The Generous Commodity Broker

      With some effort, Nigel pulled himself out of his comfortable position and made his way into the kitchen. A white marble island countertop glistened in the centre of the room, with beautifully upholstered stools lined up perfectly beside it. Stainless steel appliances decorated the walls and gorgeous violet drapes adorned the windows on the far side of the room. A large pantry loomed before him and he went about gathering what some would consider a feast. When he finally took his seat, snacks of every shape and size were piled in front of him: bowls of fresh fruit imported from Mystery Island, cupcakes of various colours and flavours from Neopia’s finest bakery, and hand-rolled sushi from the health food store. He devoured his dinner with a zeal that could only be compared to that of the infamous Snowager. As he finished his last cupcake his eyes were heavy with sleep. The journey to his bedroom from the kitchen felt very long as his energy waned. He collapsed onto his silken duvet and was asleep before his head touched the pillow.

      The Saturday morning sun crested the hills outside of Nigel’s mansion as beekadoodles chirped cheerfully, celebrating the warm day to come. Within his palatial room, Nigel groaned loudly, wishing he had thought to close his windows before falling asleep.

      “I will have to remove those trees outside my window if I ever want to be free of those pesky beekadoodles,” he muttered to himself. Just then, he realized what day it was. Despite having a very demanding job, Nigel always dreaded the weekends. He would much prefer to be in the office at all times, making Neopoints. The only thing he liked better than making Neopoints was spending them, and that was just what he intended to spend his Saturday doing. With a renewed sense of purpose, he strode to his luxurious walk-in closet to pick out his finest weekend attire. After donning his most favourite designer slacks and button-down he rushed out the door.

      Neopia Central was abuzz with lively customers, eager to spend their weekly earnings on the latest fashion or best-selling book. A rounded path led through the piazza and Nigel considered his options. His favourite destination was, of course, the auction house. He prided himself on his familiarity of values as well as his keen instincts. Without another thought, he strode to the looming gavel-shaped building. Once inside, Nigel was surprised to see fewer patrons than he expected. Last weekend was particularly busy, though he was able to acquire several antique items that were promptly stowed away in his already cluttered garage. An energetic Scorchio stood at a podium in the back of the room, rambling off numbers rapidly and pointing at various objects which were presented atop small rounded tables to his right. Nigel pushed his way to the front of the small crowd, inciting some grumbles along the way. Once in position, he inspected the various items on display, muttering to himself as he did so. His head moved slowly as his gaze shifted across the room when suddenly his head snapped back to something that had caught his interest. A polished gold coin was displayed on a comically small table behind several larger items. He let out a small gasp and then looked around quickly to see if any of his fellow shoppers had noticed. A distracted Pteri to his right was chatting to their friends and to his left an Elephante looked unsure of where he even was.

      “Amateurs!” Nigel thought to himself, and looked back up at the Scorchio who was now banging his gavel loudly.

      “Sold!” shouted the Scorchio

      Nigel waited patiently as a dozen other items were auctioned off, never letting his gaze fall from the coveted coin. He was certain that this coin was none other than the Altador Cup X Collectible Gold Coin, valued at over eighteen-million Neopoints. The average auction-goer would never be able to identify such a rare and unique item. His confidence grew as he waited and daydreamed about the lavish goods he would purchase after selling his coin.

      Finally the scorchio sauntered over to the tiny table and loudly proclaimed, “A gorgeous golden coin with a yooyu emblazoned on the front and back! Perfect for any Altador Cup enthusiast or collector! Bidding starts at five thousand Neopoints!”

     Nigel’s arm raised slowly and he nodded to the auctioneer. His poker face was perfect. His expression of slight boredom would surely fool anyone suspecting the true value of the coin.

      The auctioneer pointed directly at Nigel and stated “We have five thousand! Can we get ten thousand?”

      Seconds ticked by and a droplet of sweat slowly made its way down Nigel’s neck. The auctioneer’s head swivelled back and forth and just as Nigel was about to celebrate his victory, the auctioneer's arm raised and pointed in another direction. His gaze followed and he saw a smug Techo grinning back at him. He shot the Techo an unfriendly glare and looked back up at the auctioneer. This Techo had no idea who he was up against, Nigel thought to himself. With renewed resolve, he raised his arm before the loquacious Scorchio even finished his next sentence.

