Moving On, the Loss of a Petpet

      "Good night, Buddy," she whispered and opened the cage. She kissed the Meepit gently and closed the cage, then walked back to her bed. She snuggled back into her beanbag and fell asleep, the sound of the Meepit's wheel lulling her.

     * * * * *

     "KYRADOSE!!!" A scream awoke me from my sleep. I bolted up and flew out of the room as fast as my Shoyru wings would carry me. I flew into Hiterkuna's room and found the young Zafara cradling a sickly looking Meepit in her arms. She looked up at me, tears in her eyes.

      "Kyradose, he won't eat his seeds, he won't run on his wheel, he won't even look at me! See, he bit me!" She held up a bloody finger. The Meepit groaned and squeaked in protest. Hiterkuna put him on the floor, and instead of bolting, he lay there like a Slorg. A green Aisha named Yubioke entered the room, and put on a disgusted face.

      "Did you do anything to him last night?" I asked, trying to ignore Yubioke.

      Hiterkuna thought back a little and said, "I cleaned his cage, gave him new food, new water, and I kissed him goodnight." Yubioke snorted loudly and said,

      "Well, that explains everything! Your Meepit is obviously dying because you kissed it!" I shot my older sister a look, and Hiterkuna whimpered.

      "You don't think that, do you Kyradose?" she asked sadly. I shook my head and whispered, "Yubioke's always a jerk." I heard the green Aisha shouting down the hall, "I heard that!"

    * * * * *

     The next day, we took Buddy to the vet.

      "Why, hello there kids," a Uni said cheerfully. Hiterkuna ignored her and placed the Meepit's carrier delicately on the counter. The pink Uni nodded and said, "The Dr. will see your Meepit immediately." She took the carrier and walked down the hall. I put a blue arm on my little sister's shoulder.

      A while later, the vet came out with some news. The old Techo looked dully at his clipboard while muttering.

      "Well, you Meepit has a serious case of the Sneezles, the Itchy Scratchies, and the Meepit Mites, so I suggest some of each of that medicine." He looked at me over the clipboard and snorted. I failed to remind him that he was a bad vet and didn't even know how to give us a real prescription medicine. He continued,

      "But, other than that, your Meepit should stay here for a night or two for surgery," Hiterkuna bit her lip while trying not to cry. I understood, she had never left Buddy for more then a few hours at the most. She adored her Meepit. She was rarely seen without Buddy. I put my arm around her shoulder and led her out of the vet's.

    * * * * *

     Two days later, we got the news. Yubioke was getting the mail today, while I was in the kitchen with Hiterkuna and Mesbeto, a yellow Acara. The Aisha came in, dropped the mail on the table, and opened her issue of the Neopian Times. Mesbeto tackled the mail and searched through it, saying, "Hang-tang!" when he found a letter for him. Hiterkuna sorted through the mail after me, and gasped when she found a letter from the vet. Nervously, she undid the envelope and read the letter. After a few minutes, the young Zafara broke down in tears and tore out of the room. I reached out and picked up the letter, then read it.

     "Dear Hiterkuna, owner of Buddy the Meepit,

     I'm sorry to say that your Meepit's surgery was unsuccessful, and that your Meepit, Buddy, died yesterday. You can come over today and pick up his body, do whatever you want with it. Also, the charge of the surgery was about 30,000 NP, and we expect our pay by Saturday.

     Yours truly,

     The Neopian Office of Doctors for Petpets.

      I sighed and put the letter down. Yubioke put down her issue of the NT and read it, then growled.

      "They made you pay for it?! 30k?! That's more then we'll ever be able to afford!" she screamed. I shot an icy glare at her, and she sighed. The three of us walked upstairs to try and comfort our sister.

      "Ah, don't worry Hiterkuna," Yubioke coaxed, "You'll have a new Petpet before you know it! And just think, maybe it'll be better then that ol' Meepit." Hiterkuna paused in her sobbing to glare at Yubioke. The Aisha shrugged her green shoulders and fell silent.

