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Morlin's eyes flicked open. Yawning, he rolled over in his
Kau Print Bed and looked at his clock. As the importance of the day struck him,
he immediately wished he were still asleep.
Grumpily he got out of bed, his furry purple
tail dragging against the ground. He walked past the mirror without glancing
in it and headed downstairs to the kitchen. He was a rather gruff Kacheek who
lived by himself in a reasonably small Neohome. As he rummaged through his Snow
Fridge for the Jelly Cereal, he caught sight of the circled day on the calendar.
Scowling he knocked it down so he couldn't see the day. Sighing he sat down
and began eating his cereal glumly.
Morlin had lived alone all his life and was
a fairly solitary creature. He only had one good friend, Greml, a Darigan Moehog
whose personality was the exact opposite of her frightening looks.
Upon finishing his breakfast, Morlin exited
the kitchen and walked to the front door.
He glanced at himself in the mirror that hung
in the entrance hall and smoothed down some of his fur which had become ruffled.
Morlin was a purple Kacheek. He didn't mind
that purple was a rather girly colour, mainly because he disagreed with that
assumption. He had once had an owner, and that was the person who had kindly
painted him purple. But, the kindness from that owner soon came to an end when
one of her Neofriends had given her a stunning Christmas Peophin. From that
point on, the Peophin received all the attention and Morlin had been shunned
to one side.
Eventually he ran away, playing games to make
a living until he was befriended by Greml and her family. They took him in until
he was able to buy his own Neohome and take care of himself. They had been friends
ever since.
Once outside, Morlin wrapped his scarf around
his neck to protect it from the biting wind. Upon arriving at Neopia Central,
he saw all species of pets hovering over the New Features board like they did
every 'Pet Day', anxious to see the new things that would be released for Kacheek
Day.
Morlin wasn't a Scrooge, and on most years he
quite enjoyed Kacheek Day, but this year was different. He had realised something.
He had no one to celebrate it with. Greml was always cheerful and bright on
Kacheek Day, just like every other, but she wasn't a Kacheek, she didn't understand
how special it was to be a Kacheek on this day. And Morlin wanted someone to
share it with.
He spotted Greml through the crowd and waved
hello. Grinning back, Greml fought her way to Morlin's side.
"Hey buddy! How are you today? Feeling special?"
she asked cheerfully.
Morlin grinned. "Of course… but I just wish
I could share it with another Kacheek."
Greml nodded sympathetically. "I know how you
feel. I always get to spend Moehog day with my owner and my brother who's also
a Moehog. But you have no family or owner."
Morlin smiled, glad that Greml understood how
he felt. They mingled with the crowd for the rest of the morning, laughing with
joy when the new pet colours were announced, the Kacheek Day poems and pictures
in the Art Gallery. They also joined in the queue at the bakery and chocolate
shop to try some of the new sweets and pastries available.
They met for lunch at the Coffee Shop, bringing
their own food from outside of the Deep Catacombs.
Once they had finished eating, Greml gave a
polite cough. "Well, I should be off to buy you a gift."
As Morlin opened his mouth to protest, Greml
laughed.
"You can't convince me not to! You bought me
a gift for Moehog Day last year; it's only fair I buy you one."
Morlin gave in. "Fine, you can get me a gift."
"I would've gotten you one, anyway," Greml replied,
grinning secretively.
She stood up and left the shop, calling over
her shoulder, "My owner wants you to come over for dinner, can you make it?"
Morlin nodded. "What else do I have to do?"
he laughed.
***
Feeling rather glum, Morlin spent the afternoon browsing through the shops.
Upon entering one store, he spotted a skunk Kacheek plushie. He looked on the
price tag and felt in his wallet to see if he had the 6000 NP he needed. Unfortunately,
he only had 5000. He walked up to the shop keeper and showed her the plushie.
"Would I be able to have this for 5000 NP?"
he asked hopefully.
The shopkeeper thought about it for a moment
and then shrugged.
"Sure, why not?" she grinned. "After all, it
is Kacheek Day."
He grinned his thanks and handed over his money.
He walked home, feeling much better.
Glancing at the clock that hung on the wall
in the hall, Morlin yet out a yelp. He was due at Greml's Neohome for dinner.
Still clutching the Kacheek plushie, he grabbed a coat and ran out the door
he had just entered.
He quickly ran all the way and arrived breathless.
Greml's owner, Shannon opened the door and grinned
at him. "Hi Morlin! How's it going?" he asked.
Morlin smiled back and replied, "I'm good. How're
you and De?" he asked, pointing to the drooling baby Moehog that was lying on
Shannon's foot.
"We're doing good," he said, laughing and picking
De up. "Come in, we have a gift for you."
Morlin grinned. "You didn't have to, you know!
I mean, you are having me over for dinner, isn't that gift enough?"
Shannon looked shocked. "Of course we had to
get you a gift! It's Kacheek Day! 3rd best day of the year for you, after your
birthday and Christmas!"
Shrugging, Morlin followed Shannon and De through
the door.
Once inside, Greml led Morlin to the Lounge
Room at the back of the house, sat him down on a green bean bag chair and made
him close his eyes.
"Just for a few minutes." She promised. "I still
have to put your gift in a box," she said, smiling secretively.
Curiously, Morlin closed his eyes, and, true
to her word, Greml was back within a few minutes with a wide grin on her face.
She placed a fairly large and heavy box on his lap.
"Okay, you can open your eyes now!" she announced.
"Wow!" Morlin gasped. "It's heavy!"
With Greml, De and Shannon watching excitedly,
Morlin cautiously took the lid off the box, unsure of what to expect.
Suddenly, as he turned back from putting box
on the floor, a little pale blue head poked out of the box. Giving a yell of
surprise, Morlin tumbled backwards off the beanbag, and a little ball flew out
of the box, landing on his face. Opening his eyes, Morlin found himself face
to face with the sweetest baby Kacheek he could ever imagine.
"Hello!" he squeaked. "I Illn"
Morlin let out a laugh of surprise. He glanced
at Greml, De and Shannon to make sure that he wasn't dreaming and they nodded
at him.
"Hi Illn! I-I'm Morlin," Morlin uttered, still
shocked and overcome with joy at his new gift.
"Meet Illn! I found him at the pound and painted
him for you, buddy!" Greml announced. "After all, you were saying that you needed
a pal to share Kacheek Day with. Here he is!"
"Hello Morlin!" Illn squeaked and wrapped his
tiny paws around Morlin's neck. Seeing the Kacheek plushie resting on the floor
next to Morlin, the little Kacheek jumped off Morlin and began playing with
it.
Morlin looked at Greml and her family and then
back at Illn.
"Thank you," he simply said.
The End
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