Snowglobe: Part Three

     Ria sat down near the back of the ferry, away from the other Neopets on the ferry. She put the Ice Cream Coupon in her lap, along with the Hannah Action-Figure. She didn't deserve that coupon. She thought of ripping it up, and throwing it into the water for Jetsams to eat. But as she continued looking at it, she thought Cy might want to sell it, or maybe Ria could show it to her brothers and sisters, to prove that she had been with the Snow Faerie. She tucked the Coupon back into her pocket and now studied the Hannah Action-Figure.

     Ria didn't deserve the coupon, but maybe...did Hannah belong to her? Cy had given her the Neopoints, hadn't he? Yes, the doll belonged to her. Hannah was hers.

     Ria smiled and started to put the doll away when she remembered what she had just thought.

     Just because she owned the doll, that didn't mean she deserved the doll. But Cy had told her to go buy herself something. She did deserve it, didn't she? But Cyborg had given her the money because he thought that Ria had donated those stupid snowglobes. Ria shoved the doll into her pocket as well and studied the other passengers so she wouldn't be bored.

     There was an old yellow Lupe, who's left back leg was twitching while he snored.

     Then there was that depressed grey Wocky with a grey Faellie.

     Ria's eyes fell unto a young Cybunny and a young Nimmo. The two were obviously friends, but the Cybunny had a mask on her, a Kougra mask. The Nimmo was pretending to be some sort of begger, or something, wearing rags and having a pitied expression on his face. Ria watched as the Cybunny raised her arms and said in loud, powerful voice,

     "I, Hadrialia the Good, will donate these snowglobes to the poor orphans of the Adoption Center. What do you think of that, small Neopet?" The Nimmo got on his knees and replied,

     "Thank you kind Ria--"

     "It's Hadrialia! It sounds more regal and good!" the Cybunny hissed. The Nimmo scowled at her and replied,

     "Fine Hadrialia...Thank you kind Hadrialia, for bestowing your snowglobes upon us! You are our hero! ... ... Quick Melody, give me the snowglobe!" The Cybunny quickly fished into her pocket and pulled out a snowglobe and handed it to the Nimmo.

     Ria turned away; she didn't want to watch any more.

     When the ferry arrived, Ria hopped off and asked the driver what time it was.

     "I'd say about 4:30ish I'd say Miz Ria, thank ye much for riding the ferry. G'day," the driver replied, as he turned his ferry and got ready for the next passengers.

     Ria walked through Roo Island. She had never been here before. She walked past the Deadly Dice game, moving away from it. She walked past the souveniers, she had only a few Neopoints left. Suddenly, she came to the Merry-Go-Round. The Blumaroo was waving his cane around and calling out in a friendly voice,

     "Come 'ere folks! Only 50 Neopoints a ride! Tons of fun for the Neopet and the owner! Let's go folks, you there miss, why not take a ride on the fabulous Merry-go-round of Roo Island?!" The Blumaroo had swung his cane in Ria's direction. The Kougra's eyes grew wide as she jabbed a finger at herself. The Blumaroo smiled and shouted,

     "Yes you! C'mon miss, let's not be hesitant! Come now, see this fine young lady getting on? What would be more fun then riding with this beauty? Come now, let's go!"

     Ria giggled and started to get on the Merry-go-round when she noticed the other Neopets in line. They were all like her, tired, but still ready for one more fun thing in the day. All except for two.

     An owner and a Neopet stood off to the side, watching the Merry-go-round They didn't look to well off, they were clothed in rags and they were clutching a small bag of Neopoints. The owner kept asking the Aisha something, but the Neopet kept shaking her head. Ria got out of the line and pushed her way towards the two.

     As she approached, the Aisha cowered and the owner seemed to try and protect her pet, as if afraid Ria was going to attack. Ria scoffed at the idea. Ria held out her last 50 Neopoints.

     "Here," she said, handing them to the owner, "the ride is fun, I hope you'll enjoy it." The owner shook her head and pushed the Neopoints back.

     "We don't want them," the owner said, and started to walk away with her Aisha. Ria watched the back of the blue Aisha. She looked so much like Jerdana. On a second thought, Ria started running after them.

