His Home: Lost but Found - Part One

There is a time for everything: for pain, for joy. Today is the time of reconstruction, but to first learn about today we must know about yesterday and there is only one way to learn about yesterday, and that is through the words of the past. These words begin something like this…

      The night was warm and the smell of sweat and rain filled the air. The clouds above were rumbling and already Whinikkyfarin Lake's waves raged high and loud. Among the crashing and turmoil was a small blob, surfing the tide.

      "Wow! Killer!"

      The small fire Kiko exclaimed in a ruckus tone that echoed around the sleeping hamlet. Just after he finished his exclamation a wave dragged him under, spluttering in surprise he glanced around. Sand had been torn up from the seabed, and the smaller pieces of coral were fluttering around in the underwater currents. Tomorrow would be a busy day cleaning this all up, for some that would cause hesitation and thoughts of rest, but not Narwin.

      Swimming quickly he got behind another wave, which bashed him against the shore.

      "Ouch, that burns," he muttered, as a menacing fiery bruise spread across his skin.

      Sighing, he squinted, his eyes trying to wish away the pain. It was to no avail and Narwin soon realized that he would have to retire. With one last look at a gargantuan wave, he slid under the waves just as rain began to drizzle from the sky, pelting the lake furiously.

      Morwena, a slender, purple Lupe, didn't like the rain. In fact, she didn't like water, period. She supposed it came from having a Peophin and a Flotsam as her siblings, that having to do more than enough with water. She huddled under a green hood, rain drizzling off of her muzzle. Her dark purple fur was soggy and matted down, making her feel rather unpleasant to look at.

      The only thing that seemed to be completely dry was the notepad that was carefully tucked in a place where the rain could not reach. An Air Faerie Pencil was firmly wedged in between her two stubby fingers, which were moving at high speed. She was writing a report on rain and that it actually wasn't any different in Tyrannia and Mystery Island. Rain was rain, and it was cold and wet, that is what she had managed to convey in over three paragraphs. This one was not going to be a best seller.

      Morwena was doing this when she heard it: a loud yelp; not one of pain or anger, but one of joy. She picked up a run, dropping the pad into the mud. The cry stopped, but she just kept heading in the general direction that she had heard it. After unceremoniously bumping into a couple of trees, she was soon out of the forest that she had been walking through, and what she saw took her breath away.

      There was the most beautiful lake she had ever seen. The surface was rough and choppy, but the water was clear, and pristine. Lush green foliage twisted and stretched around the lake, as if trying to shield it from prying eyes. Tall trees stood guard. She felt the bump on her forehead, and the two tallest were the couple that had given her the bump.

      Maybe they were magical? She wondered briefly, but the thought soon fled as she continued to stare at the lake. The most amazing thing was that it shimmered; pinks, blues and light lavenders all seemed to dwell beneath the surface. Cautiously she walked closer. The moon appeared from behind the clouds; the rain was begging to cease and the wind settled down to a mere whisper. The most important thing however was the lake's surface. It was calm, so she could see what was below. Coral of all kind rested below, forming twisting spires and spongy beds. It was all alive; some tentacles waved about the slight underwater current. It looked like a fairy tale. The best thing was that it appeared to be uninhabited, so that she would have no trouble with natives. She put the place to memory and then set off back home to write an article that wouldn't fail.

     ***

      When Morwena got back to her Neohome, she quickly removed her drenched hood and hung it up to dry before getting back to writing her article. The dripping of the water made a steady rhythm with the flickering of the candle and the dripping of the wax. The whole room was hot and smelled of mildew. But this was her workroom; the place where she was sure to make her big break.

      Hours and hours of stressful writing went by. Finally, Morwena had finished her article. She read aloud her favourite paragraph and smiled warmly. The Lupe then curled up in the straw chair she had been sitting in all along and dozed off into a dreamless sleep. Her snores soon resonated in the house, a calming lulling lullaby to any pets that were still awake.

     ***

      The next morning, Morwena awakened her sisters, Carrie, a Spotted Peophin, and Anna, an Island Flotsam hurriedly, dragging them downstairs with much excitement. She wanted them to be awake so that they could come with her to submit the article. But the two pets had other ideas.

      "Morwena, why in the world would you want us to come with you?" Carrie questioned the Purple Lupe, sitting down at the breakfast table and grabbing a muffin.

      "Yeah, what's with that?" Anna continued the inquiry, also sitting down at the table with her two other sisters. "You know I'm proud of you and your article, but you don't really need us to come with you, do you? We were sleeping! And it's 2 in the morning!"

      "Okay! Okay! You don't have to come!" Morwena slammed her fist on the table in order to shut up her sisters. "Goodness, I didn't think you'd get so testy! I'll go down there on my own."

      And at that, Morwena stood up from the breakfast table and nodded to her siblings. "Wish me luck."

      "Good luck," Carrie and Anna spoke in unison.

      Morwena waved to the two and rushed out of the kitchen. The sound of the front door slamming shut echoed in Carrie and Anna's ears, who had bolted out of the kitchen and back upstairs, eager to get back to sleep.

