Prompts

Era temprano. El sol apenas empezaba a salir y, sin embargo, Piyo estaba despierto. No tenía ningún evento especial al que atender ese día. Es más, era domingo. ¡¿Por qué Piyo estaba despierto tan temprano un domingo?! Si Piyo era la cosita dormilona más mona que hay en el planeta.

Pues… las dos bolitas de pelo negras que revoloteaban sobre su cabeza tenían la culpa. Onigiri le había dejado a cargo de sus dos Mr. Batty durante el fin de semana que ella iba a estar fuera (no queda claro quién cuida de quién), y aunque ambos se habían portado de maravilla durante el día anterior, ahora parecían muy agitados. Piyo se cubrió con la manta, pero los Mr. Batty empezaron a tirar de ella levemente. El pacapillar intentó zafarse de ellos sin éxito, así que se levantó finalmente de la cama y dejó que los pequeñajos le guiaran. Uno se posicionó delante de él, guiándole, y otro detrás, empujándole. Así fue cómo les tres emprendieron un viaje por los campos de cultivo que se situaban un poco al sur de la casita de Piyo. Piyo suspiró y se dejó guiar un poco malhumorado, pero debía ser importante: los Mr. Batty debían estar muertos de sueño, pues el sol ya empezaba a iluminar por donde Piyo pisaba. “Escucha a los Batty, ellos no te desean ningún mal y se dan cuenta mejor de las cosas”, le había dicho Onigiri. La barriguita de Piyo rugía, pues no había desayunado aún, y se estaban alejando más y más de su casa, adentrándose en campos  y campos llenos de fango. Al hambriento paca le faltaba una pluma para negarse a seguir y volver a casa a mordisquear su porción de pan y tomar su vasito de leche.

De repente, una voz bastante potente se dirigió a él desde lejos:
"Ello there good fella! Are you able to lend me a hand? I have too much land and too few nubs to work on it! Perhaps we could do some work together? I'd be happy to share a field with you!"

El pelaje de los Batty se erizó por el estruendo, y del susto Piyo estuvo a punto de caer de bruces en un charco de barro. Menos mal que los murcielaguitos fueron más rápidos y le sujetaron a tiempo.

Piyo se giró confundido para ver de dónde venía la voz. Una paca blanca con manchas negras, con un flequillo que le tapaba los ojos, y con una cola que parecía un ovillo gigante de lana donde podría vivir una colonia de veinte Mr. Batty le saludaba con sus patitas. Sus orejas caídas eran larguísimas, y de entre su ovillo de pelo le crecían… ¿brotes?

Los tres pequeñajos se quedaron mirándola con la boca ligeramente abierta, sin saber exactamente qué hacer. La paca desconocida empezó a acercarse a ellos, no demasiado rápido, pero con bastante energía. Piyo dio un paso hacia atrás un poco asustado. Los Mr. Batty se colocaron delante de Piyo, defendiéndole. Eso no frenó a la gran paca, que se posicionó delante de ellos y sonrió ampliamente. “¿Así que tenemos manos extra? ¡Perfecto! Como iba diciéndote, siento si os he asustado, ¿me ayudaríais a preparar estos campos? Es demasiado trabajo para mí sola.”

Piyo miró a los Mr. Batty, los Mr. Batty miraron a Piyo, y los tres miraron a los campos que había detrás de la paca blanca y negra. Bueno, campos… Eran principalmente piscinas de barro.

“Eh… ¿Qué cultivas exactamente…?” Preguntó Piyo tímidamente.

“¡Arroz, por supuestos!” La paca levantó una mano y le enseñó un manojo de hojas finas y alargadas. A Piyo se le iluminó la cara. ¡Arroz!

“Y claro.” Continuó la extraña. “Al final de la jornada os daré arroz hecho con la cosecha que obtuve el año pasado, ¿os apetece?”.

A Piyo no se lo tuvieron que decir dos veces. Asintió con efusividad. No había cosa más deliciosa que el arroz, y más si era de producción propia. Los Mr. Batty suspiraron, y Piyo los miró haciendo morritos.

“¡Perfecto! Pues manos a la obra. Me llamo Darling, por cierto.”

“Piyo. Y estos son los Mr. Batty de una amiga.”

Se dirigieron hacia la granja de Darling. No solamente tenía campos para plantar arroz, sino que también los tenía de trigo, de boniatos… Piyo tendría que dejarse caer más a menudo a ayudar. Darling lo vistió con unas botitas y un delantal, “para que no te manches esas plumas tan brillantes y suaves”, le había dicho. Finalmente le había colocado una gorra marrón a conjunto sobre la cabeza. Piyo se sintió preparado, aunque en ese mismo instante le rugió la barriga. Darling soltó una gran carcajada, y no tardó en volver con un vaso de leche y una hogaza de pan. Piyo no podía ser más,  feliz en ese momento. Devoró el pan y bebió toda la leche, saboreando cada bocado de delicioso pan hecho en casa y leche recién ordeñada. Podríamos decir que este pollito estaba en el cielo.

Darling le enseñó cómo plantar arroz, lo cual era una tarea bastante ardua. Los Mr. Batty le traían a Piyo un manojo de plantas de arroz, las mismas que Darling le había enseñado al conocerse, y Piyo tenía que introducir la base de estas en el barro, lo justo para que se mantuvieran erguidas. Parecía fácil, pero a Piyo no le resultaba sencillo conseguir que se mantuvieran así. Al cabo de unas horas, bastante manchado de barro, parecía haberle pillado el truco, y podía plantar mucho más deprisa. Al final del día, Piyo era una máquina. Daba miedo con qué precisión plantaba arroz. Darling y los Mr. Batty le miraban sin dar crédito a sus ojos. Chof chof chof.

