A Warm Recovery

Hello everyone!

This fortnight's challenge prompt in the Sylvanian Families Collectors Community was:

Challenge #19: Warm Drinks for Cool Days

Anyone with even a passing familiarity with our Sylvanian friends knows of their love of pastry and baking. A comforting warm drink to go with these treats is also important! Whether it be a cosy cup of tea, an energizing coffee, a sweet mug of hot cocoa, a festive glass of mulled wine, a trendy pumpkin spice latte, or a warming hot toddy, the season for hot beverages has arrived! For this challenge, help your Sylvanians embrace the season with their favorite hot drinks.

Make an item or items, photograph a scene, write a story, or do whatever inspires you to do something creative around the Warm Drinks theme!
 
As I decided to incorporate this prompt into a story idea I've had for a while, the whole thing ended up being quite ambitious and long-winded, and it took me a while to finish. I hope you enjoy this story that slightly ties into the Bake-Off one.

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It was the morning of a very normal day in the small Sylvanian village of Arcfield; Fliss Robinson, who had already made breakfast, sent her husband to work and her oldest daughter to school and cleaned the whole house, was working in some delicious blackcurrant baked goods for The Blackcurrant Bush, the pub she and Wilbur owned. Even though she wasn't usually at the pub, she worked very hard on making food for the customers and the special home-made Blackcurrant wine they served. She and her husband dreamt of opening a café one day, but for the moment that would have to stay a dream.
Fliss wasn't feeling quite herself that morning. The pastries that she could normally make almost without thinking, happily humming a tune, were turning out quite difficult to make today. She was distracted, kept making mistakes, and couldn't stop thinking of the argument she had had with Molly Waters at the Bake-Off. She would have to go and apologize to her at some point. She knew she had overreacted. Molly was a huge gossip that didn't really think before speaking and often got in her nerves, but she also had a huge heart and was immensely generous. She really didn't deserve the treatment she had given her. 

A happy giggle coming from the living room made Fliss snap out of her daydreams. It was the voice of her youngest daughter, Cali. Fliss suddenly noticed that she was no longer in her sight and got nervous. Cali was incredibly smart for her age, but that also made her quite inventive and prone to getting in trouble. When she finally saw what her baby daughter was doing, her heart skipped a beat.

 She had managed to climb the stairs leading to the top floor and was just about to jump to the high shelf in the wall. "CALI!!!" Fliss immediately ran to the bottom of the stairs in a panic.
Her youngest didn't even flinch at her screaming. She just smiled brightly at her.

"Look, mommy, I can reach the flowers from here!"

"Cali, get down!"

Fliss reached out her arms to help her daughter get off the steps, but Cali paid her no mind and jumped towards the potted flowers in the tall shelf.

She didn't come anywhere close to reaching them, of course, and Fliss, who had lunged forward, miraculously managed to grab her in mid-air. Cali laughed, quite exhilarated and not at all frightened by the experience. 

"That was so much fun, mommy! Can we do it again?".

"That was NOT fun at all, Cali! Are you aware of the fright you just gave me? You must never, NEVER do something so dangerous again!".

Fliss slowly put her daughter, who was looking at her wide-eyed, quite surprised at her mother's stern tone, down on the floor. Her heart was beating non-stop, and the world had suddenly started spinning around her. She felt like she might fall down in any second, so she went to lay down in the sofa.

"Mommy...?" Cali approached her, quite concerned. She had never seen her mother like this. 

"Mommy just... needs to rest for a minute, okay? Don't... go too far...".

A while later, when Frances arrived home from school, her baby sister came running to the front door. Cali was crying hysterically, so she had a very hard time understanding what she was trying to say.

"What's wrong, Cali? Now, now, please calm down and tell me. Where's mom?"

Cali held back her tears for a moment and looked at Frances, making an effort to speak clearly.

"Mommy... She won't wake up!".

Surprised and frightened by these words, Frances ran inside only to find her mother lying on the sofa with her eyes closed. 

"Mom...?" when Frances touched her mother's arm to try and wake her up, she noticed how warm her skin was. She then touched her forehead lightly and noticed that she had a very strong fever. She bit her lip, unsure of what to do. When Cali saw that not even Frances could get their mother to wake up, she started loudly crying again.

"It's my fault, it's all my fault! Mommy fell asleep because I gave her a scare, and now she won't wake up!".

Frances was starting to feel quite panicky herself, but the first thing she needed to do was to get Cali to calm down.

She crouched down a bit and looked at her little sister straight in the eyes, gently wiping away her tears with one of her hands.

