Fashionable Memory

     Another Neopets Story

     By fantasy_star541

     Three weeks and two siblings after Gryffon Magesty, Fantasy now has a(n) (almost) completed family: Gryffon Magesty the Eyrie, Darling Dash the Peophin, and the ever attention seeking Charles Charming the Ogrin. They are an imperfect family who will help each other in tough times (physically and emotionally), and always has their backs for whatever lies ahead of them. Especially for Darling Dash, who is grateful for his siblings for helping him out in his time of need.

      One day, the family was doing their daily rounds of shopping thanks to Trudy’s Surprise, buying books, browsing clothes, and buying food. They come home in the evening, and they do what they usually do: Gryffon reads books from her bookshelf, Charles combs his mane while listening to music, and Darling Dash looks at a cookbook while Fantasy counts their neopoints. When it was time for everyone to go to sleep, everyone went to their rooms to go to sleep…except Darling. He looked in the back of his closet where all his personal belongings are. Above all his personal items was a pink long-sleeved shirt from his distant friend. He grabbed the shirt and hugged it, remembering everything about his friend, put it back on the hanger and closed the close the closet, going back to sleep.

      The next day, the family goes out to do their usual rounds again…except Darling wasn’t with them today. When they visited the NC Mall, Charles noticed that Darling wasn’t with them and turned to Fantasy (and yes this is how he talks), “Ey, Fantasy? You seen Double D anywhea?” Fantasy looked around the NC Mall and said, “Huh. He was supposed to be here with us,” then she turned to Gryffon, “was he?” Gryffon shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know where he could be.” “Maybe he is at the house,” suggested Charles, “I ain’t seen him leave da house yet.” “Then let’s go,” Fantasy said, “This isn’t like him to skip a family routine.”

      They arrived home to find Darling Dash on the living room couch with the exact same shirt that he had at the back of his closet. Darling jumped in surprise, not expecting them back so soon. His siblings and owner sighed in relief, but still had their concerns. It wasn’t like him to miss out on the daily family activities, but this wasn’t the first time he did this. There were random times when he skipped out on the family routine, especially on days when the family browsed the NC Mall. At first, they thought it was because he was afraid that some neopets would come at him just to make fun of him. It happened when he started working at Uni’s Clothing. He was helping a female Elephante with her shirt and it fit like a dress on him. An Ixi saw him and laughed at him saying, “Hey look! A Peophin is trying on an Elephante’s shirt like a dress!” Five more neopets laughed at him, pointing at the shirt he was helping the customer with. Uni saw him about to cry and she asked, “DD (that’s what Uni nicknamed him)? Are you alright?”

      Darling took off the shirt, gave it to Uni, and went into another stall of the dressing room, crying. Uni and the customer looked outside the window to see that very same group who was laughing at him walk away. Uni went to check on him and knock on the stall door, “Hey… Don’t let them get to you. They take Neopia’s Code of Conduct for granted. Just know that even though Neopia is a perfect place, we’re not all perfect.” Truer words have never been said from this Uni, and it calmed him down a bit.

      However, that event wasn’t the cause. It had to be something deeper than what happened when he started working. It probably had something to do with that shirt that he held in his arms. That night, Fantasy was about to go to Meridell to play Double or Nothing. She was at the door when she turned to her oldest and her youngest, “Now Gryffon, Charles, I want you two to keep an eye on the house while I’m gone. Make sure you do everything to keep it clean.” She goes to the door, then hesitates as she turns around, “And… Make sure to talk to your brother.” “We will,” Gryffon said, “It isn’t like him to randomly skip out on family.” Charles replied in agreement, “‘Specially on days whea we visit da NC Mall.” Fantasy closes the door behind her and they both get to work on cleaning the house.

      After that, they both went to Darling’s room and saw him on his bed, sulking with a can of NeoCola while he stared at the shirt he had been holding, now in a frame on the wall of his room. They sit down on both sides of him to talk about him. “Hey DD,” Gryffon said, “we wanted to talk to you about…your little…habit.” “Yea man,” Charles agreed in reply, “what’s da deal wit you and dat shirt we keep seeng you wit? You’ve been actin like dis a lot, so sumthin had ta be up.” Darling drank his Neocola and sighed, then Gryffon put her arm around his shoulder and said, “If there’s anything that’s bothering you, don’t be afraid to tell us.” Charles nudged him on his shoulder and said in agreement, “Yea! We your fam’ly, Double D. Dat’s what fam’ly’s fo.”

