It was a cold winter's night on Christmas Eve in the land of Neopia. The sky
was dark and the air was calm. The snow on the ground which had fallen only
the day before glistened with beauty. In the centre of Neopia, a remarkably
tall Christmas tree donated by the Soup Kitchen was decorated with ornaments,
which included everything from gingerbread Gelerts to candy cane Shoyrus. The
main shops were closed for the night and NeoHomes were dim as everybody prepared
to go to bed and wait for Saint Nick. Children dreamed of sugar plum faeries
dancing in their heads. All was perfect. The only light to be seen was coming
from the Neopian Pound....
Sounds of joy and happiness filled the large back room inside the pound. Homeless
NeoPets filled the individual cages lined up against the wall, which was painted
a hideous orange colour. The only window in the room was a narrow slit near
the ceiling. A small lantern sat on a desk in the rear. It was rather dim, but
it was enough to light the room up. It was a miserable place to be. Usually,
the pets were sad and somber, but that night, they chattered away excitedly,
for they knew it would be Christmas tomorrow.
"I think Dr_Death will let us out of our cages on Christmas and let us have
a feast," said a Yellow Aisha.
"Nah, I overheard him saying we're all getting gifts from the Money Tree,"
countered a Mutant Grundo.
All the other pets started talking at once. Yet, there was one pet who did
not say a word during the whole conversation. A lone Christmas Flotsam sat quietly
in the far corner of the room, hidden in shadows and Spyder webs. His chocolate
brown eyes were filled with tears and his usually incandescent red nose was
dull and gloomy. He was gazing down at the floor.
A Red Kacheek in the cage next to him took notice.
"Why so sad, little one?" she inquired sympathetically. This particular Kacheek
was the motherly type. All the pets who came to the pound have loved and admired
her. Her real name was unknown, so everybody called her "Mama". Mama had been
in the pound for quite a while, so she knew the answer to many problems.
The Flotsam looked up. The once noisy room was now quiet as everybody turned
to stare at him. His face immediately flushed red with embarrassment but he
opened his mouth to say something, but caught himself, as though he was changing
his mind. The Flotsam quickly turned away and put his head down again.
"Tell us what's on your mind," Mama persisted. She was definitely not the type
to give up easily.
The Flotsam hesitated, then he cleared his throat to begin his story.
"It happened four months ago. It was a warm day in the summer heat of the month
of Hiding. Back then, I was a bright Blue colour. My owner, whose name was Christie,
took me shopping in the marketplace because it was my birthday. We came across
the Rainbow Pool and at that moment, I had an idea. I told Christie I wanted
to be painted, so she asked me what colour I thought would be best.
"I had always loved Christmas colours, so I told Christie I wanted to be painted
Christmas. She looked skeptical, but she bought me the correct paint brush anyway
and proceeded to paint me.
"When we were finished, I looked into a mirror nearby. I loved it! But I noticed
Christie had a sour expression on her face and the colour had drained completely
from her face.
"That night, Christie dropped me off at a spooky building and an ugly Yellow
Techo took me into the back room and locked me into the very cage I'm sitting
in right now. From then on, Christie never came back for me again."
As the Flotsam ended his story, his face darkened.
"I don't have anybody for Christmas," he sobbed, "four months in here and nobody
has even glanced at me." He gazed outside through the tiny window and already,
it was piling up against the glass.
All through the Flotsam's story, Mama had been listening very intently. She
looked deep in thought, and finally, she spoke.
"Maybe not," she mused, surveying all the faces who were watching her closely,
"but you do have us." She reached through the bars separating her and the Flotsam
and she gave him a pat on the head.
The Flotsam paused. He thought about it a bit, seeming uncertain. Sighing,
he said, "Let me think about it." One by one, each NeoPet in the room drifted
off to asleep.
***
CREEEAK!
It was Christmas morning, and the sound of a door opening awakened everybody
in the room. A yellow face peered in. It was Dr_Death, carrying an armful of
candy canes and packages of Neodrops. What was noticeable was Dr_Death himself.
Instead of his usual lab coat, he was wearing a red suit complete with light
puffy frills and a hat to match. On his face was a bushy white beard tied around
his face with a rubber band. In fact, Dr_Death looked quite silly. A Scorchio
snorted and others stifled giggles.
