|
It was dark when Anna awoke, and bitter cold air was swirling
throughout the sky.
"Mmmmr…" she moaned as she softly opened her
eyes.
The Acara hopped to her paws in shock when she
realized how dark it was. Why, last time she had checked, it had been as light
as ever!
"How long was I sleeping?" she asked the empty
area.
Her reply, as expected, was the sound of a sudden
gust of wind.
Anna shivered, hugging herself for warmth. How
late was it? If it were only early in the evening, she knew that she should
probably go back to bed 'till the sun rose. But what if it were 3 am? What if
dawn was only a couple of hours away?
The Acara then sighed, and then plopped back
down upon the grass. She sat there like that until she somehow drifted back
into a state of slumber.
~~~~
Jessa lay awake on the sofa, staring wearily up at Chocolate. A light orange
blanket was draped around her body, and her head was resting on a fluffy pink
pillow.
A fire burned dimly in the Brick Fireplace,
which was approximately 7 feet over, and the room was illuminated in a rather
pretty glow.
Suddenly, Jessa heard somebody enter the room.
As much as she wanted to lift her head up and see who it was, she happened to
be too weak to do so. Instead, she simply listened to the upcoming conversation.
"Choc?" An unfamiliar voice said. "Where are
you?"
"Right here, Marr," Chocolate replied. "C'mon
over."
Jessa now heard footsteps nearing the couch,
and soon, a fire Wocky plopped down beside Chocolate. The Wocky completely ignored
Jessa.
"Okay, Marr, what do you want?" Chocolate now
asked.
"I dunno… I just couldn't sleep. Franklin's
snoring again," the Wocky, presumably Marr, responded.
Chocolate chuckled. "That's your brother for
ya. Here, do you want to watch Jenna while I go get on some pajamas?"
Marr glanced toward Jessa, and then back toward
Chocolate. "Yeah, I guess," he sighed.
Chocolate smiled. "Good. I'll be back in five
minutes."
She stood up and then walked off. It was just
Jessa and Marr.
The room was now so quiet that the quiet crackling
of the fire in the fireplace sounded quite loud. Marr and Jessa exchanged many
uneasy stares and frowns and head cocks.
"So," Marr finally said, "are you really a baby,
or are you just painted like that?"
"I'm really a baby," Jessa whispered.
"Ah, I see." He shrugged. "Where do you live?"
Jessa froze. "I-I" she stammered, "I don't know."
Of course this was a lie, but she definitely could not tell Marr about her true
residence.
"Okay." He shrugged again. "So, how long are
you staying here?"
"I -"
Jessa's remark was cut short when Chocolate,
wearing a long, bright yellow night-gown, re-entered the room and flopped back
down on the couch. "Are you two getting along well?" She asked.
Marr shrugged once yet another time. "I guess,"
he said. "But in all honesty, Choc, I'm 16 and she's uh -"
"3," Jessa finished.
"Yeah, 3," Marr continued. "She's 13 years younger
than me. I mean, it'd be like talking to Carri… a Carri who was littler by 5
years."
"Yeah, I understand." Chocolate smiled, and
then turned toward Jessa. "You should probably get to bed, hun. It's late."
Jessa nodded, pulling the blanket up farther.
"G'night," she muttered.
"Good night." Chocolate planted a gentle kiss
on the Aisha's forehead, and then stood up. "C'mon Marr. If Franklin's annoying
you, wake him up and tell him to go sleep on the spare bed."
Marr nodded, and then stood up as well. The
two walked off.
Jessa gently closed her eyes, and yawned. If
this is what it's like to be normal, she thought, where a real live person,
not maids, tuck you in at night, and where a live person cares about you when
you're hurt, then I like being normal.
With this thought in mind, she drifted off into
slumber.
~~~~
Anna woke up just as the sun rose overhead. It was pretty outside; beautiful
pink clouds were scattered overhead, and the sun's long, golden fingers reached
down upon everything below.
But Anna ignored the beauty of it all, and she
simply hopped to her feet and walked the short distance to the dirt path, which
she knew led to the main part of Neopia Central.
Her stomach growled in hunger, and her mouth
was parched and dry. She decided to go to the Money Tree, where she knew some
kind people donated things to the poor. She hoped to snatch a drink and something
to eat from it.
