You follow the Acara to the children section. The Acara searches one of the shelves.
-"I haven't seen you in my shop before. Are you new on Mystery Island?"
-"Yes, I've just moved here, miss..?"
-"Oh, I'm sorry, my name is Rising Star Eavan, but you can call me Star."
-"I'm guest, pleased to meet you."



The Acara takes a book from the shelf.
-"How about this one? 'Baby Gelert Pop Up Book'. It's a story about a baby Gelert on a big adventure. It's a perfect bedtime story book."
You look at the book and think.
-"It's not exactly what I'm looking for. It's a bit childish. This Aisha likes to think she's a real grown up girl."
-"We'll just keep looking."
The Acara puts the book away and turns to a different shelf.

-"So, is she your Aisha?"
-"No, I do own lovely Neopets, but not that Aisha. One of my Neopets is invited to her birthday party. And because they're too young to go shopping, I'm buying the present for them."
-"I see. I hope your Neopet has a nice day at the party."
-"I'm sure they will, they're a real party animal."
Star smiles and keeps on looking. You look around in the shop. It's not what you had expected it to be. It's really light with lots of windows everywhere. Everything looks modern and brand new.



-"guest, how about this book? 'Baby Buzz Book'. It's about a young Buzz and it has many pictures in it."
-"No, that's not it either. She's kind of scared of insects. I don't think she would like reading about one."
-"But we are getting close?"
-"Yes, that's almost it."

Star turns to another shelf and starts searching again. Again you look around you. Behind the counter on the wall hangs a picture of a beautiful underwater scene.
-"Where's that picture taken?"
You point at the picture. Star turns around and looks at the wall.
-"That's Save Harbor, my place of birth. Once it was an Island, but now it lies on the bottom of the sea."
Star looks sad.
-"What's wrong?"
You look at her face and you see tears in her eyes.
-"Oh, it's nothing."
She wipes the tears away and turns to a shelf. The look in her eyes made you curious. The Acara turns to you again.



-"And this book? It's called 'A is for Aisha' and it's a perfect pre-reading exercise for any young Neopet. But you could also read it to her."
-"It's perfect! Thank you! I'm sure she'll love it!"



You walk to the counter with her. While Star is busy with the register, you think about how you're going to make her tell you more about the Island on the picture. You figure that if you ask about the story of her life, she has to tell you something. Star finishes her work on the register and starts wrapping the book in an Aisha-printed gift wrapper.

-"Anything else?"
-"I'd like to hear the story of your life", you say.
-"Okay, I will tell you. But it's a rather long story, so why
don't you sit down, guest?"

The story of my life



You sit down in a soft blue chair.
-"The first part is neither complete nor detailed, but I will tell you it how I remember it...

The first thing I remember is two voices whispering to each other. It sounded like: '...Pasjrya... Kothrei... Aingale'. This is Acarish and in English it would be something like: ...baby ...daughter ...angel. Than I remember lots of noise and suddenly a loud scream. A voice was yelling: 'Patka, Patka!!!'
Then silence...
Then I went through a really happy time with a warm voice talking about Sauvehabora or Save Harbor. I now know that's the name of the Island I lived on...

Suddenly the weather changed. I remember that I struggled against something big and blue. Then I got hold of something green and I fell in a deep sleep...



When I woke up, I was lying on a beach in some seaweed. I was afraid and hid in the bushes. There I stayed for a long time, too afraid to come out, living on the pineapples that grow there. All day I listened to the voices of the other Neopets on the beach, but I was too scared to talk to them. I found out I was on Mystery Island...

One day when I was sleeping in the bushes, a baby Kougra discovered me. I was talking in my sleep: 'Mommy, Mommy!' The baby Kougra tapped on my back with his paws.. I woke up, saw the Kougra and ran away. The Kougra looked at me as I struggled through the bushes. He said: 'Where Mommy?' I stood still and looked at him. He pointed to a little striped figure at the horizon. 'My Mommy.' The figure came closer. I heard her calling: 'Kahn, where are you? We're going home!' The baby Kougra ran out of the bushes and jumped into his mother's arms. 'Mommy, I'm here!', he said. His mother gave him a big hug and they walked away...

The words of the Kougra made me think. I remembered two faces, a dark blue and a sky blue Acara, both with star dotted fur, smiling at me. Then I remembered the dark blue Acara disappearing. I realized my father was dead. But I had a Mommy! I knew what to do. I began training myself. I had to be stronger and faster. I spent days teaching myself how to swim. But it worked: I grew strong enough to leave Mystery Island and go looking for my Mommy!

