The Lost Spardel

     I continued dozing in my basket at the foot of Rosco’s, my Gelert, own cushion near Mother’s bed. There was a time we all used to share her bed, but she was always the one who ended up pushed right to the edge on the brink of falling. Mother and Rosco had come to an agreement that we would leave the bed to her, and we got our individual beds near her so we could still be close together.

     My name is Spots, a Spotted Spardel (the most unique name, I know), and I am Rosco’s best friend. I was given to him as a gift on the 25th Day of Celebrating 4 years ago, and we have been inseparable ever since. The bond we immediately felt was like no other, and I knew he would always protect me and I, him. I wasn’t spotted of course when I was given to Rosco, but Mother already had a plan in mind. Since Rosco is spotted Mother naturally felt the need to paint my coat the same colour as his, and if it wasn’t for my miniature stature we are almost identical! Quite the fashionable pair we make, and Mother was very proud of that too.

     That glorious sunny day gently warmed the room, enveloping me like a big warm hug. The slumber was all too easy to get lost in, but a day like this should not be wasted! At haste I sprung up out of my basket and landed on Rosco’s side. He woke with a wheeze from my unannounced but necessary landing. Being on his side gave me that little extra height I needed to make it onto Mother’s bed, so I dug my feet into him and launched off with a strong kick. He wheezed again, but I am sure he knew I was doing this for the benefit of them both.

     I landed on Mother’s bed and eagerly bounced over to her. No time to waste, I quickly began to lick her face and had to make sure it was quick enough so she would wake from the sensation. She twitched but didn’t wake as quickly as I’d hoped. I continued licking and eventually she stirred.

     “Spots, quit it!” she mumbled, and rolled over with a snort.

     I jumped over her and kept going, there would be no other way to wake her up and I knew deep down that she wanted to be outside on this beautiful day just as much as me. I was doing this for her own benefit even if she didn’t know it at the time.

     “Okay okay, I guess it’s time to wake up then huh, little one?” she said, facing me with a sleepy half awake smile.

     Rosco had already left the room and was in the kitchen waiting for breakfast. I jumped off the bed and joined him there, where he turned to me and whispered “hey, nice job getting her out of bed. I don’t know if you’ve noticed what a nice day it is today, but I’d really love to go for a walk today”.

     I looked up at him and smiled as big as I could, tongue out to the side and tail wagging.

     Mother took her time but she eventually came to the kitchen where she fed us both our breakfast, made herself an Islandberry Coffee and ate her Avocado Jam Toast.

     “It looks like the perfect day outside, what do you both say we go for a walk down to the Neopian Bazaar?” she asked.

     Rosco raced to the front door and I tried to stay behind him, but my legs were not as long as his and my steps are little, so it takes me a little extra time to keep up with him sometimes!

     Mother finished eating her toast and drinking her coffee, then grabbed her Tote Bag which had everything she needed in it, including snacks for the walk because she knows that we need to recharge when we are out and about.

     Locking the door behind her, we all stepped out into the glow of the morning sun. It shone bright but was pleasant, not too hot so we can enjoy the walk without feeling like it is overpowering.

     Rosco looked at me, narrowed his eyes and immediately gave me the eyebrows. The eyebrows mean ‘go’. It means we are going to race; run with all of our might until the end of the street until we are both gasping for breath. It was our favourite way of starting our walks and always gave us the zippy energy which made them so invigorating!

     “Ready, set .. RUN” he yelled, and I took off as fast as my small legs would carry me. He always beats me of course, but today he didn’t start running when I did. I looked back and he was still standing next to Mother, seemingly with a change of heart as he gave me an intentional head start; for the first time ever!

     This was my chance to show them both that I could do it, so I ran and ran, first just straight up the road like we always did. I had the sudden urge to take a sharp right turn a few houses down where I knew there was a shortcut, meaning if I timed it perfectly he wouldn’t see me do it and I would finally have a chance to win.

     I kept running, not looking back, and took the right turn to guarantee my victory. I kept running, looking for the distinct park of shrubs which I could squeeze under to get back to the street where Rosco would be trailing far behind. I turned down a street which I was sure was the right one, but I suddenly became disoriented and did not recognise where I was. I have been down this route before but now I was not so sure I took the right turn.

     I abruptly stopped running and my stomach dropped. I felt the hairs on my back were quivering and even though I didn’t want to show it, I was shaking with terror. My ears dropped and my tail dropped low. I turned around and started walking back the way I came, but it all looked different and I had no recollection where I had come from.

     Mother and Rosco will never be able to find me, what have I done?!

     Meanwhile..

     “Wow Spots had some beans in him this morning, look at him go!” said Mother.

     Her and Rosco slowly started to walk the same way that Spots had run. Normally Rosco would have run with him and not even given him the slightest chance of victory. This morning he had eaten a little too much breakfast and did not feel like he was able to give the run all he could, heavy with fatigue and regret.

     Their pace was slow but steady, there was no need to rush on a day like this. The Neopian Bazaar would not begin to fill with Neopians until a little later in the day so they had plenty of time to get there and enjoy the stores without the bustle of a crowd.

     They turned the corner where Spots had suddenly disappeared, and they did not see him.

     “I am glad he came this way because it definitely is quicker. This saves us a good 15 minutes instead of going the long way that you two like to take most of the time” Mother said. They walked a little further before reaching a park with a clean array of shrubs. Rosco knew that Spots liked this spot, but was confused why he could not see him anywhere.

     He walked into the park and began to look around, checking under the shrubs, behind the trees, in between the park benches. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a shuddering white figure beside a Gnorbu who was enjoying the park with his own Petpet, a friendly Purple Bloopy, who had approached the shuddering figure and was trying to figure out what was going on.

     “Spots!?” Rosco bellowed.

     The shuddering figure lifted its head suddenly, now completely still and cemented to the spot. Within a matter of seconds the figure’s ears propped up and he began bolting towards Rosco. Immediately he knew it was Spots. Spots ran as fast as he could and almost knocked Rosco over when he reached him. He was jumping all over him, licking him, tail wagging again and eyes shining bright with relief.

     “There you are little one” said Mother as she finally caught up to the both of them. “I don’t know why you keep doing this to yourself, but if you just slow down a little you wouldn’t get lost one block away from home”.

     Spots looked up at her with big glossy eyes.

     “Would you like me to carry you then?” she asked.

     Spots yipped and began jumping up and down, tongue out and tail wagging enthusiastically. She scooped him up and propped him comfortably in her arms, where he nuzzled down into her forearm and made himself comfortable.

     Rosco shook his head and smirked.

     “Hey Spots is your Petpet, why aren’t you the one carrying him?”

     The End.