The Discover of the Meridell Rubbish Dump

      Randy spent most of his days talking with the Money Tree. They would chat for hours on end, as others came and went to give and take. They talked about everything there was to talk about. Randy was glad to have a friend, and the Money Tree was glad to have the company. The two did have more in common than one may think. Neither the Tree nor Randy actually owned much. They were friends to one another, and they did both care about others. That was why they got along so well.

      Randy did have dreams for the future, as I said, and he wasn’t just thinking about them. He was working towards them. Right next to the Money Tree, Randy had set up his own small shop. He only had a size one shop, with five square feet of floor space, but that was usually all he needed. Every now and then, customers would come in, look around, and buy a cheap item for no more than five Neopoints. Randy would always take whatever he could from the Money Tree, as any poor Neopian could do. The Money Tree didn’t mind Randy selling these goods. They both knew he could use the money more than some Rotting Driftwood, or a Soggy Old Box.

      Occasionally, Randy would even get lucky and get a hefty bag of Neopoints or an item worth as much as one thousand Neopoints! Once, he even was able to grab a Codestone. A Codestone! It sold for 3,000 Neopoints, the fastest and most money Randy had ever made at one time. Randy kept every single Neopoint he could get in a cardboard box. He knew exactly how much was in there, and never took out any of it. He knew how much he would need to make his dream come true. Randy wanted to run a business as successful as the Neopian Book Store. That would be the day...

      One fine morning in the Month of Relaxing, Randy was keeping cool under the shade of one of the Money Trees gigantic branches. They were having one of their usual conversations. When an awkward silence came upon them, Randy was thinking to himself. Out of curiosity, he asked the Money Tree, “How do you do it?”

      Confused, the Money Tree glanced down at Randy. “Do what?” it responded.

      “Be so kind to all of these people. I mean, every gift you ever receive, you give away. How can you do that, without as much as thinking twice about keeping some of the items?”

      The Money Tree pondered all that had been said for a moment, then looked down at Randy. “What else could I need? I have everything right here, where I am rooted in to the ground. My water falls from the sky, free of charge. My food floats around in the air, which I can absorb and turn to oxygen for others to breathe in. I have a kind friend who is always there with me, on stormy nights and sunny days. With such a good life, what else could I possibly need except to give back?”

      This made Randy think for a long time. What the Money Tree had said certainly made sense to him. He began wondering if a charitable life would be the life for him. His closest friend seemed to enjoy it. If there was only something that he could do to improve the Money Tree’s life, to give back for all that it had done for Randy, he would. But as the Tree had said, it had all it needed.

      “Although, there is one thing that my life could certainly do without.” Upon hearing this, Randy looked back up at it. Waiting for the Tree to continue, Randy listened intently. “All of the rotting shoes, the piles of dung, the rotting driftwoods that are left beneath my branches. All they do is sit there, making the whole area smell terribly! Who would want a pile of somebody’s dung? It just doesn’t make sense. How can somebody just leave junk like that, thinking that they’d made a difference?”

      Randy nodded his head in agreement. He understood. Usually, he tried to take some junk away from the Tree and sell it in his shop, but it was no better there than out here. It definitely destroyed the natural beauty of the Money Tree.

      With this thought fresh in both of their minds, darkness was quickly approaching as night began to fall. Randy laid down in his usual spot, right under the Tree, thoughts buzzing around in his head. If only he could find a way to help his friend. He would find a way... Some day...

      That next morning, the first thing Randy saw was a newspaper, sitting right in front of his face. It was yesterday’s paper. He rubbed his eyes, sat up, and picked up the paper, skimming through it briefly. Something had caught his attention almost immediately. A picture of a plot of land in Meridell was posted, and right below it in large, bold letters, were the words:

      “Plot of land for sale in Meri Acres Farm - 1000 square feet.”

      Not only did it say this, but the plot of land was at a very cheap price. The owner of the farm apparently had no more use for it, and could use a little extra cash every month. Randy got up fast and showed the Money Tree this section of the paper.

