Gathering Shells

      Ever since I was a young Kougra, I had loved going to the beach. I don't why, it always just felt special to me. It was often deserted when I went, for, as my Claire says, I always picked the absolute hottest or coldest time of day to go there. It didn't bother me, however; that was how I liked it.

      But that day it was different. Somebody was already there, a Faerie Aisha who looked about my age. She just sat there, barely moving. Frowning, I ducked behind some bushes and stared down the hill, straining to see what she could possibly be doing, unable to understand why anyone would just sit on a beautiful day like this. I knew it was rude to spy on strangers, but I had to find out was so great that somebody would just sit and do.

      Perhaps if I hadn't been so curious, it wouldn't have happened. But it did, and for that, I'm very grateful. As I sat there, completely focused on finding out what the Aisha was doing, I didn't notice the group of pawkeets swooping out of the sky. By the time I did see them, they were upon me. I let out a shriek and lost my balance, tumbling down the steep hill and straight towards the Aisha. Apparently she heard my scream, as she turned around, giving me a concerned look.

      "Are you okay?" she asked, looking worried. I blushed furiously, horrified that I had been caught, especially by her.

      "Yeah, I'm fine. What are you doing?" I replied, deciding that if she had noticed me, I might as well find out what had caused my humiliation.

      "Making a bracelet out of some shells that I found earlier," said, smiling slightly. "I'm Kira, by the way. What's your name?" I didn't answer for a moment, slightly shocked that someone was being nice to me. Usually, people ignored me, thinking I was a hyper, annoying little kid. I objected to that, however. I just had a lot of energy.

      "I-I'm Amelia," I stammered, "But you can call me Mia, for short." I managed a small smile, hoping that she wouldn't notice my stammering. Luckily, she hadn't, or was choosing to ignore it.

      "Okay, Mia," she said. "Do you want to come over to my house sometime? I just moved here from Faerieland, so I don't have many friends yet." Seeing the look of surprise upon my face, she added, "Only if you want to, of course. I just thought you might-"

      "I'd love to," I said, cutting her off. "I really would." She grinned.

      "Great," Kira said, looking as though she really did think it was great. She took a piece of paper and pencil out of her pocket and wrote down her address. "Here," she said, handing to me. "You can come over tomorrow, if you like."

      The next day, I woke up in the morning, the happiest I had ever been. I sprang out of bed and pulled on my favorite outfit, a pretty blue shirt and a loose white skirt, something I only wore when I was really excited. I bounced down the stairs into the kitchen, where Claire and my siblings sat, eating breakfast and reading the Neopian Times.

      "Good morning, everyone!" I practically yelled, startling my siblings and Claire out of their trances. They looked up at me in surprise, not used to me being quite so energetic in the morning.

      "You seem excited," Claire stated, raising an eyebrow.

      "I am. I met the nicest girl ever at the beach yesterday, and she invited me over!" I exclaimed in one breath.

      "Wow, she must be completely nuts, like you," Arthur, my brother said. I glared at him.

      "No, she isn't!" I said indignantly,

      "How would you know?" he retorted. I opened my mouth to say something, but Claire interrupted me.

      "Arthur, leave her alone," Claire sighed. "She's just excited." Arthur rolled his eyes, and I smirked at him and mouthed 'ha'. Claire got up and made an omelette for me. As soon as she set it down in front of me, I quickly wolfed it down, eager to go to Kira's house.

      "You really are excited, Mia," Claire said, looking amused. I flashed a smile at her and grabbed my favorite plushies, running out the door. I took the piece of paper Kira had given me out of my pocket and began looking for her house. About fifteen minutes later, I found it. I walked up the front path and knocked on the door, suddenly feeling nervous. Moments later, I heard quick footsteps heading towards the door.

      "Hi, Mia!" Kira exclaimed, throwing the door open. "I'm SO glad you came." She stepped to the side of the door and motioned for me to come in. Smiling, I stepped inside. "Want to see my room?" Kira asked, closing the door behind me.

      "Sure!" I said, following her as she led me down the hallway. She stopped at a door with flowers covering it then opened the door slowly, looking carefully around the corner before she fully opened it. "What?" I asked curiously.

      "My feepit, Angel, is really, really hyper. She usually charges me when I open my bedroom door," Kira explained. I raised my eyebrow, thinking she was kidding. How wrong I was. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor, and Kira was scrambling down the hall after something. "Angel, come BACK!" she yelled, searching for the tiny feepit. I quickly joined her in the chase, and when I was almost ready to give up, a dark-haired girl appeared.

      "Here, Kira," the girl said, producing the struggling feepit and handing her to Kira. Then she turned to me. "You must be Mia," she said, smiling, "Kira's told me so much about you. I'm Anna, Kira's owner. I'm going to go make a snack for the two of you, are cookies okay with you, Mia? They're Kira's favorite."

      "Yeah, I love cookies," I replied.

      "Alright, have fun," Anna said, then turned and headed towards the kitchen. I smiled at Kira.

      "You like cookies, too?" I asked.

      "Yeah," she said, "I love them, as Anna told you. Anyway, let's go play something." With that, we headed off to Kira's room, and spent the rest of the day playing with our plushies, talking, and laughing at each other's jokes.

      Over the next few months, Kira and I became the best of friends. We did everything together; Kira even taught me how to make a bracelet just like the one she had been making on the day we met. She was the first person who took interest in my games, and we would spend hours playing them together. But our favorite thing to do together was walk along the beach, gathering shells and talking about whatever popped into our heads. Sometimes we would talk about happy things, sometimes sad, sometimes funny, and sometimes it was serious. But whatever the topic, we always had fun, just enjoying each other's company.

      The two years that Kira spent on Mystery Island were the greatest of my life. I learned what it meant to have a true friend, someone to tell your secrets to, to share things with, to have someone who would always be there for you. We thought we would always be together, goofing off, running around, laughing. But then everything changed. It was sudden and horrible, but it happened. Kira's owner decided that she was bored with the quiet life of Mystery Island, and wanted more excitement. So she decided to move to Neopia Central, where there was always something going on.

      Kira and I did everything to change her mind, but she wouldn't listen. So, one week later, she packed up and took Kira away to Neopia Central. After that we lost touch, our letters always getting lost or coming late. My world fell apart. I couldn't believe Kira, my best friend, had left. I still can't. To this day, I still walk along the beach, picking up the prettiest shells that I can, talking quietly to myself.

      What am I going to do with the shells, I'm sure you wonder. I'm saving them. Saving them for Kira, because I know that one day we will see each other again, because we were meant to be friends forever. We promised that we would be, and I fully intend to keep that promise.

The End

A/N: If you're reading this, then I made it in to the NT for the first time! Neomail me with any comments or questions about my story.=)