It took her thirty minutes to get there, and
Anna knew quite well that it was pure luck that she didn't become lost in the
process. Afterall, she never had even been to the Money Tree before.
~~~~
Jessa was awakened at approximately 7am by Chocolate, who was attempting to
prepare a breakfast of Hot Cakes, three glasses of Strongberry Tea, two cups
of Pineapple Juice, and a Baby Bruce Milk Bottle.
After clumsily stumbling to her paws, Jessa
scuffed into the kitchen and sat tiredly down in one of five chairs. She then
rested her head on the dark brown table 'till Chocolate noticed her.
"Hi, Jenna!" She exclaimed when she did. Abandoning
the cooking Hot Cakes, she trotted over to the baby Aisha. "Didya sleep good?"
Jessa raised her head and then nodded. "Yup,"
she replied.
"Good!" Chocolate chirped. "Now, that's Carri's
chair you're sitting in. Why don't you sit in mine?" She gestured to the chair
on the other side of the table.
"Mmhm." Jessa rose to her paws, walked the short
distance to the chair specified, and then plopped down into it.
"Okay, now you just sit there and wait a few
minutes; the Hot Cakes are almost done. For right now, though, here's something
for you to drink." She grabbed the Baby Bruce Milk Bottle off of the countertop
a few feet over and then set it in front of Jessa.
Jessa frowned; she had outgrown bottles a while
back. But no, she couldn't complain. She was going to try to be normal, as she
and Anna had originally wanted to be, and accept what was given to her. So she
smiled and then nodded at Chocolate, who had by then returned to preparing the
Hot Cakes.
After a few moments of silence, a purple Tonu
sauntered into the room. "Hi Choc," she said, sitting down in the seat Jessa
had earlier been in.
"Hi, Carri," Chocolate replied. She looked at
her pet and mouthed 'Say hi to Jenna.'
Carri flashed a babyish smile a Jessa. "Hi,
Jen-Jen," she cooed, not even noticing that she had already made up a nickname
for the toddler.
"Hi," Jessa said.
"Are you excited for breakfast?" Carri then
asked.
Jessa nodded. "Yeah."
"So am I." She patted Jessa's paw gently.
Suddenly, the front door burst open then slammed
shut, and into the kitchen stormed a snot Aisha. He had the new edition of the
Neopian Times clutched in his paws.
"The story about the return of those pets is
in the paper! Carri and May aren't mentioned though - they just said 'An anonymous
source discovered the two pets standing next to the Tombola stand'." He slapped
the newspaper down on the table.
Although nobody was paying attention to her,
Jessa gasped. How could she and Anna both be captured, when she knew quite well
that she was in Chocolateisamust's kitchen right that moment!
"C-can somebody read me the article?" she asked.
"I'm sorry, Jenna, but I don't think you'd understand,"
Chocolate sighed.
"Please?"
"Fine, I guess. Franklin, read Jenna the article."
"Okay." He nodded, picking up the paper into
his paws. After then clearing his throat, the Aisha began.
The article took 3 minutes for him to read,
and by the time he was done, Jessa was breathing heavily, and she was shuddering.
"What's wrong, Jen-Jen?" Carri asked.
She did not reply, but simply let out a long
groan.
"Yoohoo, Neopia to Jenna? What is wrong?" It
was Franklin who spoke this time.
Jessa still did not talk, but instead hopped
out of her seat and burst away from the kitchen table. She had to leave this
house… this island… she had to stop lying…
She was about to reach the doorway when she
knocked into Marr, who at that precise moment was entering the kitchen. Shivering,
she was knocked to the kitchen floor.
Clamping her paws together, Jessa took in a
short, raspy breath and closed her eyes. She did not remember anything else
'till she awoke 3 hours later.
~~~~
Anna was having no luck at the Money Tree. Each and every item she attempted
to snatch from it was taken before she could get it for herself. Finally, she
dragged herself over to a wooden bench and dejectedly plopped down upon it.
She had never felt so dirty and hungry and thirsty in her whole entire life.
Letting out an elongated, exasperated sigh Anna
then brushed off her soiled fur. How she longed for a bath!
Maybe I should go back to Caitlyn, she
thought to herself. Yes, I may not enjoy such a pampered life but at least
I'm well cared for…
Rising once again to her paws, Anna then set
out for her journey home. Of course, her fate might've changed a tad bit if
she had not ignored the copy of the new Neopian Times that was lying tranquil
below her paws.