      “That’s a nice area. Too bad neither of us have any use for it,” was the response that Randy received.

      “Yes, but you see, I’ve got an idea, and I might need your help for it.”

      The Money Tree, as always, was willing to listen to Randy, and so he began.

      “I’ve been doing some serious thinking. You know how you say you want all of the junk to be gone from your space?”

      The Money Tree certainly seemed to agree with this statement, glancing at a shoe somebody was dropping off before hurrying away.

      “Well, you say that the life of charity is so satisfying to you, and I feel I’ve been a burden for so long now, I’ve been waiting for the one way to possibly begin to repay you. This could be our chance! I could set myself up an open space... No, make it a dump! I could set up a dump right there in Meri-Acres Farm!”

      The Money Tree was beginning to understand what he was getting at. “But how much will this plot of land cost you? The advertisement said ten thousand Neopoints. Where will you ever come up with that amount of money?” This was when Randy pulled out his box.

      “I have 9,000 built up in here already, which means I’ve almost got enough. If I could somehow get another thousand, I can embark on the journey of a lifetime and rid you of your junk forever!” The Money Tree offered to help Randy raise this last thousand Neopoints. The idea of a junk-free Money Tree did sound appealing to the Tree.

      So, for weeks to come, Randy kept his eye out for anything worth higher than a few Neopoints that he may be able to sell in his shop, on top of the usual junk. One day, some fairly rich yet young Neopian came walking over to the tree. They dropped off something shiny, then walked away. Randy jumped at the opportunity, grabbed the item, and looked it over. It was a Dubloon! And, by the looks of the coin’s design, it was a Two Dubloon Coin! Perfect! Randy hurried over to the Money Tree, who was also shocked at his discovery.

      “Those rarely even get donated to me!” the Money Tree exclaimed. Excited, Randy hustled over to his shop, put in the coin for one thousand Neopoints, and it sold within seconds. Perfect!

      Randy told the Money Tree that he had achieved his ten thousand Neopoints, and even had a little bit more to cover food for the trip. The Money Tree took a cloth, picked a dead branch off of the ground, and formed a small bag for Randy to carry over his shoulder. He then filled it with water, food, and the newspaper ad for reference. Randy gratefully took the bag, and turned around to leave.

      Before he left, however, Randy glanced back at the Tree for one last time.

      “Thank you,” he said. “Thank you for everything that you’ve done for me, and I promise, once I reach Meridell and get my land, I will return to you to see how much happier you are without any more junk.” Smiling, the Money Tree waved Randy good-bye and watched him walk away until he was out of the Tree’s sight.

      Over the next few days, Randy had walked, and walked, and walked over to Meridell. He had to be taken over the water through a boat, of course, since he couldn’t swim that many miles with his bag and box of Neopoints. But finally, after an exhaustingly long adventure, a large wooden sign came into Randy’s view. It read just what he had hoped: “Welcome to Meri Acres Farm.” Though tired, Randy broke into a run as he moved the last few feet towards his future.

      He knocked on the door of an old house on the farm, and was greeted by an elderly Aisha. The Aisha welcomed Randy to the farm, and asked him what he was looking for. Randy showed him the advertisement, and the Aisha nodded. At this point, both pets seemed a bit happier than they were a few minutes ago. Randy showed the Aisha the money, and the Aisha led Randy around the back of the house to a fenced-in area, larger than Randy had ever seen before. Thrilled, Randy raced out to the field, and looked around. Everywhere he looked, there was land which would soon store his items, all of the items.

      “This,” claimed Randy, “is the beginning of the Meridell Rubbish Dump!”

      And so, for months to come, Neopets stopped by, dropping off their unwanted items to Randy, most being complete garbage but some items were actually slightly valuable. Over time, news of this new area spread throughout Neopia, and soon Randy was getting several visitors per day. To this day, Randy still remembers his promise to the Money Tree, and one day he knew he would be able to re-visit his old friend. One day, he hoped to see his friends face, happier than they had been ever before. And if one Neopian deserved it, Randy knew, it was the Money Tree.

The End