Wingless: A Story of Determination

      It was a fine day in Neopia, and all the busy Neopians were in the marketplace shopping all the way from Hubert’s Hot Dog stand to Kauvara’s Magic Shop. Christianna was pointing to all the different shops and her brother, the faerie Kacheek, was rolling his eyes in boredom. Nothing could go wrong at this exact moment. She had 15,000 neopoints to spend and she could spend them however she wanted. Just then, she walked past the clothing shop and couldn’t help but peek through the window. She had not expected to see the most perfect pair of wings in stock in the shop. She grabbed her brother’s hand and dragged him into the store as fast as she could.

      Christianna had always been envious of her brother’s wings. He could fly circles around her head until she got so jealous that she had to use her camouflage to hide under the nearest bush. When she saw this pair of wings in the window, she just had to get them. Inside, they were labeled “Earth Faerie Wings”, and were priced for only 4,000 neopoints! In her haste to get them, she didn’t notice another busy shopper and was only defeated by them, who had spotted the deal almost instantly. Sighing, she realized that the only options she had of getting those wings were either waiting around the store for them to re-stock, or taking a visit to the shop wizard.

      She crept nervously towards the cloaked figure in a wizard’s cap. She finally got up the courage to tap his shoulder. He spun around gracefully to face her.

      “Hello,” she squeaked. He nodded and she continued. “Um, can I use your expertise to find an item located in a Neopian’s shop?” He nodded yet again and she said, “I am looking for ‘Earth Faerie Wings’ please”. Almost instantly she was transported to a shop near the Coast of Mystery Island. Glancing around, she saw many items in stock but finally settled her eyes on an identical pair of wings to those she saw in the clothing shop earlier. She rushed towards them, only to see the price for them: 15,000. “Well, it’s for the best,” she thought, and handed over the neopoints. Finally, she had a pair of wings to call her own.

      When she got back home, Christianna tried to place them carefully in her closet, but they wouldn’t budge. It wasn’t long before she realized that the wings weren’t made for her. It was merely an item that was impossible to wear. Disappointed, she placed them into her own shop for 15,000 points. Thinking about it, she began to feel even worse, knowing that she had been so close to having wings, especially a pair of earth wings that would have matched her camouflage perfectly.

      A few days passed, and she felt even worse as the wings had not been bought. When they finally had been purchased, she gave a sigh of relief and hoped she would never have to think about that again.

      A few more days later, she was browsing around Neopia looking at the new features page. Near the bottom of the page, she saw a picture of a disco Cybunny wearing her pair of wings! She quickly began to read and discovered that the wings could be worn now. Christianna just had to have them! She looked everywhere, even in the shop wizard but they were nowhere to be found. Horrified, she scrambled to get to the trading post, and found some pairs of earth faerie wings, priced at 200,000 neopoints. She had been careless and lost any chance of having her wings. Had she had kept them a little longer it would either have been her with the wings, or else she would have been rich rather than the Neopian who had bought the wings from her shop at such a low price.

      Christianna was in distress. She didn’t know what to do! She just had to have those wings! Suddenly, she had an idea. She went to her bank account and saw exactly 200,000 neopoints saved up. The Skeith who owned the bank was a bit hesitant of Christianna taking out that much money, and only let Christianna withdraw 150,000 of it. That wasn’t much! How was she ever going to get her wings?

      She was pacing back and forth as her brother swooped overhead and used the wind to guide him through the air. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted her wings. She was filled with remorse thinking over selling the wings, and was now more determined than ever to get them. She called her brother down from the air and they headed to the games room. There, Christianna and her brother, Kiwi, played all sort of games to earn neopoints. Christianna would become the turmac in “Turmac Roll” and Kiwi would control the games. It was worth it for Christianna, even though she rubbed her head in frustration after colliding with a tree stump. This went on for many games after that, and finally they had earned 30,000 neopoints. She would have her wings soon.

      After all their time in the game room, the sun was beginning to set. She was desperate to get her wings! She decided in order to get her wings; she would have to make a visit to the loan shark. This was a nasty creature that lent out money to Neopians at an excessively high interest rate. She better knew him as her brother, Shallow, the Jetsam.

      Shallow had always been, well, shallow. He began making unfair dealerships after he had gone to the space station and was poisoned by Doctor Sloth’s preaching. From then on, he was cruel to everyone, and he usually could be found talking to Doctor Sloth at the Space Station. Christianna begged Kiwi to come along with her to see Shallow, but he was too afraid. Christianna was nervous too, but gathered her courage, determined to purchase her wings.

      She entered the Jetsam’s office in their neohome, and begged him, “Please, please will you loan me 20,000 neopoints so I can buy some wings?”

      He took his time answering, and finally looked up at her and said, “Christianna, you know that I will not give you money just because you are my sister. I have a business here and if I give you money for free, no one will take me seriously anymore. If you want some money, you should make me an offer.”

      Christianna had no choice but to allow herself to be pushed into a corner. She accepted the deal, knowing she was condemning herself to a couple weeks of earning back neopoints. She headed to the trading post and began shopping for wings.

      “Here they are,” thought Christianna as she placed them in her closet. Taking a deep breath, she entered her closet and slipped on the wings.

      Brilliant leaves of green fell from her shoulders and rolled down her back. The leaves pushed together, and fastened themselves upon her back. She examined her wings on the mirror and saw jagged yet graceful wings flapping about as if pleading to take flight.

      This was it, her moment of a new start. She leapt off the edge of the bed, and soared in the air for a split second, then came crashing to the ground. “What happened?” Christianna asked herself. It wasn’t long before she realized that the wings were just for show and were not actually meant to fly with.

      Christianna shuddered at the thought and hoped that wouldn’t happen. She began to feel nervous as she walked outside and stared at the setting sun on the horizon. She took a deep breath and climbed onto the diving board hovering above the pool, and jumped into the water, but before she hit the water her wings took hold of the breeze and lifted her away from the pool.

      “Wheee!” exclaimed Christianna as she flew through the air, feeling the rush of the wind and the rapid beating of her heart. “I can fly!” she shouted into the wind, and began zooming towards the setting sun, and then up towards the night sky. This was definitely worth all her hard work.

The End

This is based on a true story, and the characters are my pets. Christianna really did get her wings after all that.