The common stereotype is that people who abandon their pets are bad evil
people who could care less about NeoPets. It's said they do it cause they love
one pet better, or want a new species more, or simply grow bored of the pet
they already have. But sometimes its for a totally different reason, one that
is not necessarily bad.
"WE'RE HALFWAY TO our goal!" the girl shrieked excitedly, rushing into the
modest house one day.
"Halfway!? Already?" the yellow Aisha exclaimed, leaping to her feet.
"That's right, halfway!"
The two laughed and the Aisha let out a whoop of delight.
"I'll be able to fly! I'll be able to fly!" she shouted, leaping into her
owner's arms.
The young girl hugged her pet in return, smiling broadly.
"We keep up at this rate, and we'll get you that Faerie Paint Brush in no
time!" she said happily. "Just think Yvette_Mina, wings. For you."
"I can hardly wait," she replied dreamily, gazing out the window.
"I got an idea. How about to celebrate, we go window shopping. You can pick
out what petpet you'd want after we get the brush."
"Yeah!" Yvette_Mina exclaimed, racing for the door.
Her owner followed, laughing.
The pair shopped for hours, debating and thinking as if the world depended
on this one decision.
"I'd love an Alkenore," Yvette_Mina said dreamily, gazing into one shop that
had the Faerie PetPet on display.
"I'm sure you would," the girl replied with a laugh. "But they're expensive."
"Well, could we do what we're doing for the brush?" the Aisha questioned.
"Just save and save?"
"Sure. You have a thing for faeries, don't you?"
"I sure do! I've always wanted to fly."
The pair walked off down the street, chatting happily. It was the perfect scene
of a loving owner and pet.
The girl eventually had to go to school the next morning. That was how things
were. As much as she'd like to spend more time with her pet, she was still required
to go to school.
"Here you are Maria," the teacher said solemnly, handing the girl back her
interim.
She stared at in total dismay. A "C-", in her first class. She moaned
and buried her head in her arms. This couldn't be right. Sure, she hadn't been
doing all the homework, or spending as much time on studying as she should,
but how could it be this bad? She reluctantly shoved the paper into her backpack
and tried not to dwell on it, instead distracting herself with thoughts of how
she'd buy the faerie paint brush for Yvette_Mina, and then save up for the Alkenore
she wanted so badly.
The next class wasn't so bad. A "B", that'd be acceptable for her
parents. But still, the "C-" was a blaring reminder that there would
be trouble that night. Eventually she made it to the end of the day, pulling
off fairly good grades in the rest of her classes. But then she got her math
grade back. A big fat "D" rested on the page. Maria stared at it,
feeling like she'd just been punched in the stomach. Even the thoughts of Yvette_Mina
with wings could not distract her from this horrible failure. There would be
trouble with the parents that night, that much she knew.
"A 'D'?!" her father roared.
Maria just sat there in silence, waiting for the storm to burst. Her parents
left to consult together for a bit, and Maria desperately strained to hear what
was being said. The two came back in, their faces grim.
"Maria, we've decided that you've been spending too much time on the computer,"
her father began.
"What?!" she shrieked.
"And since your grades are suffering, we're taking it away…" "No!" Maria screamed.
"You can't! I hate you!!"
And she leaped from the chair, running upstairs and slamming the door hard
enough to rattle the windows behind her. She collapsed on her bed, sobbing,
the dreams of Yvette_Mina and wings and Alkenore evaporating in milliseconds.
"This can't be happening," she moaned, but it was.
And she knew what she had to do now. With grim deliberateness, she stood and
wiped the tears off her face.
"You're home!" the yellow Aisha shouted in delight.
"Yeah," she replied sadly.
"What's wrong?" Yvette_Mina asked worriedly.
"Come with me, we're going somewhere," the human replied.
The pair walked down to Neopia Central, the girl silent and the Aisha worried
about this sudden change in mood. The girl led her pet into the pound.
"Are we getting a second pet?" Yvette_Mina asked curiously.
"I need an abandonment form" the owner told Dr_Death, then burst into tears.
The yellow Techo stared in silence as the girl found a chair and buried her
head in her hands, sobbing.
"What's going on! What's wrong!!" Yvette_Mina asked frantically, glancing
from the Techo and back.
"Do you really want to abandon?" Dr_Death finally asked.
"What? Abandon me? But what about the Alkenore? And the paint brush?"
Maria continued crying, then finally pulled herself together, hiccupping a
time or two.
"I have to. My parents are pulling me out of Neopia, and I can't take care
of you."
"No!" Yvette_Mina shouted. "This can't be true. It's a lie. It's a joke. Tell
your parents you can't. Tell them I need you! You can't leave me!"
Maria didn't reply, only started filling out the form in teary silence.
"I have to," she whispered, handing the form to the Techo who took it with
stony eyes. "Can you understand why?"
Her tearstained face gazed fearfully at the Techo, searching for understanding,
and perhaps even forgiveness. Finally, he gave a slight nod, and filed the form
away.
"No! Don't leave me!" Yvette_Mina shrieked.
"I have to. Don't ever forget I love you," Maria whispered, hugging her pet
one last time, then walking slowly to the door, afraid to look back.
"Maria!" Yvette_Mina cried out, but the girl didn't turn, only walked out,
shutting the door behind her.
"You can't leave me!"
And the yellow Aisha ran for the door, trying to follow her owner. But the
Techo snatched the struggling pet up and carried her towards the back room and
the cages.
"Let go of me! I hate you! Maria!" the Aisha screamed, kicking and biting
at Dr_Death.
"She had to," the doctor grunted, trying to restrain the pet and open a cage
at the same time. "You would of starved otherwise."
"Let me go!!!"
But it was too late, Yvette_Mina was in a cage and the Techo quickly locked
it, avoiding the Aisha's eyes.
"I'm sorry," he muttered, then returned to the front.
***
Yvette_Mina hardly moved that night. And the next. This continued for days,
until Dr_Death grew genuinely worried.
"Look, you have to eat," he said sternly, handing her a plate of gourmet food
he'd bought with his own money.
"I want Maria."
"She can't come back. And I know she loved you very much, but you have to
move on. Please, starving yourself won't work."
Yvette_Mina didn't reply, only rolled over so that her back faced the doctor.
"Please?" he begged. "I can't have you starve like this. If for nothing else,
at least eat for me. If you die, I get in so much trouble you won't believe.
And for Maria. She put you here so that you'd find a new home, and be taken
care of. It was the best she could do. She didn't put you here to starve yourself.
She'd have left you alone if she'd wanted that."
The Aisha sighed and sat up, taking the plate from the Techo and reluctantly
started to eat.
"Thank you," Dr_Death said with a big sigh of relief.
And he returned to the front room.
"She eating then?" the red Uni asked hopefully when he returned.
"Yep. But only because I told her she'd get me in big trouble if she didn't.
And because her previous owner wouldn't of wanted that."
"She's given up hope then," the Uni said sadly. "How terrible. It probably
would have been better to be abandoned by an owner that didn't love her."
"Perhaps. I tell you, I hate this job more every day…"
And in the cages behind them, a yellow Aisha stared in silence at the bare
floor, her spirit and heart crushed by an owner who left her out of love.
The End | 
