Chapter 17 - 17: Running away ? Seriously ?

I was falling and falling deeper, so deeper that I could see it !

In front of me, about fifty meters away, I saw a door, a door made from the most beautiful jewels and treasures in the world, I saw THE door leading to the wonderland, a land where I could get anything I want, from the sweetest candy to the most delicious meat I have ever taste. The land which hold the promise of a paradise of food and such right in front of me.

Just thinking about it, was enough of a reason for me to run to it.

But just as I was about to open it, I felt my whole body shaking like a fish out of the water. I didn't want to but I continued to shake.

My hand was just an inches from the handle shaking like never before. I tried with all my might to grip it, with no result.

It was maybe the most frustrating part of my life, being in front of my dream land but unable to enter it.

However I didn't gave up, I tried every tricks I could think of, such as charging like a mad bull into the door just to be send flying away like a bug or using the gentle way by moving slowly my hand without result again, then pushing with my two hands and I've even gone as far as to use my tail which was the only limb that wasn't shaking when coming close to the door, but even that didn't work !

As the door was made from jewels and such, I could see my face becoming red like a tomato while veins were popping out on my forehead as I tried hard to get my damn hand on that handle, in vain.

"Open it, open it, open it, OPEN IT" At the end I found myself shouting crazily in front of it, however this damn hand wouldn't moved anymore than an inches away, it was the absolute limit.

*Few minutes later*

I really felt like crying...it has been a whole five minutes but the shaking didn't wore off...

I was on the brink of despair when the door began to make some unlocking sound as I lifted my head suddenly surprised.

Seeing the door opening I rushed forward and entered it.

However instead of a dream like world I saw the familiar and now annoying faces of Ace and Sabo trying to wake me up while Luffy was at the side.

"Oy, oy wake up Edam wake up..." They said at the same time while shaking me.

"What...?" I asked them annoyed and restraining myself to beat them up.

"We have to go now, everyone is asleep, even the old geezer is asleep." Ace muttered quietly.

'I thought that it was a joke...' I thought not believing that they would really do it, but on another thought they already had the courage to steal money from bandits and pirates so running away from home wasn't so shocking I guess.

"But I will still have to return you know..." I said helplessly. Even if I did go with them, I would still have to return so...

" We don't give a damn, you have only one week with us, and we don't want gramps to stuck with us till then right ?" They all smiled widely as Ace said that.

Hearing this, a faint smile appeared on my face without my consent. They really had talents to make me think otherwise haah...

"All right, let's go then." With a wide smile on our face we left the house discretely leaving behind only a message " We are leaving the boat ! sign S.E.A.L"

We then ran deep in the forest and then I thought about something crucial and said

" Oyy guys, it's cool and all to run away but where will we sleep ?" I thought as I found to be ridiculous.

"Oh that's right we didn't thou-..." Sabo didn't get say it as even the weather started to kicked in and the rain began to fall as Ace suggest.

" Anyway we should just shelter ourselves under this three for the time being."

We then took shelter under the closer tree.

Luffy was the most excited as he enjoyed this as an adventure while Ace and Sabo were just happy to be away from grandpa.

These three fell asleep while I was staying awake to look out for potential dangers. And I wasn't really sleepy now even if I did want to go to the wonderland, now was not the time.

As they were sleeping deeply I then go to hunt but obviously without going too far from those three little marmots sleeping under a tree.

I didn't really care to be wet because as far as I could remember I never had an illness until now, I was always healthy no matter the circumstances so getting wet was not a problem at all.

Anyway, after catching our dinner I then go back to the tree while dragging behind me a huge white crocodile. I already did wanted to eat a delicious soup of crocodile, and even more now that it was raining. According to Makino-neechan a soup of crocodile or anything is tastier when you eat it in a raining day. Just thinking about this my stomach couldn't endure this anymore as I hurried myself.

Reaching the tree, I began to make a campfire as I prepared my soup. As we took a bag each with our necessities in it, I already had the materials to do my soup.

I now had the habit to take a small cooking pot with some ingredients in it just in case.

Luckily for me the rain began to stop when I made my fire or I would have to do a lot of complicated things just to make it burn.

Indeed it was maybe because they saw me or sense me, the animals which were always beside me in those past months were begining to come closer.

There was the giant white wolf that I decided to call wolfy , the two brother rabbits, the gentle deer that would sometimes give me some apples and the mischievious squirrel that would always mess around the others.

Seeing them I said " Oh it's you guys ? Come, now that I think about it, I didn't presented you my three brothers right ?"

I then point out at the three sleeping brothers and said.

"On the left is Sabo, in the middle is Luffy and the one on the right is Ace, they are my three little brothers, take care of them for me when I'll be gone alright ?" Anyone would take me for an idiot to talked to some animals but sometimes talking with animals was so much better than talking to humans beings.

Animals are always honest. If they didn't like you, they will show it to you by baring their fangs and claws at you but when they like you they would show you a great affection and would even protect you with their life on the line.

They never plot behind your back unlike humans who would do that often.

And I don't know why but I could feel that they would always understand me when I talked, even now when I told them to take care of Luffy & co, their eyes seemed to tell me that they got it.

Maybe it was because of the appetizing fragrance flowing in the air or because of the rain stopping, Sabo woke up and walked to me while saying with a surprised expression.

" What ?!" Why is there so much beasts here Edam ?"

"Oh don't worry they are my friends that I made those few months" I answered him grining a bit.

"You can even be friend with wild animals ? That's really cool." He said while looking at my friends.

"Oh you're making something to eat ?" He noticed asked while I replied " Yep a crocodile soup, I've caught a white one, it should be even better in taste than a black one."

"Oh Okay." He replied while looking at the tree, staring at it for a rather long time.

Noticing that I asked " Oyy, You're alright ?" "What are you looking at ?"

"Edam... I think I know where we will lived now..." He said that in a mysterious tone.

I then followed his gaze and I instantly understood what he implied by that.

"Seriously...?" I asked while mixing some ingredients in the pot.

He turned to me with a huge smile on his face while laughing " Hihi, Oyy Ace, Luffy wake up !"

While rubbing his sleeping eyes, Ace asked

" Why the hell did you have to yelled ?!" he complained still feeling sleepy.

Luffy at the side too complain with him but they were shut up immediately when Sabo said the magic words " A house in the tree."

They who were feeling sleepy were completely awoken by that.

After getting their attentions, we then started our plan to make ourselves a house in the tree.