Of course, that was about to change.

She was sitting by the counter and reading The Neopian Times while sipping Black Cherry tea. She was perusing her favourite ongoing comic series, "The Adventures of Charlie and Ronnie," when the bell above her door twinkled merrily to indicate a customer had entered.

"Hello and welcome to Grella's Wonders," she said automatically as she put down the paper. The rest of her usual spiel hung on her lips as she caught her first look at the new customer.

He was a Blue Lupe with shifty nervous eyes and a barely noticeable twitch in his frame. He was dressed in an oversized coat with a large, dirty hat pulled low. In other words, he couldn't have looked more suspicious. He gave a nervous smile and hurried to the counter.

"I have something I want to sell," he said, and he placed an old book on the counter.

Grella's heart sank. Considering the Lupe's appearance and mannerisms, she had been expecting more than an old book that looked ready to disintegrate. "I'm sorry," she said, "I don't buy or sell books but there is a shop down..."

"I need to just get rid of it!" he interrupted, "Please."

Before Grella could say another word, the bell announced another customer as a showy Pink Lenny strolled in and made a beeline for the counter. The Lupe stepped back to give her room.

"Hello, Grella," the Lenny said, "Do you have any more of those darling Angelpuss figurines?"

"I'm afraid I don't yet, Miss Featherbottom," Grella answered, "But I might have some in by next week."

Miss Featherbottom sighed. "I suppose I'll have to come back then," she said, "Goodbye, Grella." With the same pompous energy, she left the store.

"Goodbye," Grella said as she left, and turned to talk to the Lupe only to find he had disappeared in the short time she had interacted with Miss Featherbottom - his book still lying on the counter.

Grella sighed loudly. "He'll probably be back," she said to herself as she looked at the book. The title, "The Curse" was emblazoned on the cover but there was no mention of an author. Curious, Grella opened the book to the first page..

Grella awoke in her bed a moment later. The sun was rising as if nothing had happened. She quickly threw the covers away and ran towards the mirror. Everything looked alright... except... her left hand had once had a tiny star on the back of it - didn't it? Or was her memory playing tricks on her... A quick inspection of her fur showed that she was still covered in delightful yellow stars... but it did seem like a few of them were now smaller somehow.

Grella quickly got ready for the day and headed downstairs into her shop. She gasped as she saw that decrepit book still on the counter where the Lupe had placed it yesterday. She slowly reached towards it when suddenly the bell rang at the front door.

"Hello, Grella! Do you have any more of those darling Angelpuss figurines?" asked the Pink Lenny as she quickly strode towards the counter.

"Miss Featherbottom? N-no... I told you that yesterday." Grella pulled her hand away from the book as she spoke, and rubbed the spot where her star had vanished.

"Yesterday? Don't be foolish! I haven't been here since last week when I bought that adorable figurine playing in the model rainbow fountain!" Miss Featherbottom laughed.

Grella froze for a moment. "But I told you... you came in yesterday at the same time as that Lupe who left this book!"

Miss Featherbottom scowled. "I'm in no mood for your silly games, Grella! You could just say you don't have any more figurines!" With a huff, she turned and left the store.

Grella gulped a bit and looked at the book again. What was going on? That Lupe had seemed so desperate to get rid of this book... but why? She steadied her breathing and reached towards the book once more, opening it again to the first page...

Grella thumbed past the ominous text that read, “The Curse”, in foreboding, gothic font. This led her to the table of contents, but there was something strange about it. While the page numbers of each heading ascended as expected, the titles were the same…

“The 16th Day of Collecting, Year 25,” the Starry Zafara read aloud.

She didn’t quite understand. First off, how was this book written for yesterday’s exact date? Secondly, why would each heading be the same?

Grella flipped through the yellowing pages rapidly to realize that only the first section of the book actually had text. Each subsequent “The 16th Day of Collecting, Year 25”, was blank. She returned to the first heading to read the only text that filled the book.

After a moment, she began to shake with fear as she realized what she was reading.

