The Perplexing Paintbrush Problem

      “Hi! Notice anything different about me?” Hasperilla said without hesitation.

      “I love the look!” Tibet exclaimed, not really happy.

      “You are the first person to say something kind to me about my appearance. Want a Baby Paintbrush? I have an extra!” Hasperilla said, tearing up a bit. Tibet just stared. He wondered how long she’d been out there fishing for compliments. But that didn’t matter, he was going to be a baby. He squealed and ran over to hug her, but the gust of wind blew her out the door. She started to fly, far, far, away. Tibet spiralled into a deep depression, and with each turn she made in the sky, getting farther away each time so did his happiness along with her. He ran out of the bank after her, tears staining his vision. “Wait!” he cried desperately. He jumped up, using his frog-like legs, and grabbed her. Her skin was so smooth, she slipped from his stubby fingers and continued to gracefully float away.

     “Sorry! Maybe when I get back on the ground?” she yelled down to him. At this point, Neopets gathered around and watched the scene unfold. Tibet, tears streaming down, entered the bank once more. His dream appearance was right there! His ticket to being a baby was right in front of him and he’d gone off and screwed it up. He couldn’t help but blame Hasperilla to an extent. She should have known better than to have gone to the bank, the floors are waxed once a week and Sunday was that day! He was just so frustrated. He asked to get off work a bit early that day and his boss complied. He used the local magic mirror to communicate with the Faerie Flying Express. He watched the magic swirl in the mirror like fog, when suddenly a faeries’ face emerged. He mumbled something about a cracked screen before saying “Hello, this is Brian speaking for the Faerie Flying Express! Please state your name, location, and where you would like to be!”

     “I’m at Goblin II Incorporated, “Trust is the Key” in Neopia Central. My name is Tibet Herbert-Villarreal and I would like to go to my home on Roo Island.” Tibet said in a plastic-like voice. Brian pulled up a picture of a female faerie and said “Amanda will be there in a jiffy, please keep your eye out for this faerie outside of Goblin II Incorporated, thank you for choosing Faerie Flying Express, please pay the 5 NP travel fee to Amanda after your flight, bye!”. Tibet put the magic mirror back on its stand and started to make his way to the front of the bank. He looked around the premises for Amanda. He spotted her standing by a lone park bench outside the bank. He approached her and asked “Are you Amanda?”.

      “Yes,” she replied, “Are you Tibet?”.

      “The one and only!” he said, trying to lighten the mood. “Alright, be prepared for a tingling sensation as I give you the ability to fly. I will fly beside you to ensure you are not abusing this power,” she explained. Tibet was not a first-time flier and understood the rules, so he nodded and braced for the odd feeling. Amanda closed her eyes as a hole in her forehead peeked open to reveal a “third eye”. A blue beam of light blared through at him, Amanda was muttering Faerie incantations and twitching slightly as he became lighter, lighter, and now he was flying! Amanda closed her third eye and opened her normal eyes and flew along with him. They soared together towards his home. The closer they got, the heavier Tibet became. Soon, they arrived, landing on the porch with a light thud. He gave her the NP required and entered his humble abode. There he found Hasperilla on his couch. He perked up and asked, “What in the Neopia happened back there!”. Hasperilla started to cry and say “I don’t wanna be a baby anymore!”. He was very confused until she explained that she couldn’t walk anymore and she couldn’t get around easily anymore. She hugged him and said, “Do you still want the paintbrush? It’s a huge responsibility!”. He thought about it. He decided to call his partner and ask them about it. They had to have a say in whether or not he changed his appearance so drastically. He told Hasperilla to wait there while he made a call. He asked the magic mirror to call Blare for him. The magic mirror promptly complied and they answered. “Hi Tibet, aren’t you supposed to be at work today?” Blare asked. “I have a predicament, I took the day off to deal with it and I thought I should ask you about it. I’ve been offered 2 FREE Baby Paintbrushes!”. Blare was in awe. That’s the only way that they could describe it. Absolute awe. “Those are worth what, 600 THOUSAND NP EACH!!! Of COURSE you should take that offer!” they exclaimed. “I don’t know.” Tibet replied, “Hasperilla hated it and wants to get rid of her paintbrushes, what if that happens to us?”. Blare smiled and said, “if that happens, we can figure it out together,”. “Thanks. I think I’m going to accept them,” Tibet said as he put the mirror on the stand. He then walked back into his living room to talk to Hasperilla, excitement pulsing through his veins. He was surprised to see she had turned on the magic mirror and was flipping through channels. “I want the paintbrushes,” Tibet said, tentatively. “Ok! I’ll go get them now!” Hasperilla exclaimed with a sigh of relief. She slid over to the door to go to the local magic mirror. While she was out, Tibet went to visit his neighbour, who also happened to be his sister, Madeira. He decided to get her opinion as well. He walked over there and knocked on her door. No response. He then walked back into his house and grabbed the magic mirror. No response. He then remembered she had worked at the Soup Kitchen that day. He eventually decided to just stay home and wait for Hasperilla to come back. He turned on the magic mirror and tried to distract himself from the fact that he was going to be an adorable, smooth, plump, little bundle of joy. Hasperilla soon arrived, Baby Paintbrushes in clutch with her body back to normal. Tibet took a deep breath and switched off the magic mirror and picked them up. Blare was on their way. They were very excited because they also had dreamed of being a baby, yet understood the consequences of being one. They arrived 15 minutes later and walked in to find Tibet the BABY Quiggle and Hasperilla standing next to him with her usual green colour. Blare the Xweetox then grabbed the paintbrush and hit “equip”.

     The End.