The Jewel of the Forgotten

      I had already conquered the Pirate Caves and the Ice Caves, now I was exploring a new cave; the Ancient Cave.

      Yeah, that's right. I'm Hannah of the Pirate Caves AND the Ice Caves. I'm sure you all have heard of me by now. After my adventures in the Pirate Caves and the ones with Armin... well, it's kind of hard to forget!

      Anyway, as I said before, I was exploring a new cave called the Ancient Cave (well, actually if it's ancient, it's not really new, is it?). There's said to be an ancient jewel hidden in the cave somewhere… and you know how I love gems and caves. So I went in search of it. Armin wasn't with me this time; he said he didn't want to come. I'm still not sure why, but whatever! I've explored caves like this on my own, before. I'm sure I can do it, again.

      I kicked open an Arrow Crate that was in front of me, starting a huge chain reaction. Before I knew it, there were boulders falling on my head! I ran for cover, and watched the boulders form a pyramid shape. Then, right there on top, I saw a beautiful blue jewel. I was almost certain it was the ancient jewel that I mentioned before. Smiling, I made sure there weren't any other boulders falling or anything, and climbed the pyramid to get the blue jewel.

      "The one who touches the Jewel of the Forgotten..."

      I turned around at the sound of the voice. I saw that the one who was speaking was an elderly Scorchio.

      "The one who touches the Jewel of the Forgotten," he repeated himself, "will be lost with no return. Whoever tries to find that one, no memories will earn." He said that in a dramatic tone. "Remember that, when deciding your fate."

      "Umm... yeah," I said, raising one eyebrow. "I'll remember that."

      The Scorchio disappeared into thin air. I didn't have the slightest idea what he was talking about, but I didn't put much time into thinking about it. I turned back around to face the blue jewel. It was glowing slightly, in a magical yet sorta creepy way. I reached out to touch the jewel, wishing to take it as my own...

      When I touched the jewel, there was an atypical flash of light. I also felt a slight burning in my hand, so I quickly pulled it away. Blowing on my hand a little, I looked back at the blue gem. It was no longer glowing. It was just a normal-looking blue gem...

      Except for the fact that it was oversized.

      I reached out to touch the jewel, again. This time with the other hand. I touched the blue jewel, this time no flash or burn. I picked up the jewel, still no flashing or burning. I decided that it was safe now, and I took the jewel home...

      * * * * * * * *

      The next morning, I awoke from a good night's sleep. Stretching, taking in the morning sunlight...

      I turned to look at my dresser. The jewel was still there. And it still wasn't glowing or floating or anything like that. It was just sitting there, twinkling in the sunlight.

      I got out of bed, changed out of my pajamas, and went out the door to fetch the latest copy of The Neopian Times. I picked up the paper, and noticed my neighbor, a blue Aisha, walking down the sidewalk.

      "Hello, there!" I called to her. "Good morning!"

      The blue Aisha turned to me, with a strange look on her face. She looked... confused.

      "Um, hi..." she said, "are you new to the neighborhood?"

      Then I paused. That didn't sound right. What was she saying? Maybe she was just groggy, and couldn't think straight.

      "Uh, nooo..." I answered, "we've been neighbors since Year 5."

      "No, that couldn't be," the Aisha replied, "I haven't seen you before."

      I blinked. If anybody had seen me before it was my neighbors. What was going on?

      "Umm, yeeaaaah..." I replied, "look, I... uh... think I left the toaster running!"

      I dashed back into my house, slamming the door loudly behind me.

      "That was... strange..." I said to myself. "She must be suffering from amnesia. Wow, that's sad. I'd hate to have amnesia... heh heh heh..."

      I went to have breakfast, trying to keep my mind off of my neighbor's amnesia. I made a big breakfast with lots of pancakes and bacon... mmmmm... I also had a tall glass of Orange Juice! Double mmmmmm...

      After breakfast, I sat on the sofa for a little while to let the food digest, and then I finally got back up and went out the door for a morning jog.

      I passed by houses of friends that I knew, waving to them as I went by, but the strangest thing was that they didn't wave back or anything, they just kind of stared...

      Not watching where I was going, I crashed into a blue Usul. She dropped a lot of books; she was apparently headed to Neoschool.

