A Remorseful Soul

     The fox was sitting on a Nova sofa, staring out a window. Her brown eyes looked tired with worry, and her shoulders were slumped. Chen padded over to the woman, taking a seat beside her. The green Zafara bit her lip, trying to think of what to say. It was strange that her owner looked so gloomy. Straightening her posture, Chen cleared her throat.

     “Legend, is something wrong?”

     Legend turned around and smiled weakly at her pet. She tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat. Sighing she rubbed her forehead with her fingers. Chen put a paw on the fox's arm to try to encourage her to speak. Legend took a deep breath.

     “Chen, please tell your brothers and your sister to come here. I have something very important to say to all of you.”

     Chen nodded, and went to fetch her siblings. She knocked on each of their respective rooms, and told them about Legend's request. They followed her into the living room where Legend was. Once all of them were seated, they turned their gaze to Legend.

     “Guys, what I am about to say might make you hate me,” Legend stated crisply.

     “That is preposterous!” a blue Gelert exclaimed. “Nothing in all of Neopia could make us hate you! Am I correct, Storm and Wint?”

     A red Peophin and a red Ogrin nodded in reply.

     “Your sympathy makes it even more difficult for me to tell you what I feel guilty about. A long time ago, I had pets before you. I had an account full of pets, but I soon became overwhelmed and self-froze it. I then fell into the bad habit of creating account after account, thinking that I could help pets. However, I failed to learn from my past my past mistakes and self-froze all of those as well. Looking back at the past, I deeply regret what I did. Please forgive me,” she pleaded.

     “Excuse me, but I think that Chen, Storm, Wint, and I need to discuss this matter among ourselves in my room. Come, everyone,” Sieryns ordered.

     The four of them followed the Gelert into his bedroom. Once the door was shut, Sieryns turned around to address his fellow pets.

     “I know this is a difficult matter. It was wrong for Legend to abandon her previous pets, even if she did get overwhelmed. On the other hand, she apologized for her actions. I propose that we forgive her. Do any of you object?”

     “I do not know. She seems sorry, but I don't want to be abandoned. I have heard tales of what the pound is like, and I do not want to end up there," the red Peophin mumbled.

     “There is no need to worry, Storm. I am sure she will not abandon us,” Chen assured.

     “Of course she will abandon us! Did you hear what she said?! Anyone who abandons a pet is worse than Dr. Sloth!”

     “Wint, that is a very rude thing to say!” Chen exclaimed.

     “It was rude of Legend to leave those pets! What if she dumps us off at the pound! I bet you will not be standing up for her when you are in a steel pen!” the Ogrin snapped.

     “Stop it! Yelling at each other is not debating. Wint, I know you are afraid at the thought of being abandoned, but I believe that everyone needs to be given another chance. I am sure all of you have made your own mistakes. Why is it so difficult to forgive Legend? She feeds us, she plays with us, and she helps us with our problems. Does that sound like a horrible owner?” Sieryns asked.

     “Well, I still do not forgive her. You three are fools for thinking that she is truly sorry. You know she was lying,” Wint sneered, crossing her arms.

     Sieryns growled in frustration. “It seems that there is no way of convincing you to forgive Legend, but I must warn you about something. Nothing good will come out of your hatred,” he advised. He opened the door and strolled out of the room, gesturing for Chen and Storm to follow. Storm cast a worried gaze at Wint, but quickly turned away when she glared at him.

     “She will abandon all of us. I have heard a tale of what the pound is like. I can remember every detail of that story...”

      ~

     The snowflakes billowed about Wint as she walked up the path to the Super Happy Icy Fun Snow Shop.

     A warm light glowed from inside the building, and Wint could see customers munching on their frozen treats. The Ogrin licked her lips when she thought about all of the desserts that were on the menu. She heard a faint chime as she pushed open the glass doors and stepped inside. The Lenny shopkeeper behind the counter waved at Wint.

     “Hello! Would you like to purchase anything?” he asked, adjusting his hat.

     “One Blueberry Snowpuff, please,” she stated, pulling a handful of neopoints from her coat pocket and handing them to the Lenny.

     “Here you go,” the shopkeeper chimed, handing her the blue treat.

     “Thank you,” Wint responded. She turned her attention to finding a place to sit. Almost all of the booths were full. Wint took a seat at the only available booth and sucked on her treat. She enjoyed going to the Super Happy Icy Fun Snow Shop on a regular basis. It seemed strange that a resident of Terror Mountain would want to eat something frozen, but Wint loved munching on Snowpuffs. Her meal was interrupted when a green Shoyru padded up to her.

     “Excuse me, Miss. All of the other booths are empty, and I need a place to sit. May I sit here?”

     “Sure,” the Ogrin replied with a smile. “Call me Wint.”

     “Are you new here, Wint?” the Shoyru inquired before biting into an Ice Lolly.

     “No. I have lived on Terror Mountain for most of my life.”

     The Shoyru looked at Wint. “I moved here a week ago from Neopia Central. I am glad I got away from that place.”

     “Neopia Central is that terrible?”

     “Not exactly. I was in the Pound before I moved here.”

     “The Pound? How bad of an experience did you have there?” Wint asked, her voice shaking slightly.

     “It was horrible. I was placed in a steel cage that was not very roomy. The food they served tasted bland, and no one talked to me. I remained in the Pound for five weeks before I was adopted. I was glad to get out of there. The worst part of the entire experience was that my owner abandoned me. I thought she actually cared for me.”

      ~

     “I thought Legend loved me, but I am wrong. How could anyone abandon a pet? I am sure that she was lying when she apologized. However, she does take good care of me. Maybe I should give her another chance,” Wint said to herself.

     She sauntered out the doorway, her footsteps barely audible on the carpet. When she reached the living room, she stopped when Legend and her siblings stared at her.

     “Legend, I thought about your apology. I forgive you for what you did in the past.”

     “Thank you, Wint. I appreciate it,” Legend commented, pulling her pet into a hug.

The End