I jumped into the blue waves and immediately I felt that I belonged there. My paws seemed to be made for swimming and I raced through the water. While training I had figured out that Save Harbor had to be East of Mystery Island, about six miles off coast. I swam as hard as I could, but after six miles I stopped. There was nothing there. I looked around but I only saw blue water. I couldn't even see the coastline of Mystery Island. I got so depressed that my inner compass stopped working...

So I floated around for days, hungry and tired. And not once I had land in sight. Hungry Jetsam surrounded me and I didn't even try to ward them off. It was no use: I didn't have anything left to live for. I fainted because of the lack of food...



When I awoke, I saw a pirate Eyrie looking at me. 'Arrgh matey, how're ya doing? Ya muss be glad ya reminded the old Je'sam Marcy of her lost daughter. She brought ya to Krawk Island, ya poor thing. I'm cap'n Threelegs, cap'n of the Swashbucklers Academy. And ye are?' I told him I didn't know. My glitchy memory hadn't left me a name. I explained him what had happened to me. 'I see, matey', the captain replied. 'I'll help ya find ya Mommy. Ya can train fer free at me Academy. I'll ask me visitors if they know ya Mommy.' I thanked him and he showed me around his Academy...

The next three months I spent training with my first real friend. He fed me and offered me a bed in his house. He even changed his training schedules so he could train me personally and he spent all his spare time with me. I learned a lot those days, both physical and emotionally. I learned not to be afraid of strange and new things and I learned that it's ok to talk about your fears. But the best thing he taught me was how to love somebody...

Captain Threelegs asked all of the visitors of his Academy if they knew a sky blue stardotted female Acara who had lived on an Island called Save Harbor. But no one ever did. I got sad and lost all my hope...



Then a young blue Uni visited the Academy. Again the captain asked the question. But this time the answer was: 'Yes, I do. And I recognize you. I was just a baby Uni lost above the sea when I saw you. You and your Mommy sat on a small Island while the water level was rising. The Island would soon disappear in the sea and your Mommy tried to save you. But you were just a baby and you couldn't swim. A big wave pulled you into the sea. Your Mommy dove after you and managed to bring you to the surface. There she lay you on a pile of seaweed and you floated away. A big wave covered your Mommy and she sank to the bottom. She got trapped in the seaweed. I'm sorry, kiddo, but she never reached the surface again. There was nothing I could do. I was just a lost baby trapped in the storm.'
I cried, long and hard. The captain thanked the Uni for me and brought me to my room. I couldn't stop crying. Finally I stopped and I fell in a deep sleep...

I slept for two whole days. Then the captain woke me up. 'I'm sorry matey, but ya've slept long enough. Ya have to go on with yer live, even though ye're an orphan now. Ye have to decide what ye wanna do.' I wiped my nose and nodded...

The next few days I spent most of my time talking with the blue Uni who appeared to be named Sarah. She told me she was sent here by her owner to train her defence. I asked her what an owner was. She explained it to me and told me she really loved hers. I asked if she could show me where the Island once was. She said she'd love to. We decided to go next morning...

The next morning I said goodbye to the captain and climbed on Sarah's back. We flew a while above the sea and we crossed over Mystery Island. Then she flew low above the water surface and I slid off her back into the water. Sarah told me the Island should be right underneath me and promised me she would wait here for my return. I took a deep breath and dove...


It was magnificent! The cool water on my skin and all the bright coloured fish made me daze, but also made me sad. This was the water my Mommy died in. I swam to the bottom and there I found the Island. I looked around on my coral covered place of birth. In the middle of the Island stood a wooden sign saying Save Harbor. I swam to a big sea flower field and gathered some of them. I made a bouquet of them and lay them near the sign. Then I swam to the surface. I climbed on Sarah's back and we flew away. I cried a little and Sarah wisely kept quiet. We flew back over Mystery Island. Suddenly a strong wind came up and knocked me off of Sarah's back. I fell to the ground with dazzling speed and landed with a blast in some thorn bushes. Everything turned black...



