Legend of the Voidberry

     * * * * *

     “You’re going to do what?” The small orange Grundo’s eyes widened as he heard what his friend had said.

     “Farming does quite well in some places back down on Neopia, so farming here would be much more convenient to us. Think about it, we would have more access to more foods and I’ll finally be able to earn enough myself to make a living!” Rouin, a purple Grundo exclaimed with excitement as he told his neighbor his idea.

     The orange Grundo laughed. “Farming on Kreludor? This would cost more neopoints than I have in my budget, not to mention that it will simply not work. You do realize that if you continue with this hunch of a good idea that I could no longer help support you?”

     “I know this will work, and I have to at least try. Could you please at least fund me for the rest of the week, Zoren?” Rouin pleaded.

     Zoren fumed with annoyance with his response. “You do not understand! I cannot any longer as long as you want to continue with your foolish thoughts. If I am found to be helping out a poor fool like you, I’ll lose my job and will be no greater than you. I am sorry.”

     “Fine,” the Grundo replied while trying to keep his temper low, “but I will show you that I am no fool. I can do anything as long as I try.”

     Zoren got up from the bench he was sitting on and walked away. He did not glace back at the friend he once knew, since he felt he was not worth more of his time.

     * * * * *

     Rouin strolled through the steep streets with one thought on his mind: find a job. He needed to earn at least enough neopoints for him to order supplies so he could start the first step of his attempt to bring in fruit farming. Every few minutes, he came across a shop with signs varying from “we are hiring” to “help wanted”, then he would wander in the shop. Every job he attempted to demonstrate he did not do right or did not have enough of the required skills. In one shop, he had to operate a wooden candy mixer, but instead he caused it to overload and explode.

     After many long hours without food, he had found himself a job. He was assigned to sort letters into small compartments on a wall. For hours a day, he sorted letters that went to Neopia and a few residential areas of Kreludor. To him, it was a simple, but tiring job.

     A few weeks passed, and he had finally saved enough to order packages of dirt for his garden. Once he had gathered all his supplies, he settled in a patch of land that Zoren once owned, but abandoned when he moved to his neighborhood. Now it was just a wasteland covered in useless boulders and deep craters. Using only a shovel, he spent a day clearing out a flat area to fill with dirt. Rouin was exhausted, but that did not convince him to give up his vision of a better life.

     The next day he was as busy as the first. He raked the soil and planted seeds of different types of berries, mostly from Meridell. He carefully dug tiny holes and placed a few seeds for each. He also made sure he had evenly spaced the holes apart. Once done with that, he poured buckets of water on them.

     Every night, he would lean on a nearby boulder and gaze up at the stars. They provided company no matter where he was, because unlike anyone else he had known, they were always there. He would sing a sweet melody to the seeds and to the stars. A song once sung to him to his family before they left him behind; a song of happiness. He told them stories of his life and how he had felt during his troubles, and they listened. Then, he would drift off to sleep with nothing other than a blanket and a heart full of hope.

     Each morning he would go to his work where he was fed a taken care of. When his day worth of work was finished, he would travel quite a long way back and work on his garden. Every time he returned to his garden, his heart would sink. Not a sign of life among the seeds showed, but he hoped that over time they would become something, so he waited. One chilly night he had found something in common with his berry seeds: they both were worth nothing.

     “Maybe Zoren was right,” he mumbled as he watched the shimmering sky. “Gardening on Kreludor is something a fool would do. Maybe I am a fool.”

     Rouin continued caring for the empty garden after a few weeks. It gave him something to look forward to at the end of the day. He had recently lost his tiny neohome because he could not pay his rent, so when he was not working he was by his garden.

     On a quite cheerful day for Rouin, he returned to his garden and saw Zoren rummaging though his belongings.

     “What are you doing?” Rouin asked.

     “This property is sold; you have to move out.” Zoren replied as he tossed his rusty gardening tools in a pile.

     Rouin became worried for the future of his garden he had worked so hard for. “How do you know it’s sold? You do not own this piece of land anymore!”

     Zoren paused as he spoke. “My boss told me I have to deal with this. They were patrolling the area and caught sight of this place in use many times. They already have a buyer on the land, so they are going to start building here very soon. You have to be gone before morning, sorry. You should be glad that it was me who has to help you clear this place and not my co-workers.”

     “Can’t they just wait any longer? I only need a little more time!” Rouin argued.

     “You’ve have more time than you need. The garden failed...” Zoren glanced at the garden and stood shocked.

     Noticing his strange pause, Rouin rushed over to his patch of dirt. He too was surprised at what he saw.

     Tiny leaves peaked through the soil, and something sparkled under them. He rushed over to it as if his feet were lighter than feathers. He brushed back the leaves and saw a black berry. He placed it in his palms to examine it closer. It appeared to be as black as the sky with a glittery coating which shone like the stars above them. The berry was round and was the most elegant berry they had ever seen. He looked down at the garden again and noticed other small leaves poking their way though the soil.

     “I did it! I really did it!” Rouin cheered.

     “I’ll find a way to undo this property sale. Just let me help you,” Zoren said.

     Rouin saw envy in Zoren’s large eyes and knew the answer.

     “It’s okay, I have all I need right here. All I have to do is find a way to move this stuff.”

     Zoren sighed. “I’ll help, then.”

     * * * * *

     A month later, Rouin was now living in a nice neohome in Meridell. He had become in charge of a berry factory and the berry he had grown became the star of the company. He named his discovery the Voidberry, since it was quite tasteless on the outside, but yet the center tasted juicy and sweet. Every berry he had eaten reminded him how he had felt before he started his idea: empty. Not only had he helped himself in life, but he had found ways to make farming possible in Kreludor as well.

     Rouin also began to teach others how important it is to try to chase a dream, no matter how crazy someone may think something is. Even to this day, his friends still wonder why the Voidberry grew in the first place. When they ask him, he simply tells them one phase.

     “Always try to make your dream reality and never try to turn back.”

The End