Dreams

      * * * * *

Everyone has dreams. Pets dream of being painted a certain color or getting a certain petpet. But their owners have dreams too. Sometimes, the pet and the owner have the same dream. Unfortunately, sometimes, they don't.

      My owner created me on Cybunny Day. She named me Amethyst, Ami for short, but she was the only one who could call me that. I already had a sister, an island Gelert named Jasmine. My owner's name was Ally, and she was incredibly wealthy. We lived in a gigantic Neohome, and I was shocked to find a room made of cloud with Fyora furniture reserved just for me. I loved my life, and never would you have seen me frown.

      Ally lavished me with gifts. She got me an adorable little Ona, who provided me with endless hours of entertainment. I was thrilled to have something of my own to name, love, and take care of, and thus I named her Happy. She and Jasmine's Taweret, Spice, would stare at each other curiously, and we laughed. I felt that these happy times would never end.

      Then I received the biggest gift of all: a purple paint brush. I rushed to the Rainbow Pool, jumped in, and quickly became the color that matched the jewel that was my name. Excitedly, I hopped out to show Ally my new look, but she ignored my shouts, not taking a single glance at me. She seemed to be staring at something, and whatever it was had mesmerized her. When she finally spoke, her voice was dreamy and ethereal.

      "Ami," she said, a faraway look in her eyes. "Look at this." She pointed.

      What she was pointing to was a picture. And the picture was of a beautiful, sleek, mostly white creature with splashes of color here and there who was, I felt, staring at me with those intelligent eyes. My eyes scanned the title below, which read, "Maraquan Draik". I knew that a Draik was a type of pet, and Maraquan was a color they could be painted, so I figured she wanted one. She was still staring at it, hypnotized, completely captivated.

      She then turned to me again. "Come on, Amethyst. We're going to the pound. You'll get a new sibling, and I'll get one of those." Her eyes gleamed with…what was that? Greed? But no, it couldn't be. I shook the ridiculous thought out of my head. Ally wasn't shallow…right?

      The pound was only a few blocks away. As we entered, a dreadful feeling settled in my stomach. The pets locked up in cages were all staring at me with their pitiful eyes, as if begging me, "Take me home! Take me home, please!!" I wished I could take them all home, but I couldn't. "Go ahead, Ami," Ally said impatiently, "pick one!" Wait…she wanted ME to do it?

      Something told me to go to the back of the room. So I did. And sitting in a small cage with a sorrowful, hopeless look in his eyes was a red Kougra. I read the little plate above the cage that read his name: Claw. His eyes were shut tightly and he was curled into a little ball. I decided that he had a bit of a rugged look about him, but I liked that; it added a little edge to the cute fluffballs Kougras had turned into, and it was becoming on him. I smiled in what I hoped was a friendly way.

      "Hey," I whispered to him. "Don't worry, it's not like I'm going to hurt you," I laughed softly. He cautiously opened a single eye to reveal the most dazzling shade of bright green I had ever seen.

      "What do you want?" he whimpered.

      "I want my owner to adopt you," I beamed. "You look like you'd be a good brother!"

      He immediately sprang to his feet at the word "adopt". "Are you serious?" he exclaimed, almost bouncing. "I've been here so long…I can barely remember the outside world…real food…unbroken toys…" he drifted off, lost in his own daydream.

      "Well, don't worry, you'll get all those things!" I raced to my owner, who was chatting merrily with Rose, the pink Uni. "Ally!" I exclaimed. "I found a pet we can adopt!"

      "Take me to him, then!" she said, and I ran off to where Claw's cage was. Ally soon caught up. "Isn't he great?" I said eagerly.

      She studied him for a second, and then the dreadful feeling returned. She had a look of disdain on her face, and she was shaking her head, muttering something. Then she sighed and said, "Sorry Ami, but it's not going to happen. I mean, look at him. He looks so…dirty. How can a dirty pet become a clean, pretty Draik? It's just not going to happen." She rolled her eyes in disgust. "Let's go."

      I was shocked, horrified. It was painful to hear; her words tortured me. He didn't look dirty, just rugged! And anyway, that was no way to judge someone, all based on appearances. I had felt such a connection with him, too…I was sure he was going to be my new brother. I felt an urge to cry, but the tears did not come, and I was thankful.

      * * * * *

      I lay on my bed that night, thinking about what Ally had said. How could she be so cruel? I had always seen my owner as a kind person who loved everyone. Now…well, I didn't like this side of her, not at all. I could only hope it was just a phase. After all, she was still my owner, and I still loved her, so I had to stay faithful to her. I heard a knock on my door and immediately knew who it was.

      I opened it and was about to tell her I forgave her for doing that, but she interrupted me. There was a huge grin on her face. "Ami, I was thinking about getting that Draik again. And I had a marvelous idea!"

      I felt a faint flicker of hope. "You're going to adopt Claw?"

      "Claw? Who's Claw? Do you mean that filthy Kougra from the pound? Oh, no. I've had a much, much better idea." She gave me a conspiratorial smile, which I did not like at all. I had a feeling I didn't want to hear this idea of hers, but I nodded and hoarsely said, "What is it?"

      "YOU'RE going to be my Maraquan Draik!" she said triumphantly. My mouth fell open. Me? A Maraquan Draik? Sure, I had thought they were pretty, but that didn't mean I wanted to be one! This was a joke, right?

      "Ha ha. Very funny," I replied, forcing a smile. Her smile vanished and was replaced by a menacing scowl that made me want to hide under my covers.

      "It's not a joke, Amethyst," she chuckled weakly. "You're going to be a Maraquan Draik."

      "But….but…I'm a Cybunny," I protested.

      "I've gotten you a Draik Transmogrification Potion and a Maraquan Paint Brush already. It was only a few million NP." She was cheerful again, smiling at me in a twisted way. Carefully, she withdrew the fragile, disgusting looking potion and a shining paint brush out of her hands. I backed away.

      "I don't want to be one! I like being just the way I am now!"

      "But Ami," she said gently. "This is my dream. I don't want anything else in the world except a Maraquan Draik."

      She was trying to make me feel sorry for her, I knew it, and it was working. I was losing my battle for balance. I shut my eyes tightly to get rid of the image of her sad-looking face. It didn't work. She haunted me. I was about to give in…

      Wait a second, said a little voice in my head. What about you? What you want matters, too! You can't give in…

      "NO!" I shouted, knocking the potion to the ground. It shattered into several pieces, and its contents spilled onto my rug.

      "AMETHYST!" Ally screamed. "THAT WAS A MILLION NP POTION! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT!"

      "I don't care," I answered quietly. "You didn't care about what I wanted, so I'm not going to care about what you want. Just because I'm not human doesn't mean I don't have thoughts and feelings too."

      She gaped at me for a few seconds.

      Afterwards, my owner took a deep breath, sighed, and admitted, "You're right. Just because I wanted something, doesn't mean you did. And," she added, "You have feelings just like everyone else. I should have thought about that." She really did look guilty. Then she looked down at the brush in her hands. "But what am I supposed to do with this?"

      "I've got an idea!" I yelled, springing to my feet. I grabbed the paint brush from her and raced out the door.

      "Ami? AMI, WHERE ARE YOU GOING WITH THAT?"

      * * * * *

      That was 6 months ago. Now, I'm still a purple Cybunny, and I'm happy that way. Ally has cheered up a bit, and listens to us more often. And that night, Claw became the newest addition to our family. Claw the Maraquan Kougra.

The End