The Last Piece of Seaglass

     Her father, Joe, was a JubJub janitor. He had worked at the harbour, keeping the signs shiny and the dock clean. All of Julie's life he had worked there, and so she had always lived on Mystery Island. The beach she was walking now, she had been coming to for years. It was not a secret or secluded beach, but it was not very popular. Julie liked it that way. She always came here to think or dream, or to just get out of the house for a few hours. It was her special place, and now she had to leave it behind. Her father Joe had been fired from his Harbour cleaning position because the manager had recently bought a new Petpet that did his job for free. Joe had tried as hard as he could to find another job on Mystery Island, so that his family wouldn't have to move. Unfortunately, there was no need for janitors on the island, as most of the inhabitants were JubJubs and being a janitor was all too common for a JubJub.

     Joe had come home from work on the night that all of this happened to explain. Julie had asked him where they were going to be moving, hoping that it was Krawk Island or Maraqua. Julie was taking the news very well up to the point when her father told her just where they were moving to. As it turned out, there weren't that many jobs available anywhere in Neopia. Joe had tried again and again to explain to Julie that no matter how hard he tried, he could just not find a job near the sea. Not on Roo Island or Kiko lake, and also, and much to Julie's dismay on Krawk Island or Maraqua. He found no available jobs, and he had to pick the one he thought would be best for him and Julie. He had explained to Julie that he could have gotten a job on Kreludor. He could have worked at Café Kreludor, cleaning the floors and cooking appliances. He had decided against this job, though, as JubJubs were not huge fans of outer space, and he knew that this change would be for the worst. There were absolutely no beaches on Kreludor, and there were also no trees or volleyball or anything else that Julie had enjoyed. There was also no sun on Kreludor, and this was something he was not sure he could live without, and he knew that Julie couldn't.

     The only other job he had been able to find was in the Lost Desert. He was to help out the city groundskeeper in Qasala. The city, after being nothing but a ruin, now prided itself on being a beautiful city. The groundskeeper had found that he could not keep the city beautiful all on his own, so he had put an ad out for an assistant. The job had sounded perfect to Joe, and he would have had to take it anyway. He needed a job to support himself and Julie, as her mother had passed away when Julie was just a baby. Joe had always been able to support Julie and himself in a comfortable lifestyle from his job at the harbour, but he hadn't been able to save much money, not nearly enough for him to retire early. No, finding another job had not been an option. It had been a necessity.

     Julie had to sit down as she reflected upon all of this. Her father had been as hopeful as she had to stay on Mystery Island, but that just hadn't been possible. Julie knew all of this and though she understood that her father was only thinking of her, she was still frustrated and crestfallen. The Lost Desert was nothing like Mystery Island. There was no water, which had always been one of her favourite things in all of Neopia. The trees would be more or less the same, palm, as both the island and the desert were hot and tropical. The only thing Julie was happy about was the sun in the desert; it would shine even brighter there than it did on Mystery Island. She could never explain her obsession with the sun; she had always been that way. Yes, she said to herself, the only good thing about this move is the sun. She gazed down at the piece of seaglass in her palm. She already had quite a collection from all of her walks along the beach, but this piece was the most beautiful she had ever seen. It was a vibrant shade of blue, with perfectly smoothed edges. It had obviously been in the sea a long time.

     Sighing to herself, she got up from the rock. My last piece of sea glass ever, she thought to herself. She was sure that you could not find seaglass in the Lost Desert. She walked back up the beach, towards the beach volleyball courts. She lived just past those, though a little more inland. On the way she stopped in at the Tiki Tack store, and used her allowance to buy one last souvenir from Mystery Island. A plain wooden bowl caught her eye. It wasn't fancy, but she bought it anyway.

     The next day Julie awoke to find herself in her new Neohome in Qasala. Her boxes were at the foot of her bed, waiting to be unpacked. She got up very slowly, as she was still sad, but she also knew that now the move was final, and nothing would change it. She started unpacking her boxes, and the first thing she found was the piece of seaglass and the wooden bowl. She placed these on her windowsill, as a reminder of her last few hours on Mystery Island. The morning sun was streaming through the glass, and she looked down to see her last piece of sea glass, glowing even bluer in the brilliant sun. It was at this moment that she knew she'd like it here in the Lost Desert.

     Julie and her father Joe settled comfortably into their new lives in the Lost Desert. Joe loved his job cleaning the city, and met lots of people through his work and personality. Julie also adjusted well, though from time to time she did miss Mystery Island. As long as the sun was shining through her window onto her last piece of seaglass, she was happy.

The End