"Cali, please, calm down and listen to me. This wasn't your fault, mommy is sick, she has a fever. Remember when you had one? I'm going to go out and look for help. I need you to be brave and stay by her side in case she wakes up. Just sit here next to her and watch her until I come back. Can you do that for me?"

Most people found Cali quite rambunctious and hard to manage, but Frances had always been very good at dealing with her. Her soft voice and serene disposition always managed to calm her baby sister down. Cali wiped what remained of her tears with her wrist and nodded bravely.

"Yes, Franny. I will take care of mommy until you return".

Worried and scared as she was, her baby sister's determined voice made Frances smile. 

"That's a good girl. I'll be back as soon as I can".

Frances had been able to put on a brave face for her sister's sake, but as soon as she got out of the house, her feelings started getting the better of her. She felt the tears rising to her eyes. She didn't really know what had happened. Her mother was always so reliable! She had never been in a situation such as this. What could she do? 
She could go and see her father at the pub, but that would only serve to worry him, and he wouldn't be able to just close up and leave. As she wandered aimlessly down her street, she ran into Freya Chocolate, her neighbour, who was just getting out of the house.

"Hi Frances!" Freya smiled and waved, and even though Frances tried to quickly wipe away the tears already running down her face, the rabbit girl noticed that she was crying straight away. She frowned a little. "What's wrong?".

"It's my mother... She has a fever. I-I don't know what to do..." Much to her dismay, Frances' voice trembled. Freya then approached her with a serious expression and a determined look in her eyes.

"You need to find doctor Andes. I don't know where he is, he must be making his rounds right now. But I know where his daughter Fiorella is, and she might know her father's schedule. She always goes to the bakery with Evie Hazelwood after school. Come on, let's go". 

Without another word, Freya took Frances' hand and gently yet firmly led her down the street toward Arcfield's central square. Frances felt quite surprised. Even though she and Freya hung out quite often because of their common friend, Annabelle McFarlane, they weren't that close. Freya was outspoken, very extroverted and quite mischievous, and introverted, quiet Frances found her personality quite overwhelming and a bit intimidating. Yet there she was, holding her hand and helping her out without a second thought. Seeing Frances struggle, she had quickly taken control of the situation to help her. She had never known Freya could be so reliable!

And she had been right. They found Fiorella Andes and her best friend, Evie Hazelwood, trying to choose an afternoon snack at Brick Oven Bakery. 

Fiorella didn't like Freya that much, and she didn't even try to hide it when she looked at her. She then looked at Frances curiously.

Fiorella had quite the strong personality and could be very bossy, so Frances found her even harder to approach than Freya. Even so, she did her best to try and explain the situation to her. Fiorella listened to her intently, and then just nodded in a determined way.

"By this time, papa must have already finished his rounds. We will probably find him at my house. Come, Frances, let's go find him together".

And so, Frances thanked Freya and left with Fiorella Andes to find her father. Her house was pretty far from the town square, so it was a bit of a walk. All the way there, Fiorella spoke to her about everything and anything, and Frances didn't take long to notice that she was doing it to distract her from her worries. She once again felt profoundly grateful to a girl she had thought difficult to speak with before. Fiorella was quite approachable when she wasn't trying to impress everyone around her, and now Frances could better understand the tight friendship she and the very sweet and kind Evie Hazelwood shared.

When they reached the blue-roofed cottage that was Fiorella's home, they ran into doctor Andes, who was just arriving in his bicycle.

"Good afternoon, girls! Come to hang out, Frances?" It was the first time Rick Andes had seen Frances Robinson at his home, but he was always happy to see her daughter making new friends.

"No, papa!" Fiorella's voice sounded deeply annoyed, though that didn't seem to faze her father. "Frances' mom is sick; she's been looking for you!"

"She has a high fever and won't wake up, Mr Andes. I didn't know what to do..."

Doctor Rick looked concerned for a moment, but then he gave Frances a big smile and quickly moved his doctor's suitcase to the front of his bike so that Frances would be able to ride with him.

"Come on then, jump up and let's go see her quickly, shall we?"

"Hold on tight!"

Frances had never thought a bycicle could go so fast! Her heart starting beating rapidly again, and she tried her best not to fall off!

"A-are you sure this is safe, Mr Andes?"

"But of course! Why wouldn't it be? We need to get to your mother soon, don't we? Trust me, I'm a doctor!" He then laughed quite heartily, and Frances couldn't help but smile despite everything. Everyone had been so kind and helpful to her!

