Welcome Home!

Part 6: Star Below

The next day, I woke up to the sound of shovels scraping against something hard. I looked out my window, surprised to see more snow on the ground.

That did not concern me, however. I was particularly interested in the constant beeping on my homephone. I quickly made my way over to it, playing a message.

"Hiyaaaaa neiiiigghhbooooor!!!! Sorry for the scare! I was just soooooo sleepy from the party that I slept for a few days!" Sally laughed. I chuckled nervously at the message. I did not know that it was possible for someone as energetic as Sally to become tired. I thought nothing more of it.

I wrapped my scarf around my neck,  quietly opening my door and making my way out of the house. I waved to my friends who were outside. Wally was still absent. As I looked around, I realized Barnaby was gone as well.

I skipped over to his house, opening his door. I entered the house, peering around. I walked through every room, but Barnaby was not there.

Disappointed, I left and walked over to Sally's house, a place I had never been. I knocked on her door, expecting no one to answer.

To my utter delight, Sally opened the door. She looked a bit tired, but I didn't say anything. I also noticed what appeared to be loose stitching near the back of her neck. I cleared my throat.

"How are you? I haven't seen you in so long!" I cried, wrapping my arms around her. She hesitantly squeezed me, taking a step back.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Wally's sick, and I am, too!" Sally apologized to me. She looked worried but continued smiling.

"Oh, I'll make you some food, then!" I stepped into her house. It was a common rule to enter a neighbor's house no matter how quick the visit was.

She let me in, following me.

"Do you like my house? I decorated it a toooonnnnnn!" She sang. She bounced up and down and rocked back and forth on her feet, all within the span of a mere minute. I wished I had her energetic spirit.

As I looked around her room, I noticed that her house only had one room. I said nothing of it. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, and I felt myself jump. I nervously made my way over to the door, trembling as i turned the know. Wally stared back at me. He did not look particularly happy, but his expression changed as soon as he saw me instead of Sally.

"Neighbor! I am feeling well enough to walk around today! Because of that, I thought I'd visit Sally since she is also unwell," he patted my hand. I glanced back at Sally. She gave me two thumbs-up. I nodded and left.

"Oh! Wally, before I go. Would you be a dear and ask Howdy for some telephone parts? Mine seems to be a bit broken," I quickly asked. He nodded, waving goodbye to me.

Content, I left Sally's yard. I was disappointed because I had not spent much time with her, but I knew she was probably tired. I accepted that my plan to hang out with her had failed. No matter. There was always tomorrow.

I trudged through the snow, creating a shortcut to my house. As soon as I stepped inside, I flopped onto the soft rug laid out by the door. The day had been far too odd. All I wanted to do was spend time with my friends.

Before I knew it, I fell asleep.

The  next day, I woke up on the rug. Someone was rapidly knocking on my door. I rose, still groggy, and opened the door. Sally looked down at me, smiling.

"Morning, star! Time to go greet the sun! Come onnnnnn! Let's go play!" Sally tugged at my sleeve. I complied sleepily, following her as we made our way to Poppy's barn.

"Poppy's barn is big and warm! It's the perfect spot to practice acrobatics and stretches! Those two are important for health!" she informed me. She continued rambling as we walked to Poppy's barn. She quieted down as we arrived. She opened the grand doors with a mere movement of her arms.

"Okie dokie! Poppy? I'm here to practice my flips! Hope you don't mind!"

I followed the cheery sun, unsure of what to think. I wasn't a particular fan of overly tiring activities. Still, j was thrilled to hang out with my neighbor.

"Okay! First, you find a good spot. Then, you start doing your flips and stretches!" Sally called out to me from the opposite side of the barn as she dove into a pile of hay.

I decided to sit in the pile of instead. I like being covered by it. It was warm and oddly soft.

"Sally! It's dangerous to be doing that, and" Poppy's gaze landed on my happily resting in her hay pile. She walked over to me, her wings on her "hips", watching me disapproving. "Well? It's not common for you to be doing such foolish things," she scolded me. I smiled sleepily at her. I was so cozy and comfortable that I fell asleep for a split second before being picked up by Poppy. She held Sally with her other hand by the collar of her dress.

"No, no, no. You two should not be in here yet. It's too dusty! Come back once I clean."

She gently set us down in front of her barn. Sally turned to me.

"Let's go play with someone else, then!" Sally stood up, helping me up.

"How about we visit Home? Home tends to be a forgotten neighbor."  Sally stared at me for a moment, pondering my comment.

"Oh, Home doesn't need company! It has Wally, after all! Isn't he a doll? I'm sure Home enjoys spending time with Wally," she explained to me, leading us to another house. I agreed with her reluctantly. Still, I could not help but think that Home was lonely.

Sally settled on visiting Eddie. I was happy to visit that mailman.  She was, as well.

"Yoohoo! Eddie! The stars have arrived!" Sally called, winking at me.

Eddie came to the door quickly. He let us in and into his lovely mail-center-house-thing. It was very cute. There was a lace decoration, big or small, on almost everything in his house. I did not mind. He was a sweet puppet who loved to decorate sweetly. I suspected that Frank got him all the lace.

"Would you two like to help me sort mail? I've been a bit distracted lately," he laughed. "It's almost Frank's annual Festival of the Butterflies, so I've been busy preparing decorations and planning for it."

"Oh! Eddie, that is so sweet! Sally and I are delighted that you'd like us to help out," I clasped my hands together. Sally nodded so quickly I thought her head would come off.

"Hooray! Come on over into my living room, and I'll show you both what to do."

We followed him, excited for the following hours we'd spend decorating and crafting.