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Elana and Anna played with Anna’s petpet, a fire painted
Ona named Graciela, as their parents were “adventuring around Neopia.” However,
they both knew what that meant; they were Christmas shopping.
Elana, a shadow Uni, stood up and yawned as
she stretched out her tired legs. “I wonder what time it is.” She sat back down
and grinned. “I also wonder what we’re getting for Christmas.” The two Unis
looked at each other and grinned. “I know what I want, though. I hope I get
a petpet; particularly a Noil -- a plushie painted one. They are so adorable!”
Anna, a spotted Uni, smiled and nodded. “They
are quite cute. I hope you get one too so our petpets can be best friends!”
She hugged Graciela tightly. “I know you’d love one. You seem to love Graciela
a lot and she’s my petpet!” The pair laughed and Anna began to speak
again. “I think I’d like to have a little brother or sister. I am always all
alone at home if you’re not here. It would be nice to help out more. I feel
useless. And if I did get one, I could always take care of it or make Neopoints
while Mom did the other. It would be a lot nicer that way. How do you like having
a little brother?”
Elana thought for a while and decided just to
shrug. She couldn’t really say anything because she really didn’t know how it
felt exactly. But Anna pressured her for an answer so she just sighed
and said, “Well… sometimes it’s really cool to play with him but other times
he keeps me up all night with his crying. But I love him a lot. Dad even gives
me Neopoints to spend when I do take care of him.”
Anna smiled. “I need a brother or sister.
I can’t stand being alone in this Neohome for much longer. Mom is out all day
and I’m stuck here. I want some responsibilities! I want to be normal."
Elana laughed. “Normal? Responsibilities
can be bad, you know? Be glad you don’t have to take out the trash in the morning
and clean your room once a week. You have a maid to do that. I have to do everything
myself.”
“But Elana, that’s what I want. Sometimes I
want to be just like you and have to do all of those things. Where am I going
to get in life if everything is always done for me?” Elana shrugged and Anna
continued. “If I had a sibling, I’d be much better off. I’d do chores and everything.
I’d actually like doing it. It would give me good working habits. Something
you have that I really, really want.”
Elana raised an eyebrow, seemingly confused.
Anna’s words were jumbled in her head in need of being sorted. “I’m going to
check on Cameron,” she said, confusion also in her voice. Anna smiled and Elana
walked off.
I’ve got to find some way to hint to her
mom that Anna wants another pet around the house, Elana thought. There
has to be some way. I may even have to tell her myself. Suddenly, Elana
smiled. “I know! I’ll write it on a piece of paper and lay it on her mom’s bed.
She’ll be sure to find it that way.” Elana ran into Anna’s room and checked
on her brother but also pulled out a pen and paper. She thought of how to word
what she was thinking. “Bethany,” she started, “I was talking to Anna and she
told me all she wanted for Christmas was a brother or sister. Maybe you should
consider getting her one. She talked about the responsibilities she wanted to
have as a sister to him or her. I really think this would be a great gift for
her. –Elana” Elana stepped out of Anna’s bedroom and into her mother’s. She
sat the note on the bed and smiled. This was going to be a wonderful Christmas
for Anna. At least she hoped it would be.
Elana returned down stairs happily and Anna
stared at her. “What did you do?” she asked. “You look happy. Too happy.”
Anna looked at Elana suspiciously.
“Umm… I was just thinking of all of the wonderful
treats we get from the Advent Calendar. What could be the gift tomorrow? Just
thinking about that… and how hungry I am. Can we get something to eat?” Anna
nodded and they went into the kitchen.
“What would you like? We have an assortment
of things. All delicious!” Anna looked down at some clam jam lying on the counter
and made a silly face towards it. “Well, most of our food is delicious.”
They laughed and Elana started to look through the drawers, cabinets, and the
refrigerator.