When I opened my eyes I lay on a bamboo bed in a bedroom with some basic furniture. I looked around and noticed a girl next to the bed. 'Thank heavens you woke up! I was afraid you weren't going to make it. Are you all right?' I nodded and looked at the patches on my body. 'You're covered in scratches', she continued, 'and you have a black eye. You have to stay in bed for a couple of days. But how did you get so wounded?' I told here the story of my life.
-'So you have nowhere to go, then? You could stay with me if you want to. I'd love to be your owner. You could live with me in my little house. It's not much, but it's home.' I said I'd love to live with her, but I had to let Sarah know how I was doing. 'That's ok', she said, 'I'll help you look for her. I'm Jera, by the way. What's your name?'
I told her I didn't have one. People had always called me matey or kiddo. 'I will call you Rising Star. Rising because you've always climbed up when you had sunken to the bottom. And I bet you already know why I would call you Star.' Jera smiled and pointed at my star dotted fur. 'But for short I will call you Star.' I thanked her for giving me a name and fell asleep again, glad I had a home now...

When I awoke I looked into the face of a blue Uni. 'Hello kiddo, Jera has found me and told me everything. So you're called Star now. I hope you'll be happy with your new owner. I have to go back to mine.' Sarah started to walk to the door, but stopped halfway. 'Oh yes, I'm so sorry I let you fall off my back. I hope you're not hurt badly.' I told her I would be fine and thanked her for her great help. Then she left for her owner. Jera gave me a big hug and for the first time in my live I felt at home...

So this is the story of my live. Not quite boring or dull, don't you think? Any more questions?"
-"Do you have a petpet?", you ask.
-"Yes, I have a Catamara. I didn't buy it, though. There's another long story there. Would you like to hear it?"
-"Yes, please."

-"Alright, but first have a cookie."
You look into the cookie jar she holds in front of you and take a cream covered Acara cookie out. Star starts her story...



Catamara

-"So from then on I lived with Jera. We did almost everything together. Only when she had to clean up our house I had to play alone. Then I usually walked 'round Mystery Island and played with other young Neopets such as the baby Kougra Kahn. But sometimes Jera would give me some Neopoints to buy a ticket for the ferry to Krawk Island. There I visited the captain and received a free training. And the first Saturday of every month Sarah came to visit me...

One morning Jera told me she had to clean up the house and I had to play alone. We ate breakfast together and I told her I'd go for a morning walk. I left the house and set course for the volleyball field to see if there were any Neopets awake yet. At the field I ran into Kahn. We chatted a while and played a little game of volleyball. Then we agreed on meeting each other that afternoon at the Rock Pool to go looking for seashells...



The Rock Pool actually is a petpetshop owned by a rather grumpy old Kougra called Grunch. He hated young Neopets and never let any youngster into his shop. The bright blue bay behind the shop also was his property and everywhere around it was a fence with signs saying 'Keep out!'. But the bay was just perfect for swimming and treasure- and seashell hunts, so everyone always tried to sneak in and play. And so did we...

I went home and had lunch with Jera. Then I went to the Rock Pool. I snuck past the shop but noticed there was no one there. I climbed over the fence and walked to the water. At the waterline Kahn was making a sandcastle. I helped him and went looking for some seashells to decorate our castle with. We finished the castle and played 'princess and knight' for a while with the dolls we carried with us...

Suddenly we heard a loud scream: 'Help!' We jumped on our feet and looked around to see where the noise was coming from. It looked like the noise came out of the water, but the Rock Pool was well known to have lots of caves underwater with air in them. I said to Kahn he had to get help while I would try to reach the help seeker underwater. Kahn ran away and I dove into the blue waves...

I looked in all sorts of caves and used my horns to detect the screaming. I heard the noise again and swam into a cave. Inside the cave I found Grunch sitting on a rock in a dry part of the cave. 'Get me out of here! The water level is rising! Soon the entire cave will be filled with water! My paw's stuck!' I climbed onto the rock and tried to pull out his paw. Bit by bit it came lose. We took a deep breath and dove...

I reached the beach of the Rock Pool with Grunch on my back. He couldn't swim because his paw was broken. On the beach stood an ambulance waiting for him and the nurses immediately brought Grunch inside. They gave me a blanket and pushed me in too. Grunch said to me: 'Thanks for saving me. Now you probably want a reward, don't you? Ok, you can pick one petpet from my shop for free. But just one!' Then the ambulance brought us to the training school where the nurses took care of Grunch. I got a patch on a little cut I had and they sent me home...



