Reporting live from Neopia Circulation: 195,390,322 Issue: 849 | 30th day of Storing, Y20
Home | Archives Articles | Editorial | Short Stories | Comics | New Series | Continued Series
 

The Brave Little Coconut


by unfogging

--------

     Hi! My name’s Jekkoh, but you can call me Jekk for short.

     I know what you might be thinking. Did that coconut just talk to me? Yup, I did!

     You see, I’m not just a regular coconut. I’m a coconut JubJub! I can do all the things a regular JubJub can do, despite my edible appearance. (Please don’t try to eat me, by the way.) Like most JubJubs, I enjoy singing, dancing, rolling around, and just being adorable in general. I’ve earned the nickname “The Chatty Coconut” on Mystery Island due to the fact that I will talk to anybody about anything.

     But being a coconut isn’t the only thing that makes me special. I’m also special because I am brave. Want to know why? I have a story for you.

     It was evening time, and the sun was setting over the ocean. My best friend, Kai, and I had just finished a game of beach volleyball. As usual, I had won, and was bragging to Kai just a bit. He was pulling a sour but still good-natured face and mumbling about how he would “get me next time.” Kai, a red Mynci, had been my best friend for as long as I could remember.

     Suddenly, our friend Lily ran up to us. Lily is an island Xweetok who always has flowers tied into her fur and a smile on her face.

     “Kai, Jekk, we have a problem!” she said, panting. Her face was red and sweaty, as if she had been running for a while.

     “What’s wrong, Lily?” Kai asked, alarmed. He set the volleyball down in the sand.

     “Jhuidah!” she gasped. “The island faerie. She’s missing. I went to go to the cooking pot but…she was gone. Where could she have gone?”

     Kai and I looked at each other, immediately understanding why Lily was so distraught. Jhuidah was popular across the entire island, of course. But her and Lily were especially close. Lily was a dancer and waitress at the local tiki bar, and she and Jhuidah were always working on new recipes together. She and Lily were responsible for some of Neopia’s best recipes, including my personal favorite, the Jelly Doughnut Smoothie.

     “It’ll be ok Lily,” I said, walking over to her. Kai followed me. “Do you remember where you last saw her? Or the last things you guys talked about?”

     Lily thought for a moment, her face contemplative. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something important. “The volcano,” she whispered, her mouth barely moving.

     “What?” Kai asked.

     “The volcano!” Lily repeated, a little louder. “Jhuidah and I were talking about ideas for new recipes. She was telling me that she wanted to try something really different, unlike anything that had been made at the cooking pot before. She mentioned trying to find some exotic ingredients at the volcano. Some sort of ash or obsidian thing. She thought she could use them to create something really powerful.”

     Kai and I exchanged worried glances. We knew Jhuidah could have some wacky ideas, but this sounded weirder than usual.

     “But I told her it was a bad idea,” Lily continued. “I told her it was dangerous. We argued about it, and I stormed off. I didn’t think she would…” Lily trailed off, looking nauseous.

     The volcano. Mystery Island’s volcano had been dormant for ages, but it was always rumored that it could come back and erupt at any moment. It was extremely dangerous. But despite the danger, I knew what I had to do.

     “I’ll find her,” I found myself saying.

     Kai, who had been comforting Lily, looked at me sharply. “What?” he asked.

     “Oh Jekk, thank you!” Lily squealed, hugging me.

     “No way, Jekk, it’s too dangerous,” Kai said. Kai had always been very protective of me. For example, even though I don’t often get made fun of, there are still those who pick of anybody who is different. Being a coconut, I’m pretty different. He defends me against hem, almost angrily sometimes.

     “Somebody has to do it,” I responded. “And I want to. Jhuidah has always been there for this island. Now we need to be there for her.”

     Kai and Lily were silent, staring at me. Lily had pure adoration in her eyes. Kai looked worried, but was keeping silent. I took their silence as permission to go. Before they could say anything else, I marched off towards the volcano. I was ready to save Jhuidah.

     It was a half-mile walk before I arrived at the volcano. At the base of the volcano, I started having second thoughts as I looked up at it from below. It was so huge. And I was just a small little coconut. The volcano could erupt at any minute. Could I really do this?

     But another voice inside told me Yes, Jekk, you can do it. You’re not a small little coconut. You’re a brave little coconut. Go and save your friend.