The pages depicted her day yesterday: her morning playing out like any other and reading The Neopian Times, meeting the shifty Blue Lupe character, receiving the book, greeting Miss Featherbottom and turning her away in her search for her darling Angelpuss figurines, and opening the book.

Grella clutched her chest as her heart began to race.

“W-what do I do?! How do I get rid of this thing?” she screamed to no one.

Her scream was so blood-curdling and the panic she felt so real and raw that she must’ve passed out. Strangely, she once again woke up in her bed. Grella looked down at her arm, knowing what she was about to see.

There was one less star than the day before…

She headed downstairs and paged through the book. The second section was filled with the day’s events once again: noticing fewer stars, angering Miss Featherbottom, and then passing out.

Grella turned around to see Miss Featherbottom approaching the door…

“Good morning, Grella.” Miss Featherbottom replied, then paused. A frown crossed the Lenny’s face as if something about that interaction had felt ever so slightly off in some way, but she could not put her finger on it.

“Miss Featherbottom?” The Lenny shook her head. “It’s nothing, dear. Just a bit of deja vu.” She proceeded purposefully up to the counter just as she had the previous two mornings. “Do you have any more of those darling Angelpuss figurines?”

“No, Miss Featherbottom. I’m afraid I don’t at the moment. I should be getting some more in by next week.” Grella replied carefully, trying her best to keep calm. "I suppose I'll have to come back then." Grella could have set her watch by the reply. “Goodbye Gr- oh what’s this?” Something had caught Miss Featherbottom’s eye. “What a lovely journal! No, no! Don’t worry, I won’t try to haggle it off of you. I can see you’re fond of it and it certainly suits your style. Well, goodbye dear, I’ll see you next week!” With a haughty flourish, and before Grella could summon a response, Miss Featherbottom was out the door and the Starry Zafara was alone in her shop again.

Her only company was the distant ticking of an antique clock, tucked away somewhere among the shelves of curios, and the rapid beating of her own heart.

She looked down to where she had been unknowingly gripping the book on the counter, the colour now returning to her knuckles as she released it, and realized what her customer had meant. On the back of the book, embellished with gold, was a star not unlike those that covered Grella’s own body from head to toe.

To Grella, it seemed almost as if the book was mocking her and the stars she was already missing, and would no doubt lose more of the longer this went on until… She looked at the solid blue patch on her arm that had once been dotted with stars and recalled the “Blue” Lupe who had first brought the book into her shop. How long would it be before people were mistaking her for a Blue Zafara?

She flipped the book open once again and thumbed through the pages, carefully taking note of how many pages had been filled already and how many remained. What would happen, she wondered, when the pages ran out?...

Grella flipped the dastardly book back to the first page, pressed one of her remaining stars down to the ink and for once, hoped for the worst. Her will must have made it work because the next thing she knew, the darkness came back and surrounded her with a misty haze. Grella managed to remain conscious through what she could only classify as magic and felt herself pulled into a vortex of stars, not unlike the ones taken from her. It was bright and dazzling, she could barely stand to see so many around her, the sensation was like nothing she ever felt before! Suddenly, it all stopped and she thudded to the ground. Grella blinked her eyes rapidly…she certainly was not in her Neohome this time.

As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, Grella looked around a gasped. She was in a dark stone room with chains on the wall and a large cauldron, like a place she had only seen in her storybooks. There was an arching window facing east, and as she looked out, she saw nothing but darkness and a rising mist. Grella realized she was in a tower somewhere far above the ground. She panicked for a moment, not knowing where she was or how to get home. As she started pacing the room, she accidentally bumped into an old broom.

To her surprise, the broom started flying around and kicking up dust. Grella launched herself forward and tried to grab it but it flitted away with ease. She tried one more time and tackled the flying broom to the floor. Once it made contact with the stone, it stopped moving altogether and became a seemingly regular broom again. As she looked up to the ceiling from where she lay on the floor, she saw stars floating far above her.

“That is the oddest thing, I think I have ever seen… are those my stars?” she whispered out loud to herself.