“Chicken, nachos, a joint of ham, turkey dinner,
cheese, ultimate cheeseburger, cheeseburger, Neo taco, spicy wings, ham, chicken
roll, sausage wrap, tuna sub, fajita chips, fried chicken breast, fried shrimp,
orange chicken, BBQ porkwich, deliwich, meat lasagne, spicy chicken burrito,
salmon steak, pizza sandwich, seawich, regal cheese sandwich, egg salad sandwich,
and ham and mustard sandwich,” Anna said as if she had memorized everything
in her kitchen. “That is what there is for a main course. And there are many
things we can have for desert and to drink, too. Want to know what we have?”
“Uh… no, I think I’ll just ask you if you have
what I want. I think it will save you a lot of breath,” Elana laughed. “Do you
have a chocolate milkshake?” Anna smiled and handed her one.
“Have you decided what you want to eat yet or
should I tell you what we have again? There are a lot of other things, too.
But those are the main food items.”
“I think I’ll have meat lasagne, thank you,”
Elana said thrilled by so many choices. Anna got a piece of the meat lasagne
out and a BBQ porkwich and handed them both to Elana. Then she pulled a chocolate
and a banana milkshake out of her freezer the pair carried the food into the
dining room. “I completely forgot about Cameron. I’ll be right back.” Elana
flew up the stairs, grabbed her baby brother, who happened to be a baby Kougra,
and brought him down the stairs and into the dining room.
“I got you beef and veg baby food for dinner
and strawberries and cream baby food for desert. Oh, and a carton of Kau Kau
farm milk to drink. Is that okay?” Anna said to Cameron soothingly. Cameron
smiled and giggled at Anna as Elana lifted him up into a yellow high chair.
“Now eat up!”
Elana began to eat her lasagne and remembered
when Anna’s mother never allowed her to eat anything unhealthy or fattening.
Boy wasn’t this a big change! She slurped her milkshake through a strange looking
straw and happily thought of the note she had left for Anna’s mother. Suddenly,
there was a blob of a brownish substance running down her nose. Stunned, she
screamed, “Help me! Help me! Something is happening to my nose! Help!” not knowing
that is was just baby food that Cameron had pelted at her with his spoon. Once
she realized what it was, she blushed with embarrassment. “Eew… this is disgusting.
Cameron! Do you always have to start food fights?” she giggled as she took a
napkin to wipe away what was left of the baby food on her nose. “That's what
I get for day dreaming, I guess.”
“Elana, Elana, Elana. What are going to do with
you?” Anna laughed as she took empty plates off of the table. “What do you want
for desert? I’ll get it for you since I’m going into the kitchen, anyway. We
have a lot of things. Just tell me what you want.”
“I’ll take peachbread if you have it. I love
peachbread. And if you don’t, I think I saw blueberry jam sandwich in there.
That would be great, too. Whichever is easiest to get.” Anna nodded and disappeared
into the kitchen. As Elana waited she fed Cameron the rest of his food and wiped
his face clean of any food that had hopped out of his mouth. Soon, Anna
returned with 2 blueberry jam sandwiches in on separate plates.
“We didn’t have any peachbread but I did find
two blueberry jam sandwiches,” Anna said happily as she placed a plate with
one of them in front of Elana. “I hope you enjoy it.” The two dug into their
sandwich and finished them quickly. They washed the dishes and cleaned up the
dining room, and then took Cameron to the bathroom for a bath. They walked into
the bathroom and Cameron was amazed. “Purdy!” he yelled. It looked as if it
was completely made of clouds. It actually kind of was. There was a Cloud Toilet,
a Cloud Sink, and a Cloud Rug. There was even cloud wallpaper.
“They don’t make Cloud Bath Tubs,” Anna
said giggling as they looked at her Plain White Bath Tub. They both loved her
bathroom anyway. It was very nice. Cameron jumped into the bathtub and Anna
began running some water. She pulled a towel down from a rack and went to find
some shampoo and other grooming supplies.
Anna returned with a Striped Toothbrush, Peppermint
Toothpaste, Blue Mouth Wash, Dental Floss, Baby Aisha Bubble Bath, Kougra Nail
Clippers, Kougra Scratching Comb, and Kougra Shining Soap. “Do you know how
heavy this stuff can be?” Anna sighed.
