An Old Lupe's Adventure

     Years ago, when he was still young, he would occasionally be able to grab a dubloon or two, but he had since aged.

     Now he came here, more out of habit than anything else, and for the joy of sharing someone's excitement over nabbing that rare item.

     He spent most of his days assisting the ghosts in clearing out the endless amounts of donated rubbish, so that the better-priced items would have somewhere to land.

     Suddenly, out of the sky came a baby paintbrush! It landed just four feet from him, and, oh the excitement! If only to be a young Lupe once again! He was so tired of being old and grey. The second the paint brush hit the ground, his haggard old bones began to move. But, alas, he was too slow, as a much younger, fitter Gelert raced passed him and snagged the paint brush.

     A bit saddened, the old Lupe put a smile on his face and congratulated the young Gelert. It was always such a joy to see others so happy.

     The ecstatic Gelert ran back to his owner with his precious find, and the Lupe began once again picking up soggy old boxes and rotten shoes.

     More fun and shiny items continued to rain down around him, but now, he didn’t even bother going for them. He knew he was too old and slow to really have any chance of picking anything up. There were so many young Neopets these days; he couldn’t understand where they came from. When he had first started coming to the Money Tree, there were few pets here, and they came and went throughout the day. But, as word had spread about the Tree and other pets’ success, it had become one of the most popular places in all of Neopia. It was so crowded now, one could hardly find a spot to rest in the shade and have some lunch.

     The old Lupe finally found a bit of shade, next to some smelly old cheese. He sat down, plugged his nose, and began eating his lunch. As he was about to bite into some leftover baked beans, a beautiful faerie glided up to him. “Old Lupe, I have observed you for quite some time now,” the faerie began. “Day in and day out, you sacrifice your time so that others may benefit from this Tree and all that it represents.” The Lupe grew suspicious; after all, the Faeries’ Ruin plot had just ended not long ago, and everyone knew what kind of distrust that had brought about.

     He wondered who this faerie was; he’d never seen her before, anywhere. “Once you are finished with your meal,” the faerie continued, “would you be so kind as to find me an MSPP Notepad? I’ve always wanted one for my collection, and thought you might know best where to find one. If you do have one lying about, could you please bring it to me in Faerieland? I would be most appreciative.” And with that, the faerie disappeared, as if she had never been there. The old Lupe couldn’t believe his ears. This was a faerie, for crying out loud. Couldn’t she just use her magic and make one appear?!

     Regardless, the old Lupe went home and scrounged together all the neopoints he had managed to save throughout the years. He trekked to the all-knowing shop wizard, and put in his request.

     “I’m sorry, son, I can’t seem to find that item anywhere,” the wizard replied.

     The Lupe’s heart sank. If the wizard couldn’t find one, this Notebook must be extremely pricey. There were only two places where a neopet could find a pricey item, so he decided to first check the Trading Post. Stopping to rest along the way, he arrived at the Trading Post, wondering why on Neopia he was doing this, for some unknown faerie.

     He scoured the Trading Post and finally found what he was looking for. An MSPP Notepad. The asking price for this Notepad was 600k. The Lupe couldn’t believe his eyes. If he traded for this item, he would have spent every last neopoint he’d saved. The Lupe began to have misgivings. Why should he do this? He’d worked extremely hard for these neopoints, and it was all he had. “I’m old and grey,” the Lupe thought to himself. “I no longer enjoy many things other, younger neopets do. Maybe if I do this last act of kindness, someone, somewhere, will remember me.”

     He put in his offer and sat down to wait, knowing some offers took quite a while to be either accepted or rejected. Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long. The trade was accepted. All his years of saving came down to this one item that looked like it might spring to life and bite him. He tucked it securely in his bag and set off for Faerieland.

     Finally arriving in Faerieland, the Old Lupe set off for Faerie City. He found Queen Fyora, and, it seemed, all the other faeries were here as well. He hoped he wasn’t interrupting an important meeting. The Lupe looked around, but did not see the faerie who had approached him earlier. With an uneasy feeling in his stomach, he approached the Queen with his item. “I’m deeply sorry,” the Queen began, “but none of the faeries here have requested such an item.”

     Dejected, and with a lone tear in his eye, the Lupe turned to leave. He began to make his way back to the port so he could return to Neopia Central. Had it all just been a dream? Could he have possibly fallen asleep during his lunch break, as he seemed to do more of lately? He had known it was too good to be true. He wondered how on Neopia he would be able to get his neopoints back. Trading the item was a definite, but he wondered if he’d be able to sell it for the same price. He doubted it. The Trading Post was so full of Resellers. Maybe he would just settle, take his losses. The sooner he got rid of this item, the sooner he could forget about this nightmare.

     Winded, the Lupe sat down next to a pond to catch his breath.

     “Hello, Old Lupe.”

     Startled, he looked around, but saw no one.

     “I didn’t think you would make it here this quickly.”

     Convinced that he had gone mad after all those years of picking up rubbish, the Lupe got up and walked nearer the pond. He could hear trickling water. As he rounded a tree, there she was; the faerie that had approached him earlier that day. He took the notebook out of his bag, and held it out towards the faerie.

     “Thank you so much for bringing me my MSPP Notepad! As a reward,” the faerie continued, “and as a thank you for all your years of selfless help, please, please come take a dip in my fountain.”

The End