Usuki Singing Stars #19: The Return of Jelly Welly

"Here we are!" Sparkles cheered as she approached the Money Tree. The pink Bruce looked at the piles of toys, trinkets and other knickknacks that other Neopians had placed underneath the majestic tree that smiled and waved as Sparkles and Cuddles approached it.

     Cuddles pulled his red wagon to a halt, and smiled over at his little cousins, who were nestled inside. "Look at where we are, guys!" said the snow Bruce, pointing to the Money Tree. "We're at the Money Tree; where Neopians can find new things to take home!"

     Jhoud clapped his hands. "I can't wait to find new toys to bring home!"

     Ani nodded. "Finding new toys will be so much fun!" The baby Korbat peered over the wagon and scanned the surrounding areas for any toys that caught her eye.

     Sparkles smiled at Ani, who had just recently been painted baby with a Baby Paint Brush Auntie Lei had stored in her safety deposit box. She's such a sweet little baby! she thought as Ani pointed out a toy to Jhoud.

     "Look at that!" said Ani. "It's a rattle shaped like a Noil's head."

     "Wow!" said Jhoud. The baby Aisha tried leaning forward to grab the shiny, yellow and orange rattle. After realizing that the rattle was too far away, Jhoud turned to Cuddles and asked, "Cuddles, can you please get me that Noil rattle over there?"

     "Are you okay, little Jhoudie?" asked Cuddles. "Do you need a new diaper?"

     Jhoud shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I was just wondering if you can get me that nice rattle from–"

     "Hey Sparkles, do you know what Jhoud's trying to say?" asked Cuddles. "I think he wants a bottle, but then I'm wondering if he's just fussy."

     "I'm a little too busy now, Cuddles," Sparkles said as she inspected a pile of torn plushies. After she was done looking through the tattered toys, she approached a cardboard box and opened it, surprised by what was inside. With a wide smile on her face, Sparkles pulled out an Illusen doll from the box and ran to show it to Cuddles and her cousins.

     Cuddles took the doll and examined it. "What's this?"

     "It's an Illusen doll," Sparkles explained. "She's in really good shape, too!"

     Ani waved her arms towards the doll. "Ooh, I wanna hold it!" As soon as Cuddles handed her the doll, Ani hugged it tightly and said, "She's perfect! I wanna show Mommy this right away!"

     "Then she's yours," Sparkles declared.

     Jhoud looked at the doll and asked Ani, "So what will you name her?"

     "I don't know," said Ani. She looked at the doll's face and thought carefully. "Maybe I'll just call her Dolly."

     "Well, it is an Illusen doll," Sparkles pointed out. "Why not just call her Illusen?"

     "Yeah," said Jhoud. "You should call her Illusion!"

     "Or Jhoud!" Cuddles suggested.

     Ani shook her head and hugged her doll more tightly. "No, I wanna give her a prettier name! Like... like Ellie!"

     "Elle's a really nice name," Sparkles said in a smile.

     "Then Ellie she will be," said Ani. She looked at her new doll's face again and said, "Do you like your name, Ellie? I know you do!"

     Cuddles grabbed the wagon's handle and began to walk away. As the four-some trudged through the piles of junk and other donated items, a young blue Usul watched as Ani hugged her Ellie again. "Jelly Welly?" the Usul gasped. "Is that you?"

     ***

     "Ellie is my new best dolly!" Ani cheered as she crawled onto the red picnic blanket. She looked up at the bright blue sky and pointed out a passing cloud to her doll.

     Jhoud crawled over to Cuddles Jr, his beloved snow Bruce plushie. "I can't wait for Sparkles to bring us our bottles," he said to Ani. "I hope my milk is made of chocolate!"

     "I hope she brings a bottle for Ellie," said Ani. She looked up and smiled when she saw Sparkles and Cuddles walking towards them.

     "Hi guys," said Cuddles. He sat down next to Jhoud and handed him a purple rattle. "Sparkles and I can't wait to picnic in your guys' backyard!"

     "Umm, Cuddles... this is our backyard," Sparkles pointed out.

     "Is it ours now?" asked Ani.

     "And where's my chocolate milk?" asked Jhoud.

