Sanity is forbidden Circulation: 193,894,417 Issue: 722 | 4th day of Running, Y18
Home | Archives Articles | Editorial | Short Stories | Comics | New Series | Continued Series
 

Underwater


by peronalodis

--------

      I'm Filia, and I'm a water Lutari who's lived her entire life in a network of caves deep under the ocean. I've never seen the sky, or the sun, or other people—except for my mum, but that one is a given for most kids, isn't it? I sleep in a bed of warm, blue sponge—magic, no doubt—and go fishing once a week with my mum for what she calls the "necessities." I play with various things my mum says come from the "surface," and occasionally the odd plushie that pops up in the fishing hole. I have a collection, although I have a bad habit of getting tired of new toys quickly.

      One of my favorite things to do is go exploring the caverns. It's new every day; I never see the same room twice, unless I want to, and I can't get lost. I don't spend all my time exploring, though; a lot of the time I talk with my mum and draw the things she writes about. That's one of my most favorite things to do.

      My mum has this huge collection of books, all handwritten, none with "proper covers," all stacked up in the Paper Room. That's where we spend the most "mother daughter time," and where she tells me about places I've never been and things we've never seen. I like to draw the things in her stories: Eyries (I've seen plushies) with fur and feathers the color of maractite; giant Pfish and monsters called "Kraken" that she insists don't actually exist (I think they do); pirates, things she describes as being "people who like pretending to be scary," and "actually really tough though," and with "swords like mine and jewelry they never wear." I like the pirates, but my favorite thing I've drawn is the wingless blue Faerie that looks like a Maraquan Neopet, but isn't. (I've seen plushies of Maraquans and Faeries too.) My mum calls her a "mermaid." She says mermaids are different from Water Faeries, but I don't see how.

      Another thing I do, late at night when the crystal-stars are brightest, is point out pictures in the patterns on the ceilings. It's different every night, so it never gets old; I like to find things and draw them, then my mum hangs them on the walls around the Paper Room. She likes to keep track of my progress. She says some of the things I draw look exactly like she remembers them.

      My mum says she used to live up there, above the ocean. She says it's nice, but she never tells me where it is. I've gone looking, but I've never seen anything but cave. I don't mind, really, but sometimes I can't help being curious. All Mum's stories come from up there, so you can't really blame me, right?

~*~

      The other night, my mum did something...weird.

      It's not like neither of us had ever had nightmares before, but that night was... different. I'd been up already, because I was trying to work out a drawing of her and that Eyrie and the Faerie and these two other people she'd told me about—a Cybunny and a Kougra—for her upcoming birthday. She was turning six years old; that's 2,190 days! I'm only 94 days old. I wonder if she can remember being my age at all?

      Anyways, I was just adding the finishing touches to the Kougra's front left paw when Mum yelped and twisted around so fast she was off the ground for a moment. I stopped drawing.

      Mum's bed isn't far from mine. Like mine, it's in a little alcove in the wall, and it's also filled with magic sponge and blankets for the cold season—but it's bigger. If I'd jumped that high, I'd have smacked my head on the low ceiling. As it was, Mum was smack-free and still asleep, which left her to start mumbling worriedly. She put her paws on her Eventide ears and wrapped her big, fluffy Xwee tail around her body, whimpering.

      I set my paper aside and started over to her. She didn't get nightmares very much, but I knew from the times I'd awoken from one with her arms around me that you can't leave someone like that; it would be heartless.

      Still, I'd never seen her like that before. Was...was she okay? Her eyes were wet. Her paws were still clutching her ears; that couldn't have been good for the emerald earrings implanted there. "Mill..." she groaned, much to my confusion.

      I put my hand gently on her shoulder. "Mum?"

      The reaction was instant. My mother's soft, familiar paws lashed out as sharp weapons, claws I didn't know existed unsheathing to find their enemy. I pulled back in time, stumbling back until my back reached a wall. I slid to the floor and squeaked when Mum leaped up and drew the long cutlass from her bedside. She whipped it around a few times, eyes wide open and bloodshot, before her breathing finally began to slow, and her arm lowered.

      She still looked confused, but less...scary. She blinked around at the air above and around me. "Jurgis?" she whispered, more under her breath than anything. She closed her eyes for a moment. "Mng. Bo-Boro...No. Ung. Um..."

      Now it looked like she was just tired. The tip of the cutlass was on the floor. I braved, "Mum?" my voice higher and squeakier than I'd intended.

      Mum's eyes snapped open, and for a second I was terrified she would brandish her sword at me again. Fortunately (or maybe not so fortunately), she instead opted to drop the cutlass—

      Clang!

      —on the cold, hard ground. It resonated there as she clearly took in what had happened and started apologizing frantically. "Oh, my dear, I'm so sorry. I-I didn't mean to—are you hurt? Filia, look at me—are you okay? Oh, no... Give Mum a hug."

      She didn't exactly give me a choice in the matter, but I accepted her hug, melting into her arms almost literally as she stroked my head and whispered more apologies. "Mum," I finally whispered back, "I'm fine. A-are you okay?"

      Mum stopped talking when I said that. We sat there a moment, unmoving, until finally she nodded; I felt her chin bob against the top of my head. "Just a bad dream."

      I've said that before. I tried to remember what she told me whenever I had a bad dream. "...It's just a story," I said quietly.

      She laughed, high and light, like water over crystal. "Hm... No, you're right. It is a story. And you know what we do with stories..?" I gasped, turning my head up so fast that my ear dripped away for a moment. She smiled. "Tomorrow, why don't we both paper our dreams?"

      "But I didn't have a nightmare," I told her.

      "Ah, but good dreams are stories too, you know."

      "Oh. Right." That should've been obvious, in retrospect.

      Later, I asked mum what her dream was about, but she told me not to worry about it. I don't want to, so I'll try not to. Hopefully, it was just like my giant Pfish dreams, and it'll go away. I don't want Mum to be scared. She's not scared of anything: Not the dark, not the water, not being alone—nothing.

~*~

      So that's my life. I wonder what yours is like? Like I said earlier: I haven't found a way to the surface yet, but I'm still looking. It's not a big thing, really, but I'm curious if the fishing hole leads anywhere. If you get this, then, well, I guess it does.

      Send something back? I'd love to hear it.

      The End.

 
Search the Neopian Times




Great stories!


---------

Water Faerie and the Healing Springs: No Cost Cures
Most days on neopets, things can go pretty smoothly. You take care of your pets like any good owner would do, yet all it takes is for one single outcome to change the schedule of things from normal to haywire. One moment you can be taking your pet(s) exploring and then all of a sudden, you turn to look at your neopet and what's that, bud? You are sick with Hoochie Coochies? What in the world? How can that be?

by hkequeen

---------

Adventures in Mystery Island
Dappletail, a young female Glowing Uni, woke up. It was a beautiful blue-skied day in Mystery Island, her home, and she could smell the ocean breeze coming in from her opened window. Looking outside it, the palms swayed in the breeze and there were even a few wild Taigars running about.

by dunefurandlilypelt

---------

Gorgeous Gelert Items
Gelerts are quite popular Neopets, and with good reason. They are extremly loyal, once you have earned their friendship, they will never leave your side. Gelerts are also very brave and would never hesitate to save their friends and owners from danger. But they`re mostly peaceful creatures who love to play

by aleu1986

---------

Baelia's Burdens #3
Anyone would feel left out in her position.

Also by alexipharmic

by certifiabletrash




Submit your stories, articles, and comics using the new submission form.