      "Oh, I'm sorry!" I apologized. "I wasn't watching where I was going..."

      "Aww, now I have to pick up all these books!" the other Usul moaned, almost as if she was ignoring me.

      I was expecting her to notice me and say, "Hey, you're Hannah! I'm, like, your biggest fan!" or something, but she just continued picking up her books, hardly paying attention to me. I almost couldn't STAND the suspense, so I bent down and started helping her pick up her books. She looked up at me. Oooh... here comes the outburst...

      "What are you doing?" she asked.

      Not at all what I was expecting.

      "Helping you pick up your books," I replied.

      "I don't need your help," she said.

      "Well, I'm helping anyway!" I looked up at her with a grin on my face.

      There was still no excited outburst from the Usul; she just raised an eyebrow in confusion.

      Why didn't this Usul know about me? I'm, like, every Usul's hero, aren't I? M-maybe she just hasn't learned about me in Neoschool, yet! Y-yeah! That must be it!

      After a while, the blue Usul finished picking up her books and she continued on her way to Neoschool. I waved to her, calling, "Don't forget to read about great Neopian heroes at Neoschool!"

      The blue Usul began to run away from me as if I were demented, or something. But I'm not demented! Honestly!

      I decided to stop at the Golden Dubloon, the place I used to work at. I'm sure the people THERE would recognize me!

      One of the Krawks that worked there turned to me. "Hey, what's a pretty girl like you doin' in a place like this?"

      "You don't remember?" I replied. "I'm Hannah, I used to work here."

      "Hmm, no, I can't seem to remember you," he said.

      I gave the Krawk a blank stare. Why wasn't anyone recognizing me, today? I thought just about EVERYBODY knew me!

      I turned to a Meerca that was sitting at one of the tables; he was a regular at the Golden Dubloon. I had served him quite a bit. "Hey, don't YOU remember me? I was your waitress, like, six zillion times!"

      "No, actually I don't," said the Meerca.

      Then I turned to a Poogle, another regular. "Don't you remember the time I spilled hot Borovan in your lap?"

      The Poogle shook his head. "I don't remember that."

      I turned to the rest of the customers, and yelled as loud as I could, "DOESN'T ANYONE HERE RECOGNIZE ME?"

      The Krawk tapped me on the shoulder, "Um, look, lady..."

      "LADY?!" I shouted. "I'm not 'Lady'! I'm Hannah! Hannah the Brave!"

      "...maybe you should sit down..." the Krawk put his hand on my shoulder.

      "I don't need to sit down!" I protested. "I'm just fine! I don't need to sit down!!"

      Now, it just so happened that at that very moment, Armin walked into the Golden Dubloon, probably looking for a cup of Borovan or something. I ran to him; if anyone recognized me, it was him!

      "Oh, Armin!" I greeted him. "I'm SO glad to see you! These people are being all brain-dead and not recognizing me! But I'm sure YOU recognize me, right? Of course you do! Tell these people who I am, buddy ol' pal!"

      "Um, suuure..." Armin said uneasily as I put my hand on his shoulder. "Just one question: who are you?"

      Now THAT was wrong. "Who am I? Well, I'm Hannah! Don't you remember? We went through the Ice Caves, together! We saved the Bori!"

      "You know," Armin replied, "I think I'd remember you if we journeyed through the Ice Caves, together..."

      "THEN WHY DON'T YOU??" I shouted at Armin, then stormed out the door.

      I panted heavily. What was going on? Everybody must have been having freak amnesia! There wasn't a person on Krawk Island that didn't know me!

      I noticed a pink Cybunny walking along the sidewalk. I stopped her. "Hey, there! Lookie lookie! It's me, Hannah the Brave! Hannah of both the Pirate and Ice Caves! Want an autograph? In fact, don't even ask! I'll give you one right now!"

      The Cybunny appeared to be frightened. "Get away from me!"

      I scribbled my name down quickly onto a paper. I threw the paper at the Cybunny. "Don't forget your autograph!"

      Two Krawk police officers walked up to me. "Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way..."

      I turned around to the officers. "You're not going to arrest me, are you? You can't arrest me! I'm Hannah the Brave! I'm your hero!"

