The Tooth Faerie

     I'm not too sure about me; I'm just a small blue Shoyru. I'm not too old, but I know a thing or two about myself and others. Mostly myself.

     At many times, I feel like my life is filled with meaningless thoughts and happenings. People laugh and think I'm funny; I don't try to be. Mom tells me it's because I'm still so young and some of my opinions sound laugh-worthy to others. I think it's mean.

     Anyhow, I have a pretty good family; they love me and I love them. Sometimes. As long as Mom feeds me anything other than Green Pepper Omelette or Cornupepper Jelly they're all a-ok by my book.

     * * *

     "Wakey, wakey, sleepy head!"

     I opened my eyes a bit and saw my sister, Kara, hovering over me. I hate morning.

     "Come on, Lollie, or else we'll be late for breakfast. I have a feeling today will be such a joyous day!" I've always wondered how green Unis can always be so happy.

     At least she had a reason for saying, "wakey wakey." For a second there I thought she was going nuts.

     I tried to follow as Kara bounced down the stairs while humming some sort of happy-go-lucky tune I have never heard before in all of Neopia. She was weird.

     Wow, Mom woke up early today; the table was already set and all the food was ready.

     I looked at my plate... Strawberry Jelly. Yum. Taste the pink. Not.

     Oh well, might as well dig into this... Half-eaten jelly?!?

     I quickly looked at my other sister, Kiwi, who was sitting across from me, munching on her Minced Beef Pretzel. She's always hungry. I think all Kougras are.

     "KIWI!! WHY DID YOU EAT HALF OF MY JELLY?" As I finished saying that, I twisted my face into the mean look I'd been practicing in the mirror. I think I did it wrong, because Kiwi looked at me awkwardly. Or maybe that was her mean look. She wasn't very good at it.

     "I didn't eat any of your jelly, Lollie." Likely response.

     "That's what they all say." I jumped off my chair and walked away from the table. I wondered where Mom was.

     "Hey, Kara?"

     "Hm?"

     "Where's Mom?"

     "Sheumm-offuhm-pfftt-mmmf," was that only sound that came out of Kara's food-filled mouth, along with some unappetizing looking Omelette bits.

     "Never mind."

     * * *

     It was chilly outside today and the Neopia Central streets were very busy. I was on my way to Mom's Faerie Gallery, I decided to go there shortly after Kara's food-spitting.

     Even if Mom wasn't there, I could always find something to do at the Gallery. Whether it was wondering why we only have about 30,000 Neopoints in our bank account but a gallery filled with Faerie Food worth millions, reading the Faerie books, or goofing around with the many petpets set on display; it was always worth the visit.

     I slowly entered the gallery.

     I guess Mom wasn't here; all I could hear was the happy chattering of the petpets.

     Ah well, as long as I'm here, why waste a visit? I locked up the gallery to make sure no one disturbed me and I started looking for anything new my mom could have bought. There's always SOMETHING. No matter how small or meaningless.

     I carefully scanned the shelves. Nothing. I'd seen everything before. Well, that was a waste of time. I should just head home.

     I unlocked the door and walked out into the cold once again.

     * * *

     BOOM!

     I felt my heart jump up as I turned around. Something had fallen off the shelf. Without hesitating, I turned around and went to pick it up.

     How could I have missed seeing this?

     It turned out to be a book. And a very pretty and shiny one at that. A lock was keeping it closed, but anyone could have noticed the tooth cover-illustration underneath the title, "Tooth Faerie Book".

     I held it in my hand gently, as if worried it was made of thin glass and it might shatter if I grasped it too tightly. Even if the huge lock was quite clearly noticeable, it might still open. Worth a try.

     All I had to do was think about wanting to read it and it flew open. Like magic, I guess.

     Slowly, I started reading, just as the rain began to pour down outside:

     "Once upon a time; high, high up on the Faerieland cloud, lay a little blue-haired Faerie. She was a sad little faerie, she was. She did not know what her purpose was.