Elana picked up the Baby Aisha Bubble Bath and
put a few drops into the running water of the bath tub. She let it fill up to
about half way then she shut off the water. She rubbed the Kougra Shining Soap
into Cameron’s fur and rinsed it out. She then handed him a Rubber Duck to play
with for a while. “He’s quite good in the tub. Nothing like the way he acts
out of it,” Elana whispered as she thought of what she should get everyone for
Christmas. It was such a big deal. She pulled Cameron out of the tub and rubbed
him dry with a towel. Then she clipped his nails with Kougra Nail Clippers and
made him brush and floss his teeth. Afterwards, he gargled with mouthwash.
“I think it’s time for you to go to bed, Cameron,”
Anna said softly as she cradled him in her arms. “I’ll get you something warm
to wear to bed. The wind is fierce tonight and we don’t want you to catch a
cold, do we?” She slipped two pairs of Angelpuss socks onto his tiny paws and
watched them start to slip down his little legs. She smiled and then put a flotsam
sweater over his head and front paws. It was much too large for him, but it
was warm.
Elana followed Anna into the guest room of the
house and helped her get Cameron into a pastel cot. “He is just so adorable,”
Anna said adoringly. “You are so lucky.” Elana smiled at her friend and thought
about the note once again. “Well, I think I’m going to get my bath and then
go to bed. If you want, you can use my mother’s bathroom to take a bath, too.
Elana agreed.
She stepped into the bathroom and her mouth
dropped open in awe. It was luxurious. Better than Anna’s had been. It had purple
and gold wallpaper, a fancy toilet, fancy sink, fancy rug, and a fancy bath
tub. “I wonder how they get the Neopoints for this stuff sometimes,” she said
herself. “I wonder why I always obsess over bathrooms.” She ran some water in
the tub, lathered up, and rinsed off. She stepped out of the tub and felt very
refreshed. “I’ll have to stay here more often so I can use their bathrooms!”
she said to herself.
She walked into Anna’s bedroom and saw her lying
on her Kauvara bed reading Unique Uni’s. Beside her bed was a stack of
books on a Kauvara table, all of them about Unis. “Zombie Unis, Manes, Uni Cycles,
Uni Battle!, Uni in Wonderland, The Uni Trilogy, Uni Care, Uni Myths, Defense
For Unis, and Don’t Call Me Cute,” Elana read aloud. “I guess you want to know
everything about our species,” Elana stated.
Anna looked up and grinned. “I want to know
as much as possible. We are very magnificent, you know. Interesting, too.”
Elana loved Anna’s room. It was filled with everything
Kauvara. She was Anna’s role model. Anna really just loved magic so it was fit
that Kauvara would be her role model.
“Well, I just wanted to say goodnight,” Elana
yawned. “So goodnight. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Goodnight, Elana,” Anna replied, still reading
her book.
Elana walked into the guest room where Cameron
was fast asleep and looked around. It was nothing like the other bedrooms. This
was mismatched and very homey to her. She jumped on a wonderfully comfortable
funky blue and orange bed and fell asleep.
****
Elana awoke to the smell of frying bacon and eggs. She stretched in the bed
and looked to her right. There she saw her owner, Darius, sleeping on a blue
fuzzle sofa bed. She smiled got up and went to Anna’s bathroom. She brushed
her fur with a cloud paddle brush and then pulled out her pink toothbrush and
brushed her teeth. She examined herself in a mirror and then flew down the stairs
and into the kitchen.
“Good morning, Elana,” Bethany, Anna’s mom,
greeted her in a warm voice. “How are you this morning? Did you sleep well?”
Elana nodded to both questions and smiled. “I got your note on my bed last night.
I understand that Elana wants a sibling. I think I may be up to it. But you
have to promise not to tell her, okay?” Again, Elana nodded. “What do you think
I should get?”
Elana grinned and thought for a bit. “Maybe
a Poogle. Or maybe an ixi. No, no, I think you should get a Zafara. And make
it baby. It would be very cute!”