When they arrived at the Robinsons' home, Frances was very happy find out that her mother had woken up and was upstairs, in bed. Frances' bedroom was much more comfortable than her parents' sofa-bed.

"Franny, mommy's awake!" Cali happily announced.

 "Mom!" Frances felt the tears come back to her eyes because of the intense relief she felt. Fliss smiled tiredly at her.

"My poor girls, I must have given you such a fright... Sorry to have made you come all this way so late in the morning, doctor Andes".

"No trouble at all, Mrs Robinson! It's my job, after all. Now, let's see what I can do for you".

After setting his doctor's suitcase on the nightstand, Rick Andes carefully auscultated Bliss and checked her pulse, heartbeat and temperature. He then asked several questions regarding what had happened that morning, her habits, whether anything hurt and the such. 

"I'm going to give you some pills for that fever, Mrs Robinson, but I mostly think that what you need is some rest. Take it easy for the following days, okay?" Smiling gently, the doctor added: "I know you work very hard to take care of everyone, Fliss, but you can't do that if you don't take care of yourself first". 

Fliss Robinson smiled back at him. Doctor Andes was very popular in town, and it was no wonder. He was always very gentle, kind and understanding. Whatever he said or advised, he always had a smile on his face.

"I know, doctor. I will follow your advice. I've had a lot on my plate lately, with the preparations for the bake-off on top of everything and that awful argument I had with Molly Waters that everyone in the next few villages probably knows about by now..."

Rick laughed and started putting his things away in his suitcase.
"My wife told me a bit about that, and I do believe that Molly's been talking about what happened, yes, but I think that she's mostly worried about you. Didn't you use to be good friends?".
"We were. We are... I'll need to go and talk to her". Fliss sighed slightly.
"That sounds like a good idea. But please, don't even think about making her a huge lunch or a giant cake! Have some rest!"
"Of course!" Fliss replied, laughing.

After doctor Andes left, Fliss took her medication and quickly went back to sleep. By this time of day, she would have usually have been busy making lunch, but clearly she wouldn't be able to do so that day, so Frances decided to take matters into her own hands.

"We're going to make mom a nice vegetable soup, Cali! It'll help her get better in no time, you'll see!".

"Yay!". 

Frances is a pretty good cook for her age. She has had a good teacher!

Nothing helps with a cold better than a warm, healthy soup made by the people who care about you the most!

"This is the tastiest soup I have ever had, my darling girls!"

Though admittedly, delicious hot chocolate made by the best chocolatier in town also helps!

"Oh, Teri, you didn't have to bother!".

"It's no trouble at all, Fliss! You've done so much for us ever since we moved in. When my Freya told me that you weren't feeling well, I had to bring you something at least! Do let me know if you need help around the house".

"Thank you so much!".

Wilbur, who had heard of the news that his wife wasn't feeling well, arrived much earlier than usual from the pub, seeming quite agitated.

"Are you okay, my love? I came as soon as I could". There was a concerned frown in his usually cheery face. Fliss smiled calmingly.

"I'm feeling much better already, dear, don't worry. Everyone's been taking such good care of me!".

Just when Wilbur was starting to worry about what to make for dinner, there was a knock on the door. Christopher Spinelli was there, holding a pizza box!

"Christopher?! What are you doing here so late?" Wilbur asked.

"Special pizza delivery from Brick Oven Bakery & Pizzeria!" Christopher Spinelli, younger brother to Anthony, the owner of the bakery (and apparently, now also pizzeria), smiled brightly in his usual carefree way. "Carmela sent me, Mrs R. She figured you wouldn't have the strength to cook, so here's dinner! Free of charge".

"Oh, Christopher, thank you so much" Fliss said. She couldn't believe everyone's kindness. "Do you want to stay and have a bit to eat with us, at least?"

"Oh, I'd love to, but I wouldn't want to intrude. Thanks though! Enjoy the pizza with your family, and get well soon!".

With another cheeky smile and waving goodbye to the Robinsons, young Christopher Spinelli left on his motorcycle.

And so, the Robinsons were able to enjoy a delicious, effort-free pizza dinner! Fliss was still feeling quite tired, but just thinking of how kind everyone had been to her made her feel warm inside. Frances had also told her how both Freya and Fiorella had selflessly helped her. Her husband and daughters were happily chatting and eating, and just looking at them made her smile. It had been a difficult day, but she was sure that everything would be brighter tomorrow.

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And that's it! Hope you enjoyed the story. It turned out to be quite long, but I had fun working on it. 
It features warm soup, warm chocolate, and warm feelings! :)
Have a great rest of the week!