Stories from The Oasis Centre

The sun warmed Julie’s back as she knelt down to tuck the pink cosmos flower into the soil. Mustn’t forget to give it a little drink to help them settle in. She pottered along the garden path to fill up her watering can and found that the water butt was empty. Surely she hadn’t planted out that many flowers, but then it had been so warm lately that perhaps the water had dried up! She wondered what to do and how her new flower friends would survive the hot weather. Then she caught a glimpse of Callum.  

Callum had noticed the warm weather too and had decided to take a dip in the paddling pool. He was relaxing, floating on the water, feeling rather bored. From nowhere, a slap of hollow metal on water and a chilly splash up his body jolted him out of his boredom. Julie was filling up her watering can from his paddling pool.   

Callum tried to ‘go with the flow’, as they say, and carry on floating. But, as more and more of Julie’s pink thirsty flowers were added to her garden, the water level in the pool slowly began to dwindle until Callum was touching the bottom. He could no longer float or swim in the pool and felt dejected. But then realised that the flowers would need that water to survive, whilst he could easily find somewhere else to swim, and besides, this was a good excuse for a mini adventure!  

Julie paused her gardening for a while and made her way through the wooden door of the blue house. There, she packed a few provisions. She handed them to Callum and, with a long wave goodbye, watched as he set off towards the coast.  

Callum lost track of time as he walked, only stopping to check the signposts along the route to make sure he was heading the right way. Eventually, off in the distance, he saw the glint of water reflecting on the horizon. As Callum made his way closer to the seafront, he passed the amusement arcades, but to his disappointment, they were closed. As he made his way along the boardwalk, he hoped that wherever he ended up, they might have some machines to play on! As the clinking of slot machines rang in his head, he noticed a small red boat floating gently by the dock. Its mesmerising bobbing in the water seemed to be beckoning him to climb aboard, and with no one around who seemed to own the boat, he did so.    

By the time the little red boat finally trudged ashore, Callum’s provisions had run out, and his arms ached from all of the rowing. But he had finally made it. He looked up at another signpost, this time, one with neon lights - Las Vegas! He couldn't believe it - his dream of playing in the amusements had come true - as if the little red boat had read his mind. Callum made sure to secure the boat before leaving it. He didn't want to lose it after it had brought him so comfortably and safely on such a long journey. He dismissed the thoughts of the return journey from his mind and headed toward the bright lights of the city.  

Once Callum arrived at the city, the bright lights and buzz of excitement soon made him forget his aching rower’s arms, and he set out to find the amusements. His first clue to their location was a giant roller coaster, its loop-de-loop looming over the other buildings. Callum would not be taking a ride on it - no way! But he knew that wherever there are rollercoasters, arcades were undoubtedly close by.  

He was not wrong, below the whirling tracks of the rollercoaster was the largest arcade Callum had ever seen. He reached into his provision pack and felt the clinking of coins. He was ready to play! 

He decided to try the one-armed bandit. The butterflies in his stomach that he felt as he dropped the first coin in the slot reminded him of the ones that fluttered around th garden at home. He put any thoughts of homesickness to the back of his mind and pulled the lever on the side of the machine…  

Jackpot! Lights flashed, and the triumphant jingles coming from the machine were immediately drowned out by the chinking of coins - and lots of them! He had won £100 on his first go! Before his luck ran out, Callum decided to cash in his winnings and buy himself a prize. Strolling happily over to the prize kiosk, he spotted it. A beautiful pink doll's house. It was a perfect little cottage and the colour was just like the pink of the cosmos flowers that grew in Julie’s garden at home. Home. He’d been on quite an adventure in his little red boat, across the seas to the thrilling land of Las Vegas but perhaps it was time to head home in the morning.  

Callum slept in a little late. He was so tired from all of the excitement of the day before, and the bed at his Las Vegas hotel was so comfy. After a hearty breakfast, he headed back to the boat, ready for the long journey home. Callum watched the bright lights of Vegas in the distance as he rowed the boat away. He felt the boat begin to sway a little harder than it had before. Suddenly, the lights of the city were gone completely as a big black cloud engulfed them. A storm was heading his way - and fast!  

