Zlank the Lupe was so anxious to get to Mystery Island;
he could not keep his fire-red tail from wagging. He was hoping to get a glimpse
of Nereid, the beautiful water faerie. Zlank wanted to be the first Neopet ever
to see her gorgeous, golden hair, glistening in the bright sun as she sat upon
a rock, combing her hair with a comb made from a seashell. Her eyes would be
as blue as the sea itself. That was how Zlank envisioned her.
Zlank now sat on a ship bound for the coast
of Mystery Island. He was gazing out at the calm ocean, feeling overly excited,
when suddenly the ship began to thrash about! The calm waves soon became cruel
and violent. The ship was tossed about.
"Remain calm," yelled the captain, a pretty
blue Aisha with a scar under her left eye. "The storm will die down. I have
experienced far worse squalls all the time that I have been captain."
But the storm soon grew into a raging tempest.
The wind picked up speed and blew the tightly fastened sailor's cap of the captain's
head.
It was a scene of pandemonium on the main deck.
Frightened Neopets were running everywhere. Shouts of sailors and cries of panicked
youngsters rang out.
And there was Zlank, caught up in all of the
chaos. He had only wanted to see Nereid, even if it was only for a second. His
mind had so many thoughts buzzing around through it; he didn't know what to
do. He just sat there, with a blank stare on his face.
"Abandon ship!" yelled the blue Aisha captain,
as the mast and other large wooden poles began to crack. "Lower the lifeboats!"
What? Zlank shook his head. He had come out of his daze. What? This couldn't
be happening. This couldn't happen. But--it was happening. There was a gigantic
knot in Zlank's stomach, one that he could not untie.
Amidst all the screams and cries, and the hurry
to be the first in a lifeboat, Zlank heard the cry of a small Neopet. Jumping
up and pushing his way through the crowd, Zlank saw a small baby Acara crying
for her mother. Tender-hearted Zlank rushed over to her.
"Mommy!" she cried. "Where's my mommy?"
"Shush, shush, it's okay, we'll find her." He
said, lifting her up and cradling her in his paws. Zlank looked around at the
back of the crowd. The only Acara he saw was an elderly male.
"Mommy!" she wailed.
"It's okay, it's okay," Zlank repeated, rocking
her as what might have been a line slowly moved, with some rather violent Neopets
pushing and shoving their way to the front.
The sky overheard was dark, and rain began to
pour down, soaking them. One lifeboat had already floated away.
Five went by, five minutes of the Acara sobbing
against his fur, five minutes of Neopets bellowing and crying, five minutes
of wondering if he was going to die. In five long minutes Zlank had reached
the front of the line. There were no more lifeboats. A saddened sailor handed
Zlank a lifejacket and to several others.
"Be careful," the sailor warned. It was then
Zlank realised that he was going to have to swim to shore, with the baby Acara
in his arms.
He didn't waste any time. Zlank jumped off of
the ship and waited as the waves threw him about. The baby Acara was wailing
at the top of her lungs. Zlank's lifejacket was ripped from his chest.
The waves slowly died down. The sky became light
blue again. But Zlank was stuck in the middle of the ocean. He was exhausted
and knew he had reached his end. After what seemed like hours of paddling he
was still in practically the same spot. He could not let the baby Acara drown,
but he couldn't go any further.
"What happened?" the baby Acara asked. "Where's
Mommy?"
"I--" Zlank couldn't bear to tell her what was
going to happen. "I don't know." Zlank hugged her tightly, and stopped kicking
his legs. He closed his eyes and slowly began to sink.
Zlank woke up and rubbed his eyes with his paws.
What?! He was awake! He had not drowned! The baby Acara lay beside him. There
he was, on a sandy beach. Mystery Island! They were at Mystery Island!
"Dalaika!" An Acara came running across the sand,
resembling the one Zlank had saved. Did he save her? Yes, he did.
"Mommy?" She gradually awoke to the sound of
her name.
"Honey, it's all right, Mommy's here." She hugged
her baby tightly. "Thank you so much for rescuing my baby." A grin crept onto
Zlank's face.
"I had to," he said, and then, "If you don't
mind me asking, what happened?" Zlank asked her.
"I managed to get in a lifeboat. There's a rescue
station just recently set up over there." She pointed. "Come, follow me back
to the rescue station. It looks like you could use some food." Dalaika's mother
took Dalaika in her arms and started towards the station. Zlank sat there, amazed
at what had happened. This was truly a miracle.
He looked out at the crystal-blue water and sighed.
He wished he could have gotten a glimpse of Nereid. That would have been incredible.
His gaze shifted to where Dalaika's mother was
beckoning for him to follow. Then he looked back at the ocean and could have
sworn that he saw a flipper swish in the air. Could it--Nah, it couldn't have
been.
The End | 