      "How can you be our hero?" one of the Krawks asked. "We don't even KNOW you!"

      "AAAAAAAAA!!!" I ran back to my house as fast as I can, slamming the door behind me. "N-now don't worry, Hannah! I-it's just a really bad nightmare! I-I'm going to wake up any time now! A-any time now I'm going to be back in bed! Riiiight, aboouuuut... now! Noooo, now! Now! Now! NOW!!" I pinched myself harshly. "Ouch!"

      I sat on the ground, placed my hands on my forehead and shook my head.

      "The one who touches the Jewel of the Forgotten will be lost with no return. Whoever tries to find that one, no memories will earn."

      I looked up to see the elderly Scorchio that I had seen in the Ancient Cave. I jumped up. "What are you doing in my house?!"

      "Do you even know what that means?" the Scorchio asked me.

      "Well, of course I...!" I paused, thinking about what I was about to say, "...no, actually I don't."

      The Scorchio sighed. "You touched the Jewel of the Forgotten... now you are lost."

      "The Jewel of the Forgotten?" I wondered. "Do you mean that blue jewel from the Ancient Cave?"

      "Yes." He nodded. "The jewel has a strange curse on it; when you touch it, everyone forgets who you are, no matter how many people know you."

      "What?" I said in horror.

      "It happens all too fast..." he answered. "First your friends forget you, and all your Neopoints and possessions vanish... along with all records of you... before you know it, you become a nameless, insane nomad who wears rags and eats garbage."

      "NO!" I shouted. "That can't happen to me! I'm Hannah of the Pirate Caves AND the Ice Caves! Hannah the Brave!" I panted heavily, fearful. "I'm a hero! I... I have my picture hanging in the Gallery of Heroes! I'm famous! EVERYBODY knows about me!" I could feel myself shivering. I was scared. "I'm too IMPORTANT to be forgotten!"

      The Scorchio looked at me with empathy. "As was I."

      My eyes widened. "...What?"

      "But of course YOU wouldn't know..." the Scorchio sighed, "the jewel would have affected you, too."

      "W-what happened?" I breathed out, solemnly.

      The Scorchio sighed, and looked up to the ceiling. "A long time ago... I had a name. It was 'The Fearless Scorco'. I was a famous explorer... I had been on many journeys and had found all kinds of treasure... I was a hero to everyone..."

      "Kinda like me..." I added.

      "Yes, actually quite like you." he nodded. "But then one day, I journeyed into the Ancient Cave...

      "And there was the most beautiful blue jewel I had ever seen. It twinkled, it even seemed to glow... it was treasure. I had to have it. So I touched the jewel and there was a bright flash of light...

      "And that's where it all started. When I went home, nobody remembered me, or anything that I did. It was all gone... lost... forgotten..."

      I felt tears well up in my eyes, "I... I am so, so sorry."

      "No, don't bother." He sighed, shaking his head. "It happened years ago and it wasn't your fault, anyway... it was mine. I was so greedy, I knew I had to have that jewel..."

      I felt a tug at my heartstrings, and this guy's dramatic lines weren't helping. "Th-there has to be some way to reverse it!"

      He shook his head. "If there is, I don't know how..."

      My eyes began to water. Then a thought struck my mind, and I ran upstairs to my room. I looked at the blue jewel sitting on my dresser. It sparkled and shined... to the normal eye it would appear pretty, but to me... it was traitorous. Its blue gleam had a malefic feel to it... I suddenly started to feel unsure of myself... what am I doing here? Where am I? Who am I?...

      I shook my head, trying to snap out of my confused state. I could hardly believe it! I was starting to forget myself!

      No, don't forget... I thought to myself, don't forget who you are... you're Hannah... Hannah the Brave... don't forget...

      I looked back up at the Jewel of the Forgotten. I could almost HEAR it laughing at me, almost triumphantly. I felt warm tears drip down my cheeks. I took the jewel in my hands and ran downstairs with it.

      "Tell me... please..." I whispered, to no one in particular, "please tell me how to reverse the effects of this jewel..."

