Cybunny Moon

     The moon was unresponsive, as usual, but Sailew would never stop talking to her friend. She was painfully shy and had a terrible time making friends with her fellow neopets, so she would sit on the window ledge, looking up at the bright moon. It started when she was only a few weeks old, and her first owner had created her and then gotten bored. Her first owner, who Sailew now only remembered as being much too tall and wide, dropped her off on the front steps of the pound without so much as a goodbye. The little neopet was so crushed, it took her months to speak to anyone. But now she was comfortable talking to her friend in the sky. And quite often, the little Cybunny would not only start talking but she would start singing to Mr. Moon.

     “Mr. Moon, Mr. Moon- I just don’t know what to do. Mr. Moon, Mr. Moon- I may be red, but I feel awfully blue,” Sailew sang.

     Each and every evening she would tell her friend about what had happened that day. At school, she felt like might as well be painted invisible and she would tell the moon exactly how this made her feel. At the pound Sailew felt hopeless. Despite being a so-called ‘rare’ pet, nobody seemed to want her, and she couldn’t figure out why. It didn’t help that she could never forget the feeling of being abandoned once before. The nagging feeling that she was worthless haunted her dreams.

     The pound was more like an orphanage and not nearly as scary as people liked to believe. Sailew was thankful for this. When she had first arrived she had expected to be locked up in a tiny cage with little food and water. Instead she had a small room, daily meals, and even school and sport activities. It could never compare to the love from an owner who was dedicated to you completely, though. There was nothing quite like being able to share everything you feel and do with someone who loves you unconditionally.

     At night, Sailew would also make wishes on the stars for somebody to love her. She was obsessed with signs and always searched all over Neopia for signs that she would soon be adopted. It never worked, though. Nothing ever did. She always thought it was because she wasn’t fun or cute enough and that was why the stars refused to grant her wish. She never thought it could be that she hid under her bed whenever someone came to see her.

     As Mr. Moon disappeared behind some clouds, Sailew hopped over to her bed and surrounded herself with the sheets. Despite feeling sad, she always felt a tiny tinge of hopefulness that tomorrow would be a better day.

     Days passed and still nothing changed. If anything, the little red Cybunny only felt sadder.

     “What can I do, Mr. Moon?” she asked, tears streaming down, matting her soft fur. “I don’t want to be alone anymore. If I go one more day life this, I swear I’ll end up turning Grey.”

     And for a second, Sailew could have sworn Mr. Moon had winked at her. Shaking her head, Sailew looked back up at the sky, only to see the same old moon staring blankly back at her. “Please help me, Mr. Moon,” she pleaded one last time before turning away from the window and curling up in her well-worn bed.

     The next day at school, the Cybunny summoned up enough courage to ask the blue Pteri next to her if she could borrow a colored pencil. It was the first time she had talked to anyone since she had been abandoned months ago.

     The Pteri grinned. “Sure thing. I’m impress_the_best by the way,” he said, sticking out a wing. “But all my friends just call me ITB for short.”

     Sailew looked dumbly at the Pteri. “Oh, um, hi. I’m, um, Sailew...”

     ITB laughed heartily. “You’re not good with this, are you?”

     Sailew blushed and turned her head away.

     “Oh, I’m sorry,” ITB said softly, his voice gentle. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. It’s just usually when I offer a wing, people shake... sometimes too hard, but still, they shake.”

     The Cybunny reached out and grabbed the Pteri’s wing timidly with her paw. “Hi.”

     That evening, Sailew told Mr. Moon all about her new friend. “You helped me, didn’t you?” she asked, smiling for the first time in a long time. The moon seemed to glow even brighter than normal in response. “I just know you did!” She chirped, the excitement clear in her voice.

     “Mr. Moon, Mr. Moon, I’m so glad that I have you. Mr. Moon, Mr. Moon, you’re the best- through and through!” The Cybunny sang as she danced around her small room, feeling like she’d never felt before.

