Yo Ho Yo Ho, A Plushie's Life For Me: Part One

{Once Upon A Time...}

A small brown spot. I remember how it got there. A candle that was too close to the wall caused it. The window was open, and a small breeze caused the fire to flicker, until it lit the wall ablaze. That small burnt mark was what I had to look at all day long for the past several years.

     My life was not always so meaningless, though. I did not always spend every day staring at a wall, but rather, I spent it with my best friend Ketarue. I remember the day we met clearly, as if it was just yesterday...

     The first things I ever saw were gigantic magnified glasses. The eyes shone with the benevolence of a kind old Aisha who had thick glasses and graying hair. I felt a tug at my right foot, and when I looked down at it, I realized the lady was sewing a little rip up. I could see little stuffing poking out before she closed it. I wondered... was she my creator?

     An eager little Kougra was standing beside her, and he watched intently as the old Aisha continued stitching me up. It was an odd sensation, one I cannot fully describe. However, I will say one thing about it... It was not painful. When the Aisha was all done, she gave me to the boy, and said, "Take care of this little one. He's special."

     The little Kougra hugged me tightly and ran to the door. Before walking out however, he asked the old Aisha, "Why did you put a little heart shaped piece of cloth inside him?"

     The lady chuckled and replied, "So he can live, of course!"

     The little Kougra tilted his head a little in confusion, but shrugged and carried me outside. The surroundings were beautiful. Behind us was the old lady, whom I never saw again, waving goodbye. Behind her was a neat little cottage that looked welcoming with the thin smoke drifting from the chimney. There was a lake that glistened in the sunlight, as the sun was setting, which made the view even more beautiful. I saw a red Gelert and purple Hissi playing at the lake, swinging in tire swings before jumping into the waters. The Kougra who was carrying me was running along a dirt path lined with large smooth stones.

     Eventually the outside view disappeared, and I was inside another cottage. This cottage was smaller and messier than the old Aisha's. It seemed like no one bothered to ever clean up here, but it still had a cozy feeling to it. A lovely smell of cooking filled the air, and there was a tiny fireplace alighted with fire, with a small rug before it. On the rug was what seemed to be a younger female version of the Kougra carrying me. She screamed in delight at the sight at me and attempted to grab me, but the Kougra pushed her away and screamed, "You have your own toys! No sharing!" and the little boy ran to his room, leaving the younger Kougra crying.

     "My first plushie!" he exclaimed. "Oh finally! I saved forever to be able to afford you! The materials to make you are expensive, but it was worth it to finally have a plushie of my own! Now, what should I name you? Hmm... How about Acorn?! Yes, that is your name!" He talked to me for hours that night, telling me all about himself and his family. Before falling asleep, he whispered to me, "We'll play all day tomorrow! Goodnight!"

     ***

      Several years have passed by since that day. At first, the Kougra who I found out was named Ketarue would play with me every day. He would take me everywhere he went, and I'd smile at the thought of being with him. As Ketarue grew older, however, he became embarrassed at the thought of carrying a plushie around. "Only babies play with plushies!" shouted his so called friends. Eventually, Ketarue stopped telling me fantastic stories, stopped carrying me around, and... simply stopped caring. He placed me on a shelf where I watched him grow up, while I gathered dust.

     Watching him were the highlights of my days, but as he grew older, it became more rare to see him. He barely spent time in his room and would stumble in late at night and instantly fall asleep on his bed. So during the days, I would watch the brown spot... wishing I could just get up and leave.

     {Moving Day}

     "Ugh, I hate you!"

     I was staring at the coffee stain once again, when I heard Ketarue's wonderful voice. Ketarue, filled with so much rage that I could see smoke drifting from his ears, came storming into the room. He grabbed a big box and began throwing items into it. I heard a soft knock resonate into the room from the doorway. Ketarue's mother entered before waiting for a reply and stood there silently for a moment while watching Ketarue pack.

     She was facing away from me, but I could tell she was frowning from the tone of her voice. "Why aren't you happy about moving? Don't you want a bigger home? Your room is so small, and now we have an opportunity to provide you a bigger one! You ought be happy that finally we can now afford a decent sized home."

     Ketarue chose not to reply and continued to pack everything, so his mother left the room silently, leaving Ketarue alone with his anger. Ketarue scoffed and walked towards the shelf where I sat. He reached out for me, and at that moment, I felt a mixture of terror and excitement. It had been so long since he even looked at me, let alone held me, but he also looked so angry right then that I was afraid he might throw me or something. However, he did not, and he held me with care as he simply stared at me for a few seconds, perhaps remembering the fun times we had several years ago. Ketarue placed me on top of the box and walked out of his room. He then placed the box in the back of a wagon and walked back to the small cottage to get other boxes.

     I hadn't been outside in years, so I was ecstatic to be surrounded by fresh air once again. I looked at what was before me, remembering small details about the outside while adding new details to my memory. In the sky was the ever bright and shining sun with puffy white clouds that scattered in the lovely blue. Flowers grew in a tiny garden patch underneath the cottage window, and wild carmarillers were flitting around from flower to flower. I sat there for hours, just watching as always, for it was the only task I was capable of, until the sky began to darken and the sun disappeared, bringing nighttime. Everything was dark, and I could no longer see anything but the silhouettes. Shadows moved across the lit window in the cottage, but after a while, the lights turned off, so I was all alone in the wagon, in complete darkness.

