Greenway Forest Story

Written By: Anika
Arends

Greenway Forest Story

As I woke up on Saturday morning, I just wished that I
could be somewhere else. I wanted to be with my family in
Minnesota, but for some reason, I was in California going
to the University of Berkeley. When I first got here, I was
so excited to see all the new places to go. When I got here,
I just wanted to EXPLORE!!!

Now I have been here for almost a year, and I just want
to see my family! So today, I decided I am going to try to
be as close to Minnesota, my hometown, as possible. I am
going to go on a hike! There is this place called the
Greenway Forest, and I thought that maybe that would be
more like Minnesota. Just because of all the greenery.

As I pulled up to the forest, I was just immediately happier than
I have been all year. It just felt like Minnesota. I wanted to
explore and just have fun. As I went into the forest, it was like I
was getting swallowed by the trees. It was just full of everything
home-like. As I made my way through the forest, I saw this
little pond.

It was so beautiful and full of little creatures! There were

frogs, birds, and deer. It was so amazing, and peaceful. As I

sat down and leaned on one of the giant trees, the birds began

to sing peacefully, almost like a lullaby. It was so peaceful and

pretty. My eyelids got heavy, and the rest was just kind of a

blur, as I drifted off to sleep. Z

Z

Z

3 hours later…
After a while, I was still sleeping, though I heard this
rustling. It was growing louder like it was coming closer.
I thought I was just dreaming of it, but finally, when the
noise got too annoying I shook myself awake and saw a
small creature laying on my stomach!!!

At first, I didn't know what it was. All I knew was that it was
small, kind of prickly, and it had small beady eyes!!! After I
screamed my head off, I realized that it wasn’t that creepy. It
was honestly pretty cute!

As I jumped to my feet, the little creature seemed to get a little
scared. I thought, maybe, it would run away but it just backed up
a little then came crawling back to me. At first, it tried to climb up
my leg before it finally gave up. I tried to call my mom and tell her
what that funny little animal was doing, but she never picked up
so I decided to call my dad.

When he finally picked up, I asked him, “Hey, dad do you know what a
type of creature is one with soft but prickly fur, and is so tiny it could fit
in my hand?”
Once I told him that he kind of freaked out a little and started asking
why I was asking about a mysterious creature, so I told him the story.
After I finished my story, he asked me if I had the pepper spray that he
had given to me before I left for college. I told him that I had left it at the
college because I was just going for a walk so I probably wouldn’t need
it, once I told him this he freaked out AGAIN!! He gave me an entire
lecture about what could have happened if something else had come
out of the bushes! Though while he was talking, I was just playing with
the cutest little creature.

After a while, he finally said a whole bunch of different animals.
He said things like- porcupines, hamsters, rats, chinchillas, and a
sugar glider. I started to search up what all the animals looked
like when I got to the chinchilla! The animal in my hand was a
CHINCHILLA!!!

I told my dad what it was, and AGAIN, he listed things that
could be dangerous about a chinchilla. After about 5 minutes of
him talking I just said, “Bye” and hung up. After playing
around with it for a while, I decided to name it! After looking at
the chinchilla, I thought the name, Rosie, would be a perfect fit.
It was a girl after all.

After a couple more hours of walking around and exploring, my
phone started ringing. I looked at my phone and saw that it was
one of the girls from my sorority. After all, I hadn’t really told
them where I was going. I had also been out all day long and the
sun was just starting to set. I decided to answer and Ella and I
talked for a while before I found my way back to my car and told
her I would be home in 15 mins.

As I started to my car, I saw Rosie sitting outside my car looking
up at me like she didn’t want me to leave her side. As I slowly
backed up, she started making a sad sound, like she was whining
or crying for me to come back. As I pulled back into the parking
spot, I opened the door and Rosie hopped right in! While riding
home, Rosie stayed right on my lap and clung to my leggings for
dear life.

As we finally pulled into the parking lot of my sorority, I opened
the door and Rosie jumped right out and looked at me like she
might throw up. I laughed a little and picked her up. As I opened
the door to the sorority, Ella rushed towards me and picked up
Rosie instantly. Rosie looked terrified and Ella screamed and
started petting her crazily. I told Ella to be gentle then picked
Rosie and almost sprinted up the stairs before the other girls
noticed my new little pet!

As I reached my room, I realized how tired I actually was, so I
turned on my TV and slowly drifted off to sleep with my new
little pet in my arms.