A Wish for Wings

by Vampire_Pandora

Ullma looked around. The small Aisha lowered beneath the tall grass of the Neopian planes. Her blue eyes scanned the sky above her, looking for any sign of butterflies. She had been waiting to catch one for ages and now she finally had her own net.

A soft wind blew by, rustling the tall grass. Ullma looked up at her ears and noticed they were peeking out of the grass. She frowned and got lower to the ground. The last thing she need was for a butterfly to notice her coming.

Then it happened. A wave of brightly colored butterflies shot up out of the grass. Ullma’s eyes widened. This was her chance. Taking her net in hand, Ullma dashed through the field, dodging small rocks that lay in her path. She jumped into the air and brought her net down through the mass of butterflies.

As she landed Ullma looked at her net. She finally caught a butterfly, "All right!!" Ullma cried. She fiddled with the net and looked at the butterfly’s bright colors. "Neat-O! This is the best one I’ve ever seen!" Ullma sighed and removed the net from the butterfly. She placed it on her paw and raised it into the air. The butterfly sat for a moment, but finally flew away. Ullma always wanted to fly like the butterflies did. Most of her friends had wings and they always flew around. They seemed happy with it

Only days before Ullma had begged her owner to get her a Faerie Paintbrush for her birthday. Her owner said he couldn’t because they were too expensive. In return, though, Ullma received a whole collection of books about the Faeries, and even let her go up to Faerieland. It was a dream come true, but she still didn’t have wings.

Ullma! It's time to come in for dinner." Ullma turned around. Her owner stood on the back porch of their home. He waved at her with a bright smile. Ullma smiled back and raced towards him. "I made your favorite dinner, Ullma," he said, scooping her up into his arms.

"What, Eric?!" Ullma cried.

Eric smiled and petted Ullma. He walked into the house’s kitchen, still holding her in his arms. Eric placed Ullma on a chair and took her net, placing it on the counter. He went over to the stove and began to pour something into a bowl.

"Close your eyes," Eric said.

Ullma smiled gleefully and his her eyes behind her paws. She fidgeted in her seat with anticipation of her meal. Eric moved to the table and placed the bowl on Ullma’s place mat. "Okay, you can open your eyes now!" Ullma did as she was told. "I made you Scrampi Soup with NeoCrackers."

"YAY!" Ullma cried.

Eric put a spoon in Ullma’s paw. He put an arm around her. "And, for desert I got you a Blueberry Snow Puff."

Ullma smiled. "Thank you!!!!" She kissed Eric on the cheek. "This going to be yummy!"

***

The next day Ullma set off on a day for herself. Eric had given her an allowance of twenty Neopoints to spend on what ever she liked. She loved the fact that Eric trusted her to spend money wisely and to go off by herself. She was very responsible. She was even saving up some money to buy her own Faerie Paintbrush.

The Marketplace in Central Neopia was packed. Sales were in just about every store. People and NeoPets were rushing in and out of stores with boxes and bags in hand. Ullma dodged the people and NeoPets, making sure her purse was still around her neck.

Ullma paused and looked around at the names of the stores. She smiled as she found the one store that she had searched for, The Grooming Parlor. Ullma dashed through the crowd; dodging between people’s legs and around other NeoPets.

Inside the Grooming Parlor was packed. Ullma managed to slide through them all. Her eyes scanned the selections of eye shadow, blush, lipstick, brushes, collars, and so much more. She was in a beauty heaven. Ullma dashed over to a stack of marked down collars. She rummaged through the basket full of collars that were for sale. She discarded the blues and red, thinking neither color seemed to suit her. In the end, Ullma found a simple black satin collar. She had a box of small jewels she could glue onto it, so no matter what it would look good.

Taking the collar Ullma made her way towards the lipsticks. She had finally run out of her Red as Roses lipstick, and hoped the store had a few left. Lucky for her, they did.

Ullma walked up to the counter and was surprised to find that there was no-one in line. She quickly placed the items on the counter and peered at the Usul, the store’s esteemed owner.

"May I help you?" the Usul asked.

Yes!" Ullma said with a smile. "I want to buy these two items, please."

The Usul looked at the items and quickly rang them up. She sighed and looked at Ullma. "That’ll be six Neopoints please."

Ullma quickly pulled out the amount. "These aren’t that expensive!" The owner smiled.

"That’s why they call it a sale." She took the money and handed Ullma her bag. "Have a nice day!"

With a quick thank you Ullma dashed out the door. The crowd had lessened and a path towards a grassy area was more visible. Knowing it was an opportunity to sit in silence, Ullma walked down the path. Little by little the hustle and bustle of the day was fading and nature was slipping back into place.

