Missing Pieces: Part 1

by Catnip4

It had all started when Sheli, another owner in Neopia, was writing. Since the electricity had gone out when the thunder storm erupted, the only light they had were candles perched on stools every here and there throughout the house. Her very young and very tiny white Aisha, her only pet, Meara, was playfully prancing all over Sheli's work table. That is when the disaster happened. Another big loud boom of thunder sounded and Meara, terrified, started trying to save herself from these loud explosions she had never heard before. She darted off the desk, making the candle and its holder collapse, making it fall to the ground. Sheli tried to pick it off the ground quick enough so that it wouldn't cause any danger, but she was too late. Smoke was flooding through every room, making it hard for any thing that was living to breathe. As Meara sprinted down the stairway, she could here a loud crash. She looked back, and saw her owner lying on the ground. Meara tried to get to her to save her, but the fire blocked her off. Her only choice was to leave and save herself. Meara scampered through the door, limping and breathless as she left her once called home. She silently watched the house slowly burn down into nothing more than ashes.

* * *

The next day, Meara was found sleeping under a tree by the firemen that had come right after they had seen smoke. She was carried to the adoption center waiting room, where some grown-ups had a discussion in a big huddle. Meara tried to listen in, which she was good at since she had four ears instead of a measly two, but she couldn't understand the long words that they used. After five or ten minutes she estimated, one balding man with thick glasses and a wispy mustache came over to Meara and looked her straight in the eye. He took a long deep breath. "Meara. Something happened to your owner in the fire. The adoption center will take care of you for now. The only thing the fire fighters found after the fire was this." The man handed her a book. The one her owner was writing in when the fire started. "You might want to keep it." Meara looked down at her paws and wept. The man could see her confusion and sadness. He tried to cheer her up. "Don't worry Meara. Some day a nice owner will adopt you and you will have a new wonderful home!" Meara was not happy by this. Her tears stained her white fur, and her blue eyes were drenched and crystallized. The man gently picked her up under her belly and put her on a marble table. He softly petted her, which made Meara feel a little better. That is what Sheli always used to do.

A half an hour later, after Meara was inspected, checked, groomed, and fed, she was put in a cage alone. A plump, grumpy looking lady, with short, curly, hair poured her a container filled with water and a plate of food. She set a Neonip and brush next to that. The woman left and closed the cage door behind her. Meara peered at the red thing the man had given to her. She flipped it open, curious what was inside. She looked at the strange things written all over the paper. What did they mean? She hadn't learned about the alphabet yet, because she was only a month old. It looked like many scribble scrabbles to her. Maybe it is something important, she wondered. She looked to the elderly Lupe in the cage right next to hers. He had greying fur on his head and under and on the sides of his belly. Meara was a bit nervous, not sure of what this Lupe would say. But she was determined to know. "Um, excuse me. Could you tell me what this is?" She pointed to the ink on a page of paper. The Lupe stared at it for a moment in silence, then gazed at her with a look 'of course I know that.' The pet started to speak. "It is called writing. There is an alphabet with 26 letters. A, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, and finally z. You can read, write, and speak with this so called 'alphabet.' Understand?" Meara gave him a confused nod. She turned back around, wondering what he meant.

In the middle of the night, Meara had the most horrible nightmare. The swamp ghoul was chasing her, far into the words, faster he went, faster, and she finally was too tired to run anymore. Sheli was with her. They were both running. The swamp ghoul had chased them even further into the forest, torturing them so they couldn't stop for a breath. The ghoul leaped upon them, just before attacking. That is when Meara woke up, gasping for air. Why me? Meara thought. Out of all the houses in Neopia, why did mine have to burn? She then shuddered of her new thought. She was the one who caused the fire. She knocked the candle onto the floor. Guilt flooded over her, though she tried to shake it off. I DIDN'T DO IT! I DIDN'T MEAN TO! Meara suddenly had an urge to find Sheli. She yearned for her owner to come back to her, to make her feel better. Meara wanted to get out of this strange place. The shadows to her were monsters. They covered every thing in the shelter. There was no way anyone could keep her cooped up in this place. Meara would refuse if anyone tried to adopt her. She only trusted Sheli. She had a plan to bust out. The key hole was just big enough for Meara's claw to fit into. 'Click clack', went the sound of the lock open. Meara slowly opened the door, making sure she was the only one awake. The door had a ear screeching sound. She ran as fast as she could, to the window of the adoption center. Meara broke it with Sheli's red, square shape thing, with what the Lupe said was 'the alphabet'.

With her weak muscles, Meara was just able to leap out and into the road. It was so quiet out. Everyone was in bed. The main shops were all fully restocked, no one was haggling with anybody, the Money Tree had wonderful donations untouched that were left by generous merchants and owners, and they're doors weren't locked because Neopia was usually always such a safe town. Usually. So here starts her journey. Meara, having no clue where to start, and no place where her owner could be.

To be continued...