"Merry Christmas!" Dr_Death boomed, laying the stack of candy onto the floor.
The pets' expressions lit up at once. Dr_Death undid the latches of each cage
and hurriedly, the pets dashed out.
"Merry Christmas," Mama managed to say to the Flotsam over the racket.
"Merry Christmas to you, too," replied the Flotsam. He gave her a quick hug
and smiled brightly. "I haven't been this happy for a long while. Thanks."
Afterwards, Dr_Death herded the NeoPets outside. It was snowing gently and
Christmas lights illuminated the streets around them. Feet crunching in the
snow, Dr_Death led everybody to a large open field covered with a twinkling
blanket of snow. There was the Neopian Christmas tree, shining brightly and
beautifully.
People were from all around Neopia were standing in a circle and holding hands,
singing wonderful Christmas carols and stirring the morning air with pretty
melodies. Small children ran around laughing lightheartedly. Lupes crowded the
area serving Cups of Hot Borovan and Cherry-tastic Faerie Pie while little Pteris
soared across the sky, dropping presents into the snow. Groups of Chombys were
building snow Blumaroos. All the NeoPets seemed quite interested and amused;
all except the Flotsam.
Instead, something else caught his eye. He thought he caught a glimpse of the
familiar gold hair, the blaze of a colourful red and blue vest, and those lively
green eyes...
"CHRISTIE!" cried the Flotsam happily. The girl looked in his direction. Instantly,
her face lit up. Indeed, it was Christie.
"Oh my goodness! My poor FLOTSAM!" she wailed. Her cheeks were already streaked
with tears as she hurried over towards him, arms outstretched.
The two of them embraced and they held each other for a few seconds.
Christie dried her tears. The Flotsam spoke first.
"Where have you been all this time? How can I trust you again?" he asked.
She didn't answer. Instead, she grabbed hold of him and wove through the crowd,
trying not to collide into anybody as she hurried on. Finally, Christie came
to Dr_Death's feet.
"Please, let me adopt this Flotsam," she told him. Mama came over to see what
the commotion was about. The Flotsam looked at her, then to Christie. Christie
could sense there was something between them, so she added, "I want this Red
Kacheek, too."
She stuffed a few Neopoints into the Techo's hand and grinned at her two new
NeoPets.
"C'mon, let's go to my house," Christie said.
***
The Flotsam turned up the familiar cobblestone path leading to Christie's home.
Not much had changed since he left four months ago. The quiet, one-story house
was still painted white on the outside, but it now had purple trim. Christmas
lights were laced around the windows. A rocking chair on the porch swayed as
the Flotsam brushed against it and he immediately remembered fond memories of
Christie and him sitting there and watching the sunset.
The Flotsam managed to open the door and he bolted inside. The sweet scent
of fresh biscuits hung in the air and a fire was roaring in the fireplace. The
Flotsam also noticed a tiny Christmas tree in the corner of the hall decorated
with pretty lights.
Home sweet home, he thought.
Christie and Mama came through the door. Christie threw off her vest and slung
it onto a table.
"First things first," said Christie, "let's eat!"
After a wonderful snack of warm apple cider and biscuits (and Mama's introduction,
of course), the three of them plopped down into a cushy sofa in the family room.
"I suppose you want to know the whole story," Christie said to the Flotsam
and Mama.
They nodded eagerly.
"As you probably know now, I wasn't satisfied with your new Christmas-sy look
at first," she said to the Flotsam, "so I brought you to the pound and left
you there. When I got home, I started crying because I realised how selfish
that was of me.
"I wanted to have you back more than anything in the world. Mother found out
I gave you away and she was angry with me. She wouldn't let me adopt you so
I wouldn't do something as stupid again. I was grounded for a month and by the
time I was allowed out of the house, I gave up hope of ever seeing you again."
Christie smiled brightly.
"But now I have you back, and another great pet. Just in time for Christmas,
too."
Mama beamed, and looked at the Flotsam. His face was expressionless at first
and then he, too, smiled.
"Group hug!" Mama cried. Christie, Mama, and the Flotsam squeezed together
into a tight hug.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
The End | 
