Back and Forth: A Tale of Two Kind Hearts and One Hurt Heart

by Littleprincess550

An old and wrinkled Kau sat in a rocking chair, rocking back and forth, forth and back, contentedly. A chime, clear and strong, rang through the air. Screams and sounds of joy rang through the air. A stampede of excited young NeoPets came thundering towards the old Kau, all begging something of her. The tired edges of her mouth curved up into what one would call a smile of adoration for the little ones.

The smallest of them all, a runt Green Aisha, jumped into her lap and piped up, "Pweez Gwandma Kau! We wanna hear yore purdy stories! Pweez?! Pweez?!" His eyes turned up adoringly, a look that simply no one could resist.

"All right, all right, sit tight you bunch of rascals, hmmm, a sad story you say? Let me think…All right, I've got a lovely one," her raspy, soft voice breathed.

As soon as she started speaking, everyone huddled close to hear.

"Not so long ago, my Great-great-great Grandmother was exploring the new lands with her owner, Kat…

"Are we there yet?" cried Kau.

Kat, her owner, smiled, shook her head, and they plodded on after a short rest. Kau was wearing a jungle suit and a tan bucket hat. They were on their way to Mystery Island, it had just been discovered, and Kat was one of the first fortunate ones to get a totem as a pass to Mystery Island. Kau was blue, her eyes were like any others, but her heart was of gold. She had a love for PetPets; she was loving and caring. Kat, too, was like Kau, an inexperienced NeoPets.com player, but truly devoted from the moment she got Kau. As they trudged onwards, all effort was on reaching Mystery Island before noon, where they could look around for lunch. After awhile of lifeless surroundings, solitary buildings started to appear, the nearest one a NeoPet Pound.

The pair was hot, thirsty, and tired. The only place to rest was at the Pound. You'd have to walk another mile to reach the nearest resting-place, and Mystery Island itself other than the Pound. Kau's head was throbbing from the strenuous hike in the blazing sun. She was glad to be in the cool shade of the Pound. As soon as they entered, they hear wails of hunger and self-pity. Kau and Kat both felt knives go through their hearts for the poor helpless pets that no one wanted. There were two couches and the Pound manager showed them to the seats. They gladly sat down; sinking into the heavenly softened of the high-quality couch. The couple couldn't enjoy the softness for long, as they hear the shrieks and hollers of the Pound's captives. Kat was exhausted, even through the noise; she fell asleep peacefully with her arms draped over the armrest. Kau, too, had fallen asleep, though it was and uncomfortable sleep.

Suddenly, Kat felt a mild scratching at her hands, it did not hurt, in fact in a way, it tickled! It was a pair of feeble silver paws repeatedly batting her hands. She peered down and saw a scrawny, silver, tear-eyed Poogle, still bawling and punching at the same time. The Poogle looked up, saw her kind, pretty eyes and started blustering louder than before. It slowed its punching, then stopped altogether. Kat's eyes welled up as she saw the pitifully fragile body shake uncontrollably as if an invisible hand reached down and grabbed the little creature and shook it mercilessly. Kau was already awake and had crept under Kat's sofa to get a better look at the little clump. In the darkest shadow sat a thin, bony Poogle shaking as if it were in below zero temperatures. Kau noticed that the Poogle clearly had been loved. The Poogle was a sad silver. It was a luxury back then to be painted any color at all. It had a flimsy-over-age gold chain around its neck. After further observation, Kau noticed that there was a gold plate connected to the chains that had a name carved out on it.

It was half-starved, and everyone who came to the Pound never even noticed him, for he was always sulking or bawling in the darkest corners, so said the manager when Kat inquired about the critter. The manager told them that he used to be in a very rich family with NP rolling in by the millions every week. He was a pet to play with, nothing else. He'd always been loved, but after a few months of playing, the owner told him she had to go so more important things, and that she would come back. She never did. All she did was give the rich account away in some drawing (it was rumoured) and the winner threw the "worthless Poogle toy" into the pound, when it was already dying with hunger. He had been waiting, waiting… Kat's eyes were loving and kind, same as his old owner's, as he never saw her again. Kau talked to it a little and discovered that he felt betrayed, hungry, and confused.

"Hunger is something I can fix!" smiled Kat lovingly, "Here, that should be enough, if you want more, just ask. Eat up now!" Kat had given him what seemed like the most food he'd seen in a long time. In front of him, he saw a Rainbow Negg, three Strawberry Smoothies, five Rainbow Donuts, four slices of Ham, and a Sub-Sandwich. At first he had been shocked with the acts of love and kindness, but the moment passed, and his hunger overcame his shock. He ate with manners, slowly, politely, savoring each bite or swallow though surely, he must've been famished. After his meal, it seemed as if he grew a 6 inches every direction! At first, he was a deflated balloon, and now he was fully inflated. The Poogle had a content smile on his face, and energy surged through every part of his body. He felt like he belonged somewhere again. Kat decided that Kau would be less lonesome with a companion, and adopted the Poogle. Apparently, the manager said that no one had called the Poogle's name for so long, so he no longer responded or remembered his real name (Nor did he like it for that fact either). The trio decided on Lucky as his new name. The old gold chain filled with bad memories was sold, and a new one was bought for lucky. Kau had one too, and they enjoyed the brightness of their pride. Now every time you bet on the Poogles at Faerieland, look for one with Lucky as its name. He is no longer silver, but and ever-changing color to fit his mood. Kat (the original one) handed her account over to her animal adoring generations, Kau and Lucky were always in good hands."

The room was silent when Grandmother Kau finished the story, Then, one by one, sniffs and whimpers filled the room. Finally, the littlest Aisha on Grandmother Kau's lap started to cry. "It be so sad, Gwandma, but it's so happy!" blubbered the young Aisha through tears.

Another chime rang, and the sullen group walked back to their classrooms, a little more aware of the less fortunate. And Grandmother Kau smiled again… as she rocked, back and forth, forth and back.

The End

Author's Note: No NeoPets were harmed in making this story. Heh Heh.

About the Author: Katharine was aware of the abuse against NeoPets to earn money for each NeoPet you create ever since she heard her friend's plan of it: Creating fake accounts and raising as many NeoPets as possible to earn money and buy things, only to abandon the pets as soon as their use was over. Katharine has been playing NeoPets.com for ages, and encourages those who can't have pets, but love fantasy and real-life experiences with pets to join NeoPets.com. To those who are willing to see her shop. Please do, if not, at least Neomail her sometime to give her credit or negotiations. Littleprincess550.