Daniel’s Weekend at the Beach

     At school, he was known to create elaborate Christmas cards for all his friends and teachers when the Month of Celebrating rolled around. With his repertoire of wintry supplies that included Ice Pencils, Winter Sticker Packs, and a Snowball Pencil Sharpener, Daniel was well-known throughout his class as a Christmas craft wizard. His reading collection included almost every winter book, with some of his favourites including All About Snow Faeries, A Special Christmas, and Winter in Faerieland.

     Daniel never missed an opportunity to consume his favourite snowy treats: a warm cup of Abominable Snowball Borovan and a large slice of Minty Snowflake Cake. He named his Christmas Ona Jolly, and she was always by his side - last year for Christmas, he surprised her with an Icykle. He spent his days happy inside the frigid confines of Terror Mountain, and never felt the need (or want) to go anywhere else.

     All of that changed on a random Tuesday in May, however. Daniel was in his writing class on this particular afternoon when his teacher announced what his class’s final project, worth a quarter of his overall grade, would be. The project was an essay, and the prompt was simple: “Visit a place that you have never been before and write a 1,200-word summary describing your experiences.” The assignment was due in three weeks.

     Daniel was stumped when his teacher first mentioned this assignment. He had spent all his life in and around the lands surrounding Terror Mountain. Most of his time was spent in Happy Valley, but he had also frequented the shops inside The Ice Caves and was even known by the shopkeepers and other villagers in The Peak. Furthermore, he had also braved the abandoned mansion and ice cavern before. A sense of unease began to overcome Daniel as he struggled to think of what unknown place he could possibly visit.

     Daniel’s good friend Samuel, who happened to be sitting next to him, recognised how uncomfortable he was at this prompt. Samuel was the opposite of Daniel in many ways. He used to live on Mystery Island, but relocated to Terror Mountain to spend more time with his sisters. Samuel was painted Island, had an “Island time” approach to work, and frequently visited during breaks and summer vacation, where he felt most at home: The Beach.

     Daniel and Samuel became friends about a year ago when Daniel slipped on a patch of ice near the Slushie Shop. His backpack flew off, and his books and school supplies went everywhere. Seeing the commotion, Samuel helped Daniel get back up and assisted him in picking up his items. Since then, Daniel and Samuel had become inseparable, especially due to Daniel’s knack for making Samuel feel at home on Terror Mountain. Seeing Daniel’s unease at the final class project, Samuel figured this would be a perfect opportunity for him to return the favor by having Daniel visit The Beach.

     However, Samuel had tried to convince Daniel to visit The Beach before, but Daniel’s insistence on remaining close to home and not leaving his comfort zone had prevented him from joining Samuel on any of his trips there. But with this assignment, Samuel knew it would be hard for Daniel to say no.

     Immediately after the bell rang, Samuel approached Daniel. As expected, Daniel was not in his usual high spirits and sheepishly asked if Samuel would help him with the assignment. Of course, Samuel immediately agreed and once more, presented Daniel with his idea of them visiting The Beach together. Although Daniel was hesitant to leave Terror Mountain to visit such an unusual place, he agreed. After school ended for the day, Daniel and Samuel began to plan out the logistics of travel, lodging, and activities. They eventually agreed to depart in three days, take a boat down, and stay in a large tent on The Beach itself before returning to Terror Mountain after two days. Samuel had an entire roster of activities that he could not wait to explore with Daniel.

     On that Friday, Daniel, Jolly, Samuel, and his Petpet Kimmy the Island Slorg boarded the boat destined for The Beach. For his personal comfort, Daniel had brought as many winter items as he could pack, including a bar of Christmas Bruce Soap, a Snow Bell, and a Candychan Plushie. Despite Samuel’s assurances that they would have plenty of fun, Daniel couldn’t help but feel a sense of apprehension at visiting such a foreign place. Nevertheless, he did his best to look forward to his weekend with Samuel.

     Once the group arrived at The Beach, they docked at the Harbour and set up their tent. The Island skies were as beautiful as the polar twilight, with the sun beaming through the varying shades of pink and purple. The palm trees were as tall and grand as the fir trees that surrounded Terror Mountain - the familiar sensation of these trees made Daniel feel more at home at this new location. The trees, coupled with the beautiful landscape, made him feel better about the upcoming weekend he would have here.

     It wasn’t long before Daniel experienced an unfortunate sensation that many newcomers to The Beach deal with, however. Within an hour of his arrival, a coconut fell and landed on him. Despite Daniel’s initial surprise, Samuel could not help but chuckle, as his years of experience at The Beach had taught him to remain vigilant for the coconuts’ aerial attacks. He instructed Daniel where to walk and how to remind himself to look up for coconuts while walking along the shore.

