One peaceful morning, CUTIS woke up excited to start the day with his best friend, Yen Nhu. Usually, she was already outside watering the flowers or preparing breakfast when he opened his eyes. But today, the house felt strangely quiet.
“Yen Nhu?” CUTIS called as he walked from room to room.
No answer.
He checked the kitchen, the garden, and even her favorite spot under the mango tree. She wasn’t there.
CUTIS began to worry.
He hurried outside and asked the neighbors if they had seen her. Everyone shook their heads.
“Maybe she went to the market?” one neighbor suggested.
CUTIS rushed to the market, looking carefully between the fruit stalls and food stands, but Yen Nhu was nowhere to be found.
As the hours passed, his imagination began to run wild.
“What if she got lost?” he wondered.
“What if she needs help?”
Feeling more anxious by the minute, CUTIS searched every corner of the neighborhood. He even carried a small bottle of water and a snack in case he found her tired and hungry.
By late afternoon, CUTIS sat sadly near the front gate, exhausted from searching.
Just then, he heard a familiar voice behind him.
“CUTIS! Why do you look so worried?”
He turned around in surprise.
There stood Yen Nhu with a big smile and several shopping bags in her hands.
“Yen Nhu!” CUTIS shouted happily. “Where were you? I thought you were missing!”
Yen Nhu laughed softly.
“I left early this morning to prepare a surprise for you,” she explained. “Your favorite snacks were finally available in town, so I went to buy them before they sold out.”
She opened one of the bags, revealing all of CUTIS’s favorite treats.
CUTIS couldn’t believe it.
After spending the whole day worrying about her, he discovered she had actually been thinking about him the entire time.
The two shared a laugh and enjoyed the snacks together as the sun set.
That day, CUTIS learned an important lesson: sometimes the things we fear most have the happiest explanations.