     The next day at school impress_the_best was not there. Their teacher, Mrs. Roolaroo, announced the list of pets that had just been adopted. ITB was on the list. “...And so congratulations goes out to all those wonderful pets and their kind new owners. We wish them all a very happy life. Now...”

     Sailew tuned out the rest of Mrs. Roolaroo’s speech, her nose tingling, and her eyes becoming damp. Her first real friend was now gone. Sailew was alone again.

     That evening, Sailew ignored the moon, keeping her back to the window the whole night. She felt like he had lied to her and caused her heart to ache a little more than before. There was nobody she could trust, not anymore.

     A little while later she checked her neo-mail in an attempt to distract herself and she noticed a message from impress_the_best in her inbox:

     Dear Sailew!

     How are you doing, bunny? As you’ve probably heard I’ve been adopted! Go me! I love where I am now. Anyway, my owner has a friend who wants to meet with you for possible adoption purposes. How cool is that? We’d get to be friends for life.

     Anyway, we’ll all be dropping by tomorrow evening. Watch for us!

     -ITB

     Sailew felt a mix of excitement and fear. Looking out at the moon, she sang quietly under her breath. “Mr. Moon, Mr. Moon, please look out for me and you. Mr. Moon, Mr. Moon, please let this all come true.” Taking a breath she looked up at the bright, round object. “I’m sorry for doubting you,” she said, blushing.

     The next day was spent in utter panic, as the Cybunny worried that her prospective new owner would hate her or think that she was ugly. Sailew paced her tiny living space, her nervous energy about to explode.

     By the time the sun was about to set, Sailew was glued to her window seat. Nearing the entrance of the pound, Sailew saw the familiar blue Pteri bopping down the path. With him was the girl who must be his owner. She had short reddish hair, a baby Xweetok in one hand and a ball of yarn in the other. The other girl who was with them was shorter, with dark brown hair and a cloud Xweetok that clung to her shoulders. “She must be mine...” Sailew trailed off, feeling in that moment, completely immobilized by fear.

     A sudden knock on the door shook Sailew out of her daze. “Come in,” she responded to the noise.

     In walked impress_the_best, the two girls, and their respective Xweetoks.

     “This is her?” the girl with the dark brown hair asked.

     The blue Pteri nodded cheerfully. “Yup, this is Sailew.”

     Sailew looked up at the brunette with shining eyes.

     The girl inspected the Cybunny for a moment, and then suddenly squealed: “SHE’S THE CUTEST THING EVER!”

     The red-head laughed. “Wow, Andy. You’d never think...”

     “Can it, Cass,” Andy responded to the girl before turning back to Sailew. “Hi,” she said. “My name’s Andy. And I’d really like to take you home with me.”

     Sailew’s eyes welled with tears.

     “What’s wrong?” Andy asked, dropping to her knees to be at eye level with the neopet, her voice dripping with concerned.

     “I never thought anybody would ever want me,” the Cybunny said meekly. “Especially after I was left-”

     Andy almost exploded. “YOU WERE LEFT? HOW COULD ANYBODY DO SOMETHING SO HORRIBLE TO SOMETHING SO ADORABLE?”

     It was at that moment that Sailew leapt into Andy’s arms, wrapping her paws around her neck.

     “I think I love you already,” Andy said softly, hugging Sailew back tightly.

     After everything was cleared with Mrs. Roolaroo, the group left the pound, ready to take Sailew to her new place of residence.

     As she walked out into the dark night, holding onto her new owner’s hand, she looked up into the sky.

     But the moon was not there.

     Sailew smiled to herself. Somewhere, she felt, Mr. Moon was helping someone else with their hopes and dreams. He had done everything he could for Sailew, and her whole body swelled with pride. “Thank you,” she whispered, glancing up towards the glittering black sky.

     She had found where her heart belonged.

     She had finally found her home.

The End