Odis and Cadey's Forrest Adventures

A children's story I wrote and illustrated to learn and practice in Adobe Illustrator.

**Note, this story is in an uncompleted draft state and illustrations are in progress

Working Title: "Odis and Cady’s Forrest Adventures”

Once upon a time in the lively forest town of Tremont, there were two animals friends named Odis and Cady. Though they were as different as day and night, they were best friends. They loved to play together in the evenings after Oak School.

Odis was a diligent and organized squirrel. He had a tidy and neat treehouse, where everything had its place. Odis loved making to-do lists, planning picnics, and planting flowers in perfectly spaced rows. He also had a knack for drawing maps, collecting, and organizing. He liked to plan to make sure his days were as structured, peaceful, and as free of surprises as possible.

Cady, on the other hand, was a messy little raccoon with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. She loved playing games with rules that she invented as she played. She painted wild and abstract masterpieces, and her treehouse was arranged in a way that only made sense to her. Her favorite days were filled with excitement, adventure, and surprises around every corner.

One sunny day, Odis and Cady decided to explore the Enchanted Forest together. Cady was excited about all the new paths and creature that they would find. Odis prepared for the day by packing his backpack with snacks, his hand-drawn map, and a detailed itinerary.

The friends followed the map Odis prepared, singing their favorite songs together along the way. Suddenly, they encountered a diverging path that broke away towards a deeper part of the forest.

“Let’s go this way!” Cady suggested excitedly, scurrying ahead towards to winding path with a bounce in her step.

Odis consulted his trusty map. “I don’t see this path on here, Cady,” he said. “How do you know where it will lead?”

“I don’t!” Cady laughed, “But let’s find out!”

“I don’t know about this.” Odis muttered. But he took a deep breath and followed Cady who was happily bouncing ahead. He pulled out his pencil so that he could draw the new path onto his map as they traveled.

As they ventured deeper down the unknown path, they came across a clearing. In the center of the clearing was a beautiful magical tree named Willow. When they saw her, Odis and Cady stopped in their tracks, in awe of her magnificent size and sparkling droopy branches.

Willow welcomed Odis and Cady to her region of the Enchanted Forest. She explained that she has watched and recorded the history of Tremont since its very beginning and has watched the town go through many changes.

“Through all the changes we have faced, the animals in this town have always found solutions by working together.” Willow said, as Odis and Cady sat under her wavy branches and listened, “I need teammates for an important mission to help the town, and I think you two would be uniquely perfect partners for it. Would you be willing to help?”

Cady jumped up without hesitation with an enthusiastic “Yes!”

Odis took out his pencil to ask questions and take notes on the mission details.

Willow explained how early explorers in the town’s history uncovered a secret in the enchanted forest, but the knowledge of its existence has been forgotten over the years.

“Only I know where it is and how to unlock it, but I need your help to find the keys. The lost treasure will be uncovered when you find the 10 golden flowers hidden around Tremont and bring them back to this location.”

“Sounds exciting!” said Cady, already beginning to dart around the clearing looking for any signs of golden flowers.

“How will we know where to find the flowers?” asked Odis, writing frantically in his notebook.

“Pay attention,” replied Willow simply, “And work together. You are both talented in different ways. Use both of your skills.”

Odis and Cady agreed to help, thanked Willow, and set off on their quest, promising to return with the ten golden flowers. As they headed back towards the trail, Cady was bubbling with excitement.

“Maybe they’ll be in the trees, or near the stream, or in the bushes!” Cady threw out idea after idea, running ahead, jumping over roots, and swinging from vines. She thought that the golden flowers must be hidden in unexpected places, so she wanted to explore every nook and cranny.

Meanwhile, Odis trudged carefully down the trail behind her, studying his map intently. “There has to be a pattern to where the golden flowers are hidden,” he thought, “But I don’t know where to start.” He pulled out his picnic blanket and sat down under the nearest tree. He used his pencil to divide his map into logical regions and he listed out animal friends who might be able to help. He started making a check list.

“Odis, what are you doing!” Cady asked breathlessly, scurrying down the tree he was sitting under “Why aren’t you looking for the flowers?”

“I’m working on an important step – preparation!” Odis replied “The town is way too big to wander around randomly. We need to make and follow a plan to find the flowers.”

Cady listened to Odis’s ideas and Odis listened to hers. They agreed that they both brought good thoughts to the table. Cady shared many creative suggestions of where the flowers might be hidden and Odis added them to his notes. The friends agreed to split up for some time to each pursue their own approach to solving the problem, and meet back under the tree to share what they found.

Cady set off from under the tree with even greater enthusiasm than she had before. She scurried through the trees, darting from one idea to the other. After what seemed like only minutes, she spotted something out of the corner of her eye – the petal of a golden flower tucked beneath a tall oak tree off of the trail. She couldn’t believe her luck! “I’ll find the rest in no time!” she thought, as she scooped up the flower and wasted no time hopping to her next idea.

Odis was making slower progress. He only started walking once he finalized a plan and organized his stops in geographical order to maximize his efficiency. His first seven ideas on his checklist were dead ends, but his eighth checklist item was to consult his neighbor, Dan the Badger, who had a lovely small garden in his front yard “He seems to know about flowers,” Odis thought.

Sure enough, Dan’s eyes lit up when Odis explained what he was looking for.

“Oh yes,” he said wisely, “I think you’ll have some luck searching in the wildflower loop trail, north of the city beyond Oak School. I’ve found many unique flowers on that trail.”

Odis thanked Dan for his help and added Wildflower Loop to the top of his checklist. When he arrived at the trail, he couldn’t believe his eyes. The recent spring showers and sunshine brought the entire flower field to life in a beautiful, chaotic bloom of color. The trail looped around cascading rows of flowers of all kinds scattered randomly on both sides. “How will I find a golden flower here?” he thought, his eyes searching for any kind of pattern in the scene. Finding none, he decided to impose his own order to the process. Facing on the left side of the trail first, he slowly and methodically scanned his eyes, top to bottom, column by column across the beautiful wildflowers. He was only progressing a few inches forward at a time, but he felt like he was sufficiently covering the ground he was observing.

After some time, his friend Monica the Tortoise came wandering along the path behind him.

“Enjoying the lovely flowers, Odis?” she asked.

“Oh yes,” Odis replied, his eyes still locked on his task, “But I’m looking for one in particular.”

He explained his mission and Monica listened carefully.

“How exciting,” she said “And I have an idea of where another flower might be. But I’ll have to check! You stay here and I’ll be back,” She was bubbling with an excitement that mirrored Cady’s, though she seemed to move in slow motion.

“That is so very helpful,” Odis replied, “Thank you, Monica!”

Odis continued slowly and steadily, intent on finishing the task of searching the Wildflower loop for the golden flower. He made it all around the loop, then halfway around it again on the other side when he stopped dead in his tracks.