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Seating herself on the leafy bench beside the Blue Paradise
Pond, Miyuko inhaled the fragrant perfumes of scented hearts flowers and pink
lilies and gazed in admiration at the blossoming beauty of the fire bushes and
colour lilies. Other than going to the beach to have some quiet time alone,
the nature-loving Island Usul also enjoyed coming to the garden to daydream
and think of ideas for her writing.
This Saturday morning was amazingly peaceful,
the silence only interrupted by the sweet, sharp voices of Pteris that flitted
in and out of the rose trees. Just when Miyuko was about to close her eyes and
savour the tranquil serenity, there was a loud plop and drops of water clung
onto Miyuko’s fur like glittering diamonds.
Jumping up startled, Miyuko peered into the depths
of the crystal clear water and saw an ancient-looking tome trimmed in bands
of gold leaf lying at the bottom of the pond. Instinctively, Miyuko looked up
into the pale, fresh blue sky but only saw a few waves of cirrus clouds adorning
and the rich saffron-coloured sun adorning it. The barest caress of warmth penetrated
the thick fur of Miyuko as she slowly dipped her paw into the icy-cold water
and pulled out the dripping wet volume.
The minute Miyuko’s paw made contact with the
hefty tome, it began to radiate a pulsing, ethereal glow that seemed to give
out an exceptionally strong, magical ambience. The atmosphere somehow seemed
more recharged with the strong magic vibrating in the air. Stabs of pure excitement
shot through Miyuko’s entire body like rapid bullets as she stared at the tome
with intense interest, wondering what was going to happen next.
Gradually, as the glow faded away, the tome at
the same time slowly started to dry out until there was not one drop of water
left. Extremely intrigued by this fascinating book, Miyuko automatically leafed
through the thick, textured pages in case the Neopet who lost it had written
something about herself or himself. However, the pages were yellowed without
even a smudge of ink anywhere.
It’ll be perfect for my future writings,
Miyuko thought to herself as she gazed at the enchanting tome longingly. But
am I doing the right thing by keeping this tome?
As though reading Miyuko’s mind, the tome started
to glow once again, casting a hypnotic effect on Miyuko and causing her to lose
control of her logical thinking. A sudden urge to write something in the tome
washed over Miyuko when she stared at the notebook continuously.
“Oh well, who cares anyway? The Neopet obviously
didn’t want this tome when he or she threw it from the sky …” she said aloud
in a defiant voice as she clutched the tome possessively in her paws.
“Were you just talking to yourself, Miyuko?”
Trinity, her owner, had suddenly appeared beside Miyuko without any warning
and was now looking at her with mild amusement.
“Er… yeah,” Miyuko responded in a nonchalant
tone, trying to sound as though talking to herself was natural. “Is there a
problem with talking to myself?”
“I… well, I thought it isn’t normal of you to
talk to yourself… I was worried that you were having some sort of weird illness
or something,” Trinity chuckled at her own paranoid thinking as she patted Miyuko
affectionately on the shoulder. “Come on… it’s time for breakfast… I even made
your favourite starfish sandwiches!”
Miyuko smiled weakly as she trotted alongside
Trinity reluctantly, the heavy tome grasped tightly in one paw. Starfish Sandwiches
weren’t exactly what she loved to eat, but Trinity appeared to be in high spirits
today and Miyuko didn’t want to spoil her mood by saying that she hated eating
Starfish Sandwiches, especially when they were specially made by Trinity herself.
Straight after breakfast, Miyuko ran back to
the garden with the tome in one paw and a pencil in the other. Flipping to the
first page, Miyuko started scribbling away about two Shadow Shoyru detectives
solving a murder case. Little did she realize that the characters in her story
had suddenly appeared out of thin air and were now staring at their new surroundings
with amazement. They whispered to each other excitedly and nodded in unison
when they spotted Miyuko. With the grace of a sleek Gelert, both detectives
crept up stealthily to an oblivious Miyuko, their paws stretched out, ready
to pounce on her …
“Nah … this story stinks!” Miyuko muttered as
she hurriedly erased the entire paragraph she had written. The minute she erased
the paragraph, the two Shoyru detectives also disappeared with a loud pop.