     Sparkles smiled and handed each cousin a baby bottle full of milk. Despite his bottle being filled with white milk, Jhoud happily drank his bottle while Cuddles and Sparkles ate sandwiches. After a moment, Sparkles looked up and noticed a young blue Usul peeking over from the fence that surrounded the backyard. "Look Cuddles," she said as she pointed to the Usul.

     The Usul coughed into his hand. "Excuse me, but I'd like to talk with you guys about something."

     "Like what?" Cuddles asked. "How adorable little Jhoudie is?"

     "Well, no," said the Usul. He pointed to Ani's Illusen doll and said, "My name is Parlat, and that doll over there is my Jelly Welly."

     Ani placed her bottle on the blanket and grabbed her doll by its arm. "She's not a Jelly Belly!" she insisted. "Her name is Ellie and she's mine!"

     "No, she's mine!" Parlat shouted. "I got her as a present from my Mommy and Daddy, and I want her back now!" He banged his fist against the fence.

     Sparkles glanced over at Ani and then at Parlat. "Cuddles," she said. "Why don't you take Ani and Jhoud inside for an indoor tea party while I talk to Parlat, okay?"

     "Yay, I love tea parties!" Ani cheered as Cuddles pick her and Jhoud up.

     As soon as Cuddles had left with the babies, Sparkles walked over to Parlat. "Now, what's all this about you and that... uh, 'Jelly Welly'?"

     Parlat sighed. "As soon as my parents gave me that doll, I declared that Jelly Welly was my bestest friend ever! We'd do everything together, and I'd always listen to Jelly Welly whenever she talked to me."

     "Okay..." said Sparkles. "But if you loved your toy so much, why would you send her to the Money Tree?"

     "It was actually my Momm–I mean, my Mom's idea," Parlat explained. "After I started to attend Neoschool, I began to feel a little silly for playing with Jelly Welly all the time. So I placed her and her bed in a box and put the box in my room. It wasn't until I saw that baby Korbat hugging her that I realized that Jelly Welly had been donated! My parents also told me they did it when I confronted them last night."

     Sparkles reached over and placed a hand on Parlat's shoulder. "Oh, you poor thing! Of course you'd want your beloved Illusen doll after seeing it in the arms of a baby pet, and I can understand why. You see, I too had something I really liked and I was so attached to it until... well, it wasn't until I saw how happy it made another pet and I realized that perhaps I should let it go rather than fight for it back, you know?"

     Parlat nodded and wiped his eyes. "You had a toy you loved, too?"

     "Well..." said Sparkles. "It was actually a sweater. It was really cute and went with almost all of my skirts, but then my sister Scary took it so now–" After noticing that Parlat was still sniffling, the pink Bruce cut her explanation short and grabbed the weeping Usul's hand. "Listen, I know that you loved your Jelly Welly very much, and perhaps you two had some really memorable times together. But if your parents decided to give her away to another pet that just might need her more than you do, then shouldn't you let her go? For her sakes?"

     Parlat nodded. "You're right. It would be the right thing for a big Usul like me to do. Still... would it be okay if I say a final goodbye before I go?"

     Sparkles nodded and led Parlat to her neohome and into the living room.

     "Hi, Sparkles!" Cuddles cheered, holding out a plate of graham crackers.

     Parlat stepped forward and knelt down to Ani, who was playing with Ellie. He reached over to touch the Illusen doll's face. "Goodbye, Jelly Welly," he whispered, tears running down his cheeks. He stood up and watched as Ani waved her doll's arm at him.

     "She's saying goodbye," said Ani. "And if you ever want to see her again, you can come visit us anytime."

     Jhoud crawled over to Parlat. "Want a free bonnet?" he asked, pointing to a frilly white bonnet that lay beside Cuddles Jr.

     "Jhoud! I made that for you!" Sparkles exclaimed.

     "Ellie says she wants more doll clothes!" said Ani.

     "Who wants a graham cracker?" Cuddles shouted above everyone else.

     Parlat smiled and left as the four pets shouted at one another for various reasons he didn't understand. He looked over at Ani and Ellie one more time and whispered, "Goodbye for now, Jelly Welly." Sparkles and Cuddles were still shouting with their cousins as Parlat closed the front door and walked back towards his home.

The End