Here it is, the last.
My Dearest Owner: The Final Chapter
If it had been any other normal puffle, I guess they would have chosen to leave.
The hunger is excruciating.
My vision wavers so erratically, it feels like I am under water.
But because I am Arty O' Del, the puffle who trusts and adores you, I have stayed.
I have to let you see this, my magnum opus, my master piece.
You would be so proud of me…
The mental image of your smiling face, a sight I haven't seen in so long, makes me smile feebly.
The sofa looks so appetizing in my delirious state, but I restrain myself from gnawing on it; you would get angry, and I do not want to upset you.
As I stay there by the door for the past days, I hear a voice.
"Arty."
The voice sounds so far away, like it was coming from the other end of the world. My brain scratches through my blurred memories weakly. I find it draining to even think properly in my current condition.
It is JaQ9.
"Arty!"
I lift my bloodshot eyes to the window, but my sight goes gray and I cannot see the frantic penguin clearly.
"Arty, listen to me! Get out of there, leave her! You'll die of starvation if you stay in there for much longer. You don't have to do this."
His voice drops and I sense his sadness.
"Sugar doesn't deserve your loyalty by the way she neglects you."
He hesitates.
"It's plain cruelty."
It takes long for me to understand his words, but when I do, I turn away slightly.
No, I must wait. She will be back soon. She will.
JaQ9 realizes that I wasn't going to budge.
"Alright, Arty, you wait. But if she doesn't return before I get some penguins from the Pet Shop to pry you away and give you some decent care, you're going with me."
She will be back. She will.
JaQ9 leaves.
I wait
...
and wait
...
and wait.
The gray fog in my sight thickens…
until it becomes a white, white world for me.
Distant voices, a commotion somewhere, the sound of the door being broken down, and someone picks me up.
Was it you?
"Hold on, Arty! Don't die on me, okay?"
JaQ9's pleading voice.
"Please, please, please, please, please…" He repeats desperately under his voice like a mantra, but it sounds further and further away as I slowly slip.
SugarAnne, when you see it, will you be happy…?
Would you…like it…?
I can see a black stretch of space, going on for almost forever, dotted with small shining points of light singing to each other and with each other.
It's so beautiful... the darkness reaches out tenderly to embrace me in a hug from which it will never let go.
Today's mission went well. Herbert did escape, but it was by a great shot of good luck. For once, it wasn't her mistake. SugarAnne16 hummed happily as she trotted towards her igloo. Next time, that polar bear would be captured. This called for a celebration. The purple penguin hummed contently to herself. It had been so long since she felt so satisfied. Suddenly the thought of Arty comes to mind. She hadn't gone home for a week now, always staying at the CR (or HQ) to work out some serious plots. Guilt made her falter, but she pushed herself on. Arty will be okay, she thought, he was a strong puffle. She'll treat him to lots of goodies today, as an apology for being so busy.
Yes, definitely lots of cookies and baths and walks and -
SugarAnne16tared, her high spirits suddenly gone.
The door of her igloo was broken.
"Oh my soul!" She shrieked and stormed into her home, fearing that all her furniture had been stolen. To her relief, nothing was missing. Except…
"Arty?"
No yellow puffle came hopping out to greet her.
"Oh, so now he's just gone and left," she huffed, "and somehow broke down in the process, huh. Now I have to buy a new igloo or a new door. How troublesom—"
"SugarAnne16," a voice said coldly.
The penguin span around.
"What?" She snapped, unnerved by the glare JaQ9 was giving her and his unexpected visit. "Go away."
"Do you know where Arty is?" He said slowly.
"He left for the wild, I assume," she said casually, although she was a bit disappointed inside.
"No, you're wrong," JaQ9 ground through his clenched teeth.
"Oh, so you know where he is?"She taunted."Do tell me."
JaQ9 glowered at her before turning away.
"What the heck was I thinking?" He scolded himself and spat a vicious reply at her.
"You don't deserve to know." He began to walk away.
"Hey, wait!" Sugar Anne yelled. "You're being unreasonable. I'm his owner, I paid money to adopt him, so I demand to know where he is."
"Some owner you are now."
"JaQ!"
The lime green penguin halted. His entire body shook with emotion.
"He is gone." These words cut the frosty air mercilessly.
JaQ9 lifted his face skyward and searched its blueness, as if looking for something at was no longer there.
"Because of you."
SugarAnne16 gasped.
"You don't mean-?"
But JaQ9 had left already.
"Wait!"
SugarAnne16 tried running after him, but she stumbled.
That was when she saw it.
A certain puffle had written a message on the floor.
She read it once, twice, and over again.
Then for the first time in months, she sat down and cried.
"Oh Arty," she sobbed,"I'm so sorry, so sorry...what have I done?"
Remember yor hapinesss. I luv yu
Author's note:
Well, it's finished. Whew! I can relax a bit now.
Review and tell me if you felt sad (even slightly) after reading this, or you just felt angry at SugarAnne for neglecting Arty. Or not.
But please don't get mad at me for ending it this way. I had said before that I wanted a sad ending... ;_;
btw did I get the Latin right? *is not so sure*
Anyway...review?