My Life As A Magaral

     My life began like most do – in a petpet shop. Of course, being a Faerie petpet, I was proudly displayed at the Faerieland petpets shop. If I remember correctly, there were three others of me in stock that day. I can remember it so clearly as the other Magarals and I, my friends Melvie, Meekins, Boween, Cirrus and others all waited eagerly for the shop to open. We had high expectations for our future owners and were somewhat naïve in thinking that a life of pure bliss and joy lay on the other side of the shop where our future owners were supposedly lining up for us.

     Oh, how wrong we were. As we watched the shop open, expecting a stampede of potential owners coming in to rescue us from our loneliness, we were very much disappointed. Devastated, to say the least. There was no stampede. Instead, a lone blue Bruce came strolling in, took one meaningful look at us all lined up neatly on the display bench, then promptly walked out of the shop without a single purchase. Our hopes and dreams felt like they were cruelly dashed right then and there.

     For the next few minutes, we sat there in complete silence. No one spoke, but we were all thinking and feeling the same thing. What kind of life was ahead of us? Was a life of pure happiness completely out of the question? We knew the answer – it lied with our future owners. That is, if we were ever going to have an owner.

     But soon enough, a few more pets and their owners came in, and slowly, one by one, I waved goodbye to Meekins, Cirrus and the Magaral on my right side as they set off on their own journeys. My time finally came when an inquisitive-looking Faerie Ixi looked at me and smiled. She immediately called her owner over. “Jane, I want that one! Please, pretty please?” she said in the most angelic and sweet voice you’d ever hear. Of course, the Ixi’s owner Jane couldn’t resist her darling pet’s request and I was quickly purchased and taken home with them.

     I was ecstatic – maybe I wasn’t being too wishful when I hoped for a lifetime of happiness with a fantastic owner. The Faerie Ixi, who I later discovered was named Faye, loved me dearly. As soon as she took me home, she gave a heartwarming hug. “I shall call you Mimi Fayellion Belle - Mimi for short.” At that point I didn’t care less if she had named me “Hairy Fungus Salad.” I had an owner who adored me and I loved her just as much, and frankly, that’s all that mattered.

     The next couple of months flew by like a hazy dream. All I remember was that I was attached to Faye’s side almost all the time. I couldn’t be in a separate room from her, and I realized how dependent petpets really were. Faye treated me like a princess and I had everything I could ever want and more. Then, that fateful day arrived. Even to this day, the thought of that inconceivable event that occurred on that day makes me shiver with torment. And I knew exactly what was to blame. Two words - lab ray.

     Jane came home one afternoon, flittering with excitement. “Faye, you’ve got to come see this! The crazy scientist has invented something called the lab ray – it’s amazing!” That was when I first sensed something was wrong. Trying out the crazy scientist’s latest invention? That was not a good idea. But it was worse than I’d imagined. I waited helplessly outside the laboratory as Faye was ‘zapped.’ I jolted as the new Faye came out, almost unrecognizable. “I’m a Darigan Ixi,” she said breathlessly. I couldn’t believe it. Faye? Darling, sweet, innocent Faye? The one that hosted tea parties every other day for her fellow Faerie friends? Darigan? This was not right.

     But to my shock and despair, Faye grew increasingly fond of her new look. She liked her new look so much, she decided to change her name to Ellion. Apparently her full name was always Fayellion, but she used to prefer to be called Faye. Now, Ellion seemed to suit her new self much better. Faye, or Ellion, no longer thought hosting tea parties was fashionable, and suddenly took a ghastly liking to the music of the Twisted Roses. I watched in horror as the beautiful, kind-hearted Faye I knew transmogrified into Ellion, a cheeky, mischievous and rebellious Ixi. But I couldn’t deny that I still loved her, and I knew deep down she loved me, despite her unwillingness to express it anymore. And when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did. Much worse. It was about two weeks after Faye was zapped into Ellion that I overheard a conversation between her and Jane.

     “Faye – I mean Ellion, sweetie, I’ve been thinking,” Jane said in a hushed tone, despite knowing that it was unlikely I was able to overhear them. During my time with Jane and Faye, I never gave away that I understood what they were talking about, but Jane must’ve suspected I was smarter than the average petpet. My ears stick up every time I hear something – that might’ve given it away. “Mimi’s been acting strange lately, don’t you think?”

     Ellion didn’t say a word. She didn’t have to.

     “Well... you’ve had her for so long now. Maybe it’s time for a change. Trust me; Mimi will be grateful for it.”

     I felt my first tear falling down my face, followed by what seemed like a waterfall of unstoppable tears. So this is what it feels like to cry... I thought miserably. That was the last time I saw Faye. The next day, Jane took me out to the shops on the grounds of buying me some petpet accessories. But we both knew very well where she was taking me. The next thing I knew, I was sitting on a bench alongside various other strange-looking petpets from different parts of Neopia, back where I started so many months ago.

     I lost count of how many owners I had after that. Maybe eight or nine. Each time they’d pick me up I’d have an inkling of hope that this owner was going to keep me forever, and each time I’d be disappointed. They’d grow tired of me, or find something prettier or nicer like a Faerie Snowbunny. Grr. I’ve never liked those wretched Faerie Snowbunnies.

     Anyway, I know what you’re probably thinking. That I’m miserable, depressed and have a vendetta against every pet who has ever adopted me and thrown me away like an old sock. But that’s where you’re wrong. I don’t expect you to understand how I feel – it’s rather complicated. I’m grateful to all of my previous owners. Why? If you didn’t know, petpets thrive on feelings of happiness, warmth and security. And all my owners provided that for me, notwithstanding the length of time that might have been. You see, a petpet can’t stand being alone - which is why I haven’t already run away to Mystery Island to live an self-sufficient, carefree life – we’re very dependent creatures.

     Mind you, I could’ve had it a lot worse. I’ve heard some serious horror stories about my fellow petpets. The one that scares me the most is the crazy Kookith who operates the petpet laboratory. After what happened with Faye, the mere mention of the word “laboratory” scares the living daylights out of me. Word on the street is that perfectly normal petpets have been ‘zapped’ by this ray and transformed into nothing but a dirty pile of soot. And that’s not all! Some have even been obliterated into nothingness – that’s right, disappeared. *shudder* I’m one of the lucky ones.

     So, here I am, sitting on the bench in a shop with about a dozen other petpets for what seems like the millionth time. None of us talk, yet we are all thinking the same thing. Is a life of happiness really too much to ask? Maybe, just maybe, that special owner will come along and sweep us off our tiny little feet. And despite what I’ve experienced, I have hope that it is possible. We wait patiently for the shop to open, and my heart jumps when I see a very familiar-looking Ixi walk in...

The End