     ***

      The smog of Central Neopia never bothered Morwena like it did to others; it seemed a part of her life. The buildings were not the imposing jungle they were to some, they were tall comforting protectors. There was one building that would never be this way for Morwena: the Neopian Times Central Office. It wasn't the biggest building, but it certainly wasn't the smallest either. It was round, very official looking, and the words "Neopia's Fill-In-The-Blank News Source" read loud and imposing in the bold black lettering on a gold plate. In the white submission boxes, Morwena quickly dropped her thin manuscript, looking down at it eagerly.

      Morwena would never have guessed how much trouble that one little manuscript could cause.

     ***

      "Extra! Extra!" called a young, blue Scorchio.

      It was a new day. After Morwena had submitted her article to the Neopian Times yesterday, she had returned home. Yet, she couldn't fall back to sleep. The Lupe was much too eager to learn whether or not her article had been accepted. So, she stared out of the living room window at the mailbox, waiting for that fateful Neomail that could either crush one's dreams, or make a dream come true. There never came a reply.

      The Scorchio rode his blue bicycle down the small neighborhood Morwena lived in, a large, brown sack attached to the handlebar of the bike.

      The Scorchio reached into the sack and pulled out the newest issue of the Neopian Times; hot off the press. He tossed the thick paper to his right, and it landed in the front yard of someone's NeoHome. Soon enough, the Scorchio approached Morwena's house. He tossed the newspaper at her Neohome. It hit a potted plant sitting on the front porch, causing the pot to tumble over, shattering upon collision with the ground.

      Morwena ran to the porch and pushed open the front door. She smiled gleefully when she noticed the Neopian Times lying before her, just waiting to be opened. She bent down, picked up the newspaper, and went inside, letting the door shut behind her.

      "Carrie! Anna!" Morwena called for sisters.

      The two pets trudged down the stairs, not taking much interest into whatever it was Morwena wanted.

      Anna rubbed her eyes, "How many times are you going to wake us up so early? We're not supposed to do that until Neoschool comes around, which means we'll never have to wake up early!"

      Morwena sat on a large, blue couch in the living room. "Okay, guys," she said. "This is pretty much the moment of truth. You two are both aware of the fact that I wrote and submitted an article to the Neopian Times yesterday, right?"

      "No duh," Carrie retorted.

      "Well, I am about to open up this weeks issue of the Neopian Times," Morwena told her sisters. "Let's hope my article got in!"

      Carrie and Anna moved towards Morwena and got behind her on the couch. They looked over her shoulder as she opened up the newspaper. Morwena bit her lip as she flipped to the article section of the Neopian Times.

      She went down the list of articles with her eyes, reading the titles as she went. "'100 Reasons to Never Feed Carrots to Flouds', 'Wuz Chet Flash Really Here?', 'How to Tame Green Chickens'..."

      Suddenly, Morwena gasped. Right below an article about Weewoos, Morwena's article about Whinikkyfarin Lake lay printed in the paper.

      "Whinikkyfarin Lake: Lake of the Glistening Waters, by Morwena Tuesday," Morwena read the title aloud.

      Morwena and her sisters simply stared at the article in awe. They couldn't believe what they saw. Morwena had adored the Neopian Times practically forever, and her dream of getting published in the Times had lasted just as long.

      "Um… whoa!" Carrie said, "Morwena, y-you got published!"

      Morwena suddenly screamed with joy. She hopped off of the couch and hugged both Carrie and Anna ever so tightly.

      "I can't believe it!! I'm so excited!!" Morwena screamed, practically dancing by this time. "I made it! I made it! I'm in the Neopian Times!"

      Morwena plopped back into her chair and started reading her article rapidly, not skipping any of the words, not skipping any of the letters.

      "Oh, this is just too good to be true!" Morwena exclaimed, tears of joy running down her cheeks.

      Anna placed her flipper on a certain section of the article and stated, "You spelled "together" wrong."

      If this had occurred at any other time in Morwena's lifetime, the Lupe would have smacked Anna upside the head. But she was much too ecstatic to even thinking of resulting to violent behavior. Grasping the newspaper tightly in her paw, Morwena hopped off the couch and dashed outside. She flung her arms in the air and shouted for all to hear.

      "I MADE IT!"

     ***

      Narwin the Fire Kiko exited his tranquil underwater NeoHome and swam to the top of Whinikkyfarin Lake.

      "Ah, another fine swim in the only lake I know of," Narwin said to himself, grinning happily as he watched the sparkling water around him. However, something just wasn't right.

      There were hundreds of Neopets all around the area. They were doing all sorts of things Narwin had never seen, such as swimming in the lake, lounging in the sand, building sand castles, having picnics, littering, throwing rocks at other Kikos in the lake, etcetera.

      Narwin waded through the water and climbed ashore, gaping at his environment. He simply stared in awe as he watched the tourists destroy his view of the lake and the land around it. Suddenly, someone literally threw a hotdog at him.

      "Ouch!" Narwin exclaimed, rubbing the side of his head where the hotdog had hit.

      A small yellow Mynci ran up to Narwin and picked up the hotdog. He stared at Narwin with a very angry expression and threatened, "Touch my hotdog again and I'll feed you to the beggars at the NeoBoards."

      The Mynci ran off.

      "Wha-what has happened?" Narwin asked himself, "What happened to my beautiful Whinikkyfarin Lake? Where did all these tourists come from? What's going on?!"

      All Narwin could do at this point was fall back into the waters of Whinikkyfarin Lake, watching the Neopets… simply watching, and nothing more.

To be continued…