The Ones Without Names
The story of Lilo and the experiments that didn't need names.
"Uncle Jumba!" Lilo knocked on Jumba's bedroom door. "Have you seen Stitch lately? He's been gone for, like, ages now!"
"He's visitingk 624!" Jumba responded from inside. "Didn't you hear? She is beingk back on island for all this week!"
"OH, cool!" Lilo jumped up and cheered. "Where is she? Can I go visit her too?"
Jumba opened the bedroom door, stepping out his normal Hawaiian attire. "Uh, actually, 626 did not give me exact location of himself and 624."
Lilo's smile disappeared. "Oh. Darn. Hey, Uncle Jumba, could I ask you a favor?"
"Sure thing, little girl! Vhat is it?"
Lilo pulled down the sleeve of her muumuu to reveal the strap of her swimsuit. "I need a partner to paddle with me to find Pudge. He's gone missing. Could you come?"
Jumba closed his eyes and shook his head. "Aa, I'm sorry, little girl. But I am afraid" (he placed his hands on either side of his stomach and jiggled it) "that my big belly cannot be fittingk in tiny toothpick canoe."
"Darn again!" Lilo sat down on the floor and sighed through her nose.
Jumba knelt down and nuzzled Lilo's nose with his own. "Aw, don't be sad." No answer. "No, seriously, don't. Last time this happened, you ran away and 159 nearly got blasted with plasma cannon."
Lilo could help but giggle. "Her name's Bella!"
"Vhichever." Jumba patted Lilo on the head. "Tell you vhat, you go ask Pleakly if he vants to go canoeing with you. I am goingk to vatch Discovery Channel. Is Mythbusters I haven't seen yet."
Lilo nodded and stood up. "Okay, I love you, bye bye!" And with that she ran downstairs to find Pleakly.
"I don't like getting wet!" Pleakly squealed, struggling to pick up the handle to the vacuum cleaner. "Besides, I can barely pick up the paddle. Why can't you get Stitch to go with you?"
"Because he's visiting Angel and didn't tell us where he was," Lilo explained. "And I can't go by myself to feed Pudge because that's not allowed."
"Well, there are some times in life where you have to go it alone," Pleakly cooed. "And if you feel bad, then go make some five-frapnod friends!"
Lilo cocked her head. "Five-frapnod friends?"
"Frapnod! Closest English translation would be 'five-minute friends'. You know, like those two little boys you made friends with at the palace of the king of burgers a week ago and haven't heard from since?"
"I think I might've scared them off when I told them I wanted to be a voodoo priestess on the Isle of Krakatoa."
"Well, some people are just a little close-minded when it comes to uniqueness." Pleakly handed a little lunch sack to Lilo. "Here your sandwich. Have fun feeding fish!"
"Whadda mean, I can't paddle out on my own?!"
Nani calmly waved down the angry diver. "I'm sorry, but recent safety regulation states that all customers must now use the buddy system."
"Aw, man!" The diver man suddenly felt a tug on the pant of his wetsuit. He looked down to see a little Hawaiian girl in a swimsuit holding a brown lunch bag.
"Hey, mister," she whispered. "If you'll be my five-minute friend, I'll go out of the boat with you."
The diver nodded. "Yeah..." He turned back to Nani. "One canoe for me and my... Little cousin."
Lilo giggled. "Yeah."
"I'm looking for sea monsters!" said the man who's name was Murphy. "Some locals said that they saw something serpent-ish swimming out here with the dolphins. I'm going to find it."
"Okay," said Lilo. "I'm feeding Pudge the fish. He controls the weather."
Murphy raised an eyebrow. "All...righty."
"OO! Look, there he is!" Lilo yanked the sandwich out of her sack.
"Where?" Murphy jumped.
PLOP!
"Pudge! I missed you so much!" The little girl reached out and stroked the orange fish while Murphy watched, confused. "Glad I found you, Pudge! Bye bye!"