Startled, Miyuko whipped around but saw nothing
except the swaying flowers and tiny insects scuttling within the dewy grass.
That’s strange, Miyuko thought, a bewildered
look crossing her face as she stared hard at the notebook. Oh well, I must
be hearing things.
Shrugging off the strange sound she had just
heard, Miyuko started scribbling again. This time, she wrote a scary story that
involved Ghost Neopets haunting an ancient house in the Haunted Woods. While
she was busily writing away, the swaying, rustic Rose Trees slowly faded away
to be replaced by dead, bygone relics of trees, their branches now still and
twisted into horrific shapes against the full moon in the dark, velvet sky and
their straight, smooth trunks now gnarled and knotted.
Every single flower petal’s vibrant colours drained
away to a pale gray and the rich, green leaves shriveled up and turned into
a dark, unhealthy green. A strong wind started to pick up as outlines of burly
figures receded in the dark shadows, their cat-like, golden eyes carefully observing
an unsuspecting Miyuko with a strange, curious glint.
Too absorbed in her work to even notice the icy-cold
chill working its way down her spine, Miyuko abruptly concluded that this story
was not spooky enough to scare any old Neopet.
As she erased away the story once again with
frustration, the gnarled and menacing trees melted back into the tall, stately
rose trees and the wilted flowers burst into flamboyant colour once more.
“Hmph… I must be having writer’s block or something…
I just can’t seem to think of anything good!” she grumbled as she angrily tore
out the constantly-erased page and wadded it into a tight paper ball. Just then,
an idea popped into her mind and as Miyuko thought more about it, the more it
seemed like a beginning of a good story …
It was an exceptionally dark, stormy night.
The howling wind shot through the chilly air as a tall, hefty figure emerged
from the dark shadows. Wrapped in a robe that resembled the glittering starry
night, he waved a wizened hand dramatically, chanting some magical incantations
in a singsong voice as he did so. Rapidly, the bright afternoon sun disappeared
and the entire Mystery Island was plunged into utter darkness.
“Hey! Why is it so dark?” Miyuko exclaimed bewilderedly,
dropping her pen as she stared around wildly only to see an inky darkness descending
on everything. Wondering if she had just gone blind, she jumped up and, in her
panic, dropped the notebook in the process. “Trinity! Trinity? TRINITY!”
Shivering uncontrollably as the cold wind pierced
through her fur, Miyuko wandered around blindly, her paws stretched out as she
tried to feel for something to hold on to. However, she kept slamming into trees
and even fell into the pond after she lost her footing and went headfirst into
the numbing cold water.
“The tome!” was Miyuko’s first thought about
it after an hour of feeling her way around blindly. “Oh no… now I get it! That
tome must have been really magical! That’s why whatever I write inside will
turn into reality!”
Suppressing a groan of annoyance at her own stupidity,
Miyuko clambered out of the pond, drenched in icy water. It didn’t help when
the howling wind blew harder than ever at her, causing her teeth to chatter
non-stop as she tried to find the tome.
“I need… to find… that tome!” she panted as she
dropped to her knees and groped around in the darkness, hoping to feel the familiar
leathery touch of the tome that was lying somewhere on the grass. “I need… to…
tear out… that… page and… resume… things… back to… normal!”
Just then, a swift figure wearing a glittering
cloak decorated with pale, shimmering stars appeared right in front of her,
swishing his robe for extra dramatic effect.
“Hello, little one …” he drawled in a casual
voice, his glowing red eyes glinting with an evil gleam.
“Who… who are… you?” Miyuko stammered in an unsteady
voice; staring transfixed at the hypnotic red eyes of the stranger.
“Why… you actually forgot?” the stranger chuckled
in amusement, sending a chill down Miyuko’s spine as she clenched her paws,
determined not to be scared by this dark, imposing figure standing before her.
“You created me… I’m the main character in your story… remember? Now Mystery
Island will fall after the ruler submits to me… why, I cannot thank you enough
for giving life to me… ah… you are indeed kind…too kind… however, I must take
the tome with me to ensure that you don’t tear out the page written about me
…”
“No! I don’t want creeps like you to take over
Neopia! Even Dr Sloth is better in doing that!” Miyuko shouted defiantly, mustering
up what was left of her courage.