~~~~
Jessa woke up in a dark room. She had never seen it before, although she immediately
knew that it was in Chocolate's home when she heard Carri's voice outside.
Wobbling to her paws, the Aisha plodded over
to the bedroom door. As much as she wanted to swing it open, she realized that
she was not tall enough to do so! Panicking, Jessa screamed.
Almost instantly, the door flew open, and a
frightened looking Chocolate appeared.
"What's wrong Jenna?" she asked in alarm.
Jessa stopped screaming at looked up at the
girl. "I-I just g-got scared because I couldn't o-open the door," she stammered.
"Ah, I see. Well, you almost gave me a heart
attack there. Next time just call for one of us to open it 'stead of yelling,
okay?"
Jessa nodded. "Okay," she said guiltily.
"Good, now can you please tell me what happened
earlier, Jenna?"
Jessa cringed; what was she supposed to say?
"I-I d-don't remember," she lied.
"Are you feeling better now?"
"Yes."
"Are you hungry?"
"No."
"Do you want to go to the beach? Sareona and
Carri left a few minutes ago. We can catch up with them."
At this, Jessa grinned. She had never been to
the beach before! The Aisha nodded intently. "Yes!" she exclaimed.
"Okay then, I'll go get a swimsuit on, gather
up the towels and then we can head off. Wait for me in the living room, okay?"
"Okay!"
Chocolate headed off toward her bedroom to put
on a swimsuit. Jessa trotted gleefully over to the living room. This would be
so much fun!
~~~~
Anna pounded on the front door of her home.
She then stood there for a few minutes, anxiously waiting for somebody to answer.
After roughly 2 and a half minutes of waiting, the door swung open.
Standing there was Amelia, a grouchy look spread
across her face. "What do ya want?" she snarled.
"Is Caitlyn here - it's me, Anna," Anna replied.
Amelia snorted. "Nice try kid, but both Anna
and Jessa were safely returned yesterday." She started to slam the door shut,
but Anna held it open.
"What!? You got to be kidding me? How can they
have returned if I'm Anna?"
"Simple," Amelia snapped, "you ain't really
Anna. Now please leave."
"No!" Anna yelped. "You get Caitlyn right now!
I have proof that I'm Anna! The letter! I wrote a letter!"
"The Neopian Times told that, kid. Now, if you
do not get off of this private property, the consequences will be dire."
Amelia slammed the door shut. Anna stood there,
panting. Her mind was whirling around, and the felt dizzy. This was all too
much for the Acara to comprehend.
~~~~
Jessa had never had so much fun as she did that
afternoon at the beach. Despite being unable to swim herself, Carri and Sareona
helped her float around the shallow area of the ocean. The two found it cute
and amusing how the little Aisha splashed around giggling.
Chocolate watched the three pets from shore
from behind sunglasses. Well actually, Carri and Sareona weren't sure if she
was watching them at all. In the past, sunglasses had been her ticket to a free
nap. But they didn't mind her, and they had a joyous time splashing and swimming
in the ocean 'till the sunset at precisely 6:31 pm.
~~~~
The electric Acara, whose real name was Shiiell,
and the baby Aisha (who was simply painted, not in fact a baby), Mareesha, were
enjoying this life of luxury. They got to taste exquisite foods that they never
had even heard of, sleep in humoungous silk-sheeted beds that were as big as
some whole rooms in their old house, and simply be spoiled rotten.
They rarely thought of their old owner, Rachel,
but boy was she thinking of them…
~~~~
A New Trend In Kidnappings and Runaways?
Electric Acara and Baby Aisha go missing from a trip to Mystery Island
Shiiell the electric Acara and her sister Mareesha
the baby Aisha were visiting Mystery Island the day of Faerieland-dwellers Anna
and Jessa's safe return when they were suddenly whisked away. They have not
been seen since then.
Their owner, RachelSun9, would like everybody
to be on the lookout for the two.
"I might not have 6,000,000 Neopoints to reward,"
she says, "but I'd be thankful to you forever if you gave me my pets back. Just
do it out of the kindness of your hearts - for me, for them. For all of us."
We will continue to follow this story in the
next issue, and we will present to you each and every development in the case.
For now, though, Rachel can only hope that her pets will have a safe homecoming…
and have it soon.
To be continued...
| 
