My Childhood Neohome: Part Five

     My Childhood Neohome, Part Five: Hunting for Treasure

      The prospective buyers, two Kacheeks, had seemed enamored with the first floor of the Neohome. After spending time with them, Rupies was positive that the hyperactive pair would love the backyard even more. It looked like selling this place was going to be easier than she had planned. So then, why did she feel so… well, melancholy about it all?

      Opening the white patio door, located right beside the kitchen, Rupies led the duo out into what was quite a large backyard for the neighbourhood. A lovely picket fence contained the entire property, which included a large expanse of soft grass and another garden in the far corner.

     The Kacheeks were positively giddy with excitement – they immediately began exploring before laying side by side on the thick grass padding to stare up at the blue sky and discuss what it would be like to live there. Rupies settled by the door, allowing them their time while gazing over the backyard distractedly. There were no signs of the twenty-some holes her brother Gosun had left behind one summer – they had seeded the bare areas in anticipation of the sale, and things had bounced back better than they could have ever hoped.

     -----

     It was another sunny day and that meant that Gosun was already in the backyard by the time Rupies had woken up. Ever since he had been given his new "Shovel Plus" he had fancied himself an amateur archeologist. Or perhaps the better word for it would be "treasure hunter".

     Rupies peered out the Kitchen window and found her assumptions to be correct – Gosun was at it again, face covered in dirt, chewing on one cheek in concentration as he dug yet another hole. Rupies sighed – they had just moved into the place not too long ago, and already her brother was destroying something. But it made him happy, so she settled down with her breakfast and watched quietly.

     This was the sibling’s normal routine most days, and so far Gosun had found nothing but worms and an old coat hanger. Despite his shortcomings, his spirits were never dampened – each discovery was met with excitement, regardless of what it may be. Rupies admired and envied him for that gift – she often struggled with disappointment and often dropped whatever she was doing when met with any kind of failure.

     On this morning, the Lupe expected to spend much of her time watching her brother happily digging up nothing. It began that way, but as the day continued there was suddenly the sound of a shovel scraping wood and the little Lutari’s excited voice calling, "Rupies, come see what I found!"

     They spent hours carefully removing the dirt and sand from this newest treasure. It was a music box, carved to look like bark with green leaves over the edge of it and a beautiful clasp to keep it closed. When opened, a likeness of the faerie known as "Illusen" popped up and a lovely song played. Though it had been buried for what must have been a long time, the music was clear and the box was mostly unblemished.

     The pair passed most of their evening on their stomachs in the living room, staring at the spinning fairy as a sweet, earthy tune poured out of the music box. They took turns polishing it, opening and closing the delicate clasp, and carrying it around the house as they went about their day. When bedtime arrived, Gosun proudly carried the box into his room and fell asleep listening to its melody.

     Morning soon arrived, and Rupies woke up a restless sleep, having thought about the music box all night. She came down the stairs to find Gosun at the kitchen table, polishing the little faerie until she sparkled. Hesitating, the Lupe took a deep breath before voicing what she felt was the ‘grown-up’ solution to their discovery.

     "Gosun?" she called softly, "I think we should take the box to the Shop Wizard and get it appraised. It looks valuable and we could really use the money."

     The Lutari glanced at her and his face fell, but after a moment of thought he nodded. She was probably right, and as much as he wanted to keep the box for himself, Neopoints were in short supply between the two of them.

     The siblings loaded the box carefully into a backpack, which Gosun insisted on wearing himself, and set out for the Shop Wizard. Luckily, the Neopian Marketplace wasn’t too far and they were there with plenty of sunlight to spare. Gosun gazed nervously at the strangely shaped building, which resembled a wizard hat, but Rupies nudged him in the front door confidently – she had visited the Shop Wizard in the past, and found him to be harmless.

     The Jubjub turned quickly at the entrance of the two Neopets, calling a welcome and straightening his hat. Rupies nodded in return and gestured to Gosun, who carefully unpacked their beautiful music box and layed it on the table for inspection.

     Rupies had always been curious as to how the Shop Wizard examined these items with his lack of, well… necessarily appendages. To her surprise and Gosun’s delight, the Jubjub jumped onto the table and began to carefully investigate their treasure with his large feet. A hush fell over the room as the box was careful scrutinized, turned over, and finally made to play its beautiful song.

     Finally, the Shop Wizard looked back at the pair and smiled. "Ah, I haven’t had the pleasure of reviewing one of these pieces for quite some time." He handed the box back to Gosun, who looked somewhat relieved. "It is in fact one of the rarest music boxes in existence. Collectors refer to it as the ‘Illusen Music Box’."

     "How much do you think it’s worth?" Rupies asked, though she was uneasy at the thought of giving up something so beautiful. The Wizard bustled over to a large book and flipped through the pages before settling and reading a few lines.

     "It appears that most shops are selling it for around the 34,000 mark," he replied, closing the book with a smile. "You’ve found yourselves quite the treasure!"

     Contrary to the Jubjub’s excitement, Gosun appeared crestfallen, and Rupies glanced at him with a worried expression. Confused, the Shop Wizard looked from one to the other before settling on the Lupe, as she was the older of the two.

     "Well? Would you like me to list it for you? We could start at 33,999 and see what happens!"

     "I… I think that we’ll need time to think about it," Rupies replied, registering the relief on Gosun’s face out of the corner of her eye. She had made the right decision. "Thank you for all your help."

     After bidding farewell to the Shop Wizard and with the box carefully packed away in Gosun’s backpack once more, the two Neopets began trekking home in total silence.

      Many minutes had passed before the Lutari finally spoke up. "Sis, is 34,000 a lot of money?"

      Rupies hesitated. "Yes, Gosun. It’s a lot."

      "What if I started working?" Gosun asked, perking up. "I could try my hand at restocking, or travel to Faerieland’s job agency, or-"

      "Oh Gosun, that’s just silly." Rupies looked down at him with an annoyed expression, which quickly softened as she saw how crestfallen he was. She thought for a moment. "Maybe…"

      "Maybe what?" Gosun pricked his ears.

      "Maybe we should hang on to it. The Shop Wizard did say it was valuable, and it might increase in value the longer time goes on. I think we should keep it. For now." She tried to look stern as Gosun bounced beside her in glee, but found herself laughing happily along with him as they finished their journey back to the house.

      From that day their routine continued, with only one change. Gosun continued to dig in the backyard, and he continued to find nothing of value up until the day he switched his shovel in for Battledome gear and a different dream. Rupies continued to watch from the window every morning, and continued gazing at the world outside even after the treasure hunt had ended. But now, a lovely tune filled the kitchen and spilled out the open window into the backyard, as the music box sat on the table and the little faerie danced along.

     -----

      There was no music now – the box had been one of the first things packed and brought to the new place. Hours had been spent listening to its song – even Piihp, having joined the family after the box was found, held the same love for it that the others did. They had never had it appraised again, and though it was never discussed, the consensus was that it would never be sold – besides, they no longer needed the Neopoints anyway.

      Looking around the backyard, Rupies wondered again where the box may have come from. She could only assume that it had belonged to the kind Cybunny who lived here prior, but why bury it in the backyard? She sighed – now that they were leaving for good, they would never know.

      It was time to end the tour.

      TO BE CONTINUED…