cliffs, three sets of menacing eyes appeared from a hollow tree stump. 

“Scree, Scree, Scree, Scree.” 

“Sshh!”

“Scree...” WHACK! Make that two sets of menacing eyes. 

CHAPTER 13

Juniper and T-Bird in search of the mystical mushroom.

Juniper’s guilt of giving Snowball to Boris was quickly turning into regret. The name of her regret was called T-Bird. Although T-Bird was giving her a ride up the mountain it was the scariest thing Juniper had ever experienced. Not only did T-Bird insist they go really fast, but he kept doing loop-de-loops all the way up. This death-deyfing roller coaster made Juniper sick to her stomach.

“I appreciate the lift, but can you please slow down and stop travelling in loops?” asked Juniper.

“Nope! Fast. We gotta go fast. And spin! We gots to spin. It’s the only way to ride the wind, baby!” Replied T-Bird.

Not sure how high either of them were, Juniper scoured the clouds in search for the rainbows that would lead them to the mystical mushroom. Looking down she finally saw them. The view took her breath away. From this height the jagged cliffs no longer seemed menacing as they stood out like tiny boulders upon a sea of white cotton clouds. She was also surprised at the number of rainbows that arched their path. Each peak had at least one rainbow sparkling in the early afternoon sun. As they soared closer she saw that the mushrooms patches were the source of the rainbows. The patches gave off a luminous spectrum of yellows, reds, greens and blues that streaked from peak to peak.

Juniper, however, began to grow more nervous as T-Bird began to loop higher and higher, instead of lower and lower. Any one of these mushroom patches will do. ‘Why does he insist on flying higher and higher, and I can’t take anymore loop de loops,’ thought Juniper.

“How about that one?” shouted Juniper, pointing to the nearest peak. 

“Sorry, baby. I stick to the route. It’s tradition!” replied T-Bird.

Juniper cringed. There’s that word again. Tradition. Life is always so much more fun without it, she thought.

“Just a few more loops and then we can land,” said T-Bird as he hit the peak of his loop and began a dive bomb towards the mushroom grove. “This one’s going to be a gooder.”

Juniper’s stomach didn’t have another loop in her. As T-Bird dove closer to the ground Juniper saw the oddest tree in her life. And if there was one thing Juniper knew it was how to land a branch of a tree no matter how weird it looked. 

At the lowest apex of the loop she jumped...

Aiming for the giant orange creamed coloured tree with purple leaves was a bit more difficult than she thought. She was a bit short in her estimates but she still had a cushy landing. The bright rainbow patches of mystical mushroom were softer than she thought. Rolling head-over-heels, fungus flew everywhere. She stopped with a loud THUD as she smashed into the foot of the orange creamed coloured tree with purple leaves. 

Juniper tried to stand but she was way too dizzy from the tumbling. The last thing she remembered was staring up in the sky and watching a crazy owl loop de loop his way out of sight. She closed her eyes waiting for everything to stop spinning. But she must have hit her head harder than she thought because some time passed before a strange and mysterious voice caused her to open her eyes again.  

“Wow! A flying monkey. I didn’t believe the fairies when they told me,” said a strange and mellow voice. Juniper remembered where she was. The Old Forest. And worse she was alone and on the top of a very tall mountain.  She opened her eyes to bear witness to the oddest creature she’d ever seen. It walked on four cloven hooves, had a huge set of hot pink horns and a gangly coloured spectrum coat. Its long face was accompanied by a twisted black-matted goatee that was dangling inches from her face. 

“Whaa!” screamed Juniper. 

“Whaa!” screamed the odd creature. Juniper got up and tried to run, but she forgot where she was and ran face first into the orange creamed colour tree. She was unconscious, again, and definitely didn't even notice that she had landed squarely on her poor monkey-tail for the fourth time today. 

High atop the mountains of The Old Forest is a rainbow that always glows brightly.