     Unfamiliar noises filled the night, and well... to be honest... I was terrified. I wanted to be inside, on the shelf, with Ketarue. I wanted to be able to hear his soft snoring instead of the strange sounds that surrounded me instead. I wanted Ketarue to read me stories again, because oh how I just missed the stories. Night passed slowly, so I just sat in the box, while telling myself stories to keep me from panicking. Gradually, the night turned to dusk, and in the early dawn, Ketarue and his family came back outside and placed more boxes in the wagon.

     "Did you get everything?" the father asked the family. They all nodded, and slowly climbed into the wagon. Ketarue's little sister was sniffling back tears, while Ketarue showed absolutely no emotion. The mother looked concerned about her children's attitudes, but at the same time, she looked excited. The father prepared the wagon for a long ride and then got inside the wagon. As the wagon began rolling along the dirt path, he shouted out, "Say goodbye to this home, everyone! We are going to a new and better place."

     {A Strange Ride}

     The entire ride was uncomfortable. The dirt road was bumpier than it appeared, and I would be thrown to the side whenever the wagon rode over a bump or a ditch. The ride was hours long, and if fabric could bruise, I would have turned into a lovely assortment of purples and yellows. I stared outside, absolutely bored with nothing to do but to stare at the dirt clouds that sprouted from the wheels. My eyes began to lose focus as I started drifting to my happy place of make believe.

     I half stared at the dirt clouds; little colors jumped before me amongst the brown, which confused me. I thought to myself... sparkly blue and green specks were not common in dirt. The colorful specks rose into the air and would immediately dissipate before I could make out what they were. I refocused my eyesight on the little random specks, but I was unable to make them out for I was too far away. Unfortunately for me, as a plushie, I was stuck in my current location, but then suddenly, the wagon hit a pothole, which sent me towards the edge.

     Lucky me, eh? So, once again, I refocused my attention on the little green and blue dots, but they did not appear any bigger, but in fact, smaller. Eventually, I gave up, but admittedly, I was appreciative that something distracted me for about five more minutes. I grimaced at the thought of how much longer the ride would be.

     My mind began to drift once again to a little place high in the mountains, where it was freezing cold and snowflakes fell gently on my shoulders. Of course, I am able to move in my daydreams, and in this particular one, I was scavenging for hidden artifacts hidden in the legendary cave, concealed by a curtain of frozen water. It used to be a waterfall, but during the ice age, it ceased to flow. I had my hand pressed up against the ice, when suddenly, I was sent back to reality quite suddenly when the wagon drove over another ditch.

     Now, I was already on the edge at that time, so this new hole sent me tumbling out of the wagon and onto the dirt path. It took me several seconds to understand what had just happened, for in my mind, there was an avalanche, and I thought I was dead... but nope, it was much worse. The only one I had known and loved left me behind. I watched the wagon wheel away and out of sight, leaving nothing behind but just a cloud of dirt.

           {Abducted By Insanity}

     If I were able to cry, I probably would have shed some tears. Actually, I probably would have cried a whole ocean. Even though I spent the last several years alienated by Ketarue, I still was going to miss him.

     From what I could tell, all around me were trees, trees, and more trees. Everything looked identical on this road, except for perhaps a misplaced leaf. As I continued scanning my surroundings, something caught me by surprise. The little blue and green dots appeared before me once again, and they were larger. They danced before me, entrancing me at the same time.

     Suddenly, a twig snapped, ruining the silence of the forest. The source of the snap was out of my peripheral vision, so I could not see what was there. Could it be the evil Pant Devil that stole many of Ketarue's old toys? Perhaps it was Dr. Sloth, zapping everything in his way into sludge. I panicked at this thought for I did not want to be sludge!

     I tried to go to my happy place with the calming seas washing over the shore of a little island. I tried to imagine the hot sun shining upon my face, and the sand burying my body. I listened for Ketarue's voice telling me one of this favorite tales, but I heard nothing. All I could hear was a pounding like sound in my ear, and all I could feel was fear on what could be coming my way.

     From behind, I felt someone's hand reach out for my tail. Then, without warning, I was jerked into the air and left dangling from my tail. I twirled in the air, as the mysterious neopet had a hold of my tail. I tried to get a good look at the neopet, but I kept twirling and twirling. All I could see was a long black cloak and a big pointy hat that hid the face with shadows.

     While holding me at an arm's length away, the mysterious neopet walked off of the dirt road and into the thick trees. Tree branches tugged at my fabric, and I could have sworn my foot ripped a little bit. If I could, I would have given this guy a scolding. I tried to look at him so I could think about giving him a death glare, when I noticed he was covered in green and blue dots. They bounced off of him like little aggravating petpetpets that wanted to bite him.

     For the rest of the trip, I was quite confused... What does this guy have to do with the dots, and what in the Neopia are they? The mysterious neopet walked for a long time, until finally, he stopped in front of a dreary mountain. The trees here were so close together that no sunlight could penetrate the treetops. I was set down on a jagged rock next to the mountain, and my abductor began speaking gibberish. Great, I was taken by an insane neopet.

     From the coarseness of the voice, I could tell the insane neopet was a male. After a few seconds of nonsense talking, he snapped his fingers. His snap echoed, and a low rumbling sound emerged from the mountain. The ground began to shake, and I fell off of the rock. I lay there on the ground, staring in wonder at the new cave entrance in the mountain.

To be continued...