     "Wait! Wait! Here, take this. I don't want it, but I'm sure you will enjoy it very much," Ria said, she flung the Ice Cream Coupon into the owner's hand. "Enjoy!" Ria called out as she ran away, not looking back. As she left, Ria could hear shouts of joy as they discovered what Ria had given them. Smiling, Ria looked around until she found a ferry that would take her to Neopia Central.

      * * *

     Walking through the streets of Neopia Central, Ria noticed that the Neopets still in Neopia Central were dwindling. Ria's feet slapped against the cobblestone pavement and it was one of the few noises. The gentle gushing noise from the Rainbow Pool was a noise that Ria couldn't hear very often over the clamor during the day. Ria paused in front of the Adoption Center. Her hand was on the door knob, but she pulled her hand back. She didn't want to go in there just yet. She had something else that she had to do.

     Squaring her shoulders and holding her head high, Ria walked towards the Neopian Times office.

      * * *

     A few weeks later, Ria was no longer anybody's particular favorite. Her sister and her brother Luck were disgusted with her for faking it, but Ria's oldest brother, Dargon, would just stare at her with a quirky smile.

     Ria walked into the Adoption Center and only one Neopet rushed up to see her. It was Jerdana, still clutching the Hannah Action-Figure Ria had given her. Jerdana bounced up and down crying,

     "You came! You came! I knew it! We're going to be sisters now!" Ria's heart fell. For a week now, Jerdana had stuck to the idea of being adopted by Cyborg. But now Ria had to tell her. Ria took hold of the small Aisha's shoulders.

     "Cy already has four pets. He can't adopt you Jerdana. I'm sorry," she said gently. For a moment, the information didn't get to the Aisha. Slowly, the Aisha's face twitched and her lip started to tremble. "But wait a second Jerdana. Cyborg has a friend named Zara, and I'm sure she would take you."

     "Really?" the Aisha asked.

     "Really," the Kougra responded.

     When Zara came to pick up Jerdana, Ria watched from the door. Jerdana and the new owner walked hand in hand away from the Adoption Center. Jerdana turned around and waved with a smile, before turning away. Ria smiled faintly and walked back through Neopia Central, looking at the ground.

     SMACK!

     Ria rubbed her head. What did she bump into? Ria looked up to see her brother Dargon standing there, with his arms folded. Ria's mouth dropped open.

     "Sorry Dar, I didn't mean to run into you! I was-uh walking home and I…uh…sorry," Ria stuttered, not knowing what to say. Dargon kept his voice serious, but Ria noticed a faint note of mirth in his voice,

     "Ria…why did you tell Cy, the Lenny, and the Neopian Times that it was you who donated all those snowglobes?" Ria didn't respond, but hung her head.

     "When I was outside, I noticed the sack of snowglobes. I looked into the window and saw you. I figured you had just gotten frustrated at the toys, since there was nothing new to do. So I took the presents to the Money Tree and wrote a note on it saying it was from you to the Adoption Center. You've always been kind of…well…let's say just say self-centered. I guessed that this might change the way you think of things. No matter what you think, there's always somebody worse off then you," Dargon continued. Ria looked up at her brother with admiration in her eyes. He was smiling, as if he had his own private little joke. Ria hugged the red Shoyru before saying,

     "Thanks Dargon. That really helped." Dargon playfully punched Ria on the shoulder, which wasn't that playful to Ria, since he wasn't exactly weak.

     "It should," Dar replied. And then, the siblings walked home through empty Neopia Central, while the sun faded.

      * * *

     Ria had often heard the saying that Dargon had told her that night, "No matter what you think, there's always somebody worse off then you," but she didn't know what it meant, until after she donated the snowglobes to the Adoption Center. She learned what it meant to do what was right, and she didn't think of herself anymore. She spent more and more time at the Adoption Center, playing with the younger Neopets there. Eventually, another article was written about the Kougra. But this one was truly for her good deeds. She had spent hours at the Center and had donated many of her toys for real to the Center. Ria learned a lesson that she could have never learned other wise.

     But to this day, Ria still won't play with snowglobes.

The End