      "It kind of makes sense, doesn't it?" the forgotten Scorchio said to me. "No matter if every pet in Neopia thinks you're a brave hero with absolutely no fear; it's not true. I believe every famous hero has the fear... of being forgotten..."

      I stormed out the door, raising the Jewel of the Forgotten into the air, for everyone to see.

      "Everyone! Please!" I cried. "Don't forget me, you're all under the influence of this gem. You all know me! I'm your hero!"

      The Krawk police came up to me, again. "Look, you're making a scene, now."

      I held the blue jewel up to his face. "You forgot me, didn't you? This gem did it. It did it to everyone!" My eyes watered madly, but no one seemed to understand me.

      "Lady, you need to calm down." said the other Krawk. "We can take you to a place where you can do that if we have to..."

      "I'M NOT GOING TO JAIL!" I shouted at the Krawks, and I ran off, jewel in hand.

      The Krawks followed me, racing across the Island, all over the place. Almost everyone on the island was watching us with confusion and fear. Finally, I made it to the top of a hill, completely surrounded by police. They began to get closer, getting ready to drag me off to jail, or an insane asylum, or something like that.

      "NOOOOOOOOOO!"

      I threw the Jewel of the Forgotten forcefully to the ground just as the guards grabbed me. It landed to the ground with a SMASH!... The gem shattered into several pieces and time seemed to slow down...

      * * * * * * * *

      I sat bolt up-right. I was back in bed. I looked around at the familiar surroundings that I recognized as my room.

      "Was it all just... a dream?" I wondered, looking to my dresser. The Jewel of the Forgotten wasn't there.

      I got up, ran downstairs and outside. I looked around, I saw the people that I knew... and they were waving at me.

      "Hello, Hannah!" said my neighbor, the blue Aisha. "It's quite a nice day, isn't it?"

      I hardly believed what she was saying. "You... know my name!"

      She raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Of course I do! We've been neighbors since Year 5."

      "Yeah... that's right." I still couldn't believe my ears. She remembered me! I wasn't forgotten anymore!

      I ran down the sidewalk that I had jogged down before. The people that stared at me strangely before waved at me. The feeling was so amazing...

      I bumped into the blue Usul, again. She dropped her books, once more.

      "Oh, sorry! I wasn't watching where I was..." I sighed, but I was interrupted by the Usul.

      "Oh my gosh, you're Hannah!" she beamed. "I can't believe it! This is so cool! I'm, like, your biggest fan!" She shook my hand madly; the excited smile on her face seemed to mean so much more than it did before.

      I smiled. "Wow, really? I love fans."

      I decided to help her pick up her books again. This time there was no confused stare, the girl just kept going on and on and on... I handed her her books, and she thanked me a hundred times, then she finally ran off to Neoschool with a huge smile on her face.

      With a smile, I jogged off to the Golden Dubloon. The Krawk that worked there gave me a nod. The Meerca pointed to me, talking to his friends about how I was his waitress a lot. The Poogle gave a brief mention about the Borovan in his lap thing.

      This was amazing. Fame seemed so much more amazing, now that I knew what it was like to be an insane nobody.

      Armin walked into the Golden Dubloon. He waved to me. "Hi, Hannah! What are you doing here?"

      "I used to work here," I said, still in slight awe that I was remembered, "it brings back memories..."

      I headed back outside; I saw the Cybunny lady I had saw before. This time, she ran up to me, ASKING for an autograph. I wrote my name down on a piece of paper (neatly this time!), and handed it to the Cybunny. She thanked me, and walked away, going back to her own business. I had never felt this way about being so famous before... it was outstanding...

      "So, I guess people remember you..."

      I turned to the alley behind the Golden Dubloon; I saw that the Scorchio that had also been forgotten was there.

      "...you broke the Jewel of the Forgotten," he said. "The curse has been lifted from you. I guess it wasn't in full effect yet, so it was easier to reverse." He lowered his head. "...but it did not lift from me. I'm still the forgotten soul that I've been since... I can't even remember when..."

      I looked at him. "I remember you, Scorco."

      He looked up at me. He had not heard anyone else say his name in so long. His eyes began to water, and I just walked away with a reassuring smile on my face.

The End

If you can read this, this is my first entry in The Neopian Times! I hope you enjoy it!