The Music Box

     "I guess, Steve. I've got nothing better to do," I said back to him. Placing the book on a nearby table, I got up from my position on the couch and made my way over to the door where Baxter was already waiting. His foot tapped impatiently on the floor.

     "Come on you two, or else all the good stuff will be taken before we get there!" Baxter said impatiently as he opened the door.

     I rolled my eyes at him as I passed by him on my way out. "Who knew Xweetoks could be so impatient?"

     Steve let out a laugh and followed behind me. "He's your brother, after all."

     "You two are horrible!" Baxter yelled, closing the door behind him. Running a paw through my fire painted fur, I stifled a chuckle.

     "I'm your sister. It's my job to be horrible to you."

     We made our way down the street, toward Neopia Central. The Money Tree was close, and I could see all the Neopians already there, looking for used things to take.

     It was always busy at the Money Tree, since Neopians were always looking for free stuff. Some thought they would get lucky and find a rare item, but to think. Who would be stupid enough to give away something rare?

     My hands found their way into my jean pockets as I tried not to listen to Steve and Baxter's constant chatter of who was going to find the best object at the Money Tree.

     "Bet I'll find a paint brush!" Baxter boasted, making Steve scoff.

     "You'll never find one of those, sorry to burst your bubble buddy."

     Baxter folded his arms in front of his chest in a childish matter and stuck his tongue out at Steve. "That's what you think."

     "So what do you think you'll find, Delilah?"

     I paused for a second and looked at Steve. "I don't know. Something useful, I guess." He nodded slightly and shoved his hands in his sweatshirt's front pockets.

     "Hey look!" Baxter yelled as he pointed to the giant tree in front of us. "We're here! Let's get to picking!"

     Before Steve or I could say a thing, the striped Xweetok was already gone. I sighed at the fact that he and I were even related.

     "Well, we might wanna get to picking like your brother suggested," Steve said, pointing to a pile of junk in the nook of two giant roots. Giving a small 'Hmm,' we got to work.

     Baxter was the first to find his object, a glow-in-the-dark moon. "Look at it! Isn't it awesome?'

     He rubbed it in our faces, giving off the impression that it was valuable and worth a lot of neopoints. It wasn't long before I snapped at him.

     "Baxter, it's a glow-in-the-dark moon. It probably only worth a few hundred neopoints! Now, will you please be quiet."

     A frown found its way onto Baxter's face as he sulked away. "You're so mean."

     "Yeah, yeah. Like I haven't heard that one before," I said, rolling my eyes, as I continued to dig through the junk pile.

     On occasion, I found plushies, but those were useless, since I had all the same ones at home. Books were found too, but they were coloring books. A few times, I was lucky to find codestones, but they were all the same and weren't as rare as the others.

     "Who knew this was so hard?" I said, wiping away the sweat that formed on my brow with the back of my paw. I rested my paws on my knees and watched Steve pull out a sack full of neopoints from his pile.

     "Hey! This is cool." He undid the string and reached into the sack, pulling out 300 neopoints. A smile formed on his face as he put them back. "This could be useful. I can put this in my bank account so I can buy Lily that electric paint brush she's always wanted."

     "Your so nice to her," I said. Steve nodded.

     "Hey! No fair!" Baxter yelled as he tried to grab the sack full of neopoints from Steve. Steve pushed him away ad quickly hid the sack in his pocket.

     "Life's not fair," he responded back, sticking his tongue out.

     I laughed at them both. As soon as that died down, I looked back to my pile. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a piece of light purple plastic sticking out from behind yet another coloring book.

     I reached over and picked it up. My eyes widened as I saw that in my hands was a Fyora Music Box. "Whoa."

     Steve looked over my shoulder, raising an eyebrow in confusion, "Whoa, what?"

     "Whoa, this. I found a Fyora Music Box. Isn't it beautiful?" I asked, not taking my eyes off of it. The little figure of Fyora stood in the center on a small stage. On the back was a music key that when turned, would probably play the sweetest sound I have ever heard.

     Baxter scoffed, "So, what? it's just a music box. You can buy one anywhere."

     I shook my head at him. "No, this one is special. I can feel it."

     "Yeah, whatever. Can we go home now?"

     Rolling my eyes at him, I stood up with the help of Steve. I placed the music box in both my hands and began to walk. "Who knew Xweetoks could be so impatient?"

     "Am not!" Baxter yelled as he ran up to me. He jumped on my back, causing me to tumble over and twirl in circles. We laughed all the way home.

     That night, after Steve had left and Baxter went to bed, I placed the music box next to me on the nightstand near my bed. I turned the little silver key on the back and listened to the music as it filled the air.

     I danced for a while to it, twirling and spinning and laughing. I closed my eyes and smiled as I found myself thinking about dancing with the faeries in Faerieland.

     Each one came up and danced along with me. We turned, twirled, and laughed. In the background was the same song that the music box played. By the end of the night, I was the only one left still on my feet.

     I opened my eyes and looked over to the music box.The little Fyora spun in circles on the stage, and soon, slowed down to a stop just as the music ended.

     I fell onto my bed and sighed. It had to be the best night of my life, and it all started with a little music box that no one wanted. And to think, I was the one who found it.

     Turning over to my side, I gazed at the music box, a smile still plastered on my face.

     "So beautiful," I whispered, my eyes feeling heavy. I closed my eyes and slept the night away. My dream was of dancing with the faeries in Faerieland; this time, it seemed like it would last forever.

The End