Chapter Five: Nightmares or Dreams?
July 23, 2025 at 9:22 PM
After the wedding, Sonic and Varanda began to live together in one common house, and with them were their favorite pets Buddy and Vesunchik. Vesunchik was happy about what was happening in their common house with the owners, and only Buddy was worried about his future.
Sonic, standing by the wall, hung a new calendar and flipped through it from January of this year to October and put a mark on one necessary day.
β Aha! Let's see. It will be somewhere or here. - the hedgehog said to himself and marked all the days of October in a circle, then he flipped back one sheet and marked the last two weeks of September in a circle. - Or here. After all, the child can be born either exactly nine months from now, or a couple of weeks earlier. You can never guess.
Buddy, standing nearby, was sad and panicked. But back then it was still January.
***
February has come and by this time Sonic and Varanda have arranged a nursery with a bed in their shared house. β Darling, is it possible to find out in advance who will be born to us? β Sonic asks, pasting green wallpaper with hearts and footballs on the walls. Varanda at this time was trying to think of what to name the child, but she answered: β I'm afraid not. It's probably hard to predict. You have to go to Station Square and make an appointment with a special maternity doctor to check. But even he and the machines can't guess correctly whether it's a boy or a girl. We can only hope. Buddy and Lucky at this time were simply walking on the floor and looking around, sniffing with curiosity some of the toys that Sonic and Varanda had brought here.***
In March, Buddy and Lucky slept together hugging each other by the fireplace. Suddenly they woke up, hearing Sonic yawning in the middle of the night and getting ready to run to the store. β Honey, are you sure you really want a pineapple? β he asks Varanda. β No, you know, I changed my mind. β she answers him from the bedroom. β I want a watermelon and some kind of Chinese stew. β I guess I'd better bring everything at once, in case you want something else. β Sonic yawns and goes out the door. β Okay. Be careful. β Varanda answers, lying in bed. Buddy and Lucky were both worried that their common mistress had gone a little crazy and didn't understand what she wanted, especially in the middle of the night.***
In April, Sonic and Varanda had guests again. They brought gifts in advance in the form of necessary things for the baby. Buddy looked at and sniffed all of this with curiosity, not understanding what they were all for. He also listened to the guests talking to the hosts and discussing the child who had not yet been born.***
In May, Buddy walked from wall to wall and worried deep inside himself. He was worried. Especially when Varanda and Sonic went to the city together. When they returned, they found out that they were going to have a daughter and decided to name her Ariel. Lucky was the only one who happily jumped next to the hosts' feet, while Buddy was sad and still remembered the warnings about chipmunks.***
In June, oddly enough, even Eggman sent a gift. At first, Sonic and Varanda suspected that there might be a trap. Only Buddy, since he had a sixth sense, checked that the box was safe and opened it himself. After all, if there had been a trap or even a bomb, he would have immediately felt it and barked, but he did not do this, which means there really was a gift. Sonic and Varanda were surprised that it was an ordinary gift from their sworn enemy, and in honor of the birth of a child. Plus there was a letter with a promise that for the sake of their baby, he would leave them and the whole world alone for a couple of years.***
In July, Sonic received a call from his familiar relatives who congratulated him in advance and he talked to them. Lucky noticed this and began to rub against the hedgehog's legs. Only Buddy stood to the side and looked questioningly at Sonic, not understanding anything. Sonic noticed this, took out Shadow's rubber toy and threw it so that Buddy would be distracted and play, trying to bring his toy back.***
In August, Buddy wanted to play with Varanda out of boredom, who had a very big belly and was sitting in a rocking chair. The owner stroked her dog's head and said that unfortunately she couldn't play with him yet, as before, and advised him to play with either Sonic or Lucky for now. The dog didn't argue with the owner and decided to play tag with Lucky outside, although deep down he was still afraid and even sad that Varanda didn't want to play with him anymore. Apparently the chipmunks were right and his current nightmare is slowly starting to come true. Except that he's more or less gotten used to Sonic.***
In September, Buddy got bored so much that he went outside and went into the forest to visit his wild friends Togo and Laika again, who had already gotten used to the wild nature and could even howl at the moon at night. They tried to calm Buddy down and assured him that they would always be ready to take him in if, after the baby was born, his owner decided to throw the dog out on the street and abandon her. On the one hand, this consoled Buddy a little, but on the other hand, it scared him even more.***
And now October has arrived. It was at the beginning of this month that Ariel was born and a doctor quickly came to Varanda's home to help with the birth. A blue hedgehog with green eyes was born. Apparently, the daughter took more genes from her father. Sonic began to run around the neighbors and shout that they were having a girl. Sonic and Varanda were both happy. Even Lucky was happy. However, Buddy did not understand anything and was in a stupor. He only had these thoughts in his head: β "What is a child? ... Or ... Who is he, this child? "I don't understand anything... For me it's something terrible, but for the owners it's something wonderful and they're so happy to see him... They all laugh so tenderly and look so affectionately... However, they don't notice Lucky and me anymore... Hmm... So what kind of child is this?... Is he my friend?... Or an enemy?... And why has everyone around me changed so much?..." β after these thoughts, Buddy made a serious face and said to himself. β I have to see it myself and find out. Buddy waited for the moment when the doctor stepped away for a minute, and Varanda closed her eyes and rested after giving birth. The dog rose, standing on his hind