The next thing he knew, Callum was in the cold water. This wasn't the pleasant cool water of his paddling pool but the icy waters of the ocean. The boat was nowhere to be seen, but bobbing in the water close by was his prized pink doll's house. Callum grabbed hold and managed to use the doll's house to keep afloat. Moments later, he heard a strange chirping noise. He looked around him, but there were no birds in the sky. Perhaps the cold aching through his bones was making him hear things. Then he heard it again, and up popped a friendly-looking face. A dolphin. Before he could make sense of what was happening to him, the dolphin had bumped up underneath him, and he was on its back. Realising that he was about to take a ride more exciting than any rollercoaster, he grabbed the doll's house and clung on to it with one arm and onto the dolphin's neck with his other.   

After an initial moment of fear as they sped away, Cullum relaxed as he realised he could trust the Dolphin. This was its natural habitat, and what better way to travel the ocean than with a body that had evolved to do just that. It was a smooth ride as they glided across the ocean together. Cutting through the water like an arrow. Who needs to go home when you can have adventures like this!  

Soon, they reached a beach. Callum tried to tell the Dolphin that although he was grateful for them rescuing him, this was not his home. The tired-looking dolphin, however, chirped a cheerful goodbye and its head disappeared back into the ocean. Callum tried not to feel too discouraged; he was safe after all and had just got to ride on the back of a dolphin across the ocean. But as he looked down the little pink doll's house in his arms, he felt the little pang of homesickness once again.  

Callum managed to find some fruit on a nearby tree and settled down on the beach to recoup his energy. As he munched on the sweet fruits and gazed out at the ocean, wondering what the next chapter of his adventure might be, he saw something bob out of the water. Was the Dolphin back? No, this shape was rounder and …. hairy? The shape moved quickly towards the beach and out from the sea strolled a rather soggy-looking creature.   

After a good shake to dry themselves off, the creature introduced itself as Catfish. Callum always thought cats were afraid of water, but Catfish explained that they loved the sea and their second favourite activity was swimming with their friends, the ducks. Callum asked what their most favourite activity was, and Catfish told him that it was having dinner with their friend Scaredycat. In fact, Scaredycat was about to arrive and Catfish invited Callum to join them for dinner.  

They climbed a large tree, and at the top, they reached Catfish’s home. A beautiful treehouse, unlike any home Callum had ever seen. It made use of the structure of the tree branches to hold everything up and even had a branch-shaped balcony that overlooked Catfish’s beachside garden. Catfish told Callum that, in return for being able to happily live in the tree, Catfish made sure the tree was always well looked after.   

Soon enough, Scaredycat arrived, and they had a beautiful meal made up of all of the wonderful produce that the cats’ island home had to offer.  

Callum knew why Catfish was called so, but wanted to know why Scardeycat had their name. It was explained that Scardeycat, unlike most other cats, had a fear of birds and was embarrassed to admit it. 

Callum told the two cat friends about his adventure so far and how he had been scared along his journey. He told them that even Catfish had scared him when they were coming out of the water, and he had not met them yet. Sometimes, he explained, scary things are not so scary once you get to know them.   

So, Callum was able to add a sleepover in a tropical treehouse to his list of experiences. He didn’t get much sleep, as the sounds of the tropical garden kept him awake. He was fascinated by the gentle buzzing and purring noises coming from the undergrowth below, but knew he was safe up in the treehouse.  

Callum spent a few nights at Catfish’s treehouse. During those days, he enjoyed exploring the island and learning about all of the tropical plants and creatures that lived there. He was having so much fun, he almost forgot about how he might get off the island and get back home without a boat.  

One morning, Callum woke up to the sounds of birds chirping and rhythmic banging. He looked out over the balcony and, like the morning before, below saw the two cats. What was different this time was the boat they were in the middle of constructing! Catfish told Callum that the boat was for him to make his way home and that they would feed him a nutritious breakfast before he left.  

After breakfast, Callum boarded his new boat, but as he was about to set sail, he realised that he didn’t know the way home and told his friends that he was scared of getting lost on the ocean again. Scardeycat cleared his throat and made a call to the sky. A flock of birds flew down and landed on the prow of the boat as Scardeycat smiled with pride. Catfish explained how Callum's adventures had inspired Scardeycat to conquer his fear of the birds and, in fact, had made quite good friends with them. Birds have a natural instinct for global navigation, and Scardeycar had convinced them to guide Callum home.    