      “Do we have fifteen thousand?”

      Nigel and his opponent duelled for many minutes and the going price for the coin had already reached two million Neopoints. The Techo shifted nervously, clearly concerned with the current price. Nigel noticed.

      “Five million Neopoints!” he shouted eagerly. The Techo scowled and muttered, but his arm did not go up again. Nigel smiled as he looked back up at the auctioneer, assured that his victory was imminent.

      Just then, a young, bespectacled Tonu shouted loudly, “Isn’t that the Altador Cup X Collectible Gold Coin?!”

      Every head in the building turned, their gaze fixed on the coin. Suddenly patrons were scrambling and shouting. The room erupted into madness. In the chaos, Nigel fell to the ground and struggled to stand up. He felt panic welling up in his chest as he could no longer hear clearly the numbers that the auctioneer was shouting. When he finally collected himself he heard the dreaded words.

      “Sold!” the Scorchio exclaimed, pointing across the room at a very excited Shoyru. The Shoyru rushed to the table and claimed his prize.

      Nigel walked slowly from the building, his disappointment written plainly across his features. What a rotten day it had been. Normally he would treat himself to a tasty smoothie after a day of shopping, but today he wanted nothing more than to go home and mourn his precious coin. He made his way out of the crowded square, his gaze directed down at his feet. He walked for quite some time before raising his head to find he was not where he expected. He looked around frantically, unsure of his surroundings.

      “How could you be so careless?” he berated himself silently.

      As he surveyed his surroundings he noticed many small shops with thatched roofs. Business owners chatted cheerfully while they swept and polished their windows. Knick-knacks of all shapes and sizes were proudly displayed in modest shop windows and old-fashioned wooden signs hung above propped-open doors. These were not the high-end retailers that Nigel was accustomed to. He looked around apprehensively and saw the end of a very long line of patrons that curved around a corner out of sight. The reason for this line was not apparent, but Nigel knew that whatever these shoppers were waiting for must be worth the wait. He eagerly dashed towards and passed the queue, curious to see what grand opportunity had attracted such a crowd. As he rounded the bend he saw a comically large cauldron and beside it stood an apron-clad faerie with bright yellow wings. The faerie smiled and stirred the contents of the cauldron while conversing with her customers. Her voice was light and airy and had a melodic quality to it. Nigel observed as each customer was offered a scoop of the fragrant cauldron soup. He noticed immediately that no payment was offered by any of the soup recipients and he scratched his head in confusion.

      The soup faerie looked up from her cauldron and noticed Nigel. His confusion must have been written plainly across his face because she gently asked him, “What can I do for you, good sir?”

      Nigel hesitated and responded with a stutter, “Erm, I am just wondering why you are giving all of this soup away. If it smells half as good as it tastes, it must be delicious.”

      “This soup is for the less fortunate Neopians.” the faerie responded. She glanced at Nigel’s stately attire but was polite enough not to mention how out-of-place he clearly was. “Are you in need of a meal today?”

      “No, not today” Nigel stammered. The soup faerie went back to her work and Nigel looked more closely at the Neopians gathered before this cauldron. Their clothes were a bit tattered and they looked very hungry indeed. Nigel looked down at his own clothes and felt a twinge of guilt. He had so much to be thankful for and yet he had spent a good portion of his day wallowing in self-pity. He felt the weight of his Neopoints in his deep pockets and a thought occurred to him. Perhaps he was meant to lose that auction. Perhaps it was not chance that brought him to this unfamiliar corner of Neopia. Maybe, just maybe, today was meant to be more than just another day of shopping. A sense of purpose and generosity filled him and he strode confidently up to the soup faerie.

      Perplexed, the faerie looked down at him and asked him again, “Are you in need of a meal?”

      “No. Today is the first day that I will give more than I will take.” Nigel responded. He then took a fistful of Neopoints from his pocket and handed them to a small Shoyru at the front of the queue. The Shoyru’s face lit up with excitement.

      “Thank you! Thank you!” The Shoyru exclaimed, skipping away joyfully.

      Nigel’s pockets felt lighter and so did his heart. He spent the remainder of his afternoon gifting his precious wealth. As the crowd dispersed and the sun set slowly beyond the hills, Nigel distributed the last of his Neopoints. He made his way home, giddy with joy, and was already looking forward to next weekend.

     The End.