     It was a magical moment for Daniel when, soon after, Samuel cracked open the coconut that had initially fallen on him, as well as a second one. He then grabbed drink decorations - one was a yellow umbrella with green polka dots, and the other was a blue and green striped umbrella, along with straws for them to use. From there, he showed Daniel how to drink milk straight from the coconut. Daniel was amazed at the sweet and vibrant flavour of the coconut milk. There was nothing quite like this at home.

     The warm summer air was also a new but pleasant sensation for Daniel. It almost felt as if he was glowing as the sun hit his feathers. He could feel himself growing more relaxed and at ease with each new moment he spent enjoying the bright summer day.

     After finishing their coconuts, Samuel went to the Tropical Food Shop and purchased some of his favourites, a Jug of Fresh Tigerade, some slices of Honeyplume Pie, and classic fresh fruits, including Blobbules and Lemwarts. Daniel’s taste buds were awakened by the tropical flavours. The sweetness, tanginess, and sourness were unique, as his winter taste palette consisted of less tart foods overall. Daniel was initially taken aback by so many new flavours, but he felt obliged to mention to Samuel how vibrant and delicious this new food was.

     Once their meal was complete, they went to play some beach volleyball. It was a competitive, fun, and quick game that lifted both of their spirits even more. For the last activity of the day, they scoured the beach to find seashells as a part of building sandcastles. Samuel grabbed two Bucket and Spade Sets, and they went to work.

     After building their castles for about ten minutes, Daniel looked up and saw a mysterious figure. She had tan skin, short curly hair with a flower in it, large pink wings, and a skirt made of long grass. She looked down at Daniel’s castle, got on his level and said, “You have built something really special here,” and handed him a hand-painted Ogrin Ornament. Daniel was surprised but overcome with joy at such a wonderful gift. However, when he looked up to thank this ominous figure, she was gone.

     Samuel had watched the whole exchange and was in shock. Daniel was even more astounded and asked him if he knew who that was. Samuel informed him that he had been visited by Jhuidah, the Island Faerie herself- an incredibly rare experience.

     The next day, Daniel and Samuel visited the Island Mystic on the recommendation of Samuel. His words of wisdom for Daniel were:

     Your sense of self will alter in a strange way.

     Next, it was only right to visit the Rorru the Haiku Generator. On that sunny day, Daniel’s haiku read:

     Welcomed turn of fate

     for a better tomorrow,

     what is new is old.

     Daniel couldn’t help but agree that something inside him was changing due to this new experience at The Beach. From there, Daniel and Samuel went on to play a game of Tiki Tack Tombola. The Tiki Tack Man handed Samuel his ticket first, 44. The Tiki Tack Man felt sorry for him and handed him 111 Neopoints and a Tiki Bookmark as a Boobie Prize. Of course, Samuel had multiples of most Tombola prizes and gave the bookmark to Daniel.

     Daniel pulled 65, a winning ticket, and was given an Island Grarrl Plushie and a book that would become one of his favourites, Never Ending Faerie Tales.

     After that, they felt brave enough to venture into the Lost City of Geraptiku. Unsurprisingly, someone had gotten the treasure before they did.

     By that time, it was already late in the day, and they decided to venture back into their tent. Before entering their tent, they watched the sun set as a friendly Flotsam splashed in the roaring beach waves.

     The next morning, Daniel was sad to leave The Beach. He had almost forgotten about his normal, snowy, and slushie-filled way of life. Once everyone was awake, the group all boarded the boat and ventured back to Terror Mountain.

     One he was back inside of his igloo, Daniel began to unpack. He hung his new ornament on his fireplace. He placed his new book and bookmark on his bookshelf. The Island Grarrl plushie stuck out like a sore thumb among his many other winter-themed plushies.

     After unpacking, Daniel excitedly began to work on his essay. He discussed what was similar and what was different about Terror Mountain and The Beach on Mystery Island.

     In Terror Mountain, you make snow angels. In Mystery Island, you build sandcastles.

     In Terror Mountain, you have snowball fights. In Mystery Island, you play Beach Volleyball.

     In Terror Mountain, you enjoy slushies and warm breakfasts. In Mystery Island, you enjoy fresh fruits and refreshing salads.

     It was then that Daniel began to truly understand what the purpose of the assignment was. Indeed, new experiences and leaving one’s comfort zone are important as they allow for someone to expand their horizons so they can be a better participant in the world. However, it is not always about where one goes, but instead who one is with.

     No matter where Daniel, Samuel, Jolly, and Kimmy are, they have fun together. Sand or snow, rain or shine, good days or bad, if they have each other, there is nothing that they cannot achieve. Daniel only wishes that he had explored the beach with his dear friend sooner. Together, they will explore the rest of Neopia! Now, where will they go for Samuel’s assignment?

     The End.