The orange fish chomped into its sandwich and swam away. Lilo looked out to the endless ocean, her five-minute friend finally jumping out of the boat to take pictures of shadows that he thought were sea monsters. It was fun talking with him for the little while he was there, but... It was a lot more fun with Stitch there. Sometimes he would talk to the dolphins. Lilo liked that. Stitch was cool.
But, Stitch was visiting Angel, his first and only love. Lilo felt rotten wanting Stitch to be with her, because Angel was only going to be here for this week and she was gonna be around for... As long as she lived. But, once again, she couldn't help feeling bad.
"Maybe I should go visit Bella," Lilo monotoned. "She always has good advice."
"Problem is," said a little voice in her head (the little voice always talked to Lilo when she was at her loneliest), "That she either speaks in Turian or Urdu."
"Stupid languages." Li tossed herself into a sitting position on the side of the boat. "Why can't everybody just speak one cool-sounding language? Like Swahili. Or Swedish. Or something else with a 'sw' sound?"
"Who knows?" answered the voice.
A swishing sound alerted Lilo to something swimming by the side of the boat. As she looked over the edge, she jerked back a bit; it wasn't a dolphin, and shark, a fish, Murphy, or anything she recognized right away. It was ocean blue with a navy blue speckled back. It had a rounded head with the ears and nose of a cat. As it looked up towards her, Lilo noticed that it had the eyes of an experiment; all black, almond shaped, and there were four of them arranged like the eyes on Jumba's head. It turned over it the water, and as it swam downward, Lilo took note of the long, long, long, long body, short legs, webbed paws, and four-finned mermaid tail. It dived out of sight and flipped about underwater, finally breaking the surface with just her ears, the very top of her head, and her upper set of eyes. It looked at Lilo blankly.
"Hello." Lilo leaned over in the boat to get a better long at the snake/cat/Jumba thing. "Who are you?"
It made no audible response; instead, it rolled its back in a wave behind it, slapping its tail against the surface of the water.
"Are you a sea serpent, like what Mister Murphy is looking for?"
The sea monster dunked itself underwater and surfaced again, wiggling its ears comically. Lilo giggled.
"I like you!" The chubby one cupped on hand over her cheek and leaned in to the sea creature. "You know, you're lucky that I'm the one who saw you first, 'cause most people just scream when they see a sea monster. But not me. I understand you guys."
The dragon-esque being cocked its head and paddled closer. Lilo kept narrating. "It must be lonely out there. There can't be very many of you. The only one I know about is the Loch Ness Monster. Is he your cousin?"
No response from the blue thing.
"I guess not." Lilo reached out her hand towards the blue thing, hoping to pet it but not daring to touch it quite yet. "You and me, we're like Siamese twins; very few and far between, Nani says. And whenever you find one, you get separated and get an interview on Oprah."
The blue one dunked underwater again and resurfaced closer to Lilo. The little girl stroked its smooth skin. "We could be friends, you and me. You and me and Pudge, because Pudge is different from other fish because Pudge controls the weather, and you control people like Murphy, and I control my camera!"
Suddenly the sea serpents ears stood erect, and it dove underneath the water and did not resurface. Lilo began to suspect she had done something wrong before Murphy and his wife came by on a speedboat, saying that Nani was looking for her.
Different. Cousin. Understand.
The sea dragon followed the speedboat with effortless ease, her long tail and four fins powering her along like a torpedo.
Like. Friends. Lucky.
As the boat entered shallower water, she pulled back, remembering her painful, waterless hike to the ocean when she had first awakened. Her eyes began to burn.
Separated. Lonely.
She popped her head above water, watching as the human child was dragged away by a screaming older version of herself. Water began to pour from her sensitive eyes.
You. Me. Friends.
She could not speak the words, but her limited mind ran through all of them over and over again trying to find a meaning. Her mind began to place words in a way that they might make sense.
Like. Friends. Friends. Understand. Me. Me. Like. You.
She dove to the bottom of the sea and swam towards deeper waters, her mind filled with a prospect she would have never considered before.
Friends... Like... Me...
How corny. More no-named experiments to come!
