Pinelope the Peophin

     "I'm sick of sharing a house with people like you! Completely sick of it! I'm leaving!" and with that, Pinelope stormed out the door.

     She had wandered around for a while until she came to the Haunted Woods. Completely oblivious to her surroundings, Pinelope walked on. Finally she had come to a mansion. It was dark and dreary, and she was wet and shivering.

     "Oh, well," she thought. "It'll have to do."

     She opened the door and went in.

     "H-h-hello?" Pinelope called out, her voice cracking. Nobody answered, so she went in and up the creaky stairs. She found a cozy-looking bedroom with a four-poster bed, a vanity, a dresser, a walk-in closet, and a desk.

     Perfect, she thought, smiling to herself. Then Pinelope started to wonder about her owner and siblings. Did they miss her? Had they put an ad in the Neopian Times promising a reward to anyone who found her? How was the house without her? Quieter, noisier, more depressed? Then she remembered a story that she had read in the Times. The story had been about a girl named Keely and how her friend Clark told her that if she drank one of Edna's potions she would become Faerie. Instead Keely became a ghost by day and a shadow Aisha by night.

     Maybe, Pinelope thought, I'll become like Keely if I drink one of Edna's potions. Then I'll be able to spy on my family and find out what's happening back home!

     She decided to leave the mansion. She walked over to Edna's Tower and climbed the stairs. It was long and tiring, and she was soon exhausted. At last, Pinelope reached the top.

     "Hello?" she called out.

     "Hello, my child," came a voice, "I've been expecting you." Edna materialized in the room. "Now, what is it you want? No one comes to see me without a reason." She eyed Pinelope suspiciously.

     "W-well," Pinelope stammered, "I would like to drink one of your potions. I read a story in the Neopian Times. You know, the one with a girl named Keely in it? Well, she drank one of your potions and was turned into a ghost by day and a Shadow Aisha by night. Could you give me a potion that would make me a ghost, one that no one can see, hear, smell, feel or taste. I want to be like this for only 48 hours. No more, and no less"

     "Why would you like to do this, child?" Edna asked kindly.

     "I would like to spy on my family, back in Neopia Central. I ran away from home a few days ago, and would like to see how they're getting along without me," Pinelope surprised herself with the confidence in her voice.

     "Well, I believe I could make just what you need. I need two items, and I need them within 48 hours, as long as you want to stay as a ghost. I will give you some Neopoints to buy the items with. I need any kind of clock and anything with the word 'ghost' in it. Your time starts…NOW!!!"

     Pinelope suddenly found herself in the busy streets of Neopia Central. She decided that the two places she needed to go were the Furniture Shop and the Shop Wizard. The Furniture Shop was closer, so she went to the Bazaar and into the shop.

     "Excuse me, do you have any kind of clocks here?" she asked the shopkeeper, a blue Eyrie, politely.

     "Yes, as a matter of fact we do. Here," he said handing her a large Grandfather Clock. "That'll be 1,000 Neopoints, please."

     Pinelope looked at the amount of Neopoints she had in her hoof. She had 5,000 of them.

     "Here you go," she said handing the Eyrie his money.

     "Humph," he said as he put the clock into a bag and gave it to Pinelope, and with that she left.

     Next Pinelope went to the Shop Wizard. She told him she wanted anything containing the word 'ghost' with a maximum of 4,000 Neopoints. In about 5 seconds, he had found only one selection. It was a Ghost Aisha Plushie for 60 NP. Pinelope hurried over to the shop and bought the Plushie faster than you could say "Dr. Sloth." By then it was very late and Pinelope checked into a hotel for the night. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

     In the morning Pinelope paid her hotel fee and caught the next Neopian Bus to the Haunted Woods. When she got off, she ran all the way to Edna's Tower, lugging the Grandfather Clock and Ghost Aisha Plushie behind her. When she got there, Pinelope gave the items and extra NP to Edna. Then she sat down while Edna made her potion. For a while it was like watching a fireworks show in the room, with color flickering and dimming around the room. Then, after a while, everything settled and Edna gave a hissing, bubbling potion to Pinelope.

     "Here, she said, "Drink this."

     Pinelope did, and it felt like fire going down her throat, but when she had drunk every last drop, she saw her body disappearing. It was quite scary, and she kept staring at the spot where her hoof had been only seconds earlier.

     When the transformation was finished, Edna said, "Now step onto this platform and you will automatically transport into your house, just like you transported to Neopia Central when your time started. Don't be afraid, dear. It'll be all right."

     Pinelope stepped onto the platform a little shakily (remember-she couldn't see her legs!), and transported into her house.

     It was kind of weird to be in her own house after so many days of living alone, but, in a strange way, it also felt good. Pinelope could see no one at home, so she went into the kitchen. No one was there, either. Frantic, she called out to BabyBlue, Gerald, and Aisha, but then remembered that no one could hear her. She explored the rest of the house, but couldn't find her family anywhere. Then she came to the last room in the house, Aisha's bedroom. No one was in there, but there was the latest edition of the Times. Pinelope quickly turned to the classified section. Right in the middle was a big ad promising a reward to anyone who found her! Pinelope couldn't believe it! They really cared that much about her! It was all too much. Pinelope sat down on the floor and began to sob. She went into her own room and slept there for the night.

     In the morning Pinelope got up, stretched, yawned, and made her way downstairs for breakfast.

     "Good morning, everyone," she said sleepily to her family at the breakfast table. When they didn't answer, she screamed in their ears, but nothing happened. Pinelope waved her hoof in their faces, but her hoof wasn't there! All at once, the memories of the previous day came flooding back. Finally she decided the only thing to do was to wait until she reappeared.

     Later that day, Pinelope was outside the house, when she suddenly wasn't a ghost anymore! She rang the doorbell of her Neohome and went in.

     "Pinelope!" cried her family when they saw the skinny, underfed Peophin before them. The questions came all at once.

     "Where were you?"

     "Why didn't you call us?"

     "Why didn't you come back sooner?"

     "Ohh, Pinelope, is it really you?"

     "I can't believe you're back!"

     Then Aisha's voice rang out above all the other's, "Settle down, settle down! Let Pinelope tell her story!"

     Then they all sat down in the living room as Pinelope told them what had happened to her. When she was done, everyone started talking again, and this time Aisha just sighed but didn't interrupt. And Pinelope just smiled to herself. It felt good to be back in her noisy, chaotic Neohome. Silently she promised herself never to run away again, because she knew her family loved her, and she would keep that in mind and remind herself of this experience whenever her life got to be too much to handle. After all, what's a little chaos compared to family love?

The End