But before I went home I went back to the Rock Pool. There I assured Kahn that I was fine and I went into the shop to pick my very first petpet. There were so many, I just couldn't choose. I looked in all the bowls and felt helpless. Suddenly a white Catamara jumped out of her bowl and sang. I walked to her bowl and listened to her beautiful voice. Then I picked up the bowl and went home...



Because of all the things that had happened that day, it had gotten very late already and I was home late. Jera was waiting for me: 'Where have you been! I was worried sick!' I told her what happened and showed her my Catamara. 'Are you alright now?' I nodded. 'How brave of you to go looking for Grunch. Have you thought of a name for your Catamara yet?' I told her I had no idea yet, but was thinking about it. We ate dinner (Starfish Pizza!) and went to bed...

In the middle of the night I woke up because I heard a strange noise. I looked around and saw that my Catamara was jumping in and out of her bowl, which I had placed on my drawer. The silvery moonlight fell through the window onto her bowl. I got out of bed and closed the curtains.. The Catamara stopped jumping. I opened them again and she started jumping again. Then I knew what her name should be: Kinnami, Japanese for moonlight! I named her after the thing she loved the most. I went to bed again and fell asleep...

The next morning I told Jera what the Catamara's name would be and why. Then I asked her if we could make a little pond in our garden so Kinnami could swim outside in the moonlight all night. Jera promised me to buy one and Kinnami now lives happily in her own pond."



Star smiles. "Tea?"
She shows you a box with all kinds of tea in it.
You pick the Strawberry Butter Tea.
Star walks to the little kitchen and prepares your tea.
She comes back with a beautiful cup and gives it to you.
You take a sip.
Suddenly your eye falls on a bowl in the corner.
-"Was that a Water Faerie?"
-"Yes, that's Siren. She's my petpet's Water Faerie."
-"Where can you get one of those?"
-"At Sylvan Forest. I discovered the place by accident. Wanna hear the story?"
You nod and take
another sip of your delicious tea...

Siren

-"On Mystery Island it's summer all year long, but Jera wanted to show me what beautiful colours the fall could bring. She saved up some Neopoints to take me on a holiday next fall. She went to a travel agency to pick the perfect location for our surprise holiday. When she came home, she carried a flyer of a beautiful hotel called The Royal Neopian in Meridell with her.
-'Star, I have a surprise for you! We're going on a holiday this fall!'
I jumped out of the chair I was sitting in and danced through the room. When I calmed down I climbed next to Jera on the couch and together we looked through the flyer.

The week before we left for Meridell we went shopping. I got all sorts of new clothes and items. We bought a special travelling bowl for my Catamara so she could come too.

Finally it was the day of our departure. The night before I couldn't sleep because I was so excited. We packed up our things in two suitcases and took the first ferry to Krawk Island. From there we took a big boat to Meridell. We picked up the key to our room at the reception and unpacked our stuff.

The next day we ate a lovely county breakfast and went for a walk through Meridell. We took a picnic basket with us, so that we could stay away all day. I enjoyed all the pretty coloured leaves and the mushrooms on the ground.

When we got back at the hotel that evening we decided to ask a farmer if he could drive us further into the forest with his carriage the next day. We informed at the reception who to ask and after dinner we went to his farm. The farmer agreed on picking us up next morning at 9.00 a.m.

Next morning the kind farmer drove us far into the forest and told us he would pick us up at the little river we could see through the trees at 5.00 p.m.
We started walking and enjoyed the fresh air and nice colours. I had brought Kinnami the Catamara with me in her travelling bowl so she could see the beautiful nature too. We were already walking for a while when suddenly Kinnami jumped out of her bowl and pointed in a direction. We looked in the direction she pointed to and saw a little bright figure disappearing into some bushes. We followed it through the bushes. It seemed like the bright figure was a miniature human with wings. It flew fast in front of us, avoiding trees and bushes.

We had to walk faster and faster to catch up with it and eventually we started running. Suddenly the little figure made a quick right turn and disappeared behind a thick tree. We ran around the tree and found a little pond behind it. The figure landed on a leaf and we carefully approached it. It was a little light faerie! She sat down on the leaf and folded her wings. We looked at her and amazed ourselves about her beauty and grace.



