New Year's Eve was upon Neopia, ringing itself in with crystalline, gossamer snowflakes that stuck cozily to the grass. The world was aglow with the silver flakes, and the bright, blinding lights of reds, greens, purples, and innumerable other colors wired to the Neohomes. Somewhere in the Haunted Woods, the Deserted Fairground was lit, and carnival music chimed through the thicket. If one peered to the west, they could see the shadows of big tops dancing in front of the clouds.
White sand littered the Lost Desert, and the magicians residing there used their power to create dazzling displays of festivity. Royalty and peasantry alike watched the performances with equal delight.
Even dark places, such as Jhudora's Cloud, the Darigan Citadel, and Virtupets, were in the spirit of the season. Jhudora had entered Fyora's Castle in red and green garb, looking quite peaceful, and had proceeded to take pleasure from the celebration along with her Faerie sisters. Darigan, Skarl, and Hagan had a regal feast, and the atmosphere was heavy with the happy euphoria.
Even if Salene had known about this day's splendor, one in which all of Neopia was happy, it wouldn't have mattered.
She shivered, mucus running from her nose. Half her sight was obscured by the matted fur that hung in her eyes. Rain had steadily been replacing the bitter cold snow, but the white stuff hadn't chilled her past the bone. For the time being, she had found refuge under a small, makeshift cardboard canopy. However, droplets of water were slowly seeping through, and she knew it wouldn't last forever.
After spending a last moment in a dry place, she scampered out, splashing in a puddle that was a least three inches deep. Breathing heavily, her breath swirling mistily, hazily in front of her, her eyes scanned the surrounding area for another small respite from the cold. It was no use, though, as nothing was being spared by the freezing temperatures.
Feeling a coldness shoot down her spine, she trudged as quickly as she could away from there, to anywhere else. Salene no longer took notice of the holiday that was all around her – it was too painful to look at, as it brought back pleasant memories.
Lightning cracked overhead, and thunderclaps shook the ground. People in their snug, cozy Neohomes would take no notice of it – they were far too drunk on the joy New Years brought. Salene could only slink by, head held low, eyes barely open because it took the energy she desperately needed just to walk.
Salene was an Acara, yellow as the inside of a pineapple, and she was on her own. She was one of the unlucky Neopians that got stuck helplessly in time, reaching out and screaming through sobs as the world passed them by without a second thought.
The Acara took a few more steps before collapsing; her growling stomach had completely worn her out. Hunger plagued her like a swarm of scarabs, and it sucked whatever happiness left inside of her that was struggling to stay afloat away. Her brown eyes attempted to fixate on something, anything, to remain conscious – she succeeded, but it only brought her more pain. Was it just her imagination, or did spirits glide past her with that same forlorn expression. Blinking once, because that was all she had the strength for, they were gone, all gone. Gone…Almost like her.
Exerting all her energy, and grunting, and heaving, Salene managed to get back on her feet. Her stomach cried out with pleas for food, and it pained the Acara to ignore it. There was absolutely nothing she could do – the darkness of Kreludor shone down upon her, drenching her in shadows and a monsoon of rain.
Each step she took affirmed her starvation. Salene's tongue hung out, and her eyelids drooped. How long had she been walking? It didn't matter – time was irrelevant. Time wasn't part of the equation for basic survival.
Some time later, when she thought her starving body could go no further, she met a bright Neohome. It sparkled with decorations for the holiday season, and light streamed from a window. Salene inched over to it, panting, hoping, praying, but not believing her efforts to be of consequence.
Inside the Neohome, a party was taking place, as with everywhere she passed on her dreary plight. Neopians of all species, big and small, children and adults, were gathered, laughing gaily. The Acara, alone, superfluous, could almost the glasses hitting against one another, creating an almost shattering sound…or was that the remaining pieces of her ravaged heart?
Salene brought up a paw, and placed it on the glass, and she could almost feel the heat from inside. The incomplete feeling was followed by a rush of memory – a dam had broken inside her mind, and the memories came flooding like a great river down into her sight. The party seemed to evaporate, and it was replaced by a humble little home that Salene knew all too well. Inside was a human girl, a blue Kacheek, a red Peophin…and a yellow Acara.
In total disbelief, Salene watched her past through the window, as though it were a window into her soul. Everyone moved in slow motion, with some kind of demented sepia tinting them. The Neopets hugged their owner, and had delicious meals. They sat on the couch and read stories and played games.
Then the human girl began to vanish. First she became translucent, then transparent, and was finally gone. The book she held, the smile she smiled, and the mittens she wore all fell to the floor with a sickening thud. Then, time stopped for the memory.
The Kacheek slowly disappeared, as did the Peophin. The Acara was left alone, wallowing in her despair, morphing as though she had drunk a transmogrification potion. Little by little, the Acara's appearance became more gruesome and haggard, until it was a completely different Neopet. The thing turned its head ever so slightly to gaze out the window; it evidently took no notice of the real Salene, and wet tears cascaded down its face. After that, the scene evaporated, and Salene was staring at the party and the colorful streamers hugging the floor.