The story of Lilo and the experiments that didn't need names.
"Uncle Jumba!" Lilo knocked on Jumba's bedroom door. "Have you seen Stitch lately? He's been gone for, like, ages now!"
"He's visitingk 624!" Jumba responded from inside. "Didn't you hear? She is beingk back on island for all this week!"
"OH, cool!" Lilo jumped up and cheered. "Where is she? Can I go visit her too?"
Jumba opened the bedroom door, stepping out his normal Hawaiian attire. "Uh, actually, 626 did not give me exact location of himself and 624."
Lilo's smile disappeared. "Oh. Darn. Hey, Uncle Jumba, could I ask you a favor?"
"Sure thing, little girl! Vhat is it?"
Lilo pulled down the sleeve of her muumuu to reveal the strap of her swimsuit. "I need a partner to paddle with me to find Pudge. He's gone missing. Could you come?"
Jumba closed his eyes and shook his head. "Aa, I'm sorry, little girl. But I am afraid" (he placed his hands on either side of his stomach and jiggled it) "that my big belly cannot be fittingk in tiny toothpick canoe."
"Darn again!" Lilo sat down on the floor and sighed through her nose.
Jumba knelt down and nuzzled Lilo's nose with his own. "Aw, don't be sad." No answer. "No, seriously, don't. Last time this happened, you ran away and 159 nearly got blasted with plasma cannon."
Lilo could help but giggle. "Her name's Bella!"
"Vhichever." Jumba patted Lilo on the head. "Tell you vhat, you go ask Pleakly if he vants to go canoeing with you. I am goingk to vatch Discovery Channel. Is Mythbusters I haven't seen yet."
Lilo nodded and stood up. "Okay, I love you, bye bye!" And with that she ran downstairs to find Pleakly.
"I don't like getting wet!" Pleakly squealed, struggling to pick up the handle to the vacuum cleaner. "Besides, I can barely pick up the paddle. Why can't you get Stitch to go with you?"
"Because he's visiting Angel and didn't tell us where he was," Lilo explained. "And I can't go by myself to feed Pudge because that's not allowed."
"Well, there are some times in life where you have to go it alone," Pleakly cooed. "And if you feel bad, then go make some five-frapnod friends!"
Lilo cocked her head. "Five-frapnod friends?"
"Frapnod! Closest English translation would be 'five-minute friends'. You know, like those two little boys you made friends with at the palace of the king of burgers a week ago and haven't heard from since?"
"I think I might've scared them off when I told them I wanted to be a voodoo priestess on the Isle of Krakatoa."
"Well, some people are just a little close-minded when it comes to uniqueness." Pleakly handed a little lunch sack to Lilo. "Here your sandwich. Have fun feeding fish!"
"Whadda mean, I can't paddle out on my own?!"
Nani calmly waved down the angry diver. "I'm sorry, but recent safety regulation states that all customers must now use the buddy system."
"Aw, man!" The diver man suddenly felt a tug on the pant of his wetsuit. He looked down to see a little Hawaiian girl in a swimsuit holding a brown lunch bag.
"Hey, mister," she whispered. "If you'll be my five-minute friend, I'll go out of the boat with you."
The diver nodded. "Yeah..." He turned back to Nani. "One canoe for me and my... Little cousin."
Lilo giggled. "Yeah."
"I'm looking for sea monsters!" said the man who's name was Murphy. "Some locals said that they saw something serpent-ish swimming out here with the dolphins. I'm going to find it."
"Okay," said Lilo. "I'm feeding Pudge the fish. He controls the weather."
Murphy raised an eyebrow. "All...righty."
"OO! Look, there he is!" Lilo yanked the sandwich out of her sack.
"Where?" Murphy jumped.
PLOP!
"Pudge! I missed you so much!" The little girl reached out and stroked the orange fish while Murphy watched, confused. "Glad I found you, Pudge! Bye bye!"
