Adam and the Michpunks

"You've no idea what theez bracelet does, right?" The little boy asked in his distinct French accent.1

"No." His American older brother answered with a bored sigh, "I have no idea. Shut up and go away."2

The little boy pushed his lip out and wrinkled his eyebrows together in a way all little children seemed to do, "Adam, theez eez eemportant to me! I need vou to understand!"3

The sixteen year old boy rolled his blue eyes and bent down to his little brother's size, his patience being tried, "Okay, lemme guess. It turns into a rocket ship, just like a transformer?"4

It was the little boy's turn to roll his eyes, "Non," he replied in a degraded manner as he crossed his arms and turned away, "Take zees seriously."5

Adam bit his tongue of the foul things he wanted to say to the pugnacious French boy, and sat down on the gray carpet in his living room, "Okay, Francie. What does it do?"6

"It lets me talk to aminals." Francois answered as he jumped into Adam's lap advantageously, "I can talk to zeh michpunks een zee backyard!"7

"You mean 'chipmunks', right?" Adam corrected as he pushed Francois off of his lap, wondering when his parents were going to get home and he could stop baby-sitting his dumb adopted brother.8

"No, Michpunks!" Francie corrected as he stood up and ordered, "Vou come weeth me. I weel show vou!" The little boy wearing the blue Onesie began running to the back sliding glass doors, and Adam sighed wearily as he pushed himself to his feet heavily.9

"It's pronounced 'you', doofus, not 'vou'. Speak American." The older brother ordered as Francie opened the back door and hopped out onto the wooden back porch much like a kangaroo, "Now what the heck are we doing out here in the middle of fall? It's cold. Hurry up."10

Adam watched as Francie turned to him and said, "Put on zeh bracelet, Adam."11

The teenager rolled his eyes, then said, "Demonstrate for me, first."12

Francie made an animatedly angry face at his brother, then he slipped the silver bracelet up his tiny arm and cupped his hands around his mouth, calling out into their vast, 13-acre apple-tree filled backyard, "MICHPUNKS! COME HE-ERE!"13

Adam rubbed his arms as silence overtook the land.14

"See?" He reprimanded, "No 'michpunks', as you call them. Now come back inside, or I'm locking the door on you!"15

"Wait, vou have to vait!" Francie begged as his big brown eyes scanned the distant hills, "They come. Vou must be quiet and listen."16

Adam hung his head and waited in silence for a few moments, then he turned toward the door and said, "I'm going back inside. Don't freeze to dea-"17

There was a chipmunk standing in front of the door, standing on its hind haunches, just staring at him with beady black eyes.18

"Um...Francie?" Adam questioned, "There's a chipmunk..."19

Adam turned around to see his little adopted brother, and saw a strange sight. Hundreds of tiny chipmunks were surrounding his blonde adopted brother on their wooden porch, and for some reason this instilled a fear in him.20

"Francie, come away from those chipmunks." Adam ordered, fearing to move.21

"No, they're going to take me away to their house in France, and I'm going to hang out with them!" Francie explained with an innocent grin. The chipmunks then proceeded to overtake him, and Adam felt a spike of fear in his mind. Chipmunks were taking his little brother away! He failed to realize that Francois had spoken clear blue American English. 22

"Francie, no, come on! You have to stay here! Mom and dad will miss you, you know!" Adam persuaded, but the chipmunks began to drag the little child away toward the hills. 23

"Don't worry, Adam! Here-" Francie pulled off his silver bracelet and tossed it to his older brother, "-Go to a place you want to be, too!"24

Adam caught the bracelet, but he dropped it and began running after Francie. The chipmunks were swift, and he had to sprint to even dream of keeping up with them. Apple trees whizzed by in his peripheral vision, and he found himself frightened, "Francois, please! What am I supposed to tell mom and dad? They'll think I got rid of you or something!"25

Over his ragged breathing, Adam could barely hear his little brother's reply, "But you did get rid of me. You don't love me...so why should I stay?"26

Then, quite abruptly, the skies turned gray, and rain began pouring down on the land. The chipmunks began to melt away into brown puddles in the grass, and Francois went with them, disappearing forever. 27

Adam stood in the rain, his whole body numb. Five words had just ruined his life: You do not love me.28

How had he been so horrible? How had he never told his little brother that he loved him? Was he that rude as a person, that he didn't care whether his sibling lived or died?29

Adam began to cry. Which was strange, because it happened so rarely. He had lost his little brother. All because he hadn't shown him he loved him.30

"I'm so sorry, Francois, I really do love you..." Adam cried out to the dark skies, and then, something happened.31

Lightning struck him in the chest.32

Then, everything went dark, and the only sound his ears picked up was, "Adam?"33

Adam groaned, then felt a heaviness on his chest bouncing up and down.34

"Adam? Wake up! A-dum!"35

The teenager opened his teary eyes, and was surprised see a familiar little French boy jumping up and down on his stomach while he lay on the couch in the living room36

"FRANCIE!" Adam yelled in relief, and he grabbed his little brother in a lung-crushing hug, "I love you, Francois, okay? Don't go back to France with the michpunks!"37

Francois pushed away from his older brother indignantly, scrunching up his nose in animated disgust, yet unable to hide his smile.38

"What eez a michpunk?" The little boy asked as he jumped off the couch to land on the carpet on all fours.39

"It's something you told me about in my dream..." Adam began to explain, but he was sidetracked by a little furry creature standing on a tree branch outside their window, looking in at him with it's head cocked to one side. It disappeared away from the window, and Adam refocused his attention onto his little brother, "Look, Francie, I'm really sorry about everything mean I've said to you. I didn't mean it."40

"Okay. I vant s'mores." Francie said as he ran toward the kitchen. Adam followed, intent on being nicer to his little brother from then on. 41

Outside, on the roof of the secluded farmhouse, a chipmunk was sitting on the crest of the roof with one of it's chipmunk friends.42

"So, Gabriel," The one chipmunk asked, "How did it go?"43

The other chipmunk pushed itself onto it's hind haunches, and as it stood, it turned into a very tall angel, "I think this will be a more peaceful home from now on, Crisolie. Mission accomplished."44

The other chipmunk rolled it's eyes, "You're so cliché. Now, let me guess, you're gonna go fly off into the sunset, right?"45

Gabriel laughed at his chipmunk-angel friend, "Eh, not tonight."46

Then he disappeared.47