      After two more sips of his NeoCola Darling put the can down. He then let out a sad, almost shaky sigh and started to explain everything, “Before I met you both…I was actually moving from Maraqua and into Faerieland, where I met this very sweet male Faerie Uni named France. He was so kind to me and he always would play Hide and Seek whenever I would see him. We do everything together: play games, go to the Wheel of Excitement, and go around Faerie City browsing the shops. He also had friends who lived in Faerieland, including Viki, a Faerie Lenny. She works with the Book Faerie and loves helping out around the shop.” Then Darling chuckled, “I guess that’s what made me want to work at the Grooming Parlor and Uni’s Clothing.” Suddenly he started tearing up…

     Gryffon and Charles looked at each other in confusion, then looked back at Darling. Charles broke the silence, “So…wut happened den? What about da shirt? Was it ya boy’s shirt.” Darling was trying to hold back his tears but failed miserably as he nodded in reply to his little brother’s question. His voice cracked a bit as he continued with the story, “One thing I can always remember about him is his pink, long-sleeved shirt that he always wore when he saw me.” Gryffon got Darling’s tissue box and gave it to him, allowing him to blow his nose. He did so and threw the used tissue in the trash bin.

      He then continued, sounding like he was about to cry, “One day, I came to see my friend in the place we go to play. I didn’t see him there, so I went to Faerie City to see Viki and asked her if she’s seen him. She told me no and I was worried. All the places I looked, he wasn’t anywhere….” He hesitated, tears falling from his cheeks. Then he continues, “I came all the way back to where I started, and I see… I see…” His tears fall even more as his voice chokes up, “I see the exact same shirt that he wears every time I come and visit him, with a note attached…” Darling goes to the closet and opens his box of personal items, taking out an old note that was folded in four.

      He sits back down with it and opens it up. He gives the note to his sister, “I want you to read it.” “Why?” Gryffon asked. Darling looked down, “I couldn’t bear to read it…” Gryffon took out her reading glasses and read the note, “Darling, if you are reading this, that means that…Well…Let’s just say that I moved on. I was ill, and the cure couldn’t help me…funny how a Neopian’s soul is so fragile after so long, but they don’t know it…. But listen…I may not be with you anymore, but I will always be here for you, and that no matter what, I will always be your friend…” Both Gryffon and Charles tear up at this note, Darling softly crying. Gryffon continued reading the note, “Take my shirt with you. Let it help you think of me when I go on. I know you may be broken-hearted about this unfortunate news…but…I was, and still am, your best friend. I miss you. France.”

      Gryffon got a tissue from Darling's tissue box and wiped her eyes with it, while Charles was trying to hold back his tears. Gryffon looked at Darling, “So that’s why…you have that shirt…” Charles wiped his face and turned to his big brother, “Dat Faerie Uni meant a lot to ya, didn’t he?” That broke the vacana’s back. Darling sobbed in his hooves, not bearing any more of his friend’s sad going away. His siblings gather around, hugging him, with tears on Gryffons’s face rolled down to Darling’s mane, Charles trying not to join in his big brother’s sobbing, saying, “It’ll be okay, big bro…You gon’ be a’ight…” Fantasy came home later and heard her second Neopet crying. She went to the door of Darlings room and knocked on the door, “Everything okay in there?” No answer…until Gryffon and Charles walked out of the room. “Well,” Fantasy said, “did you talk to him?” Her oldest and her youngest told her everything that Darling told him.

      By the time that they were finished, Fantasy was in tears. She had no idea how hard it must have been grieving over a lost friend… She and Darlings siblings went to his room and sat back down on the bed. “Darling,” Fantasy said, about to swell again with tears, “I heard about your story…” Fantasy wiped a tear off her face, “Is this true? Is this why you hold that shirt in your arms every time we go out?” Darling nodded, calming down from his recent sobbing. Fantasy hugged him as he was sheading every tear in his eyes and said, “You have to let this go. Even though it’s hard, you must move on with your life. This part of your life… This part of your life shouldn’t end in sadness. It should end as a new and happy beginning.” They break away for a minute, “You shouldn’t remember the day he went away. You should remember the joys you had with him, and the joys you have with us.”

      Fantasy then held Darling’s hooves “He is still your friend, even though he’s not here. He still lives within you, no matter what. I’m sure he’ll remember and watch over you through spirit.” Gryffon and Charles go to each side of Fantasy, hugging her as she continues, “We’re your family, Darling. We love you, and we will continue to love you until the end.” Fantasy then points to his heart, “Remember it always.” Darling now had a reason to smile again and hugged all three of his family, crying tears of joy.

      The next few days flew by as Fantasy’s family were all happy in one piece. Darling now opened up to even more fellow neopets about himself, even confronting the bullies that were near Uni’s Clothing. They apologized for their behaviour after he told about him and they now realized that life in Neopia is too precious to take for granted, so they had to live it any way they can. After that day…well…Let’s just say that Darling could never have been happier than to be with his family, and he thanks them all for being his family too. Even more so, he wasn’t afraid to show that he was unique, and helping other Neopians bring out the uniqueness as well.

     The End.