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A chill wind blew through the streets of Neopia Central;
ominous dark clouds hovered in the sky. Every Neopian had their doors closed,
their windows shut, and a warm fire crackling in the fireplace; all, save one
Neopian and her three pets. Hurrying down the street, Squinkygyrl desperately
searched for some kind of shelter. Finally, she stopped outside the post office.
"Cal, Trixie, Laz, I... I think I found somewhere
to stay, hurry before the storm starts!" Squinkygyrl went around to the back
of the post office, but the only things she could find were a few wrinkled copies
of Issue Three and some worn old boxes. Slowly following Squinkygyrl were three
very tired and hungry pets. A green Eyrie named Callette14 was dragging her
torn and dirty wings on the ground, slowly making her way to the post office.
Behind her was Lapiz_lazuli313, a blue Aisha, normally cheery but now sad and
gloomy. Following Lapiz_lazuli131 was the most tired and bedraggled looking
pet of them all, Trixie526neo; a forlorn little yellow Ixi.
As the pets rounded the corner, they saw Squinkygyrl
trying her best to build a shelter, if you could call it that. Each knew it
wouldn't protect them from the impending storm. Trixie526neo sat down next to
her and said, "You know you… you don't have to stay here with us; you can go
back home. This storm's going to come and... and you have a warm home to go
to, with food and a soft bed. You don't have to worry about us, we'll make it
through the storm alone." The other pets looked at each other doubtfully.
"Trixie, I'll never leave you three alone, not
when it’s like this. We don't have a home, you guys haven't eaten in weeks,
and I only have one Neopoint to my name; no, I can't leave you here. I've made
up my mind; I'm staying. Now come on, help me build this shelter."
A half an hour, three boxes and eighteen newspapers
later, the four sat huddled in their makeshift shelter. Holding her pets close
to keep them from freezing, Squinkygyrl shielded them from the rain leaking
through the newspaper roof. Buried underneath her sisters and Squinkygyrl, Trixie526neo
made a silent pact with herself.
"I've got to help. Somehow, I've just got to!
From now on no more fun for me, I've got to help Squinkygyrl get enough Neopoints
so that we can have a house and... and be a happy family." With that, Trixie526neo
curled up and drifted into a troubled sleep.
Three months later...
“Girls, I’m home! Where’s my hug?” Squinkygyrl burst through the door with
a bag full of newly made Neopoints, dripping wet. Callette14 bounded into the
room, and was about to jump joyfully into Squinkygyrl’s arms, when she stopped
mid-leap.
“What happened to you?” asked Callette14 with
a smirk.
Squinkygyrl smiled and said with a laugh, “I’ll
tell you what happened, I’ve been running from mines all afternoon… or should
I say rowing from them?”
Both of them burst out laughing, and after she
had fetched Squinkygyrl a towel, Callette14 said with a chuckle, “Playing Dubloon
Disaster again, eh?”
As she wrung her hair, Squinkygyrl sat down on
the cinder blocks and two-by-fours that had served as their furniture for the
last month. She said as she folded the towel, “You know, sometimes I think it’s
not worth the Neopoints… but then I think of your sisters and you, and I row
for my life! By the way, where are your sisters?”
“Laz is outside trying on the makeup you bought
her yesterday, and Trixie is, well, I can’t really say. You never know where
she is. All I know is she hasn’t been home all day. She was gone when I woke
up, and she still hasn’t gotten back.”
Squinkygyrl sighed, put her bag of Neopoints
on the tree stump they were using for a table and went outside, Callette14 following
close behind her. She put her hand to her mouth and shouted, “Laz? Laaaaz, where
are you?” Lapiz_lazuli313’s long Aisha ears popped up from behind a bush, followed
shortly by her makeup-painted head. She ran up to Squinkygyrl with a red lipstick
in one hand and some gold eye shadow in the other. She looked absolutely ridiculous,
but Callette14 and Squinkygyrl didn’t have the heart to tell her.
“What is it?” Lapiz_lazuli313 asked with a crooked
smile.
“Have you seen Trixie526neo today Laz?”
“No, why?”
“She’s not home yet, and I’m worried. Callette14
hasn’t seen her all day and…”
Iz_lazuli313 cut Squinkygyrl off, saying with
a smirk, “Cal wouldn’t have seen her, she’s always got her nose buried
in a book!”
Callette14 angrily replied, “Yeah, well I’ve
read 49 books, how many books have you read clown face?”
Squinkygyrl stepped between the two growling
pets and ordered, “Girls, no fighting!”
Both the pets sat down and pouted, then they
each muttered, “Sorry.”
Squinkygyrl folded her arms, and shivered. She
turned to the setting sun with a sigh and watched it slowly descend in a blaze
of orange and red. She whispered quietly to herself, “Where are you Trixie?”
Callette14, sensing Squinkygyrl’s concern, went up to her and put one gigantic
paw on her shoulder.
Callette14 said with a reassuring smile, “I’m
sure she’s fine; in fact, she’s probably on her way home right now!” Squinkygyrl
sighed and started to head inside, only slightly comforted.
As the three were sitting down to dinner, a slight
creak came from the other room. Squinkygyrl looked over her shoulder to see
what it was, and there sneaking in through the door was a very tired looking
Trixie526neo.
“Where have you been Trixie? I was very worried!”
said Squinkygyrl, jumping up from her seat.
“I… I was… I was out playing with, um, friends,
yeah, that’s it, friends!”
“Don’t lie to me Trixie, where were you?”
“I was…”
Trixie526neo was sweating under the pressure.