Suddenly someone tapped on my shoulder. I turned around and saw a faerie Ixi.
-'Hi, welcome to the Faerie Pond. I'm Dancing Nymph, the caretaker of the pond. Who are you?' I introduced Jera, Kinnami and myself and told her how we got here.
-'Oh, what a nice coincidence! This is a place where lots of faeries live. I take care of them and make sure nothing will happen to them. I love all the faeries very much!'



We talked a while about her beautiful faeries. I let Kinnami out of her bowl and she jumped into the pond. All day we stayed at the pond and learned a lot about faeries.

Jera looked at her watch.
-'Half past three already! We have to go back or we'll miss our carriage!' We said goodbye and I put Kinnami back into her bowl. Suddenly one of the water faeries started to sing a beautiful but sad song. Dancing Nymph walked towards her and listened to her little voice.
-'She doesn't want Kinnami to leave. You may take her with you if you want to.' Jera and I discussed it and decided to take her. We put the faerie in Kinnami's bowl.
-'What's this faerie's name?', Jera asked. Dancing Nymph said some strange words to the faerie and the faerie replied.
-'Her name is Siren.' We thanked the Ixi and went back to the meeting point.



So that's how I got Siren. Would you like another cookie, guest?"
-"Yes please."
You look into the cookie jar and pick a chocolate chip cookie.
-"Do you still see your friends very often?"

-"Of course, we do everything together. Only Captain Threelegs I don't see very often. But then again, he lives on a different Island." She hands you some pictures. "This is my family at the moment. They all have a different story of life, not one of them is similar to mine. I love them all very much. Let me introduce them...

Family

Yokemi



This is my younger sister Yokemi. She's not the easiest person to live with. She thinks she's a princess, but I don't believe her. Jera is not very strict with her, 'cause Yokemi isn't used to doing things around the house. Sometimes I wish she would punish Yokemi more often, 'cause she can be a real pain in the neck.

Tiwaz



This is my other younger sister! Jera found her in our backyard one day. She loves to play hide and seek with my brother Dratho. She is very fond of her Taelia Collection and her treehouse. Her greatest hobby is looking after Dratho.

Dratho



This is my baby brother Dratho. Tiwaz takes care of him mostly. He really loves her! He can't wait to be old enough to fight in the battledome. He's training already! Jera says he has to wait a lot more years, but what she really means is that she doesn't want him to go fighting."

About Star

A girl enters the shop and sits with you.
-"Hello, Star! I see you have a customer. I hope you're not boring them to death with stories about you."
She shakes your hand.
-"I'm Jera.
Here's a short recap of Star. It takes a lot less time."
She shows you a piece of paper. It says:

Rising Star Eavan



73480 Hours Old
Level 37
Strength: 59
Move: 40
Defence: 51
Hp: 0 Out Of 40
Intelligence: 110
57 Battles Played
24 Battles Won
28 Battles Lost
5 Battles Drawn
Battledome Score: 201441

You look on your watch.
-"Four o'clock already?! I've got to go!"
You get up and gather your things.
-"Thank you for the tea, the cookies and the lovely stories you've told me."
Rising Star smiles.
-"You're very welcome."
-"I almost forgot, I haven't paid for the book yet!"
You look embarrassed.
-"You don't have to. See it as a gift from me to you for listening to my stories."
-"But..."
-"No buts. I hope the Aisha likes it."
-"Thank you!"
You shake her paw.
-"It's nothing. Come back any time!"
You leave the shop as the Acara watches you. You look behind you and wave at your new friend. In your mind you promise Rising Star you'll visit her again soon.

Thanks!

I'm using this space on the site to thank everyone who helped me making this site.
I want to thank la_duck, a former site spotlight winner, for showing me lissaexplains. On that site I found lots of useful and fun html to put on my site. I also like to thank Kattrish for showing me how to create multiple pages on only one page.

Awards!

These are the awards I've won for this site. Thanks to everyone who made the awards and looked at my page.



Gold Award





I won the sitespotlight! Yippee! ^_^
I'm sorry, but I just can't stop screaming and dancing! Thanks to all you guys who helped me! For more personal thank words, look at the 'Thanks!' section of this page! Yippee!

Best Page Award

Some formal things

Now a little warning: No one is allowed to copy and/or use my stories or pictures for other purposes than private use without my permission.

And finally a message: If you have found anything on this site that you claim as yours and you don't want it to be there, neomail me and we'll talk about what to do with it.
I tried to contact everyone involved with my stories about my site, but it wasn't always possible. If you are involved, but not contacted, please neomail me.