Bethany smiled and agreed it would be a very
great pet and color. “Now all we have to do is go shopping for furniture for
it’s bedroom and bathroom because it will need gifts, too. I plan to get it
on Christmas Eve. I still have more shopping to do for Anna anyway, and you
can help me.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Anna said in a joyful
tone. She picked up dishes of bacon and eggs and carried them to the dining
table. Then she returned for the hot buttered toast and orange juice. When she
got back into the kitchen there was yet another plate full of pastries and doughnuts
to take into the dining room. Once again, she returned for the final time and
grabbed Cameron’s baby food. Elana took out the china and silver from the cabinet
and set four places on the table. Then she got the yellow high chair that was
used the night before for Cameron and put it beside the table. “Okay, we’re
all set. Now I’ll just wake the rest,” she exclaimed.
When she arrived upstairs, she went into Anna’s
room first and woke her. She knew that Anna would take the longest to get ready.
Then she went into the guest room and awoke her father and brother. The two
quickly got ready for breakfast and headed down the stairs. Elana waited for
Anna and then they flew down the stairs. They went into the dining room and
saw everyone awaiting their arrival. They sat down and the delicious meal began.
****
Elana browsed through shops around the whole world of Neopia. She couldn’t
believe how many there were. She helped Anna’s mom pick things out for Anna
and the new baby brother Anna would have. Elana enjoyed the time she spent with
Bethany because she got to learn a lot about Anna.
“Okay, let’s see what I still need to get here
in the Gift Shop,” Bethany said to herself as she began to read off of a list.
“All I need is gift boxes and wrapping supplies here.” Bethany and Elana gathered
all of the supplies and paid for them.
Next, they went to the Toy Store. “Wow. There
sure are a lot of toys to choose from. I don’t know what Anna or a baby Zafara
would like so I’ll need a lot of help here, Elana.” “May I suggest that you
get Anna all of the Faerie doll collection. There is an Air Faerie doll, an
Earth Faerie doll, a Battle Faerie doll, a Space Faerie doll, a Water Faerie
doll, a Light Faerie doll, a Negg Faerie doll, a Dark Faerie doll, the Faerie
Queen doll, a Fire Faerie doll, a Jhudora the Dark Faerie doll, a Snow Faerie
doll, a Tooth Faerie doll, a Soup Faerie doll, an Illusen Faerie doll, and a
Jhuidah Faerie doll. It’s a great collection to have. Worth a lot of Neopoints.
Costs a lot, too.”
“And for the new baby, well, I think you should
get him the baby plushie collection. There is a baby Aisha plushie, a baby Blumaroo
plushie, a baby Buzz plushie, a baby Grundo plushie, a baby Skeith plushie,
a baby Zafara plushie, a baby Bruce plushie, a baby Grarrl plushie, a baby Kougra
plushie, a baby Lenny plushie, a baby Lupe plushie, a baby Usul plushie, and
a baby Wocky plushie. It’s also quite a collection and it costs a lot too.”
Bethany smiled and nodded. They agreed that
the two collections would be excellent Christmas toys for her pets. It took
a while to get them all, but eventually both sets of gifts were collected and
paid for.
“Now for Christmas Candy. I’d say we’d have
to go to the Chocolate Factory for this stuff, wouldn’t you?” Bethany said joyously.
Inside the store were aisles of candy and chocolates.
Anything you could think of that was very sugary. Elana drooled as she looked
walked through it. After a few minutes Elana and Bethany walked out of the store
with a bag of assorted candy canes, various pet-shaped chocolates and mints,
chocolate honey, various flavored gobstoppers, different types of jelly beans,
yummy drops, liquorice twists, rock candy, Uni pops, an assortment of gummies,
and a variety of novas. The smells from the bag was appetizing!
“Now I just have to buy furniture for the baby
and a couple of paint brushes. We’re almost finished!” Bethany exclaimed.
The two picked up baby paint brush and a Mystery
Island paint brush at privately owned shops then went to search for furniture.
“I don’t know what the theme of his bathroom
and bedroom should be. It’s a rough decision to make before you even meet the
pet. So let’s just browse through the shop until something catches our eye,
okay?” Elana nodded in agreement and they started to search.
“Ooh… Mootix. They’re so adorable. Maybe we
should theme his bedroom Mootix?” Elana suggested.
