Harmless Wishes: Part One

     Tonight, for example, he was eating every single item on the Golden Dubloon’s menu (except Krawk pie, that is). He munched his way luxuriously through appetizers, main dishes, and desserts craving for more. Never before had he felt so hungry. His subconscious mind told him gently that he was probably dreaming.

     I thought so, he said to himself while stuffing his mouth with tropical breeze.

     “Wake up,” a faraway voice called to him.

     “I don’t want to,” he growled taking a swig of a root beer float.

     “Come on, Yannagiba! Wake up.”

     Cold water splashed on his face snapping him back into the real world.

     “Who did that?” Yannagiba asked ferociously.

     “Me, of course!” the same voice replied impatiently.

     He turned to look in the direction of the voice and saw his younger sister glaring at him contemptuously.

     “It’s dead early, Nadashikoh!” Yannagiba complained sneaking a glance outside just to make sure. It was pitch dark.

     “I know,” the Faerie Aisha replied rolling her azure eyes. “Today is Saturday. We’re going shopping, remember?”

     “Of course, I remember!” the Gelert exploded. Belle, their owner, had promised to buy him a new blue Frisbee exactly like the one he broke while frolicking in the front yard the other day. “I just never heard her mentioning we were going at this time of day. I mean, it’s hardly light outside!”

     “Well, she did,” his sister chided shaking her head. “Now, get up and fix yourself. Everyone else is ready.”

     “They are?” Yannagiba asked disbelievingly.

     Nadashikoh continued to glare at him as if that would grind him to pulp.

     “Alright, alright,” he muttered. “I’ll get up.”

     Fifteen minutes later, he had taken a shower and was now wolfing down a bowl of cereal. Just like Nadashikoh had said, the rest of the family was assembled in the living room waiting with irritation for him to finish.

     Only Belle remained in the most cheerful of spirits. The young teenage girl had tossed on the first decent T-shirt and pair of jeans she saw in her pile of wrinkled clothes. Usually, the dark-haired girl took the time to choose her garments wisely and flatten them out a bit so they wouldn’t look grungy. Today, though, she hadn’t bothered. Shopping always made her just a little bit giddy.

     “Better hurry up, Yannagiba!” she chirped. “We all woke up early to get some good deals at the Neopian Market Place.”

     The Gelert choked down the last spoon of cereal and hurriedly gulped some apple cider.

     “Coming!” he yelled rushing into the living room on all four paws.

     “He’s always late,” Chistomise the Aubergine Chia, otherwise known as Chi, said with a long-suffering smile. He directed his statement at his younger brother Yuki.

     The Halloween Kacheek just shrugged as if to say, “You betcha!”

     Chi gave him a worried look. Three months and he still hadn’t warmed up to the rest of the family. Yuki seemed to prefer his Doglefox’s company instead of theirs.

     “I’m here! I’m here!” Yannagiba cried while panting.

     “Finally,” Nadashikoh muttered under her breath.

     “I heard that,” the Gelert growled.

     The Aisha ignored her brother’s words and turned towards Belle.

     “Alright! Now, we can go shopping,” their owner said, brown eyes sparkling excitedly.

     The group made their way to the shops with smiles. Nadashikoh used her wings wisely and flew up in the blue sky. Yannagiba jogged keeping a steady pace, taking pleasure in the exercise. Chi and Yuki each took one of Belle’s hands and walked leisurely. When they reached the place, not many owners and pets were around. After all, it was pretty early in Neopian Standard Time.

     “You all brought your spending money, right?” Belle asked the four of them. They nodded breathlessly.

     “Okay, let’s split up just like we always do and meet up in an hour in front of the bank,” the girl instructed. “You can buy your toys and candy. I’ll take care of the food and books.”

     “Yippee!” Yannagiba exclaimed. The others cheered, as well, and prepared to go.

     “Oh, and Yannagiba?” Belle added. “You’ll be in charge of buying your own Frisbee, alright?”

     “Okay,” the Gelert replied, only half listening.

     They all walked in different directions, each wondering what to buy with their Neopoints.

