Leonard the Rainbow Lenny

     “Tell me what you need and I can help you, okay? But if you insist on sitting there staring at me in silence, I simply must move on with my very busy, celebration-filled day!”

     Leonard had just completed a morning packed with dusting, wiping, polishing, scrubbing, and just about any other ‘-ing’ one could think of when it comes to party preparation.

     “AGH!” Leonard exclaimed. “Fine. Continue giving me the cold shoulder. But I haven’t the time today.”

     Leonard picked himself up from his sofa, something he had bought for himself with the Neopoints he had received from the ever-elusive Tooth Fairie. He hadn’t lost any teeth—he was a Lenny, of course—but the dental expert claimed that she needed to meet her giving quota before the end of the year. Besides, she didn’t tell Leonard, but she wanted to surprise him with a little something since she really had no reason to ever visit a Lenny…a Neopet without any teeth.

     Leonard waltzed over to the foyer of his Neohome and stared at himself in his gold-rimmed mirror that was propped up against the wall.

     Another year had already passed…or had it? Time felt too fast and too slow at the same time. Regardless, he could tell that his once-vibrant rainbow-coloured feathers were beginning to fade.

     Well, actually, his feathers were just as vibrant as the day he took a dip at the Rainbow Pool, but something about being in isolation for so long caused Leonard to see the world in a less saturated hue.

     The moment of reflection passed, and Leonard shook his feathers to bring himself back to the present. It was time to make final preparations for this special day. This was the most magical day of the year and here he was falling into the trap of a sour mood all started thanks to his rambunctious, invisible pup.

     “Breathe in. Breathe out.” Leonard calmly whispered to himself. “It’s going to be a dandy day!”

     And with that, Leonard whipped out his scroll to review his checklist of tasks to complete:

     • Decorate cake (Remember: Don’t overdo it!)

     • Hang party streamers and piñata

     • Await the arrival of this year’s goodie bag

     Usually the ambitious type, Leonard made a promise to himself that this year’s cake was going to be simple. Last year’s six-layer cake with six different colours of frosting for each tier had turned out to be a rather large undertaking for just one Lenny. The cake, although a beautiful masterpiece when finished, took most of the day to complete. The clock struck midnight and the most magical day of the year had passed. This year was going to be different. He would not allow time to get away from him again!

     This year’s creation was a modest, circular, one-layer vanilla cake with yellow frosting adorned with three distinctly arranged black stars on top. Simple.

     Leonard whipped out the ingredients for the yellow and black frosting, including a special recipe he had received from Loic, the Dyeworks alchemist. After mixing the appropriate ingredients, Leonard carefully frosted the top and sides of the cake with absolute precision. He then grabbed the piping tube that held the black frosting and finished the cake design by meticulously applying the three stars on top.

     He looked up at the clock on the wall and let out a sigh of relief. It was only 3:00 p.m.! Quite thrilled with the timing, Leonard laughed at himself as he placed the cake on the kitchen table adorned with a festive tablecloth.

     Hanging the party streamers and piñata was the easiest of tasks. Leonard liked to reuse the same decorations every year. He purchased them with a dear friend on a random shopping trip in Neopia Central back in Year 15 and has refused to let them go ever since. “Hanging the same decorations,” Leonard once said, “just feels like home.” Plus, he wasn’t very fond of hitting a piñata in the shape of a Rainbow Kau and preferred to use it purely out of ambience.

     With the final preparations complete there was only one final task to do: Wait.

     Leonard’s favourite activity of the year is awaiting the arrival of the annual Neopets Birthday Goodie Bag. He is a fine collector of the item and nearly has a full collection, save for a few from the earlier years of Neopia.

     Leonard looked at the clock on the wall. It read 5:10 p.m.

     “How odd.” Leonard said to himself.

     He walked over to the clock and placed his head next to the time-keeping device. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

     The good news? The clock was still working. The bad news? The goodie bag normally arrives in the early afternoon ahead of the evening festivities. Usually, Leonard’s keen hearing abilities would alert him of the bag’s arrival.

     “Perhaps it will be here a little later this year!” Leonard postulated while striding over to the front door. He flung it open with his right wing and perched himself on the bench that sat on his porch.

     Time passed and the sky grew darker as the sun began to set. Leonard stared out into the darkness, listening to the rainfall. Maybe this was it. This was the year that he wouldn’t receive a goodie bag. He had always dreaded that day.

     Ever since moving to the island, Leonard the Rainbow Lenny would receive the annual Neopets Birthday Goodie Bag. He never knew who it came from, only that it would drop from the sky right outside of his home every year like clockwork. “AHA! That’s it!” he exclaimed.

     Leonard ran into the house, snagged his raincoat and a flashlight from the closet, and yelled out, “Izzy! I’m headed outside for a few minutes in search of this year’s goodie bag. Would you like to join me?” He waited for the Doglefox to respond. Silence. “I understand.” Leonard said in a hushed tone. He slowly walked outside and felt the rain droplets hit the outside of his raincoat.

     This was possibly the saddest most magical day of the year he could remember. Despite the hard work that went into successfully preparing for this year’s celebration, Leonard was utterly dejected. You see, Leonard loved celebrating Neopets’ birthday. But what he loved most about the day was receiving a gift. Not that Leonard was a Lenny who only cared about materialistic goods—far from it! Receiving a gift, however, meant that some other kind of Neopian remembered him. Living alone with an invisible friend on a secluded island wasn’t exactly paradise. Leonard shed a tear as the rain continued to fall.

     Just then, the bushes in the distance started to rustle and Leonard’s flight or fight engaged.

     “Stay back!” he yelled, pulling his flashlight out and holding it like a sword. The thunder cracked and Leonard jumped. “AHHHHH!” he shrieked fearing for his life.

     In the distance his eyes spotted a bright blue object that seemed to be levitating above the ground hurtling toward him. He immediately pivoted and began running back toward his front door. As Leonard ran, he looked over his shoulder and saw that the bright blue levitating object was gaining on him.

     “I said STAY BACK!” Leonard roared and pointed the flashlight directly in front of him, hoping to momentarily blind the approaching threat.

     Leonard looked down to notice the levitating item fall to the ground as he heard a familiar heavy panting.

     “Izzy! Izzy, is that you?!” Leonard began to cry tears of joy. The Doglefox barked as the Lenny noticed what the pup had just dropped. This year’s goodie bag.

     “You found it! Oh, Izzy! You found it! Thank you!”

     Leonard quickly grabbed the item from the ground and placed it under his raincoat to shield it from getting soaked. They both made their way back into the house.

     The Rainbow Lenny hung up his raincoat while Izzy shook his invisible fur dry.

     Leonard placed the Neopets Birthday Goodie Bag on the table and began cutting the exquisitely crafted birthday cake into pieces. “Come on!” Leonard motioned to the invisible pup.

     They both sat quietly at the kitchen table, eating the birthday cake. Leonard stared out the window and up to the sky thinking about how someone, somewhere remembered him. And that was magical.

     For today, life on Lutari Island was good.

     The End.