A Ghostly Lesson

     Tyruff had never liked those transparent Neopets, even as a youngster in Neopia Central. In fact, he was increasingly rude and absolutely vulgar to them, as he grew older and older. Tyruff disliked how everything had to be ghastly and ghostly. Also, he always wondered why they had to float around with such eeriness and all those moaning in despair. He was a through and through grump who hated Ghost Neopets for no good reason. He shouted maliciously and tossed varying objects at the ghastly passersby even though they weren't near his garden.

     Sometimes, he would even throw in rude jokes with visiting non-Ghost Neopets about them. If that wasn't enough, he would put up signs that was crudely drawn to clearly express he was anti-ghost. Many Neopians and Neopets alike wondered why he was so viciously mean to the Ghost residents in his neighborhood. Of course, no one knew the real reason behind such hatred for Ghost Neopets.

     One time, he even flung dung at a Ghost Ixi, who was visiting her mother. Of course, she wasn't even doing anything, just picking a few Purple Poppies for her mother off the road. And it wasn't even from his garden! The dung had hurtled through the Ixi's body (which left quite a feeling of discomfort), and landed on the pathway on the other side. The Ixi, glaring at him, had floated for some, and trotted the other, away in anger. That left Tyruff feeling quite satisfied.

     The Ghost Neopets had tried to reason with him. Tyruff had, of course, turned a deaf ear and continued being brusque and obscene to the Ghost Neopets who had no choice but to pass by his home to get to their destination. Then, they tried bribery. The Ghost Neopets gave him many things and he took them without even a word of thanks. Even with bribery, he continued to throw and torment the unfortunate Ghost Neopets. They even tried to force him out, but Tyruff pelted them with so much dung as they came to take him away, some of the Ghosts actually had pieces of it sticking to their furs and feathers.

     One evening, nearing dark, Tyruff was continuing his regular business, which was tending to his plants and flowers in his garden. Suddenly standing up with unimaginable speed, he had thought he heard a noise from his house. He looked up to see a sudden movement in his bedroom window. Tyruff blinked, seeing nothing and returned to his work, telling himself that it must have been his eyes. But then, a soft clatter, a little pitter-patter was heard coming from the closed bedroom window.

     "Who's there?" Tyruff shouted towards the dusty windowpane of his bedroom. There was no answer. Tyruff grumbled as he grabbed his shovel and entered his home with feelings of apprehension and fear, as well as some annoyance. Up the stairs he went, nearing the second story of his Neohome. Along the way, Tyruff was beginning to feel a little frightened as he saw the unfamiliarity of his furniture and possessions in his home at night. The couch was a hunched over Lupe with bristling fur. The pictures on the wall became rotting portraits of the same Kacheek. Tyruff closed his eyes tightly and tried to assure himself over and over that it was just his imagination.

     Suddenly, shadows darted from to top of the stairs down to behind the winding steps, just a level above the frightened Kacheek. Tyruff gasped and opened his eyes, startled at the creaking noises the steps beneath him made as he cautiously moved up the next step.

     He had his shovel in one hand, and had the other firmly grasping the railing of the stairs as if he was holding on for dear life. A slight rrrumble was heard and then sounds unlike anything Tyruff had heard, pursued it. The Kacheek yelped, tripped over a step and rolled down the stairs backwards.

     Landing with a loud thump, the Kacheek shuddered and cowered into a quivering, furry ball of bluish-grey. His shovel had fallen with him when he was tumbling down the stairs. The clattering of the shovel was abruptly discontinued.

     "W-who's there?" He stammered, quavering. Tyruff lifted his head with a mixture of curiosity and fright, only to see a row of translucent, greyish legs of the mob of angry Ghost Neopets who had had to endure the painful tormenting of the insensitive Kacheek. Tyruff shrieked and pulled himself even more tightly into his curled position, now shaking with fear. The leader, who seemed to be the Ghost Ixi that he had thrown dung at a while ago, snarled.

     "Tyruff Kacheek. It seems you have been giving us only sorrow and unhappiness. We tried to reason with you. We even tried bribery! And we even tried force. But you only bring us trouble and torment." She spoke slowly and with deepest loathing, making sure the quivering Kacheek heard her every word. "That is why we are going to do this to you, for you to understand how it really feels to be a Ghost…" Tyruff looked up as the mob drew closer and closer, and with something in the Ghost Ixi's paws, something faint, something pale grey, something that smelled painterly... Their malevolent, glowing red eyes was filled with only revenge and anger. Tyruff whimpered and curled even tighter. He was so frightened that he fainted. But before that had happened, a feeling of wetness, and something that smelled musty and rotting streaked across his back...

     In the morning, bright moonlight spilled through the windows of the second story bedroom Neohome of Tyruff Kacheek. Tyruff awoke, his head feeling uncomfortable. Shaking his head, he sat up, staring at his ceiling. He was alive! "I knew those Ghosts hadn't any in them to do anything," he laughed, partly relieved, partly amused. Standing up, he walked to his bathroom to wash up for the day. After all, rolling down the stairs wasn't the cleanest activity he had ever done. Tyruff entered the bathroom, rubbing his eyes vigorously as he stepped towards the mirror… Outside, the moon lit up the pathway that was set alongside Tyruff Kacheek's home. Ghosts tread along the way, resuming daily life. They grinned with the rare happiness and that same Ghost Ixi the night before had the widest smile. Suddenly, an ear-splitting scream was heard, and then followed by a long ghastly moan that shook the neighborhood.

     And from that day on, no one entered or exited the home of Tyruff Kacheek and no one tended to the garden. The flowers, the plants, they wilted as no water was given to them. Soon, the garden became dried, patchy, just another part of Haunted Woods.

     Also, if you looked beyond the window of the second story of the home of Tyruff Kacheek, a very light greyish-translucent shadow of a Kacheek could be seen drifting about.

The End