Then Grella heard the door creak and scrambled back into the shadows of the giant cauldron. She peeked out and saw a black Meowclops waltzing its way through the room. It sniffed the air, noting her presence. It quickly clawed its way over to the cauldron, its yellow eyes narrowed making direct eye contact with Grella and then it let out a great shriek.

“MEEEE-OWWWW!”

Grella tried to shush and soothe the Meowclops, throwing some hardened jelly towards it that she pulled from the dusty floor but it appeared that she was too late because the next thing she knew, the door flew open and standing there was…

"What's with all the racket? Can't an old woman get some quiet around here?!"

Grella gasped at the appearance of the other Zafara. Edna was an infamous witch, and she'd heard frightening stories about her tower in the Haunted Woods. Then again, Edna was also someone who probably knew a lot about magic. If anyone could help her, it might be Edna!

There was no time to hesitate or second-guess herself. Grella threw herself down on hands and knees, prepared to beg for aid, no matter how pathetic it seemed.

"Please! This book..."

"Oh, picked up The Curse, did you?" Edna interrupted. "Well, save your begging. I can't help you. I couldn't help that Lupe, I couldn't help the Grarrl that came before him, and I couldn't help the Meerca that came before her either."

Grella's heart was sinking. Edna couldn't help? But...

"The Lupe?" She managed to ask. "You know about him? Then... Do you know about this book?"

Edna scoffed and scowled at Grella.

"Know about it? Of course, I know about it. Why do you think it brought you to my tower? I created that book, that's why! I was trying to make a book of shooting stars that could be wished on even during the day, but I made a mistake."

She glared at Grella.

"What? I'd like to see you do any better! This stuff isn't as easy as it looks, you know!"

The Meowclops prowled up beside Grella and flattened its ears, hissing at the witch.

"Quiet, you! Go back to Sophie and tell her to stay out of this. It's my spell, and I can't do anything about it, and that's that. I don't want her help!"

She turned back to Grella.

"Okay, so that's the end of that. The door's downstairs. Show yourself out."

"But you have to help me!" Grella demanded.

"What? Why?" Edna seemed taken aback.

"Because it sounds like this is your fault!" Grella reasoned, jabbing an accusing finger towards the witch.

"But I can't fix it!" Edna insisted. "I've tried to fix three other Neopets at this point, and... And I can't do it!"

At first, Edna had seemed indignant and angry, but now she was starting to sound sheepish.

"I'm a failure, okay?" She murmured sadly. "I can't help you."

Grella felt a pang of guilt at having upset the old woman, even though Edna had been the one who'd accidentally caused the problem in the first place. She fell silent for a moment, wondering what to do. The Meowclops rubbed at her side, and she patted it absent-mindedly as she considered her options.

"Well..." She said at last. "What if..."

“Oh of course,” Edna mumbled, rolling her eyes. “Everyone always thinks Sophie’s a better witch. Better spells, better potions, better hair.”

“Can you tell me where she lives?” Grella pleaded. “Please. I can’t lose any more of my stars.”

The witch scowled, but glanced up towards the ceiling, eyeing Grella’s stars floating there serenely. Edna’s face softened when she looked back at her.

“Oh alright,” Edna said finally, throwing her hands up as if Grella’s life wasn’t on the line and she was simply an inconvenience by interrupting the witch’s personal time. “I suppose we should get The Curse sorted out. But I’m coming with you.”

“Thank you for the help,” Grella breathed, relief and hope blossoming in her chest. The Meowclops streaked through her legs as she followed Edna out of the room.

“I just want to see the look on Sophie’s face when she realizes she’s not good enough to break my spell,” Edna said, cackling over her shoulder as they descended the tower and exited into the shadows of the Haunted Woods.

Grella tried to ignore the fact that Edna seemed completely unperturbed by the appeal of Sophie failing which meant nothing good for Grella’s predicament. Whatever the witch’s feelings, they were at least moving in a direction towards a possible solution. With the Meowclops prancing in the lead, they walked through a gnarled tree line path into the darkness of the forest.

“So where does Sophie live?” Grella ventured to ask.

