His Story

      Nice to see you've stumbled upon my writings. I had hoped someone would. My name is Dex, and this is my life story.

      I suppose it all started a while ago. I was a young Bori, waiting to be adopted by a Neopian. But how I got there differs from other stories you might come upon.

      You see, I was not born in the Adoption Center where you get your new neopet. I was taken from my home when I was very little. All that I can remember of it was that it was cold, dark, and gray. I believe it was a cave of some sort.

      At first, I watched the other neopets get adopted with cheerful spirits. But over time, I grew rather bitter. No one seemed to want a plain red Bori like me. I was also quite lonely there at the time.

      I had this one friend a while ago, a blue Kacheek whose name was Squiqqle. At least that was his name until he got adopted. Squiqqle was very kind to me, even though I wasn't sometimes. He truly cared about me then. But I guess that left him when he was chosen by his plucky new owner. He seemed to forget about me in an instant. Or at least that's what I had thought.

      After a while, I felt as if I couldn't take all the new neopets that were coming in and going. I lashed out against a yellow Kougra when he got too close to me. I really hurt him, and now I do feel quite bad about it. Still, he was adopted, and I was left again. No one wants an irritable, mean neopet.

      But even after that incident, I managed to make a new friend. It was a green Bori whose name was Amanda. She was an older Bori than I, probably the oldest pet there at the time. Amanda was like a mother to me. She was brave, strong, and just plain amazing. Whenever I felt particularly down, she'd be there.

      Unfortunately for me, Amanda was adopted after we had become close. It completely tore me up, and I haven't been quite the same since. I almost attacked her new owner out of anger. You could tell she didn't quite want to leave, but Amanda was still pleased that she had finally been adopted.

      You see, this place creates terrible friends and enemies. You want to leave, but at the same time you feel as if you want to stay. I don't fully understand this feeling still. Do any of you pets out there feel the same?

      When I was alone once again, I really felt bad. I knew at that point that I needed to leave this awful place. The memories hurt too much, and I didn't know anybody anymore. I truly was alone.

      My original plan for escape was to sneak out at night, and travel back to the place of the caves which I barely remembered. But I knew that I couldn't possibly go somewhere if I didn't know exactly where it was. So I decided to head for Brightvale, a place I had heard an Ixi talking about. It sounded like a good place to me.

      The night of the escape, I waited until absolutely everyone was asleep. I didn't want to take any chances. I dug a hole under the pen that was holding some of us. It took a while, because the guards there tried to make sure not even a little Bori like me could get out. But I managed to get out.

      My first steps of freedom felt good. I would make sure that no wall would ever keep me trapped again. After that feeling wore off, I began to get serious. There was a lot of distance between here and Brightvale. I needed to hurry, because I couldn't possibly get there overnight.

      I did make very good time that night. The sun was just rising when I had made it to Kiko Lake. Not in the water, mind you, but just beside it. I decided to rest during the day, and then continue my journey at night. It would not be good, I'm not nocturnal, but it would be much safer that way.

      The next night, I set off again. It was cold that night, something I wasn't quite used to yet. They always kept it warm in the adoption place. The moon was full, and I did feel as if I was being watched for a while. But I shook this off. I thought I was far enough away from the Adoption Center to not be tracked, but I couldn't be sure.

      In early morning, I could see something far in the distance. A castle, perhaps? When I came closer, I turned out to be right. I had finally reached the place of Brightvale.

      There were many bright green meadows that I walked through. I ended up building my den in one. I thought it was peaceful. It was away from other places, so it was quiet.

      After I had fully moved it, I thought about what I wanted to do with my life. It was a very hard thing to think about, actually. I didn't want to own a shop, which might aggravate me. Too stressful, you know? Eventually, I found my passion: I wanted to write.

      I couldn't write nonfiction, I didn't know enough. Not great epic adventures, but something closer. Not like an everyday book, but something much deeper than that. I needed to go in depth.

      I started to write stories about other neopet's lives. I wrote a very nice story, at least he thought so,about a bright blue Blumaroo that became famous for growing amazing crops. I think it was corn, or perhaps carrots. Anyway, I started selling these books to the Bookstore in Brightvale.

      Have you wondered why you have not heard of me, then? Well, I've always written things almost anonymous. I don't need fame. Ever seen that book about the yellow Bori digging? I helped him write that book. He couldn't seem to place the words on his own. After that, he became a good friend of mine. His name was Alec.

      Anyway, now I have a good life. I haven't been able to find Squiggle or Amanda again, but they might just turn up if I give them a chance. Who knows? I have made more friends, and a small neighborhood popped up around my original meadow den. I have also lost a lot of my bitterness; news friends have gotten it out of me. I feel way better then I did before now.

      And in case Squiggle or Amanda reads this, I just would like to say thank you for what you did. Without you, I might have still been the unhappy Bori, still waiting for a new owner. You changed my life for the better, and I really would like to thank you for that. It means quite a lot to me.

      Best Regards to you, reader. Thank you for taking the time to read a story of mine. You've brought a smile to this old Bori's face.

      -Dex, A Bori

The End