Gummy Bears

Once, on a kitchen counter, sat 5 green gummy bears and 1 red gummy bear. The five were huddled together laughing, leaving the red gummy bear alone and sad. One of the green gummy bears took pity on the red gummy bear and walked over to talk to him.

"Hi, I'm Michelle," The green gummy bear smiled at the red gummy bear. He was surprised that she was talking to him and didn't reply at first.

"I'm Noel," The red gummy bear replied simply.

"Do you want to go play?" Michelle inquired, ignoring the stares from the other green gummy bears. Noel nodded and followed her to the edge of the kitchen counter. It was the blossoming of a friendship.

Michelle ignored the other gummy bears. They all made fun of her for hanging around with someone as unpopular as Noel. But she didn't care. It didn't matter that he wasn't green, it didn't matter that he didn't have any friends. All that mattered was that they had a good time together.

"You know, I know there has to be some sort of life out there," Michelle broke the silence that had filled the air. It was several months after their first encounter. They were both sitting on the edge of the kitchen counter, looking out at the open space.

"Well sure, I mean, the world is a big place," Noel agreed. Michelle shook her head and looked at Noel.

"I'm glad you feel that way because...I'm tired of feeling caged in, like there's somewhere I'm supposed to be away from here. I don't want to spend the rest of my life wondering 'what if' all the time." Michelle confessed, looking down at the grey carpet beneath them.

"That's crazy, Michelle. There's so much we have here, why should we be greedy and go looking for more?" Noel reasoned.

"It's not enough. Just staying up here all the time is not enough. There's so much to experience, so much to do, and we have to savor the precious time we have together while it lasts." Michelle stood up and Noel followed suit.

"But Michelle, what if there really isn't anything good on the other side? What if this is all for nothing?" Noel probed. Michelle shrugged.

"That's the thing, I don't know for sure. I have to find out for myself. I'll always remember you, Noel. You're my best friend, and nobody can replace you." They hugged and he watched her walk off. It was a crazy idea, he knew, but he also knew there wasn't a point in trying to stop her. She'd just leave with bad memories of him.

The 4 green gummy bears were planning something, though. They heard what Michelle was doing, so they decided to hatch up a scheme. The plan was already in motion.

"Michelle? We know we've been rude to you in the past for being with Noel, but we wanted to make it up to you. I'm sorry." One of the green gummy bears told her, with a genuine smile.

"It's alright Tiffany, I forgive you. I'm leaving and I'd like it if you were nicer to Noel. For me, please?" Tiffany nodded enthusiastically and went to go talk to the other green gummy bears.

"Alright, I apologized, now what?" She asked one of the green gummy bears.

"It's simple really, we just have to wait," The gummy bear replied smugly.

"Wait?" Tiffany repeated. "Why would we do that, Natalie?" Natalie rolled her eyes.

"If we don't wait, we don't get to succeed in our plan, stupid!" Tiffany thought it over and nodded.

The day finally came and Michelle was getting ready to leave.

"Goodbye Noel, I'll see you soon," Michelle promised. Noel smiled sadly.

"Of course you will. We're always best friends. Always." They hugged again and she went to walk off the counter. Then, another of the gummy bears came running out.

He ran up to Noel and tackled him over the edge of the kitchen counter.

"No, Noel!" Michelle screamed, running over to the edge.

The gummy bear smiled smugly, watching Noel fall and shatter on the carpet.

"Derek, why did you do that?" Michelle asked shrilly.

"He was a waste of time, forget about him." Derek brushed it off.

"I loved him, he was my best friend! How could you?" She started to sob and the other gummy bears came out.

"Oh what a shame," One of the gummy bears looked down at Derek's work below.

"Yeah Tyler, that's a big mess to clean up," Natalie agreed, crossing her arms.

"Well, it was bound to happen some day," Tiffany shrugged.

"You're all disgusting! How could you take another's life? All because you didn't like the way he looked? The way you thought he was!? That's disgraceful. How could you live with yourselves?" Michelle shook her head, tears cascading down her face.

She pulled her backpack closer to her, and a flower fell out. It reminded her of Noel and made her cry harder.

"What's this?" Michelle asked as Noel gave her a beautiful flower.

"It's a gift, I found it. I thought you might like it," He was looking at the floor, clearly embarrassed.

"Thanks Noel, I love it!" She exclaimed, hugging him. He laughed and hugged her back.

Michelle decided to travel after all, mostly for Noel. She knew that he would've wanted her to be happy, and traveling was the only way she felt she could be. Every night, she dreamt about the wonderful memories they had together, and in the morning she'd cry bittersweet tears and continue on her never-ending journey of happiness. She'd take a bunch of pictures and imagine what it'd be like if she was able to send them to Noel.

She did write him letters every now and again, although she'd end up hiding them away in her backpack, never looking at them again. She never returned to her homeland, it was too painful, but she did remember. She'd promised Noel she'd always remember. Whenever she felt down, or overjoyed, even when she just felt okay, she had a feeling that Noel was watching her from somewhere, smiling at the person she'd become.