A media tarde Darling anunció a Piyo que ya era suficiente, y le agradeció profundamente la ayuda. Piyo le devolvió el equipamiento y se limpió las pequeñas manchas de barro que habían sobrepasado su protección. Empezaba a sentirse muy cansado, el agotamiento le estaba dando sueño…

Piyo despertó a la mañana siguiente. En su mesita había una nota de Darling contándole cómo le había llevado de vuelta a su casa, guiada por los dos murcielaguitos. Le agradecía de nuevo su ayuda y le decía que esperaba verle pronto de nuevo. Al lado de la nota había una cesta con varios saquitos de arroz, barras de pan y botellas de leche. Piyo sonrió. ¿Sería la cola de Darling lo que le hizo sentir que se había dormido sobre una nube…?

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It was early. The sun was just beginning to rise and yet Piyo was awake. He didn't have any special events to attend to that day. In fact, it was Sunday. Why was Piyo up so early on a Sunday?! If Piyo was the cutest little sleeping thing on the planet.

Well... the two little black balls of hair fluttering over her head were to blame. Onigiri had left him in charge of her two Mr. Batty during the weekend she was going to be away (it's not clear who's taking care of who), and although they had both behaved wonderfully the day before, they now seemed very agitated. Piyo covered himself with the blanket, but both Mr. Batty began to pull it back. The pacapillar tried to get away from them without success, so he finally got out of bed and let the little ones guide him. One stood in front of him, guiding him, and the other one behind him, pushing him. This is how the three of them set out on a journey through the fields that were located a little to the south of Piyo's little house. Piyo sighed and let himself be guided a somewhat grumpy, but it must have been important: Mr. Batty must have been dead asleep, as the sun was already beginning to shine where Piyo was stepping. "Listen to the Batty, they don't wish you any harm and they notice things better," Onigiri had told him. Piyo's tummy was roaring, because he hadn't had breakfast yet, and they were moving further and further away from his house, into fields and fields full of mud. The hungry paca was this close to refuse to go on and go home to nibble his portion of bread and drink his little glass of milk.

Suddenly, a rather powerful voice addressed him from afar:

"Ello there good fella! Are you able to lend me a hand? I have too much land and too few nubs to work on it! Perhaps we could do some work together? I'd be happy to share a field with you!"

The Batty's fur bristled from the sound, and from the shock Piyo was about to fall flat on his face into a mud puddle. Luckily, the bats were faster and held him in time.

Piyo turned in confusion to see where the voice was coming from. A white paca with black spots, with a fringe that covered her eyes, and with a tail that looked like a giant ball of wool where a colony of twenty Mr. Batty could live, greeted him with her little nubs. Her floppy ears were very long, and from among her ball of hair grew... sprouts?

The three little ones stared at her with their mouths slightly open, not knowing exactly what to do. The unknown paca began to approach them, not too quickly, but with quite a bit of energy. Piyo took a step back a little scared. Both Mr. Batty stood in front of Piyo, defending him. That didn't stop the big paca, who positioned herself in front of them and smiled widely. "So we have extra hands? Perfect! As I was saying, I'm sorry if I scared you, would you help me set up these fields? It's too much work for me alone."

Piyo looked at Mr. Batty, Mr. Batty looked at Piyo, and all three looked at the fields behind the black and white paca. Well, fields... They were basically mud pools.

"Uh... What exactly do you grow...?" Piyo asked timidly.

"Rice, of course!" The paca raised a hand and showed him a bunch of thin, elongated leaves. Piyo's face lit up. Rice!

"And of course." The stranger continued. "At the end of the day I will give you rice made from the harvest I got last year, would you like that?

Piyo didn't have to be told twice. He nodded effusively. There was nothing more delicious than rice, especially if it was home-grown. Mr. Batty sighed, and Piyo looked at them pouting.

"Perfect! So, let's get to work. My name is Darling, by the way."

"Piyo. And these are the Mr. Batty of a friend."

They headed for Darling's farm. Not only she had fields to plant rice, but also wheat, sweet potatoes... Piyo would have to drop in more often to help. Darling dressed him with some boots and an apron, "so you don't get those bright and soft feathers dirty", she had told him. Finally, she had placed a brown cap over his head. Piyo felt ready, although at that very moment his belly roared. Darling burst out laughing, and soon returned with a glass of milk and a loaf of bread. Piyo could not be happier at that moment. He devoured the bread and drank all the milk, savoring every mouthful of delicious homemade bread and freshly milked milk. We could say that this chick was in heaven.

Darling taught him how to plant rice, which was quite an arduous task. Mr. Batty brought Piyo a bunch of rice plants, the same ones Darling had taught her when he met her, and Piyo had to insert the base of these in the mud, just enough to keep them upright. It seemed easy, but Piyo didn't find it easy to get them to stay that way. After a few hours, quite stained with mud, he seemed to have got the hang of it, and he could plant them much faster. At the end of the day, Piyo was a machine. It was scary how precisely he planted rice. Darling and Mr. Batty looked at him with disbelief. Chof chof chof.

In the middle of the afternoon, Darling announced to Piyo that it was enough, and she deeply thanked him for his help. Piyo returned the equipment and cleaned the small mud stains that had exceeded his protection. He was beginning to feel very tired, the exhaustion was making him sleepy...

Piyo woke up the next morning. On his bedside table there was a note from Darling telling him how she had taken him back home, guided by the two little bats. She thanked him again for his help and said she hoped to see him again soon. Next to the note there was a basket with several bags of rice, loaves of bread and bottles of milk. Piyo smiled. Would it be Darling's tail that made him feel like he fell asleep on a cloud?