Just a Bowl

    "Aleia, to heal is a very hard job. You must use your mind to help you if you want to learn to heal!" the mother said sternly.

    "I never said I wanted to learn to heal!" Aleia snapped angrily, grinding her leather boots into the dirt.

    "Aleia!" the first faerie cried.

    "Mom!" Aleia exploded, flying furiously into the skies. She looked down below at her mother rapidly disappearing. To be truthful, her mother wasn't really her mother; she just took care of her. Aleia didn't know who her true mother was, and she didn't want to find out, either.

    "That girl has no chance," the false mother sighed sadly. She shook her head.

    * * * * *

    "I'm sick of these stupid lessons," Aleia grumbled. "So I'll go somewhere where I don't have to learn them. Somewhere where nobody can ever find me." And with that, Aleia snatched a sack full of neopoints and clothes.

    She was sick of the lessons. She had been forced against her will to take them ever since she was a little girl.

    Aleia darted through the soft, pink clouds in Faerieland. She halted in midair as somebody called her name.

    "Aleia!" the voice repeated. It wasn't Aleia's mom, so she returned up to find her best friend, a fire faerie, looking down at her.

    "Rilfina?" Aleia questioned, looking up at the fire faerie's face.

    "Where are you going? Why are you darting quickly, guiltily, through the clouds carrying a heavy sack?" Rilfina inquired.

    "You must promise not to tell," Aleia whispered. "I'm leaving down to Neopia Central to do what I please, live in the lap of luxury, away from lessons. I'm fed up with them, being forced against my will to go every morning! So I'm leaving, feeling a tad guilty about leaving my poor Mum behind. Please don't tell! I know I am being foolish, but I can't stand it any longer!"

    "I understand," Rilfina said, "Perhaps you could visit me? If you don't, I'll have to come find you. I'll probably end up doing that, though, because there will be search parties everywhere! So I'll come find you when I can. I'm sure you'll do great down in Neopia Central, and I hope the thought to help others runs through your mind when you're down there. I think I hear my mum calling! Good luck!" Rilfina flew away, and Aleia was a bit shocked that her best friend didn't try to stop her. She dove headfirst out of Faerieland, flying over the crystal blue seas towards Neopia Central.

    * * * * *

    The journey was a blur except for occasional visions. Aleia glimpsed a Flotsam diving out of the waters above Maraqua. Then there was a squire being knighted in Meridell. In Neopia Central, Aleia saw pets being dragged into the Pound, and abandoned pets slinking about, half-dead. She had to shut her eyes tight.

    There were rows of shops, and Aleia had to rest. She sat under the shade of a tree and shut her eyes, soaking in the sounds of Weewoos starting to awake.

    It was so peaceful here! Aleia turned her head to see the golden-red sun rising above purple mountains, the sky shimmering with light. A few people went into shops, and bells tinkled softly. 'Closed' signs switched to 'Open,' and the morning began. People awoke from their slumbers, and gradually people started to bustle about.

    "What is a faerie doing here in Neopia Central?" somebody asked.

    "It's none of your business, if you please, sir, and I was looking for a way to...to help," Aleia explained.

    "We don't need any help, we're perfectly fine! Just fly back up to your land of happiness and let us continue with our everyday lives!" the person ordered angrily.

    "You're wrong! You people here need help, even if you don't know it! Upon arriving I saw dying pets in the alleys fighting over crumbs of bread and Neopets being forced into cages and put into misery! That isn't right, abandoned pets fighting to live more than a week while you're sitting in your nicely furnished Neohome worrying that your party won't be a success! There are mother Neopets out there worrying that their sons and daughters won't survive! And here you are, worrying about some stupid expensive party!" Aleia yelled, trembling with anger. The person looked a bit uncomfortable.

    "How could you rich people care about just yourselves, buying the most expensive foods so you can stuff your face? You say there is nothing wrong? You're the one who's messed up, boy, not me! Get along!" Aleia snarled. The man looked about ready to cry. He scurried off. People where staring out of shop windows. When Aleia spotted them, they shut the blinds quickly.

    "I know what I'll do, I'll help those starved Neopets eat; I'll use my magic to help them!" Aleia's eyes lit up, and she started towards the other side of Neopia Central. "I'll be back!"

    * * * * *

    "Sir, I'd like to buy some things from this shop!" Aleia whispered to the Chia at the Food Shop. He listened intently as she explained what she wanted.

    "Yes ma'am, that'll be fifty thousand neopoints." The Chia carried a box of goods from the Storage Supply. She handed him exactly fifty-one thousand neopoints.

    "You didn't see me," she whispered, and the Chia nodded quickly.

    * * * * *

    "Miss Kauvara," Aleia whispered across the counter.

    "Oh, hello Aleia! It's good to see one of my best customers again! What would you like? Some Bubbling Healing Goo? Lime Elixir for the Battledome?" Kauvara asked, a twinkle in her brown eyes.

    "Ma'am, I need a long lasting supply of Healing Potion XII, about a year's worth," Aleia asked.

    "Ah, your mother needs them for that healing class, doesn't she? I always said she was a fool for making that class," Kauvara mumbled.

    "Actually, I ran away, I was fed up with those classes. I need the Healing Potion because I'm going to use it to help abandoned pets live and find good homes," Aleia whispered.

    "Wise girl you are, Aleia, I would have left sooner, though. You have a purpose here," Kauvara handed Aleia a gigantic box of Healing Potions XII.

    "Thank you!" Aleia yelled back as she flew out towards her spot under the tree. Only one more place to go...

    * * * * *

    "We'll get you something immediately Miss, as soon as possible! Let's see, Wood? Shape of a Cauldron? Oh, a Soup Bowl. Close enough! I like your plans!" the director of the Building A Shop Business smiled.

    "It won't be a shop though," Aleia whispered.

    "But why?" the director frowned.

    "Because everything there will be absolutely free," Aleia grinned, and so did the director.

    Aleia left, eagerly awaiting a rest.

    * * * * *

    Aleia flew to her site as soon as possible the next morning. A building in the shape of a Soup Bowl had been erected.

    "Score!" Aleia shouted. She dragged her items inside, filing shelves with potions and ingredients. Carefully, she pinned a banner above the door saying 'Free Food for Poor and/or Abandoned Families!'

    She tied her hair up in a bandana and started pouring warm, yellow broth into her own soup bowl. She stirred it three times, and then poured in some asparagus. The last ingredient was some seasoning, as well as ten drops of a Healing Potion XII. That way, the pets would be fuller and healthier.

    "Let that young man be in shock, and let Rilfina be glad of me!" Aleia shouted happily as her first hungry pet appeared, a scratched Yellow Acara who had been abandoned.

    It made Aleia happy to see the Acara grow happier as she grew fuller.

    "Thank you, Miss Soup Faerie, I'm not so hungry anymore, and it was free! I even feel healthier! Thank you so much Miss Soup Faerie!" the Acara hugged Aleia, and The Soup Faerie smiled, a happy smile. She had helped Neopia Central after all.

The End