The orange fish chomped into its sandwich and swam away. Lilo looked out to the endless ocean, her five-minute friend finally jumping out of the boat to take pictures of shadows that he thought were sea monsters. It was fun talking with him for the little while he was there, but... It was a lot more fun with Stitch there. Sometimes he would talk to the dolphins. Lilo liked that. Stitch was cool.
But, Stitch was visiting Angel, his first and only love. Lilo felt rotten wanting Stitch to be with her, because Angel was only going to be here for this week and she was gonna be around for... As long as she lived. But, once again, she couldn't help feeling bad.
"Maybe I should go visit Bella," Lilo monotoned. "She always has good advice."
"Problem is," said a little voice in her head (the little voice always talked to Lilo when she was at her loneliest), "That she either speaks in Turian or Urdu."
"Stupid languages." Li tossed herself into a sitting position on the side of the boat. "Why can't everybody just speak one cool-sounding language? Like Swahili. Or Swedish. Or something else with a 'sw' sound?"
"Who knows?" answered the voice.
A swishing sound alerted Lilo to something swimming by the side of the boat. As she looked over the edge, she jerked back a bit; it wasn't a dolphin, and shark, a fish, Murphy, or anything she recognized right away. It was ocean blue with a navy blue speckled back. It had a rounded head with the ears and nose of a cat. As it looked up towards her, Lilo noticed that it had the eyes of an experiment; all black, almond shaped, and there were four of them arranged like the eyes on Jumba's head. It turned over it the water, and as it swam downward, Lilo took note of the long, long, long, long body, short legs, webbed paws, and four-finned mermaid tail. It dived out of sight and flipped about underwater, finally breaking the surface with just her ears, the very top of her head, and her upper set of eyes. It looked at Lilo blankly.
"Hello." Lilo leaned over in the boat to get a better long at the snake/cat/Jumba thing. "Who are you?"
It made no audible response; instead, it rolled its back in a wave behind it, slapping its tail against the surface of the water.
"Are you a sea serpent, like what Mister Murphy is looking for?"
The sea monster dunked itself underwater and surfaced again, wiggling its ears comically. Lilo giggled.
"I like you!" The chubby one cupped on hand over her cheek and leaned in to the sea creature. "You know, you're lucky that I'm the one who saw you first, 'cause most people just scream when they see a sea monster. But not me. I understand you guys."
The dragon-esque being cocked its head and paddled closer. Lilo kept narrating. "It must be lonely out there. There can't be very many of you. The only one I know about is the Loch Ness Monster. Is he your cousin?"
No response from the blue thing.
"I guess not." Lilo reached out her hand towards the blue thing, hoping to pet it but not daring to touch it quite yet. "You and me, we're like Siamese twins; very few and far between, Nani says. And whenever you find one, you get separated and get an interview on Oprah."
The blue one dunked underwater again and resurfaced closer to Lilo. The little girl stroked its smooth skin. "We could be friends, you and me. You and me and Pudge, because Pudge is different from other fish because Pudge controls the weather, and you control people like Murphy, and I control my camera!"
Suddenly the sea serpents ears stood erect, and it dove underneath the water and did not resurface. Lilo began to suspect she had done something wrong before Murphy and his wife came by on a speedboat, saying that Nani was looking for her.
Different. Cousin. Understand.
The sea dragon followed the speedboat with effortless ease, her long tail and four fins powering her along like a torpedo.
Like. Friends. Lucky.
As the boat entered shallower water, she pulled back, remembering her painful, waterless hike to the ocean when she had first awakened. Her eyes began to burn.
Separated. Lonely.
She popped her head above water, watching as the human child was dragged away by a screaming older version of herself. Water began to pour from her sensitive eyes.
You. Me. Friends.
She could not speak the words, but her limited mind ran through all of them over and over again trying to find a meaning. Her mind began to place words in a way that they might make sense.
Like. Friends. Friends. Understand. Me. Me. Like. You.
She dove to the bottom of the sea and swam towards deeper waters, her mind filled with a prospect she would have never considered before.
Friends... Like... Me...
How corny. More no-named experiments to come!