Throughout The Years

     But coming home, coming home from the Create-A-Pet station, I do remember. It was amazing. A gleeful, excited little boy was frolicking joyously next to me, his short, light brown hair and bright blue eyes so charming. He was informing me all sorts of exciting stuff. Such as, “My name is Jacob!” “Your name is David!” “You’re a blue Zafara!” “You’re my first pet!” “You like gathering food!” and whatnot.

     I remember seeing my neohome for the first time. In the middle of Neopia Central, a little house sat, quaint and just. It was very tiny, almost like a cottage. “It’s small, but it’s functional,” I remember Jacob telling me. “it provides us shelter and a place to live, and that’s all we need.”

     I sat in the house all day. It was nice, but a bit humdrum. Jacob was able to tell my boredom, and one day, he approached me with something hidden in his hands. He knelt down to me, and then I saw the small blue toy, its appearance similar to that of an Ixi neopet.

     I played with it all day. I named him Fluffy, because I thought that was a nice name. I remember acting out little scenarios with Fluffy, me being the older brother and he being the younger, more naïve one. I remember Jacob observing my behavior closely.

     Soon enough, Jacob brought home a real little brother for me, and he just happened to be a blue Ixi - but his name was John, not Fluffy. That, the immense size difference, and lack of stuffing were the only real differences between him and Fluffy. He was quite the playful and immature little pet, just like in the skits I did with Fluffy. And I loved him.

     After a while, it became apparent that the tiny neohome was not able to fit all three of us. Jacob admitted he had secretly been earning neopoints for a new home, and finally enough money to buy us an extravagant new house in the great city of Meridell. It was wonderful there.

     After a while, Jacob began to get out of the house more and more, sometimes even all day. John and I really wondered what he was up to. One day, Jacob came home, strangely more giddy than usual. I asked him what was up, and he explained to John and I, quite excitedly, how the fact he had been out of the house more than usual gave him the ability to earn lots of neopoints to save for some great goals of his. John and I never knew he had such goals, and were eager to learn more.

     Jacob was very short on details, because his excitement became the best of him and he just had to show us what was so great. So after rummaging a little, he pulled out a big shopping bag. He dumped the contents on the floor - toys, lots and lots of toys. John and I were so thrilled.

     After the excitement over our new playthings subsided a bit, Jacob brought out the big surprise - two delicate and shiny new paint brushes. We were ecstatic! We’d been yearning for painted coats for quite some time, and now we could have them. Jacob explained how he had chosen Christmas for John, and Speckled for me, as he felt these best suited our personalities. Our trip to the Rainbow Pool was so great. At that point, I felt nothing could get any better.

     Jacob was growing older. John and I were growing older. We were almost three years old when Jacob came home one day with an even bigger grin on his face than the one we saw two years ago. We hadn’t seen him a lot lately, so we knew how must have had found a new goal to work towards. We didn’t, however, know how extravagant it would turn out to be.

     The first thing Jacob pulled out was for John - a Plushie Paint Brush. John pranced around jovially, cheering and shouting. “Now I can be just like Fluffy!” John said to me in his happiness. I laughed and laughed, so glad for my little brother.

     The next thing Jacob pulled out would be for me. What he took out I did not recognize at all. It was some sort of magical potion, although it looked somewhat rancid. “Drink it,” Jacob urged me. “I have something else for you after it.”

     So, with Jacob and John staring me down, I removed the cap and swallowed the mixture down. It did not taste very good... no, not at all. I was quickly finished, and by the look on Jacob and John’s faces, something extraordinary must have been happening to me - and I could feel it.

     I didn’t know what was happening, and when it stopped, Jacob and John began to cheer and shout for me. I ran to the nearest mirror we had, wobbling on my new feet. When I made it over and looked in, there were quirks - and some weird things. For one thing, I could see my brain. My skin was peeling immensely. I had long, uncared-for claws. The quirks were... well, I was a Draik.

     Jacob called me back to show me my second gift. I could hardly believe my eyes as he pulled out a Royal Paint Brush. John and I raced to the Rainbow Pool. The second time was greater than the first. We both looked splendid and caught the eye of the many pets crowded around the pool. It was amazing.

     John and I, very satisfied with our new looks, relaxed nonchalantly in our large home, admiring everything. Life was excellent! In fact, we barely even noticed the fact Jacob had been drifting quite a bit.

     One day, Neopets changed. Everything looked different around us. The world looked different. Our neoschoolmates looked different. And then, something called the NC Mall opened. All of our friends began to come to school wearing these exquisite, interesting outfits. They told us we should try some on, too, but we couldn’t. We weren’t like them. We were what people called ‘unconverted’.

     All of these new things abuzz caused Jacob to drift even farther from home. And one day, Jacob, restless and worn out, approached us. I have to say, he was now much different from the little boy I met those six years ago. He informed us, with a very uninterested tone of voice, he had decided to leave Neopets. Forever.

     John and I were horrified. Who would care for us? Feed us, play with us, love us? Like the way Jacob used to?

     Jacob was very calm and informed us that he had decided to give us to a couple people he had met on the neoboards the other day. That did not calm us down very much. We were going... going to some strangers? Random people to treat us as trophy pets? Something else scared me, too - I heard of this new thing going on, called ‘trading’. Might that happen to us?

     I did not sleep at all that night. I tossed and turned. I could hear John in the room next to me having the same problems. The next morning, we were drowsy and irritable. Jacob didn’t seem to notice - just led us right on, through some new neighborhood of Meridell.

     Jacob approached one house’s door and knocked. It slowly creaked open. Inside, I saw what reminded me very much of young Jacob, except with bright blond hair and green eyes. When he saw us, his mouth went into a little ‘o’, and then he grinned madly.

     The little boy, whose name I found out to be Adam, was chosen to be John’s owner. His smile was so big when John went up to see him. He then thanked Jacob about a million times. John turned to me, and we said our goodbyes. We promised to keep in touch with neomail. I wanted to stay with John, but Jacob told me we had to go. I waved to John as we parted. I could hear Adam raving to John rapidly, and then it faded and it was just Jacob and me.

     We took a boat, and I was still not sure of wherever we were going. After a while, I noticed civilization, and then I recognized the place as Neopia Central. I had not been there since I was painted - five years ago. I recognized the Bazaar and Plaza, and I found the place where our old house was. It was not there anymore. They must’ve taken the little thing down, to make room for new, more important innovations.

     Anyway, there we were, walking down the streets of some neighborhood again. And, finally, on the far corner, the last house on the street, Jacob led me up the porch steps and rang the doorbell.

     I could hear footsteps, and then the door opened... a little girl stood there. Noticing Jacob, she grinned brightly. And then she noticed me, and her eyes lit up even more.

     “David...” Jacob began. “This is Maria. She’s your new owner.”

     “Hello...” she said, staring at me, brown eyes wild with happiness.

     Jacob grinned. Maria grinned back, so I grinned back. Jacob got this random look on his face. “Oh, David. Here. I almost forgot.” He rummaged for something in his pocket. I recognized Fluffy immediately and snatched him up. I smiled sincerely.

     “Goodbye, Jacob.”

     “Goodbye, David.” Jacob nodded. “I must be on my way.”

     “Thank you so much, Jacob,” Maria said joyfully with a hint of sorrow. “He’s amazing.” She looked at me. Her black hair was all tangled in her face. “I can’t wait for you to meet everyone! Oh, we’re going to have so much fun! I just love...”

     She was talking so fast. It reminded me of Adam, and little Jacob when I first came home.

     And I knew everything would be just fine.

The End

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