Ullma smiled and trotted down the path. The sun heated her fur, making her grow slightly warmer. The smell of flowers danced on the slight breeze. It seemed to be a perfect day.

The sound of giggling made Ullma stop. She turned around, but no one was there. She blinked and began to walk on. Once again there was a sound of giggling. Ullma spun around quickly and was shocked to see what was following her.

A group of Air and Earth Faeries were swooping around. They stopped in mid-flight and stared at her. A few gasped while the rest let out a high pitched scream. In a flash of blue and green smoke the Faeries were gone. Ullma smiled and turned around. She froze before she could make another move. The Faerie Queen was floating a few inches away from her face. The Queen looked at Ullma. She floated forwards and smiled at her. With a soft giggle, the Queen turned and began to fly down the path.

"Wait!" Ullma cried. She dashed down the path, kicking up dirt behind her. The Faerie Queen picked up speed as Ullma caught up. Ullma called out to the Faerie Queen, but the Queen just laughed. Then, the Queen shot up into the clouds.

Ullma came to a quick stop. She looked up at the clouds and sighed. "Darn it! I wanted to talk to her," she whispered. She looked down the path and cocked her head. "What the?"

An old well sat beneath an eve older tree. Time had eaten away at a sign that had been placed on the well’s wooden roof. Ullma walked closer to get a better look. The faded words read "Wishing Well."

"Cool!" Ullma cried. She jumped up onto the rim of the well and looked down it. All she could see was darkness. "Hello?" Her voiced echoed. Ullma smiled and pulled out her small wallet. She looked at her money. She still had fourteen Neopoints left.

Without thinking twice Ullma emptied her wallet into the well. She paused and smiled when she heard the coins splash in the water. She looked down at the water and sighed. "Um, I wish to get a Faerie Paintbrush because I want to fly like my friends. Thank you!"

When Ullma got home Eric wasn’t too pleased to see she had gotten dirty. He scooped her up and took her to the bathroom. He quickly cleaned her and listened as Ullma told him about his day.

"The coolest part was when I saw a group of Faeries following me and then I saw the Faerie Queen!" Ullma explained. She closed her mouth as Eric dumped a cup of water over her head. She sneezed. "She was sooooooo pretty! She even smiled at me!"

Eric laughed. "Seems like you had a nice day." He grabbed a towel from a rack as Ullma jumped from the tub. Eric quickly wrapped Ullma in the towel, drying her. "What did you buy?"

Ullma smiled as Eric ruffled her fur. "I bought some more lipstick and this black collar I want to decorate. You wanna help?"

"Of course!" Eric took the towel off of Ullma and dressed her in her nightgown. "How much money do you have left?"

Ullma paused. She lowered her eyes. "Nothing."

Eric looked at Ullma. "Nothing? I know lipstick and a collar can’t cost that much."

I, um, lost it all when I was running after the Queen. I didn’t have it my purse all that well." Ullma replied. She felt bad for lying, but knew Eric wouldn’t be happy knowing she tossed the money in a wishing well.

"Okay." Eric said. He picked Ullma up. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a loud knocking at the front door. He sighed and put Ullma on the floor. "Go get your collar and your jewels. I need to see who that is."

Ullma nodded. She trotted out of the bathroom and down the hall. She glanced over her shoulder and watched as Eric disappeared down the stairs. Ullma slipped into her room and jumped onto her bed. She grabbed her collar and a small bag of jewels. She looked inside.

"These are perfect." Ullma smiled. She took her things and dashed out of her room. She jumped down each stair, humming a song as she did. Jumping onto the last stair Ullma saw Eric closing the door. She quickly noticed the box in his hand. She didn’t say a thing but followed Eric into the living room. She placed her things on the floor and watched as Eric put the box on their coffee table.

"Who’s it for?" Ullma asked.

Eric looked at her. "You."

Ullma cocked her head. "Me? Can you open it?"

"Sure." Eric pulled on the sides of the box, pulling open the flaps. He reached inside and quickly pulled out a small letter. He held it out to Ullma.

Thank you for coming to the wishing well." Ullma read.

Eric raised an eyebrow. "The wishing well?"

Ullma blushed.

Is that where your money went?"

"Yes."

"Why didn’t you tell me?"

"I thought you’d be mad."

Eric sighed. He placed the paper on the table. "Let's see what you got."

He reached in and pulled out a Faerie Paintbrush. "Good God!" Eric cried.

Ullma’s mouth fell open at the sight of the paintbrush. "My wish came true!" Ullma cried. She took the paintbrush and hugged it happily. "Now I can fly!" She looked at Eric and smiled brightly. "I guess I saw the Faerie Queen for a reason!"

The End