legs and raised his front paws, clinging to the edge of the bed with them. He raised his muzzle higher and looked down. In the crib lay a baby, a blue hedgehog, who was completely calm and lay with her eyes closed. A few seconds later, the child very slowly opened her eyes and yawned, opening her mouth wide. The child, when she saw the dog's face, smiled and laughed. The dog's face was funny to the girl and she was not at all afraid of it. Even Buddy smiled, seeing the child with his own eyes and making sure that she liked him. β Hey! What are you doing? β the dog heard the doctor's voice, who moved the dog away. β Ugh! Bad dog! Don't get too close to the child! She is still too small, weak and fragile. What if she is allergic to your fur or you infect her with your fleas? The dog was indignant and began to swear at the doctor: β Impudent! I have short fur... and I, so you know, do not have fleas. β he only spoke, but the doctor did not understand dog language and mistakenly thinking that he was just barking, began to hiss: β Now be quiet! Stop barking! Mom and daughter are sleeping, and you'll wake them up. β I'm not barking, I'm complaining, idiot. β only Buddy snapped back, but his swearing only sounded like a dog's barking and the doctor loudly stamped his foot and shouted: β I SAID STOP BARKING!!! The doctor's scream and his stomping scared the child and Ariel began to cry. Buddy's eyes bulged and looked at the child's bed. The doctor began to rock the bed and calm the child. β Hush-hush, baby, don't cry. β he said and then looked sternly at the dog. β Do you see what you've done? β What? I've done? β Buddy was indignant and wanted to object that it was the doctor himself who screamed, but he grabbed his muzzle with both hands. β Are you deaf? I told you to shut your mouth and stop barking, otherwise you'll wake her up again and scare her, you stupid bastard. β the doctor snapped at the dog. Buddy got scared and whined. He was ready to start crying, but then Sonic came running and grabbed the doctor's hands. He looked at him sternly. β Aren't you ashamed? This is not just a dog, but my wife's best and most loyal friend. If I were such a doctor, I would treat a pregnant dog more politely. The dog smiled, looking at Sonic because he stood up for him. The doctor groaned and tried to break free. β If you break my arms, let me go. β the doctor asked and the hedgehog let him go. β And anyway, it's not my fault. This is your stupid dog. He started to crawl to your daughter's bed, and he also barked. Sonic could not believe what he heard and looked questioningly at Buddy. β Is it true, Buddy? Buddy wanted to answer "No" at first, but then it would turn out that he lied. After all, he looked at the child with curiosity. Then he repented and began to whine, honestly answered "Yes", nodding his head. Sonic frowned upon receiving the answer. β Forgive me for my hands, doctor. β It's all right. β he answered Sonic with a grin. β I've also held the hands of many pregnant women and they squeezed mine just as tightly. I'm used to it. β I promise, in the future we'll do everything so that the dog doesn't bother our child. β Sonic assured the doctor and walked him to the exit. Buddy was left alone on the floor and whined again. He was sad that Sonic didn't trust him. Varanda heard the dog's cry and stood up slightly. β Buddy!... What's wrong with you? β she was clearly worried about her dog. Buddy looked at his mistress and climbed up onto her bed to lie down next to her. Varanda began to pet the dog. β Now, be quiet! Who hurt you? Why are you crying so much? The child saw the dog in her mother's bed through the bars of the bed and heard him whining. The child was ready to cry again, because she felt sorry for the animal. Varanda heard Ariel's playa. β Honey, please calm Ariel down. I'm trying to calm Buddy down. β she said. Sonic ran up and started rocking the bed with the child, trying to lull her to sleep. From time to time, he looked at Buddy with suspicion. β Honey, the doctor said that he climbed into our daughter's bed and barked, waking her up. I think he needs to be punished. β the hedgehog suggested. β That's not true, Sonic. Buddy couldn't do that. I trust my dog. He's been living with me for a long time. β the hedgehog explained and looked at the dog. β Buddy, tell me honestly. You weren't barking for no reason? Maybe something threatened Ariel? β Buddy nodded and shook his head periodically, silently answering "Yes" and "No", answering the questions of the owner. This is how Varanda understood her dog, unlike her husband. β Well, you see, dear. It's not his fault. He was just curious and swore at the doctor who began to blame him. β Okay... Let it remain on his conscience... But... Buddy, next time, if you suddenly want to look at our child... Please... First of all, go to one of us and ask... Well, you never know... Suddenly you have fleas and you infect him with them... You must be clean and only then can you approach Ariel. Do you promise? Buddy whined and calmed down. He clearly answered with consent. Ariel had already closed her eyes and fell asleep. Sonic lay down next to Varanda under the blanket and let the dog lie next to them in bed. Then the blue hedgehog saw the kitten Lucky come and was shocked. Sonic gently patted the bed with his palm, calling the kitten. β Go. Lie down next to you, Lucky. There is enough space on the bed for everyone. β he said. The kitten jumped onto the bed and lay down next to Buddy, between Varanda and Sonic's stomachs under the blanket. The owners and animals, lying together in an embrace on the bed, fell asleep. Buddy was no longer afraid. He was convinced that the chipmunks were wrong about the child and her owner, and he himself saw and learned what a child is. Although deep down he was still worried, and how long would Varanda and Sonic love him so much, despite the fact that they had a child? Maybe it's not forever and yet the chipmunks will be right? Maybe sooner or later they will stop being interested in him and they will really get rid of him?***
After some time... Well, how?... A couple of hours... Ariel felt that she wanted to eat and started crying in the middle of the night. Sonic was the first to hear and woke up yawning. β Don't get up, I'll do it myself. β he said and got out of bed. Varanda continued to sleep. Buddy and Lucky woke up for only a couple of seconds. Then they closed their eyes again and fell asleep.