     Yannagiba was, of course, thinking about the brand new Frisbee he was going to purchase. He decided to visit the Toy Shop just to see what new plushies were available. But before he could even enter the shop, the Gelert noticed a tiny tent pitched beside it. The tent was made of shimmering, translucent material in different colors. Above its entrance hung a medium-sized white sign that said “The Sand Shop” in clear black letters. Naturally, Yannagiba’s curiosity was caught. He took a cautious step toward the tent flap. That did it. He was hooked. The Gelert couldn’t resist lifting the flap and he took a peek inside.

     The inside of the tent was just like its exterior. The same beautiful material covered the tent’s walls, ceiling, and floor. On each wall was a row of wooden shelves carrying various bottles of sand and nothing else.

     “Welcome to the Sand Shop, dearie,” a shaky old voice (it sounded like it belonged to an ancient grandmother) said.

     Yannagiba took a good look at the silver-haired Wocky, the shopkeeper. She was swathed in multicolored scarves from neck to toe. A large red turban covered her head. Only the upper portion of her face could be seen (and a lock of silver hair on her forehead). Her fur was grayish black. She had large yellowish eyes with reddish irises. He tried not to gawk at the Wocky. Instead, he gazed again at the bottles of sand that the store had for sale. To his dismay, they were just ordinary bottles of sand, exactly like the ones from Mystery Island. As far as he was concerned, these items were useless. A lot of his precious time was wasted. And he still hadn’t bought a new Frisbee.

     “Uh, I was just looking,” he said hastily. The Gelert glanced around nervously trying to maintain his calm (and plotting his escape).

     “Would you like to take home a bottle of sand?” the Wocky offered him pushing a bottle under his purplish nose.

     Yannagiba was about to run out of the tent in fright when he discovered that the sand inside the bottle was quite…unusual. The grains shone like iridescent glitter. Golden glitter.

     “Wow,” he said in an awed tone.

     Realizing that she had the Gelert’s attention, the queer Wocky smiled to herself and put the bottle on her wooden desk.

     “Ah, I see you’re attracted to my wishdust,” she told him mysteriously.

     “W-wish dust?” Yannagiba asked confused.

     “Wishdust,” she repeated with a cursory nod.

     Yannagiba couldn’t help but argue. “But that’s just a bottle of golden sand. I could get some of that just about…anywhere!” he said, although he did notice that the stuff in the bottle was too fine to be the sand he was talking about. He tried vainly to push that thought away.

     “Call it whatever you please, youngling,” the shopkeeper replied with a wink of one eye, “but I call it wishdust.” A small smile crept on her face.

     “And you would call it wishdust because?” the Gelert demanded (although he had a mighty fine idea why she did).

     “It makes your wishes come true,” the Wocky said simply.

     Yannagiba’s jaw dropped. That was exactly what he was thinking. “Surely, that can’t be true?” he gasped looking the Wocky in the eye.

     “Of course, it is! This bottle contains genuine wishdust,” the Wocky said with a delighted laugh. “All you have to do is place a few grains on your paw and make a wish…” She opened the bottle and poured some of its contents in one paw.

     “I wish I had a strawberry Chia pop,” she stated. Then, the shopkeeper blew the grains into the air. They disappeared and a strawberry Chia pop took their place.

     All Yannagiba could do was stare at it in amazement. “How in Neopia?” he blurted out. Then, suddenly, his expression changed into one of suspicion. He looked around the Wocky furtively, trying to see if she had just performed an amazing magic trick. He scratched his head. “Is that a real strawberry Chia pop?”

     “Go on. Try it,” the Wocky urged in an almost mocking tone. She held the Chia pop up to him.

     Yannagiba took it and cautiously took a bite. “It tastes like a real Chia pop, alright. How can I be sure you’re not just some…magician?”

     The Wocky laughed and gave him an incredulous look. “Me, a magician? Why don’t you try the wishdust yourself, dearie? Then, you’ll see if it really works.” Her eyes glinted mischievously. She offered him the bottle.

     Yannagiba didn’t need any more encouragement. He carefully placed a pinch of wishdust on his paw.

     “I wish…”

To be continued...