     Determinedly, I began marching up the side of the volcano, carefully navigating my way through the crevices and rocks. Occasionally, I yelled Jhuidah’s name, hoping to hear back from her. For a long time, it was silent. Suddenly, I approached a crater in the volcano that was deeper and wider than the others. And I heard a soft banging sound. Was there something – or someone – in there?

     “Jhuidah?” I yelled.

     “Help me!” I heard a faint voice yell back. Eagerly, I followed the sound of the voice, looking down into the pit. About 10 feet below me, I saw a pretty faerie with short, curly brown hair and bright pink wings staring up at me. It was Jhuidah! I had found her!

     “Jhuidah? It’s me, Jekk!” I yelled back.

     “Oh Jekk, thank goodness you are here!” she yelled. “I’m stuck! I was looking around for obsidian rocks and collecting volcano ash and I tripped and fell. Get me out! Please!”

     I looked around, searching for something to get her out. Nearby, I saw an old rope. The volcano was a popular spot for archaeologists and historians to investigate, and I figured it was probably left over from one of their expeditions. I lowered the rope to her, and steeled myself, helping pull her up. After a moment, Jhuidah’s face appeared, and she pulled herself over the side.

     “Oh Jekk, thank you so much!” she exclaimed, hugging me. I noticed jars of white ash at her hips, which she had collected onto a pouch. I had to smile; Jhuidah was a very determined and stubborn faerie.

     Suddenly, the ground beneath us began to shake. Jhuidah and I stumbled a bit, startled by the sudden movement. We felt the soil begin to grow hot on our feet. Seemingly in slow motion, we looked down at the ground, then back at each other.

     “Run!!!” Jhuidah yelled.

     We were running. I didn’t even think, I just ran. Somehow in the midst of my running, I managed to ask Jhuidah why she couldn’t fly us away. She told me her wings had been hurt in the fall. I looked behind me. Lava was rapidly approaching us, cascading down the hill.

     It was going to catch us if I didn’t do something. Frantically, I looked around, searching for anything that could help. I saw a long, flat piece of driftwood. Would that work? Only one way to find out, I thought.

     “Jhuidah, board!” I yelled, grabbing her hand and yanking both of us onto the board. I kicked us off with my feet. Next thing I knew, we were flying down the volcano’s side. Jhuidah was screaming. I was screaming. I was navigating the driftwood, avoiding any rocks or crevices that would slow us down. But the lava behind us was getting further and further away.

     We were at the bottom. We were safe. Jhuidah and I jumped off the driftwood, out of breath and fueled with adrenaline. Suddenly, a terrifying realization passed over me. “Jhuidah, the rest of the island! They aren’t ready for the volcano!” I said.

     “Way ahead of you,” Jhuidah said. Using her faerie magic, she conquered up a silvery spell and aimed it at the lava. Just like that, the trail stopped clear in its path. I gaped at her.

     “You could do that the whole time?” I asked. “Why didn’t you just do that in the first place? We were in danger!”

     Jhuidah looked at me. Amazingly, she was smiling. “Jekk, faerie magic works in a very particular way. We need to believe in our powers if we want to be able to use them. When I was stuck down there, I felt so alone and powerless. But seeing you act so brave, and seeing you save us reminded me of my own power. Because I believed in my own power again, I was able to use it.”

     She took her trademark pink flower out of her hair and handed it to me. “Here, wear this,” she said. “I wear this flower as a reminder of my personal growth and strength. Like this flower, I have been through a lot to blossom into who I am now. Today, I saw you do that, too.”

     Stunned, I took the flower, barely processing what was happening. Before I could respond, Jhuidah smiled at me one more time, flying off. I put the flower behind my ear, glowing with pride. In addition to saving Jhuidah, I had also rescued a part of myself.

     The volcano never erupted again, and I never doubted myself ever again.

     The End.

 
Search the Neopian Times




Great stories!


---------

Mynci Beach Volleyball
Step 1

By gollyitsirene and frankie8492

by gollyitsirene


---------

I'm a Faerie in a Bottle:Part Two
When we last left our travellers they had just heard a mysterious noise coming from within the jungle. They had discovered they were in a video game and were given 3 wisdoms to decipher in order to escape the island.

co-written with ___popo___

by grimmbones7


---------

Zur’s Zombie Roomate:Part Three
Noon eventually turned to evening, and the time for Ex’s dinner party had arrived.

by skittleskit09

---------

Being Devoted to One Species: It's a Good Thing!
So, is it a good thing to just be devoted to one species? I personally say yes and I will list the ways that it is a good thing.

by princessdiva7737



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