The Joy of Petpets

      Months earlier the Gelert was convinced the idea was a good one. Corey had saved up neopoints for six years to build himself a decent sized home on the shore of Mystery Island. Since he was a youth, Corey had dreamed of living right beside the ocean, in paradise. He knew that since his first visit to Mystery Island. When the Gelert got his first job, he has known exactly what he wanted to save up for. Here and there, he would buy something for himself but most of his paychecks went straight to the bank. He had lived under his owner’s roof without having to worry about a place to sleep. She had always offered to pay for his food, and he accepted that. She had known his goal was to buy a home on Mystery Island.

      The house was gorgeous. It was beachfront property, right on the ocean. His front lawn was the beach. The house had a front porch and six rooms. It was fully furnished with all island-themed furniture. The views from his bedroom and kitchen windows were of the beach. Cheery bright colors splashed the walls. What was there not to like about the house? Corey had put all his money into it, but now he was regretting it, just a bit. Each day he seemed to get more and more depressed. The truth was, he missed his family and friends more than he ever imagined he would.

      Corey had never really thought about missing his family and friends once he moved out. They lived all the way in Neopia Central. It would be impossible for weekly visits. The Gelert had never really thought it through, and when the thought popped into his mind on moving day he reassured himself that neomails would be enough to ease him. Now, he knew he was wrong. He hadn’t seen his owner or his brother; a Halloween lupe named Jack, since moving day. His owner, Alyssa had held a party for him and invited all his friends the day before he moved. That was the last time since he had seen any of them. Sure, he neomailed them daily, but it wasn’t the same. Sometimes the loneliness was too much for him to bear.

      ***

      As the last light of day faded, the lonely Gelert sighed to himself. As he looked down the long stretch of sand, he saw no one on either side. What a surprise, he thought to himself, alone as usual. He got up and nonchalantly walked toward his house. He took one last look at the water before going inside and getting ready for bed. He had work tomorrow.

      ***

      At 7:00 am NST, Corey heard the incessant ringing of his alarm clock. He hit the ‘snooze’ button, and reluctantly got out of bed. He went into the kitchen and began cooking eggs. He had gotten used to staying quiet while he was in his house, he didn’t have anyone to talk to. Corey looked down at the frying pan, at the one egg. One egg, the Gelert thought, not three like I used to make back at home. When he finished breakfast he got ready for work and walked out of the house thinking about nothing but his family back home. Alyssa had always had on a smiling face, even when she was mad; she never took her anger out on him. Jack, who always wanted to play or hang out with his older brother, his loyalty was astonishing. Corey recalled all the happy memories that happened to him in Neopia Central. His first day of Neoschool. His first job and hanging out with all his buddies at the Market Place. Ah, how he missed those days. The white Gelert did have some friends here, who he went out with on occasions. But most neopets he knew he were acquaintances. Corey only made small talk with them. Most of his days were spent in his house watching Neovision, at work, or walking along the beach. As he approached the Tiki Tack Shop, his place of employment, he pushed the thoughts aside. He liked his job and didn’t want his sadness to ruin his day, or the customer’s day really.

      ***

      As Corey walked behind the counter of the Tiki Tack Shop, his coworker, an island Xweetok name Jasmine, confronted him. “Can you do me a huge favor?” she asked. Her brown eyes looked at him pleadingly. Jasmine was probably his best friend on the whole of Mystery Island. She had been hired around the same time as him, and they had trained together. Jasmine was the first neopet to be nice to him, and she was very generous. She often gave him neopoints when he had forgotten his wallet at home, among other things.

      “Sure,” the Gelert answered without thinking.

      “Well, on the way to work, I heard these pitiful crying noises in the bushes near my house. I went to investigate and found this...” she said, her voice trailing off. Out from behind her leg, a Niptor peeked out. His face was covered in fresh cuts and scratches. His yellow eyes were frozen with fear.

      Jasmine continued on. “I can’t take him in; my house has far too many petpets in it already. I was wondering if you could take the little guy,” she finished, staring at him hopefully. Corey thought about this; he knew Jasmine had already taken in her fair share of abandoned “strays”. She had four petpets in her care already. But really, he had never taken care of a petpet before; he had never really wanted one. He liked them enough, but he wasn’t fond of the thought of owning one. They needed constant care. Feeding, exercise, toys, and not to mention that was more neopoints to spend per month. Corey was about to say no, but when he looked at Jasmine’s hopeful face, he was warming up to the idea. He stared again into the Niptor’s yellow eyes, and he knew the little petpet had won.

