Regrets and Forgiveness: Part Two

     “Joey... Lilly...!” she wailed, dumping her face back into the oblivion of the cushions.

     Her tears blurred her vision and her skin hurt from being tightened by previous tears.

     “I shouldn’t have let you go... And I should have stopped you from searching for her...”

      She curled up into a tight ball on the sofa, her knees pressed to her chest and her face buried in her arms. More tears came and she hiccupped with sobs. Beside her a family portrait lay. Loren wiped her eyes with the back of her hands and picked it up. Then she burst into a fresh new wave of tears, the portrait clutched tightly to her chest.

     ***

     “Lilly, who is it?” Jacob asked from the kitchen, screwing closed the peanut butter and chucking out the empty box of raisins.

     The Lupess didn’t answer, merely just stood there, pink jaw hanging open with her eyes moistening as memories came back. “I-I-...” she stammered, her lips quivering- unable to speak.

     “Lilly?”

      Jacob appeared, his eyes concerned at the silence of his pet. He spotted Joey and his eyes narrowed suspiciously- the thoughts of strangers bouncing in his head. Not knowing who Joey was, he snatched the nearest weapon-like thing that was available- the coat hanger. Lilly’s purple coat fell down and Jacob raised his weapon, a gleam in his eyes.

     “Look out, Lilly!! I’M COMING TO SAVE YOU!!” he bellowed, and Joey jerked backwards as he swung the coat hanger in his direction.

     Jacob yelped. “LILLY!!”

      The fire Lupe sprang away and into the house, trying to escape from the mad person who was trying to hit him. Jacob bellowed weird things- a normal reaction from him in his blind attempt to protect his Lupess. Lilly’s wide-set chocolate eyes blinked as she recovered from her shock. Her pink head swiveled around to look at her living room where her brother climbed over a sofa and tripped; landing on his black muzzle. Jacob yelled a barbarous yell and swung the thin (and pretty light) coat hanger behind up; preparing to bring it down upon Joey as an act of defense.

     Lilly’s eyes widened. “JACOB! Don’t! He’s my brother!”

     At this, Jacob stopped and blinked dumbly. “Oh,” he said, and then blushed. “Sorry, dude.”

     “Uh, that’s ok...” Joey said slowly, quivering in fright. “Ah... hi Lilly...”

      Jacob placed the coat hanger back in its place and neatly hung the fallen coats. He left the room with his cheeks flushing red. Joey stared at Lilly in bewilderment- not only at seeing her for the first time in a while but also because she was able to live happily with a weird and insane owner. He shuddered as unhappy memories of guilt and misery passed through him.

     “You’ve come... Why?” Lilly asked after a long pause. “It’s nice of you to come and visit, but you left Mom! How could you do that?”

     He blinked, tears of joy slipping down his cheeks. “She is fine... I was able to get her into a stable condition. Life isn’t right without you,” he whimpered; “I’m sorry- Mom says it was all her fault, but I know it was really mine. Nothing is the same- please come back!”

     Joey sobbed and hugged his sister, crying hysterically. “Please, please, please,” he whimpered.

     “I...” Lilly trailed off, looking at her sobbing brother. My, how he’s changed... He’s no longer that disrespectful, selfish and crazy Lupe I once knew, she thought in surprise.

     Then that flood of emotion came. “Joey...!” she burst out, hugging her brother back.

      The two siblings clung to each other, each having tears flow down their cheeks. They were reunited once more- and it wouldn’t be until later that they would have to worry about their problems. But for now, everything was just fine.

     ***

     Knock, knock, knock.

      Loren’s tear-stained face lifted. It was Joey; it had to be. Without looking through the peep hole, she flung open the door, expecting Joey and perhaps the pink Lupess she believed she had selfishly thrown away. Her expecting look slid right off as instead, there was a baby Peophin in a worn blue blanket on her porch.

     “W-What.... Who are you?” she asked lamely, forgetting her sadness.

      Loren picked up the baby. Taped to her left hoof was a small note. Frowning, she cradled the baby in one arm, the other holding the note. She squinted as she struggled to read the messy writing, it seemed to be streaked with a liquid- perhaps tears? And the penmanship was wobbly. Though messy it was still decipherable.

     To whoever has picked up this baby...

      I have no money or home to care for her as a rightful parent can. She would suffer horribly and would grow up in bad conditions. Her only chance is to find a new home, but I do not want to send her into the Pound. I have placed her upon your doorstep- may you be a kind person- and I hope you will keep her. She has no name- I leave that for you to decide... I can’t claim her as she is no longer mine. Please take care of her, please.

      The note was unsigned and Loren almost fell. She was left in charge of another innocent soul... I have already messed up Joey and Lilly’s lives... how can I risk ruining another? She didn’t want to care for this baby, and by giving her a name she would be taking the guardianship of a parent. I’ve sent Lilly to the Pound and I allowed Joey to venture out on his own...

     Suddenly the baby cooed and lightly grasped Loren’s pale brown hair.

     Loren looked around for anyone, but the street was deserted except for a lone doglefox bounding around.

     “Goo...?” the baby responded. “Ah go woo?”

     Loren’s face split into a smile that hadn’t appeared in a long time. “Hello, Monica.” And she gladly accepted the Peophin into her family.