No one in the party even turned to glimpse the window, so none of them ever saw Salene as she collapsed, crumbling into the flower garden she stood in.
She was hungry, hungrier than she had ever been. New Years gave her no bliss – it meant that a year of a miserable existence had gone by, and a new one was about to begin. Nothing would change; she would always be tired, depressed, and hungry.
Getting up on wobbly legs, she crept into the side alley, where she proceeded to break down, huge tears falling down her cheeks. If someone, anyone, had bothered to observe her, they wouldn't have been able to tell the tears from the bitter rain that covered her face.
Salene fell on all four of her legs, crying uncontrollably. She curled up into a small ball, covering her eyes with her paws, and she wished that she'd just disappear.
Thunder boomed somewhere in the distance.
Maybe it was in Salene's soul, but how could she be sure…? She didn't even know why her owner had left her and her brother and sister behind. Had something happened to her? It was impossible to tell, and the Acara simply hadn't made an attempt. It would be too dangerous for her frail emotions, and she already nearly delusional as it was. Her fears had recently been shut away inside a chrysalis, but those had sprung out. Salene could no longer take it.
No one cares about you.
Look at you, you pathetic little Slorg. You'll starve before next month's end.
Your owner ran away to live a better life than this filthy existence.
Here, let me play a song on your ribs!
She screamed out, cursing the voices in her head. She screeched at them, telling them to go away, pleading with them. But the bats in her belfry weren't easily distracted, and they continued to retort, exploiting Salene's every terror.
Staggering to her feet, Salene fell against the frozen bricks of the building. Reaching up with two paws, she clutched her head, and began to spiral in darkness. All moonlight and exclamations of brightness caused by fireworks ceased, and she was alone.
The faces of her family flashed in front of her. All were horribly deformed, and stared at the Acara sinisterly. "Come with us," they continually said. A lump formed in Salene's gizzard, and she keeled forward.
Her escape was through the sick smell and taste of vomit. When she came out of the blackness, the horrible vision, she found herself peering at her green, chunky reflection. She was even more marred than she had thought. It was pitiful, and she now felt hypothermic in the rain.
What choice did she have, though? She was the slum of society, and not even Fyora could see. The sharpness of the realization had stopped stinging years ago when she watched her brother, the Kacheek, go to sleep on a mud puddle.
Salene choked on the recollection, and tried in vain to spit it out, to watch it run away in the stream to the sewage drain. Dejectedly, she continued walking, stomach crying out like a small child. Lightning flashed, illuminating the large gray cumulonimbus for a few moments.
Salene left Neopia Central behind her, clutching her shoulders as she ventured to a destination she didn't know of yet. In fact, she no longer cared where she ended up – all she wanted was to be away from the cheer.
It wasn't fair – why should they be able to celebrate, to drink champagne, while she suffered? The callousness of it was unbelievable…! Cynicism began to build up in the Acara's chest as she continued. The anger warmed her for a split second, acting as a shield against the steady downpour. But as quickly as it had come, it was gone, and Salene was left even colder than before.
Lightning scorched the night sky, and Salene wondered if it might not be her misery wailing as it escaped into the atmosphere. Then again, went such sordid thoughts usually reserved for the crevices of the subconscious mind? It didn't much matter to the Acara, for she was used to these kinds of things in her head. She was too far gone to emotion let impair truth.
She was the maiden of despair, stripped down to her lowest level, and she had had her innocence brutally ripped from her.
No one on the planet had ever even experienced empathy, let alone heard of it. If anyone had seen her, they'd have run in fear. It only went to show how shallow the world was, and Salene hated it. If only they knew – she'd gladly give the world for someone to merely acknowledge her being there.
Eyes dim, head heavy, she carried on for reasons unknown. There was no logic behind it – she simply did. Her body persevered by means of a will of its own. An invisible weight was anchored to her; Salene was shackled by the chains of sorrow, and each movement drained her.
And so she walked on in her grief, not noticing the bright stars twinkling overhead. They were most likely the only sign of true beauty she would see, and Salene was too upset and holed up inside herself to look.
Finally, she arrived at Kiko Lake. It sparkled in the minty midwinter air. Even more lightning flashed overhead, and it doomed Salene's mood. She bent down and picked up a smooth, flat, two-dimensional stone that anyone else would've stepped on without a second thought. As she skipped it across the lake, she couldn't help but notice the symbolism.
There came an ear-splitting boom of thunder from the clouds. Salene looked up into the multicolor drear, heart sinking deep, saliva working up a knot in her gizzard. The hunger was almost overwhelming.
Then, a majestically jagged slice of lightning flew down to the surface.
She watched the lightning collide on the water and break into a thousand bright pieces. Those pieces, like the rain, fell and traveled their course. The yellow streaks raced across the lake's surface.
Salene watched in awestruck despair as the bits of lightning, little mice, scurried and danced towards her through the torrent. Every pore in her body told her to run, but she couldn't – all she could do was stare. The lightning surged closer, and Salene could almost smell it now.
And, a few moments later, she wasn't hungry anymore.