The Eventide Aisha

     ***

      In the land of Meridell, there lived a young, blue Aisha named Coryn. He lived in Meri Acres farm; he was a poor boy, and got his meals and money from his family's garden.

      Presently he was sitting out among the potatoes, watching the sky fade from blue to orange, orange to pink, pink to purple, purple to black. Being poor, he hadn't the fancy books or games that other pets knew and loved, and was always bored. Not even his older brother Martin would play with him!

      But there was one thing that he did to pass the time: he would watch the nature around him. He would watch the plants grow, the leaves change, the trees dance in the breeze. But one thing he loved best was the sky; it never stayed one color too long. It was always changing; every time he looked out his window it was never the same color.

      He spent an awful lot of time watching the sky, and he had learned a lot. He could tell what time it was, what month of the year it was, and he could find his way all the way to Neopia Central without ever looking at a map. It was one thing he loved.

      As he sat watching, his mother called out his name, telling him it was time for dinner. Coryn rose to his feet and walked into the small hut by the edge of the forest.

      His mother was setting out chipped plates on the table, and his father was pulling potatoes from a boiling pot of water over the stove. It was a small house, the front room was the kitchen, with a few cupboards, a table and chairs and a fireplace. Down a small, narrow hallway were three doors, a "bath" room, and his parents bedroom and his own bedroom he shared with Martin.

      All through the meal, his family spoke of crop prizing rising and how they might be able to afford new clothing, but all Coryn was thinking of was what a lovely shade of purple the sky had turned this night.

      "Coryn, did you hear me?" said Mother. "I said we may be able to buy new clothes! Isn't that grand?"

      "Yes, Mother. Just superb..." he said quietly.

      "Coryn," she sighed. "You need to spend less time thinking of nature and more of money. Everyone has nature! But not everyone has money! Do you understand?"

      "Yes," he mumbled quietly, looking down at the ground. He shoveled in the remains of his potato, got up, and went to his bedroom.

      Once he was inside, he climbed into his bed and kicked off his shoes. Didn't his family understand? There was more to life than money! Why couldn't they see the beauty of nature? Did nobody understand him?

      Just then Martin came storming in. "Honestly," he said. "Couldn't you for once try not to upset Mother? She worried that you're brain damaged or something because you just stare at the sky all day. Honestly! I think you are brain damaged!"

      Coryn sprang up. "Couldn't you for once be kind to me? I'm one of the few things you have; you could at least try to treat me kindly! Then he ran out through the kitchen, straight into the field.

      He ran over hill after hill, until he was far enough from civilization that he couldn't see anyone. Exhausted, he lay down in the grass, and stared at the sky. The stars twinkled and danced. One even seemed to wink at Coryn. Then he drifted off to sleep...

      ***

      Coryn sighed. He was standing outside his home. He had been gone all night, and he knew his family would be furious with him. He sighed once more, then dragged his feet in.

      His family was sitting at the table, muttering quietly about something, when they all looked up. They all at once get a shocked expression on their faces. Perhaps they thought he would not come home? His mother set down her tea cup and run over to Coryn.

      "Oh my dear..." she muttered. She reached out and touched the fur on his face.

      "Umm... Mom?"

      She stared at him, absolutely shocked. She pointed with a yellow paw to his body. His father carried in the mirror from the bathroom, and Coryn looked at himself. He was... the colors of the sky! His once blue paws were now yellow like his mother and brothers, but his knees were orange, and his belly was pink-red, and his neck and tail were light blue and his head and ears and antennae were dark blue with stars! He even had a cloud on his neck...

      "Do you know what this means?" his father shouted, waving his blue arms in the air. "No one else is like him! He is rare! Special!" Then he shouted even louder, "WE'RE RICH!"

      His family danced in happiness around him. But Coryn stood there, unmoving, all the while staring out the window at the sky.

     ***

      The next few weeks, Neopians from all over came to see the Boy With the Sky Fur. The Neopets Team created a paintbrush so all Aishas could be just like him. Riches flowed in from all over. His family rejoiced! Coryn had made the family rich with all of his money.

      His family moved into a huge house in Neopia Central. It was among all of the other estates, up in the hills.

      Presently they were sitting in the living room by the fireplace. His mother, now the light pink color of Royalgirls, sat sipping her tea from a fancy porcelain cup, sinking into a plush green chair. His father, a Maractite Aisha, sat next to her, sighing in contentment from their last meal: the best steaks you could find with a side of fancy vegetable that were served at places like Kelp. His brother, a Darigan Aisha, sat on the plush carpet, reading a book sold at the Hidden Tower in Faerieland. His family seemed so content with themselves. They had tons of money. So when Coryn went and took a few hundred thousand, nobody noticed. He pulled on his cloak and tucked the money in the folding of it. Then he went down and announced he was off to buy himself a petpet to keep him company.

      But he never came back home.

     ***

      It is said, that when one sets down their possessions, all the beautiful things and expensive things that others lust for, and you leave the world and go to live a life among nature, that you will be able to see something that is invisible to all others. It is a cottage that cannot be seen by those who have money and things that others wish to possess, no, it is seen by those who give up all they have because they know what the best things in life are.

      And it is said that in the house lives an Eventide Aisha, who watches the sky each and every day, all the while a smile stretched across his face.

The End