     "Queen Faerie, Water Faerie, Fire Faerie, Negg Faerie, Air Faerie, Space Faerie, Earth Faerie, Snow Faerie, Light Faerie, Soup Faerie, Grey Faerie, Darkness Faerie, Battle Faerie..." Down a list of faeries she went, but none of their descriptions fit her one bit. None.

     There was NO way she could be Queen; she couldn't swim; she was afraid of fire; didn't care all that much about neggs; still hadn't learned how to fly all that well; liked stars, but not space; earth was alright but green was not her colour; snow was too cold; didn't get what all the fuss about the light was; wouldn't prefer having soup for lunch every day; wasn't grey; despised evil and was scared of the dark; and she definitely could NOT fight.

     In her room she went, as she did every night, and looked down from her window on all the little Neopets running to their cosy Neohomes for a peaceful night's sleep. She wished she could sleep, if only the thought of having no purpose would stop being such a burden upon her. If only.

     She sat on her stool, another thing she did every night, and she wept. She wept the whole night, her tears falling to the ground and mixing with the early sun rays, making a rainbow. Such a beautiful thing made up out of something so sad.

     Tired of crying and of all the gloominess just stuck to the walls of her home, she decided to visit some of Neopia; it might get her mind off of her unfortunate state.

     She liked Roo Island, always had. So that's where she went. You could always find a happy Blumaroo who could bring a smile to your face any day over there.

     However, it was not laughter she heard or smiles she saw when she got there; just a little Blumaroo, rolling on the floor and crying while crowds of other pets surrounded him.

     "Oh no! Poor thing!" she gasped and pushed through the crowd to get to the sobbing Neopet.

     "What's wrong?" she asked.

     "My tooth's falling out!" the Blumaroo cried.

     As she heard that, the Faerie smiled. She had such a pretty smile, her white teeth would make anyone wonder how she got them to be that shiny.

     "Open your mouth," she said.

     The Blumaroo hesitated, but did so anyway. The Faerie quickly noticed the loose tooth and it didn't take her any longer than three seconds to grab it and pull it out. The Blumaroo stared.

     "It'll grow back," she said. "It'll grow back into a nice tooth, shinier and healthier than this one; perfect and ready to use for more candy eating."

     The tiny Blumaroo laughed and suddenly, an idea popped into the faerie's head!

     "Why don't you put this under your pillow before you go to bed tonight? When you wake up tomorrow, you might find a reward in its place for being so courageous when losing your first tooth."

     The Blumaroo took the tiny tooth and hopped off. That night, while he was asleep: the faerie went to his house, took the tooth from under his pillow, and left 10 Neopoints together with a piece of candy in its place.

     When the Blumaroo woke up the next day, he looked under his pillow. He gasped as happiness started to overflow him. The Blumaroo was so happy, he told all his Neofriends about his tooth, and all of his Neofriends told their Neofriends! On and on it when and soon enough, the whole world knew about the Faerie, and they all started leaving their teeth under their pillows before bed.

     As for her, the Faerie went home happy that night for the first time ever. She sat down on her stool and cried, she cried, but this time; they were tears of joy. When the sun came out, her fallen tears made up the most beautiful rainbow Neopia has ever seen.

     This day, we all know her as The Tooth Faerie.

     THE END."

     I closed the book and laid it down carefully, still too deep into my own thoughts to place it back on the shelf.

     The rain had stopped as I walked out the gallery door, locking it behind me. I could still see the happy looks on the pets' faces as they lowered their umbrellas and looked at the sky. Such a beautiful rainbow.

     For the first time today I felt like smiling. And that's exactly what I did.

     Not all stories end happily, you know. Whenever someone starts reading a story they just know that no matter what, the end will be filled with cheerfulness, smiles, and everyone's lives being OK. Well in the real Neopia, things aren't all like that. Some are, but not all.

     Mine is.

The End