      "Dude, Petpets do that," Mesbeto said, "It's weird, but they like, don't live longer then us pets do. Tomorrow, we'll like, go to the Petpet store and get you a new one." Hiterkuna continued sobbing. I hushed my siblings away with a look, and they left the room. I sat next to my sister and put an arm on her shoulder.

      "Mesbeto's right," I said, "They'll be other Petpets. Just remember that you did a great job with Buddy." Hiterkuna paused in her sobbing and looked up at me, tears in her eyes. I nodded reassuringly and left the room. I got Buddy back from the vet and Hiterkuna buried him in the backyard. We wanted to help, but she refused.

      Tomorrow, I decided, we'll go to the Petpet store.

      The night was long for all of us. Hiterkuna's sobbing wouldn't stop, and we didn't have the heart to tell her to be quiet. Even Yubioke seemed sad. Finally, her sobbing ceased, and we got our sleep.

     A few hours later…

      Hiterkuna grabbed her favorite blanket and snuck outside, under the pouring rain. She ran across the yard to where Buddy's grave was. The blue Zafara sat down next to the grave and put a few flowers on it, then turned to leave when she heard a loud scraping noise. Hiterkuna turned around and saw the can where she had put Buddy's flowers…something was moving in it. Hiterkuna grabbed up a fallen stick and inched towards the can…

      A tiny Stego popped out of the can. Startled, Hiterkuna swung at it too late. It ducked and looked up at her with big, adoring eyes.

      "Hey, that's not your can!" Hiterkuna snapped, "That's Buddy's!" The Stego didn't seem to understand. Hiterkuna grabbed the Stego and tossed him about a yard's distance away from the grave. It continued to stare at her. With a "Hmph!" the blue Zafara turned and ran back to the house. The Stego stared after her.

     * * * * *

     "OK, Hiterkuna, we're here," I said as we walked to the mall. We looked at the expensive and she sighed. I pointed to a Puppyblew.

     "That one looks neat," I commented. She sighed and walked away. From a few feet away, I heard oowing and aawing. I led my little sister over to the crowd. A blue Lenny came up to us and said,

     "They're feeding the Reptillor," he explained. "It eats live baby Meepits whole!" I quickly pulled Hiterkuna away, thanking Fyora that she hadn't heard him. We walked over to the Pirakeets. They squawked noisily, and Hiterkuna stared at them in fascination. I grinned; we had finally found the perfect Petpet!

     "This one's good?" I asked. She nodded. "At least it will take your mind off Buddy," I said. The Pirakeet started squawking loudly, screaming, "Buddy! Buddy!" Hiterkuna bit her lip again, tears welling in her eyes. I decided that it wasn't the best idea to get another Petpet.

      * * * * *

      When we got home, Hiterkuna went directly to Buddy's grave. I wanted to take a nap and let her have some time alone with her departed Petpet. A nap sounded pleasing, so I went up to my room and slept.

      "Well, Buddy," she said to the dead Petpet, "You'll be happy to know that I didn't get another Petpet. The Pirakeet was cute, but not nearly as cute as you. And-" she heard the familiar scraping sound again. She looked in the can and dumped out the contents, a Stego falling out with them.

      "Haven't I made it clear to you?" she demanded. "This isn't your can! Go find some other unused can that isn't covering a grave, but this is Buddy's can now!" The Stego cocked its head, confused. Hiterkuna glared back.

      "Get out, get out!!" she screamed, kicking and missing it. The Stego curled its lips into an unmistakable smile. Hiterkuna glared, refusing to give in. After what seemed like ages, her mouth curled into a smile. She picked up the Stego and looked at it.

      "I guess you aren't that bad," she muttered, "Actually, you're pretty cute for a dinosaur. I know! I'm gonna name you Spike, little fella." The now content Zafara walked off with her new Petpet, and waved one last time at her Meepit's grave.

      Well, she thought, at least for now, I'm OK. The Stego smiled.

The End