“I think that’s brilliant. We’ll have to do
that,” Bethany agreed. So the pair bought a Mootix lamp, a Mootix rug, a Mootix
sofa, and a Mootix bed. “We’ll need a little bit more to put in, though. Not
enough stuff for an entire bedroom!” she commented. So they then bought green
beanbag chair and a round green table to finish up his bedroom.
“Okay. Bedroom is complete; now we just have
to theme his bathroom. Let’s look a little more.” Bethany looked around the
bathroom aisle and decided to theme it coconut. So they bought a coconut lamp,
a coconut sink, and a coconut bath tub. Unfortunately, they didn’t carry coconut
toilets so they bought a plain white toilet instead.
When the two were finished shopping, they had
an unbelievable amount of items so they had everything delivered to the Neohome
When they arrived home they found a humongous pile of items lying in the area
of Bethany’s garden, presently covered by snow. “We’d better start getting this
stuff inside, shouldn’t we?” Elana asked already knowing the answer.
After getting the items carried inside, Elana
and Bethany were exhausted. They decided to take it easy for the rest of the
night. As they sat down on the tiger couch in the family room they realized
how quiet it was. It was very suspicious and they worried about the absence
of the three. A few minutes after the thought Anna walked into the Neohome with
bags in her arms. She flew up the stairs and into her bedroom where she hid
for about a half an hour. Afterwards she flew back down the stairs and sat down
out of breath.
“Hi Anna,” said Elana pleasantly. “Can you tell
me where my dad is?”
Anna breathed in deeply and slowly looked at
Elana. “He went back to your Neohome He wants you there soon,” Anna replied.
She bent over and picked up Graciela who had been following the Uni around since
she got home.
“Okay then,” Elana sighed, “I guess I should
head on home then. Don’t want Dad to worry about me. Might think I’m lost. Bye
Anna. Bye Bethany. Have a nice evening.” With this, Elana walked out the door
and went home.
****
A couple of weeks went by and soon it was the week of Christmas. It was hectic
around both of the families' Neohomes. Elana still had her shopping to do and
was frustrated about not having it finished yet. She walked heavily around her
house and wrapped gifts for Cameron that her father had bought. Finally, out
of the anger of so many paper cuts, she went to her bedroom, got a bag of Neopoints
she had been saving, and walked out of the door. If she wanted to shop, this
would be the time to do it.
Meanwhile, Bethany was having a hard time working
on her new son’s bedroom and bathroom. It was very hard to do all of this alone.
But Anna, however, didn’t rush to wrap gifts and didn’t run around like a lunatic
like she was missing something. She was perfectly calm and seemed to have everything
finished. All she did was sit around and read books. There wasn’t much more
she could do. Sometimes she’d go out to play games but mostly she’d just sit
in her bedroom or the family room and read. Anna was done with everything and
was very pleased.
****
When Christmas Eve rolled around, everything in both households was normal again.
No one was rushing to do anything any longer. Everything was finished and everyone
was happy.
Elana and her family gathered at Anna’s Neohome
for some eggnog and cookies before they went caroling. They had a few laughs
and then walked around Neopia Central singing songs and having a good time together.
When they parted they wished each other a merry Christmas and hugged each other.
Then both of the families exchanged the gifts they had gotten each other. Each
of them received two gifts from the other family and walked home merrily.
At home, Elana and Cameron sat out cookies and
milk for Santa together. The two smiled at each other and ran up the stairs
to bed wondering what the morning would bring.
Anna sat out cookies and milk as well, but did
it by herself as she didn’t have anyone to do it with. She put on a hopeless
smile and flew to her bedroom where she quickly went to sleep.
At around 10:00 NST, Bethany peaked in Anna’s
bedroom door to see if she was sleeping. She smiled as she peered in at her
daughter and then quietly walked down the stairs and out the door.
It was a brisk night and Bethany wished she
had worn heavier clothing but didn’t turn back. She had to do this quickly.
She soon arrived at the Adoption Center where she searched through pets that
had been carelessly abandoned by their previous owners. Soon she found a beautiful
blue Zafara who seemed lonely as ever. She smiled at him and the walked out
of the Adoption Center hand in hand. Bethany took the Zafara to the Rainbow
Pool where she pulled out a baby paint brush from her coat. A whirl of paint
surrounded the Zafara as he started to shrink and turn light blue. A diaper
appeared on him and he sat plopped to the ground. The now baby Zafara clapped
his hands in delight as Bethany picked him up and cradled him into her arms.