“Fool! You’d better give me that tome or I will
make sure that you won’t remain in one piece once I’m done with you!” the stranger
hissed threateningly as he leant nearer to Miyuko who was quaking with fear.
“Miyuko?” Trinity’s apprehensive voice called
worriedly, echoing across the garden.
Perking up at the familiar voice, Miyuko straightened
up and shouted back with relief as she waved her paws frantically. Trinity quickly
walked towards the source of the sound and found Miyuko standing next to the
pond shivering. By then, the stranger was nowhere to be seen.
“Come on, let’s get you back to the house and
get you a cup of hot Borovan!” Trinity said gently as she bundled up Miyuko
in a thick blanket.
“No! I can’t! I need to find that tome!” Miyuko
cried out in an agitated voice.
“But you are drenched and it’s so cold outside!”
Trinity protested as she tried to drag a stubborn Miyuko back to the house.
“NO! No… I can’t… please… understand… no… the
tome…” Miyuko’s pleas echoed as her whole world turned black and she fainted
away.
***
“Wake up… Miyuko… hey, little Island Usul… time to wake up!” a soothing voice
washed over Miyuko as she blearily opened her eyes, wincing at the sudden bright
light flooding her vision.
“Wha… what happened?” in a flash, Miyuko sat
up straight as she looked around fearfully, her eyes extremely bloodshot and
wild. “Where’s that stranger? Has he taken over Mystery Island yet? Are we under
siege?”
“Honey, you were having a nightmare!” Trinity
replied softly, masking her anxiety with a forced smile as she embraced Miyuko,
trying to calm down her worked up pet.
“Huh?”
“I found you lying on the grass twitching like
anything and you were screaming … sweet mother of juppies, you look deathly
pale!” Trinity murmured in concern when she saw Miyuko’s ashen face staring
blankly at her.
“Where’s the tome?”
“What tome?”
“Never mind… I… just… don’t feel that well…”
Miyuko mumbled, her heart sinking as her eyes scanned the grass, trying to search
for the leather book she had discovered lying in the pond earlier in the morning.
“I don’t think you should go to school tomorrow,”
Trinity frowned as she bit her lip worriedly. “You look really sick…”
“No… no… I’m fine… really…” Miyuko smiled tightly,
trying her best to look as though she was fine. “I’ll just sit here and rest,
okay?”
“If that’s what you wish…” Trinity’s voice trailed
off, leaving a hint of doubt behind as she walked back to the house.
Once Trinity disappeared into the cool interior
of the house, Miyuko immediately started to search for the tome.
It can’t possibly be a dream… she thought
to herself as she felt around the grass unseeingly, hoping to find something
that connected to the dream she just had. After all… it seemed so… real…”
***
Meanwhile, a stout Cloud Poogle stumbled upon a heavy tome lying just outside
Miyuko’s garden while he was strolling along the streets.
“Hmm… this looks ancient…” the Cloud Poogle muttered
to himself as he rapidly flipped through the pages out of curiosity. However,
there was nothing written on them and the inquisitive Cloud Poogle instantly
lost interest.
Without another glance at the tome or the menacing
glow it was giving out, the Cloud Poogle casually tossed it into a nearby dustbin
before going on his way … …
***
A bedraggled green Gelert dug through the dustbins, foraging for food that
was edible enough for a decent meal. A worn-out leather book caught her eye
while she was in the midst of pulling out some slices of stale bread. Emitting
an interested grunt, she gingerly hauled out the tome that was wedged in between
an empty can of baked beans and an old issue of The Neopian Times.
Dusting it in order to get rid of the bits of
rubbish and dirt clinging to it, the Gelert stared at it with fascination, wondering
why in the world would anybody want to throw away such a valuable-looking volume.
Without any warning at all, the tome suddenly started to glow with a soporific
effect, causing the Gelert’s eyes to turn into swirling whirlpools of pale green.
A sudden urge to write something surged through
the Gelert once the glow died down. Wondering how she was going to find a pen
to write, she was about to search for one when she spotted one just lying inches
away from her. Picking it up, she started to write with enthusiasm, not noticing
a dark figure hidden well within the shadows of the alley, staring at her through
two narrowed slits of glowing red eyes as his lips slowly curved upwards into
a sinister grin…
The End
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