“Off the path between the Haunted Woods and Neovia. Don’t need directions. You’ll know when we get there.”

“How-?” Grella began but then crinkled her nose as a salty, slightly sulfurous odour met her nose. “Oh Fyora, what is that stench?”

“If you can’t stand the smell, stay out of the swamp,” a smooth voice said. A tall, beautiful green Ixi stepped onto their path. When she caught sight of Edna, she narrowed her eyes, before her gaze darted to Grella. “I know why you’re here, and I doubt you’ll like what I have to say…”

Sophie held up her hands languidly, glaring at the Green Zafara. "I never said that, old hag." She then turned to Grella, scrutinizing her from head to toe. "I found a way to reverse The Curse. But to do that, you need two things. One, you already have in your hands. The accursed book that started it all."

"Watch who you're calling an old hag!" Edna shrieked.

"What's the other thing?" Grella asked, trying her best to ignore Edna.

"I think I know what went wrong in Edna's spell," Sophie replied, glancing away briefly and rolling her eyes. A Meowclops twined around her legs. "Ugh, don't give me that look, Edna. See, your book was supposed to be a book of shooting stars that granted wishes, blah blah blah, right? Well, instead of giving wishing stars, it takes them. Hey, have you actually tried using those stars to make wishes?"

Edna snorted. "Of course I have. It didn't work!"

"You tried to wish on my stars?" Grella exclaimed as though this were the gravest sin.

Sophie cleared her throat. "This brings me to the second thing. Obviously wishing doesn't work. This spell takes and keeps instead of gives. It was reversed. Which means...to reverse The Curse, you must wish for curses upon the stars..."

Sophie eyed her like she was a fool. "It means you need to wish for curses to fall on other people. They don't have to be wicked curses, just a little mischievous. Probably." She shrugged.

"Probably?!" Grella said, her voice cracking. "What happens if it doesn't work?"

With an impatient huff of air, Edna interrupted. "Obviously it means you need to do a real evil curse!" She snorted, looking Sophie up and down with disdain. "Either that or it means the swamp shrew over here doesn't actually know what she's talking about."

"Does it have to be me who curses them?" Grella asked, rubbing the blank space where her star used to be. If she had to curse people anyway, she might as well just hand the book over to a different starry Neopet...

How will this story end?

Interrupting her constellation of thought, an Aubergine Chia raced past her, practically knocking her down. “Clear the road, lady! Some of us have Brain Tree quests!” he sniped as he barreled onwards to deliver his Esophagor-derived knowledge.

“Ugh!” Grella muttered to herself. “I wish guys like that would just stop and consider others!”

The Chia slowed and then came to a full stop. She watched in amazement as he plopped himself down on a stump. His brow furrowed, and after several minutes he walked back to Grella, repentant.

“I just want to say that I’m really sorry about that, I’ve been really worked up trying to complete quests. I’m sure you’re going through something too. I missed my Brain Tree deadline, but there will be other days. Are you doing alright?”

Grella reassured him she was fine, and thanked him for his consideration. In fact, she could hardly focus on the conversation at all, and a grin crept upon her face. In the corner of her eye, she could see a fresh star twinkling on her arm. She raced back to Neopia Central, eager to unleash a swath of petty curses.

Although maintaining her typical polite manner, Grella’s temporary power allowed her to finally unload years of minor annoyance. She went about her day as normal. The Kacheek at the general store (who frequently short-changed her) dropped Neopoints all over the floor during a rush. The smug Scorchio running the auction house misplaced his mallet. The Neopets who crowded the money tree waiting for a high-value item to drop found themselves drawn to soggy old boxes. She continued exacting miniscule yet cathartic acts of revenge until finally, she found herself vibrant with stars.

Exhausted from a day of mischief, Grella flopped into her bed, examining her precious stars. Although she would’ve preferred to avoid the whole mess, she couldn’t help but feel grateful for the chance to have an adventure, just like the ones she loved to read about. She knew she would never take her humble life or her beautiful yellow marks for granted ever again. Drifting away, she didn’t notice The Curse disappear into stardust.

The End.