Callum packed the boat with the provisions the cats had prepared for him from the island and safely stowed the pink doll's house. He planned to give the doll's house to Julie when he got home, once he’d told her about his amazing adventure!  As he waved goodbye, he promised to visit again one day. He meant to keep that promise. This certainly wouldn't be the end of Callum's voyages, but for now, it was time for home - where he could plan his next adventure! 

A sweet smell winds its way down the street. If you follow its sugary scent, you would reach a house with a pink and blue roof. This is the house of Tommy and his mum, Maddy.  

That sweet smell was coming from Maddy’s baking. Tommy couldn’t stand to smell those delicious cakes and not be able to taste them yet, so he thought the best thing to do would be to distract himself and go for a walk until the cakes were ready.  

Tommy wandered down the street and the sweet smell of cakes began to fade, along with the rumbling of his tummy. Then he spotted a signpost in the grass that said ‘Oasis’. So he decided to follow it. The grass grew taller around him, and just as he was about to turn back home, he spotted a bench surrounded by flowers. What a lovely spot to take a rest.   

Tommy sat down and admired the flowers alongside his seat, not only did they show off beautiful, striking colours but also gave off a lucious, sweet smell that reminded him of the cakes, and he felt hungry again. Before he could think anymore about the cakes waiting for him at home, 3 familiar faces emerged from the tall grass around him. They were a welcome distraction from Tommy’s from the rumbling of his tummy. Mark, Deborah and the big boss Steve sat alongside Tommy on the bench and talked about which of the flowers in the floral carpet beneath them was their favourite.  

The calmness of the surroundings was interrupted when they spotted Callum, acting strangely within the tall grass. Tommy got up to investigate why Callum's head was bobbing above the grass that was taller than he was. As he parted the tall curtain of grass, he saw that Callum had found a ladder and was climbing it to a mysterious destination.  

The others had, by this time, followed Tommy and were also wondering what Callum was up to. They called up to Callum and asked where he was going. He called back down for them to follow him - its Sunflower Day! Tommy was puzzled, he’d never heard of sunflower day before. But was intrigued and trusted Callum so he decided to follow his colleague up to the top of the ladder as Mark, Deborah and Steve followed up the ladder behind him. As they climbed, the smell of flowers got stronger and stronger.  

When Tommy got to the top of the ladder, Callum reached a hand down to help him up. As Tommy reached up he saw a field of stunning giant sunflowers surrounding Callum. The group all got to the top of the ladder safely and they were stunned by the forest of gargantuan blooms that towered above them, their floral scent almost overwhelming.   

Just as the friends were getting used to the overwhelming smell of the giant sunflowers, they heard a noise coming from within the sunflower forest. A stomping of feet belonging to something large, and a strange whooshing noise. Out from the tree-trunk-sized stalks came a hippo, followed closely by a flamingo!  

The hippo and flamingo seem to be playing a game and rushed off through the other side of the giant flowers. The excitable group decide to follow with Tommy and Callum leading the way.  

The tracks of the hippo lead them to a clearing where they find the hippo and the flamingo eating dinner alongside a bear. The bear beckoned the group over and offered for them to share in the feast. With their bellies full, the group fell asleep. A sleepover amongst a forest of giant sunflowers with a bear a hippo and a flamingo - it certainly wasn’t how Tommy had expected the day to end! 

The next morning, they awoke to find that a horse had joined them during the night. During breakfast, they heard about the Horse’s plans for the day. They followed the horse home to its stable, where they found their friend Abby was waiting for them with saddles ready for horse riding. They each straddled a beautiful and friendly horse and spent the rest of the day galloping amongst varied and surprising landscapes. In the afternoon, Tommy began to recognise a familiar, sweet scent and guided his horse to the smell’s origin. Finally, they all came to a stop; they had reached Tommy and Maddy’s home. Maddy was so pleased to see Tommy and their unexpected guests and asked Mark, Deborah, Steve and Abby to join them for tea. The homemade cakes were ready this time, but didn’t last long!