The Underground Trumpies

The Underground Trumpies Written by Manavi Chandra

There once was a little Trumpie named Naria. Naria spent the first 18 years of her life alone, for she had no family or friends to take care of her. She lived in a cave tree which led to the underground and established a career as a cherry-blossom sales girl. She set up shop in the middle of the village because that was where all of the Trumpies hung out.

The hardest part of getting her cherry blossoms was going outside, of course. There were these beautiful yet dangerous creatures who could walk on two legs, tall, and they could do… anything. Anything they wanted. Naria felt afraid, of course, but there was a day when the creatures seemed sparse - Sunday, which was today. She crept out of her hole with the Little Picker 3000, a pen that could extend to a tree and pluck the cherry blossoms.

Naria ran on the ginormous streets and found a tree so vibrant with cherry blossoms she started sneezing. She had never experienced allergies before, so she thought she was dying. Naria raced back, sneezing and coughing, and dove into her little bed in her cave.

For the next few days, there were no more cherry blossoms, and the Trumpies couldn’t make their blossom jam. They pounded Naria’s door and were horrified when they broke down the door.

Naria's suffering was so great and no one could understand what happened to her. Her most loyal customer, Adamis, sat by her bedside and held her hand.

“Dear Naria, what’s happened?”

“Adamis. Thank God you’ve come. I’m dying.” Naria let out another sneeze.

“How on earth did you get this condition?”

“I don’t know. I walked outside to get to the cherry blossoms and it just… happened.”

“I know what’s happened.”

Naria coughed. “You do?”

“Those sticking bees. They want the cherry blossoms all to themselves, don’t they? Can’t accept that there are others who cherish them?” Adamis looked behind him. “Listen all! We’re going to war!”

Hushes and frantic whispers filled Naria’s bedroom. Naria’s mental anguish

caused her suffering to be worse. She was too weak to say to Adamis that she had contracts with the bees, which would allow her to export the blossoms back to her place. Everyone started yelling.

“Who do we take down?”

“The bees!”

“WHO?”

“THE BEES!!”

Everyone raced out the door. These bozos were about to ruin their only spring tradition. Naria looked around her room. The Trumpies had messed everything up. Her lamp sat on the ground, pictures of her and the bees torn to shreds. She shed a tear. The bees were the only friends she had. Her insides were killing her and she knew she needed to get to a doctor, no matter how much it killed her to walk.

Fortunately, the only doctor she knew also lived next door. The doctor laid her down and performed a routine check, then a more specific exam.

“The results aren’t very grave,” said the doctor. “You simply have an allergy.”

“Doctor! I’m dying!”

“You’re not! It’s all in your head. Poor thing, you haven’t any friends or family so you don’t know these simple problems of life!”

“I cannot have an allergy, kind sir! I manage the village’s cherry blossom supply! How will this town survive without cherry blossoms? They’re all going to war!”

“You don’t have an allergy to cherry blossoms. You have an allergy to season, Spring in this case.”

“What?”

“You’ve worried too much in your life. Living alone, making a living for yourself. All these Trumpies had support over the years, had nothing to worry about.”

“The bees. I’m so worried about them.”

“Use my tele-wire.”

Naria gently got off the bed and dialed Beezis’s number. “Dera Beezis!”

“Oh, Naria, oh!”

“How bad is it?” Naria exclaimed.

“It hasn’t started yet, thank Lord Trumpie. They’re spending all of our honey on war supplies! No one can go out! Everyone’s starving!”

“Look, I’m getting the cherry blossoms and giving them to you. The Trumpies don’t deserve them anymore. I’m coming, wait for me!”

Naria ran, her heart speeding. A sickening feeling was present inside of her chest, and it so pained her. She wore her mask, which she realized she had forgotten that day, and threw a cloak on top of her as a disguise. Naria gasped and panted every time she took another step. In what seemed like forever, she finally saw the plentiful cherry blossom and took out her tool. It extended until the branches of the tree, and Naria clipped them off, letting them fall into her tan-colored sack. Finally, about three hundred were in the sack, letting off a scent so strong that Naria’s allergies acted up again. She sneezed and sneezed, mucus running out of her nose and eyes tearing up. Naria pinched her nose for the sneezing to stop.

“Naria!” Oh god, Naria thought. Adamis. “Adamis-” “Thank you, Naria, thank you!” Adamis tried to snatch the bag away from

her.

“This isn’t for you!” “Then who is it for… Naria.” “The bees are my only friends. I love them!” Adamis took a step back. “You’ve betrayed us.”

Naria stepped forward and grabbed his arm. “You listen to me. You betrayed me. When I grew up alone, all of you were damn aware of it. None of you came to help me. Do you know how much I struggled, learning the rules of life? Cooking for myself? Waking up early in the morning? No one to help me!”

“Look, I didn’t know.” He tried to touch Naria’s cheek but Naria flinched away.

‘“Then I tried my hardest in school and do you know how much I struggled? How many mistakes I’ve made? It’s a miracle I could even open my shop!"

“And now,” Naria breathed. “I give all of you cherry blossoms. My arms hurt from getting cherry blossoms everyday. None of you can get enough! What do I get in return? Nothing!”

Adamis stood on one knee. “I’m sorry, dear Naria. We’re fighting this fight for you!”

“Ha! Your apology doesn’t do anything! It doesn’t change the past! ” Naria ran off to the bees but stopped and turned backward. “You’re fighting this for yourself, not me.”

Naria ran to Beezus’ hive, which hung of a plank in one the creature’s backyards. She handed them the cherry blossoms, and the bees sucked out their nectar.

“All hail Queen Naria!” The bees sang, again and again. “All hail Queen Naria!”

Naria said, “Wait. I’ll get more.” She ran off to the cherry blossoms again, hoping she could apologize to Adamis. Sure, what she said was correct, but she didn’t like the way she said it. But he wasn’t anywhere and Naria ran back underground to their village. Weapons lined the grounds, and Trumpies who Naria remembered enjoyed playing hopscotch were now loading gunpowder into a grenade.

She grabbed an unknown Trumpie’s shirt. “Where’s Adamis!” “I don’t know!” “Stop that! There is no war! We’re not attacking the bees!” “Adamis said so!”

Naria went to her room and waited until they launched the first grenade. She had been on the phone with Beezus the whole time until her voice suddenly stopped coming through the phone. Naria’s face streamed with tears as she gently set the Doctor’s tele-wire down. She couldn’t believe she had to be born into this hard life, the Trumpies belittling her again and again. Naria and the doctor stayed safe in his room until they got word that Adamis had lost too many soldiers and decided to call it off. Naria knew - though the Trumpies abandoned her, she had to rebuild her home. That was all she had now.