Callette14 and Lapiz_lazuli313 were whispering between themselves, and Squinkygyrl
was staring intently at her, waiting for an answer. In a desperate attempt to
say something, Trixie526neo blurted out, “I… I was spending my allowance on
double or nothing!” Squinkygyrl looked at Trixie526neo confused, she didn’t
understand what Trixie was so nervous about.
She said slowly, “Trixie, there’s nothing wrong
with that. Your sisters spend their hundred Neopoints the minute they get them!”
Both Callette14 and Lapiz_lazuli313 turned a bright shade of red. Squinkygyrl
continued, “Just remember, the Skeith that runs that double or nothing stand
is very crafty; if you’re not careful he’ll trick you out of all your Neopoints”
“I, I think I’m going to go to bed now.” Trixie526neo
said as she started to head upstairs.
“Are you sure you don’t want any dinner?”
“I’m sure. I’m really tired, so…”
“Alright, goodnight Trixie, sleep tight,”
Trixie finished the little rhyme half-heartedly,
“Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”
Squinkygyrl watched Trixie trod up to her room,
then looked at the two remaining pets and said very seriously, “I don’t want
you two giving Trixie any nonsense about this tomorrow.” Both pets looked at
Squinkygyrl mock-innocently. She leaned forward and said, “I mean it, I know
how you two can be.” The two pets hung their heads, and then Squinkygyrl said
warmly, “It’s alright, come on, I think it’s time we all should be heading up
to bed.” Then Squinkygyrl sent them all upstairs and clicked out the light.
After everyone had gone to sleep, Trixie526neo
crept quietly down the stairs. She slowly tiptoed to the tree stump table by
the door as silently as she could. Awoken from the sounds of Trixie526neo making
her way downstairs, Squinkygyrl got out of bed. She fumbled around for the light,
but gave up after a few minutes and felt her way out of her pitch-black room.
She looked downstairs and to her surprise saw Trixie526neo creeping slowly down
the hall. She hid quietly by the top of the stairs so as not to alarm the nervous
pet. She watched silently. From her pocket, Trixie526neo took out her little
Neopoints bag, bulging with one hundred thousand Neopoints in it.
“Goodbye Faerie paint brush. My only wish was
to be able to soar above the clouds, to forget my troubles, to fly and be free,
to… to be a Faerie. But we can’t afford for me to be selfish, not right now.”
With that Trixie526neo poured into Squinkygyrl’s
bag all of her Neopoints Squinkygyrl hurried back to bed so she would not see
her on her way up. She went back to her room, and sat up the rest of the night,
thinking about what Trixie526neo had just done.
Early in the morning the little Ixi, quiet as
a mouse, crept downstairs to get ready to leave. She picked up a crust of bread
and some water and quickly headed out the front door. Following some distance
behind her was Squinkygyrl, intent on knowing what Trixie526neo had been doing
all day to earn that many Neopoints.
After 3 hours, they had made there way to Meridell.
Squinkygyrl followed trixie526neo down winding dirt roads, past small peasant
houses, and around piles of garbage, holding her nose the entire way because
of the unbearable stench of dung. They slowly made their way across the town,
and finally came up to a small sign that read, “Meri Acres Farm”. Squinkygyrl
quickly ducked behind a small stone wall and peered through a little hole in
it. What Squinkygyrl saw next brought her to tears.
The tiny Ixi went up to the huge Gelert farmer
and said timidly, “I… I’m ready to start sir.” The farmer grunted and handed
her a burlap sack.
He said roughly, “Okay kid, here’s what you’re
doing today, the crops are ready to harvest, so you’re going to go out and pick
those berries over there.”
Trixie526neo gulped, and said, pointing, “Over
there?”
The Gelert smirked, and bent down next to her,
saying, “Yes, over there. No one else would do that patch, because they all
know that that patch is right next to where we pile the dung. But I know you’ll
do it, won’t you?” The little Ixi nodded and took a deep breath, then started
out towards the reeking patch.
Squinkygyrl turned around and closed her eyes,
immensely proud of her little Ixi. “She’s doing this all so I can keep food
on the table… my little Trixie.” As she got up to leave, a single tear ran down
her cheek. She knew the one thing that she could give trixie526neo to show how
proud she was of her, and she’d give it to her that night. Squinkygyrl got up
and started towards the Trading Post.
That night as Trixie526neo slowly opened the
door, praying that no one would be there, she was surprised to see Squinkygyrl
standing in the main room, holding a small box wrapped with purple paper and
tied with a big silver ribbon.
“What’s this?” Trixie526neo asked, confused.
“It’s a gift for you. Go on, open it.”
“I-I don’t understand, It’s not my birthday.”
“Just open it.”
Trixie526neo took the present from Squinkygyrl
and slowly unwrapped it. Then she lifted the lid, and when she saw what was
inside her eyes grew to the size of saucers.
“H-h-how did you know?” Was all she could manage
to say. Squinkygyrl smiled and carefully took the Faerie paintbrush out of the
box.
“I saw you last night; what you did was truly
admirable. I followed you this morning and Trixie..."
Trixie526neo cut off Squinkygyrl, trying to explain,
she frantically cried, "I was only doing it for the good of the family, please
don't be mad! I had to work, it was the only way we could get enough Neopoints
to..."
Squinkygyrl put her hand lightly over Trixie526neo's
mouth, and whispered quietly, "Trixie I couldn’t be prouder of you." As tears
streamed down both of their faces, Squinkygyrl swept Trixie526neo up into her
arms.
They stood there embracing until Squinkygyrl
put the little Ixi down. She smiled and said, "Tomorrow we’re going down to
the rainbow pool, and then when we paint you, you’ll be a..."
A tear trickled down Trixi526neo’s face as she
whispered to herself, "I’ll be a Faerie."
The End
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