You are adorable my dear, Kyle.
****
Anna awoke and jumped from her bed. She looked in the mirror, not really caring
at all about her appearance, then flew as fast as her wings would take her down
the stairs. She looked around and saw that the family room was full of gifts.
Excitement filled the inside of her body so much that she could taste it on
her tongue.
She walked into the dining room with a huge
smile on her face and saw a glorious feast of baked goods on the table. Cinnamon
swirls caught her eye and she picked one up just as her mother walked into dining
room with milk. “Good morning and merry Christmas darling,” Bethany said lovingly
as she kissed her on the cheek.
“Merry Christmas, Mom!” Anna exclaimed as she
returned a kiss on the cheek. She then began to pile the foods onto her plate
starting with the cinnamon swirl she had picked up. She munched on hot buttered
toast as she held a chocolate éclair to her mouth so she could eat it right
after the toast. Soon everything was eaten, she leaned back in her chair and
closed her eyes thinking about Elana and what her family was doing right now…
“Cameron, hurry up and eat! I want to begin
opening the gifts!” Elana shouted at her baby brother who just laughed and played
with his food. Elana sighed and sunk into her chair mumbling.
Elana’s dad stood up from his seat and picked
up Cameron. He wiped Cameron’s face and gestured to Elana to go to the family
room to open gifts. She ran without delay and sat on the floor very much ready
to open. She opened her most of her gifts quickly and watched Cameron open his.
Much to her surprise, when she opened the last big box, out popped a Noil. It
wasn’t painted plushie but she was still happy to see it. She sat aside her
clothes, toys, and candy just so she could play with it. And play with it she
did for hours.
Unlike Elana, Anna was very patient and waited
for her mother to finish eating her breakfast before she went into the family
room to open gifts. She even let her mother open all of hers before she started
on her own.
Soon, Anna was opening her gifts and did so
slowly. She thanked her mother for each gift and hugged her on multiple occasions.
She absolutely adored the Faerie doll collection and everything else that was
given to her. An hour from when she started opening, she was finished. Or so
she thought…
Her mother blindfolded her and led her up the
stairs. She led her inside of a room and closed the door. As Bethany took of
the blind fold, Anna kept her eyes closed. “Open your eyes, Anna,” was whispered
in her ear and she followed the direction.
For a moment Anna was stunned and couldn’t speak.
But after a few seconds a shrill scream came from Anna as she ran to the bed
where her baby brother slept. “Oh Mom! I can’t believe you got me a brother.
He is so cute!” she shouted happily. “But how did you know that I wanted a sibling?”
she asked.
“Oh, you could say a little birdie told me,”
Bethany said as she grinned. “There is one more gift in this room for you.”
Anna looked around and soon saw a Mystery Island
paint brush lying on a table. She picked it up and ran to her mother to hug
her. “Thanks so much, Mom. You’re the greatest,” Anna said slowly. “I forgot
to ask. What is his name?”
“Kyle. You’re brother's name is Kyle, Anna,”
answered her mother.
“Well then, I guess I’ll call you Ky. Seems
suitable for you,” Anna giggled as she picked him up and hugged him. “Merry
Christmas, Ky,” Anna said as she looked at him adoringly.
“Gipts! Gipts!” Ky screamed meaning ‘gifts’
as he jumped to the floor and ran to open his set of baby plushies.
****
“So how was your Christmas, Anna?” asked Elana with a grin on her face as she
played with Manuela, her Noil. “Well Elana, I must say it was one special Christmas,”
Anna replied looking at her new baby brother who was playing with Elana’s. “Yes,
one special Christmas indeed.” The two sat together with their petpets and played,
both with smiles on their faces for it had been a very special Christmas for
both of them.
The End
Authors Note: Please, be thankful for the things you
have and your family this holiday season. All it should take to put a smile
on your face is a smile on someone else’s. Thanks for reading!
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