The Abandoned

      "Thanks, guys, but you really didn't have to do this for me." I lay back down, turning my back to my friends.

      "Oh come on, Chloe! It's your seventh birthday! You can't be all mopey today!" a Lenny we called Stelery told me.

      "Yeah, it's also my fifth year in this horrible place. What's there to celebrate for? Another year abandoned, unwanted and unloved? That's not something that we should be celebrating," I said, rolling back to look at my fellow abandonees. I, Chloe, had been in the world for seven years. I had also been in the pound for five years. My friends had no idea what it was like to be there for so long.

      "Come on, Chloe, you can't just sit there! Come one, we'll go to my room and have some cake. It will be fun!" I slowly stood up and walked over to Stelery, looking him in the eye.

      "Fun? What fun is there to have? Nobody wants to have fun with a blue Xweetok. I'd honestly be surprised if I remember what fun is." I showed them through the door, turned off the lights, and curled up in a ball on my bed, shut out from the outside world.

      -

      I didn't even remember what it was like to be loved, or if I ever was. My owner had fed me, sure, but I don't remember ever being treated like I was special. I had no toys, no brothers or sisters. I had never been read to, dressed, or painted. I was eventually left to the pound, hungry and weak. I was left in the same room that I was in five years later, still unloved and uncared for.

      -

      It was the next week when Stelery left me. I remember looking out my room door to see him being taken away. Not just away from his room, but away from me. My hatred for the owners was once again kindled, for they had now taken away my best friend. My other friends said hi to me occasionally, but only when I happened upon them. Once again, I was left without any friends.

      -

      A knock came from outside my door.

      "Chloe, there's someone here to see you." I peeped out my door. There was someone standing there, waiting for me.

      "Don't come in. I don't want to see anyone," I said, locking my door. I did not want to talk to the people who had ruined my life. I did not want to see one of the people who had ruined me.

      "Chloe,"another voice said from outside, a softer, kinder voice, "I just want to talk. You don't have to go anywhere today." I opened the door hesitantly, and a girl walked into my room, holding some sort of fuzzy thing. She held it out to me, but I backed away, cautious of anything coming from an owner.

      "Oh come on, Chloe, you can't seriously be afraid of a little fuzzle? It's not going to bite you," the girl said, still holding the toy out. I stood my ground, but less tense than before. Why was this girl being kind to me? What was she trying to trick me into? The girl put the fuzzle in her pocket.

      "Well, I guess you don't want it, but I'll keep it for next time just in case. My name's Lola, by the way," she said, reaching out to pet me. I backed away again, jumping on my bed.

      "Alright, then, I have to leave now. I'll be back later to talk to you," she said as she walked out of my room and closed the door.

      -

      Over the next few weeks, Lola kept an eye on me in the pound and kept trying to give me that fuzzle. Every time I denied her, but the more and more she came, the more I began to like her. How could I actually like an owner, though? I did not think it was possible that she could be so nice, so I continued to push her away. After all, nobody could truly love a plain old blue Xweetok who has never been trained or cared for. I had already accepted the truth that I was going to be in the pound forever, but maybe this acceptance was actually holding me back.

      -

      One day Lola came and everything was different. When she walked in, I was astonished to see a faerie Draik follow her in. I jumped up onto my bed, suspicious of what was going on.

      "Chloe, I'd like you to meet Pollie, my most recent pet. I think that talking to Pollie might change how you view me and other owners," Lola said, walking out of the room and leaving me alone with Pollie. For a minute Pollie and I just looked at each other. Then, finally, Pollie spoke to me.

      "Hi, Chloe. I'm Pollie. Lola told me that you never wanted to play with her when she visited you, so I decided to come talk to you. You see, I too was in the pound just a year ago. I had been in the pound for five and a half years, just like you, and I had always hoped that someday I would be adopted and loved. I spent the first three years of my life in an abandoned house. My owner abandoned us with nothing but a few neopoints and food in the safety deposit box. When I was in the pound, nobody wanted me. Finally, though, Lola came and played with me for a while. It wasn't as nice as being adopted, but it was better than nothing. I was eventually adopted by Lola and now I'm living a life of love and luxury. You should really give Lola a chance, Chloe!" She said. I looked at her, a faerie Draik, and doubted her story.

      "Yeah, but you're a faerie Draik. I'm a blue Xweetok. Everybody wants you. Nobody wants me," I said. Pollie looked at me with understanding.

      "But Chloe, I haven't always been a faerie Draik. When I was in the pound, I was only a green Ogrin. Nobody wanted me, except for Lola. Again, please just give Lola a chance," she asked me. There was a call outside the door. "That's for me. I've got to get going. I really hope that you'll reconsider Lola. Please, Chloe. Don't do it for me, do it for yourself."

      -

      I pondered how just one owner could turn a green Ogrin into a beautiful faerie Draik. Is it possible for an owner to care for their pets and also better them? This was not the world of owners that I knew. I then came to a realization that I never had before. What if owners really aren't that bad? Could Lola really turn me into a pet that everyone wanted? The more I thought about it, the more confident I became in my decision.

      -

      The other day, Lola took me on a trip to the rainbow pool. I have been Lola's pet for three weeks now and I can tell already that my previous view of owners was completely wrong. When we arrived at the rainbow pool, Lola gave me a choice of becoming a baby, Halloween, or faerie Xweetok. But I realized that in the end, it never really was important which one I had picked. All that mattered was that I had the choice.

The End