     ***

      After Lilly explained to Jacob who Joey was, it was to be arranged to send the fire Lupe home to their mother. Jacob was constantly saying sorry and to make up for it, he decided he and Lilly would move to Joey’s neighborhood. The thought of seeing her mother again made Lilly’s heart leap, and though it saddened her to leave her friends in Kiko Lake, she still wanted to go back to Neopia Central. It would take time to pack up everything- and there was Anna.

      When Anna was told, she was surprised but didn’t mind moving. Though the purple Uni was very sociable and outgoing with those she knew, she was relatively quiet and kept to herself in school- her only friend was Lilly so it didn’t matter much to her that she was moving.

     “And I heard Neopia Central has a lot more shops than Kiko Lake!” she added with a goofy grin. “I love traveling, anyhow.”

      It would take at least a month to set up and organize everything. Lilly was sad at departing from her brother- even though she would see him in a month. Joey still felt regrets but Lilly had forgiven him. As he trekked home (he insisted on going home by foot- he wanted time to think without the constant humming of a boat), he thought about everything that happened. His mother would be happy, he knew it. When he returned home, he would have to make sure Doodle could get along with another petpet, as it would be obvious Lilly would sometimes be spending the night at their home. The sketch Harris was very territorial- he wasn’t even sure what Lilly’s petpet was!

      A stick blew across his path and he stopped. Joey leaned over and picked it up, carefully putting it to the side of the dusty path. He was taking the smaller path- no commercial buildings or homes were in sight. The Lupe was completely surrounded by nature- isolated from the rest of the world. It was an old path, but it was still useful for those quiet travelers. No caravans or wagons were allowed- it was meant to be peaceful and quiet.

      Eventually he came to the end of the path and ended up in the Plaza of Neopia Central. The hustling, noises and bright lights were very different from the quietness of the forested path beside from the occasional rustle of a petpet or a chirping of a beekadoodle. Joey shook his head and went home, opening the door with the familiar silver house key. It clicked, and Joey stepped in.

     “Joey, you’re back!” Loren cried, throwing her arms around her son’s neck. “I’ve missed you!”

     Joey blinked in surprise. “Mom... You’re not sad anymore...” he said slowly, his eyes widening.

     She laughed the sound long lost and foreign to Joey. “I was, but Monica taught me to look on the bright side of life.” Her eyes shone. “Will Lilly be coming back?”

     “Who’s Monica??” Joey blurted, still shocked by his mother’s sudden change. “And yes... Lilly’s new family is moving to our neighborhood...”

     “I found a baby Peophin... She’s your new sister! I can’t believe Lilly’s coming back- oh, tell her I’m sorry!” Loren sang, beaming.

      Suddenly Loren bent down and with only a small grunt, heaved him into the air. She clung to him, tears of joy streaming down her face and her mouth stretched into a loving and relieved smile. The fire Lupe, after getting out of his mother’s tight arms, explained everything. He spoke of how they would be chatting through neomail for the time being. His mother was ecstatic- jumping for joy and then lifting up the much-lighter baby Peophin into the air, singing (rather badly) a loud version of Pop Goes the Symol.

     Joey smiled, still exhausted, and collapsed onto the couch with that small smile still residing on his face.

     ***

     To Lilly,

      Hey, I feel so happy writing. When you finally come to our neighborhood, Mom will be a totally different person. She is actually doing well- while I was gone, a baby Peophin was left on her doorstep. Mom named her Monica, so she’ll be your new half-sister when you move next door. And your owner, Jacob, he doesn’t mind moving, does he? I don’t want to cause too much trouble. Anyhow, what’s your petpet? If you are going to live with Mom and me part time, my sketch Harris, Doodle, may start to hyperventilate when he sees a new petpet- you remember him, don’t you?

      Mom is really excited; she’s singing. I don’t even see her cry anymore- which is a good thing, of course. I’m as happy as her- I still feel bad about you know what. It will feel good to have you next door- like a part-time family. I have to go now; Mom just broke a vase while blindly dancing around with Monica again. Bye, see you soon.

     Love, Joey, your brother

     ***

     Dear Joey,

      It’s nice to hear from you in letter form again. So, Mom found a baby Peophin? That will be nice- maybe it’ll help Mom make her feel like she’s redeeming herself. Mom probably wants to claim redemption. Oh, the neomail came and someone sent Jacob this weird letter. It said, OMG!!1!!!11 1 LUV UR UN1 C4N I H4V3 I7 PLZ!!!!!111!!!!!!!1 ...Yeah it was weird. Anna went nuts and ripped up the mail.

      My petpet, you ask? Well, I have a Slorg called To-To. I bought him because a bunch of kids were teasing him in the stores. And yes, of course I remember Doodle. He got really excited when I lived with you (and I still have a nasty memory of when he made an Oopsy on my bed)... Yeah, hopefully Doodle will learn to like Double T (that’s my Slorg’s nickname). Oh, I have to go now; see you soon!

     Love, Lilly

          ***

      No more letters or descriptions were needed to describe life for them for the next years of their lives. Love, laughs, smiles and tears were shared and they were (literally) one family. It was nice- and you, as a reader, should use your own imagination on what could have happened. Let’s just say the only other thing you should know is this: Regrets, and Forgiveness.

The End