      “Fine, I’ll take him in temporarily, and then I’ll look for a new home for the little guy,” the Gelert answered. Jasmine grinned and picked up the terrified petpet. “Take the day off, and get acquainted,” she said, handing the Niptor over to him.

      ***

      On the way home, Corey was already regretting the decision. The petpet was terrified; it struggled in his arms and nipped him. He had a few minor cuts from the Niptor’s teeth, but they still hurt. “Who is going to want you? You are so feisty and nasty!” he said as he walked toward the Island Market to buy petpet supplies.

      ***

      By the time he returned home, it was nightfall. He had bought all the necessities. A crate, food and water bowls, a petpet leash, and some toys. Immediately after he bought the crate, he had put the little Niptor in it and locked the door. He set it on the floor and looked inside; the scared creature cowered at the back of the cage. He took a good look at the Niptor. It was covered with cuts and had one large gash on its back. “You must have been abused, poor guy,” Corey said as he unlocked the cage.

      He reached into the crate and immediately the Niptor bit his paw. “OUCH!” he screamed out loud. The petpet remained frozen in the back of the cage. He locked it again, and went into the bathroom to wash out the wound and put a bandage on it. He was mad now; this time the petpet had made him bleed. With another look at the terrified creature, his face softened. “Who knows what happened to it?” he said to himself. The Gelert became more understanding toward the critter. He thought about it. Why did he have all these cuts? Was he abused? Had he been in a fight? Corey thought. This time he put the leash on the Niptor, with much less struggle, and led the unwilling creature to the bathroom where he gave it a much needed bath. The petpet had dried blood and mud all over its skin. Not to mention, he smelled pretty bad as well. The Gelert cleaned out his wounds and bandaged the gash on his back.

      He had to admit, after the bath, the Niptor looked a lot better. He even seemed a little more open. There was still no shine in his eyes, though. All Corey could see was fear and confusion. “Don’t worry buddy, you don’t have to worry about anything anymore. You have a home now. I mean a temporary home. I’ll find you a good one, I promise,” the neopet assured him. By now, Corey was exhausted. He led the petpet back to the crate and got ready for bed. When he turned off the light in the living room, the Niptor started to make whimpering sounds. Too tired to try and calm the creature, Corey went to his bedroom just down the hall and closed the door. He lay in bed for a good half and hour, listening to the whining noises. They seemed to get louder and louder every minute. He could even hear it with the pillow over his head.

      Finally he gave in; tiredly Corey went into the living room and picked up the crate, the Niptor still wailing. As soon as he set it down on the floor, the crying stopped. He went climbed into bed and watched as the little petpet drifted off to sleep. All he wanted was company, the Gelert thought, smiling, and finally he went to sleep.

      ***

      As the weeks past by, the Niptor became increasingly friendly and much less scared. His wounds healed, leaving only small unnoticeable scars. He became trustworthy and happy. Every night, the Niptor slept in Corey’s bed right next to him. Corey would trust him not to run away as they walked along the beach. He began to leave him out of the crate when he was not home. Another thing he had noticed was that the Niptor’s yellow eyes glowed with happiness and mischief. There was a shine in its eyes, not the dullness that had clouded them weeks before. As Corey noticed these changes in the petpet, he also noticed a huge change in himself.

      The Gelert wasn’t unwilling to get up in the morning anymore. He didn’t feel lonely, and was much friendlier. On his days off, he and the little petpet would spend hours on the beach just talking. Although the Niptor couldn’t talk, he knew the petpet understood every word he said. Every time he would talk to the critter, it would look at him as if it were listening.

      On their walks, neopets would stop and admire the Niptor. Corey began meeting more friends, and people were much friendlier toward him, he noticed.

      ***

      One day after work, Jasmine and Corey had decided to meet up on the beach just to chat. The sun was setting as they talked. Corey watched the Niptor happily run in the shallow surf with Jasmine’s Island Anubis. “So, have you found a home for the Niptor yet?” she asked. He hadn’t thought about that. The little petpet had made his life so much fuller and happier. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt lonely. His days with the Niptor were filled with happiness, laughter, fun and companionship.

      Corey watched as the little petpet playfully tackled the Anubis. He smiled. “Oh no, that won’t be necessary; he already has one.”

The End