Wondering and Wandering

     Veronica, her owner, took her eyes off of the latest edition of the Neopian Times to look at her pet. "Well, Kacheeks originate from-"

     "No, Mother," Leena interrupted impatiently, "I mean my color."

     Veronica sighed and put down the paper open up to her favorite comic series. She adjusted herself in the chair before finally giving her pet the answer that always came out of her mouth when Leena brought it up."We've been over this. No one knows."

     Leena scowled and walked out of the comfortable living room and outside into the front yard of their Neopian estate.

     Ever since the lab ray had zapped Leena the rare color jelly (which was quite some time ago), she had been quite busy. Along with trying to tell people not to try to eat her when her back is turned, she's been on a quest to find out where the jelly species came from. It might be a strange task, but she really needed to know. Or, at least, she thought she did.

     Leena decided that she might as well try the streets again. There were millions of Neopians in Neopia Central, and at least one of them was bound to know where jelly came from. She set out.

     It wasn't a long way to Neopia Central from Leena and Veronica's house. The Kacheek only had to walk for a few short minutes and she was there.

     She decided that she should stay away from the Food Shop, for she had had a bad experience with a hungry Skeith once and she didn't want to go through that again. She went outside the Neocash Mall to see if she could try to get answers from someone.

     Leena saw a nice looking brunette haired girl with an island Kacheek by her side and a baby Acara in her arms. She approached her carefully.

     "Excuse me," she began, "But could I ask you a question?"

     The girl smiled and put the baby down on the ground. "Of course you may," she replied, leaning down so she could hear Leena better.

     Leena smiled back. "Um, would you happen to know wh-"

     She was interrupted by a tingling sensation running through her body. She glanced at her hands. They were shaking. She looked down.

     The baby Acara was poking her leg, making her entire body jiggle. She giggled with delight. "Momma!" the baby squealed. "She squishy!"

     The girl sighed and picked the baby up, her cheeks red. "I'm sorry about that," she said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Continue."

     Leena took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Never mind. Continue with your shopping," she replied, then left before the girl could say anything else.

     It was pretty normal for people to poke her. But she was used to people asking first. She got angry when people didn't ask for permission.

     You see, Leena got annoyed very easily. It all had to do with people trying to eat her, poke her, or make fun of her for having the worst luck in the world.

     She snapped out of her self-pity and remembered what she was doing. She saw a teenage boy with a chocolate Ogrin by his side. Maybe he knew, for he had an edible pet, too.

     "Hello, sir, may I ask you something?" she asked politely.

     The man looked down at his pet, who simply shrugged, and then back to Leena. 'Maybe I should leave. He looks busy.'

     "Sure, why not? I've got time," he replied with a grin.

     Leena nodded. "Right. Well, do either of you know where the color jelly comes from? Where people like me originate from?"

     The man let out a laugh. "I wish I knew. Sorry," he replied.

     Leena sighed. "Thank you for your time," she said, disappointment coating her voice. And with that, she walked away. Leena glanced back once and saw the teenager laughing with his pet. Leena scowled and continued on without looking back.

      ***

     Leena was getting impatient. She had been searching for months for the right person to talk to. Why didn't anyone know? She kicked a rock, but regretted it right away, for her body shook uncontrollably for about a minute. She continued.

     Leena didn't realize where she was until she looked up. She had wandered all the way to the Haunted Woods. She was on the outskirts of the Deserted Fairgrounds. She decided that she might as well see if anyone here knew.

     She entered the Fairgrounds with a heavy heart and a fearful look on her face. It probably wasn't a good idea to be here without an owner.

     She saw an older woman, in about her twenties, with two ghost pets by her side. Leena decided that she might be a good person to ask. She approached her.

     "Excuse me, miss, but would you have any time to answer a question of mine?" she asked carefully. She didn't expect an answer, for this was the Haunted Woods. She didn't really know if people were as kind here as they were in Neopia.

     The woman turned around, her eyes reflecting bravery. 'She must live here,' Leena thought. Who else would be brave enough not to be frightened of the Haunted Woods if you weren't used to it?

     The woman smiled, seeing that it was only a jelly Kacheek. "Oh, well, sure," she replied cheerfully.

     Leena grinned and continued. "Would you happen to know where the jelly color comes from?" she asked.

     The woman frowned. "No, sorry. Now, I need to leave," she said, walking in the opposite direction.

     Leena scowled and crossed her arms. She leaned up against a tree, careful not to make herself jiggle again.

     "Sssso, I hear that you're looking for an anssssswer?" a voice said from behind her.

     Leena jumped about a foot in the air and whirled around. It was Sssidney. "Maybe," she replied.

     Sssidney leaned down on one knee. "Well, word on the ssstreet is that there is a little placcce called Jelly World," he whispered, as if sharing a secret.

     Leena was intrigued. "Really?" she asked.

     Sssidney made a hushing sound. "Quiet, now, child. Now, then, Jelly World is sssuposssed to be hidden from the Neopet eye. No one hasss ssseen it, and no one knowsss if it is really real or not. But, you know, it'sss good to be curiousss."

     Leena folded her arms. "An entire world, made of jelly..." she said, mostly to herself. She thought about this for about two minutes before she started to laugh. "Yeah... right! I may be gullible, but I have some sense. Why don't you try to tell that lie to someone else," she said. And with that, she walked away from Sssidney, laughing all the way home.

      ***

     Later that night, Leena lay in bed, staring at the ceiling of her small bedroom. She was thinking of what Sssidney said. 'Is there really a Jelly World?' she thought to herself, 'And, if it does exist, is that where I'm from?'

     After awhile of pondering, she finally fell asleep with a smile on her face. She had a new thing to figure out. And if she figured this out, she wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore.

The End