Invisible Paint Brushes rock Circulation: 192,739,456 Issue: 659 | 22nd day of Hiding, Y16

Random Acts of Usukicon Kindness

by jazzehness


"I did it! I finally finished my Usuki doll collection!" A deafening squeal rang throughout a crowd of Neopians at Usukicon, making lots of heads turn to notice an extremely excited Usul hopping up and down in front of a merchant table. She was dressed in tons of Usukicon gear and wore a VIP lanyard that she probably paid lots of neopoints to get her paws on. She was carrying a few large bags, obviously full of Usuki dolls and Usukicon souvenirs, and could barely manage to grab her bag of new purchases. She slammed her neopoints on the table and skipped away happily, anxious to get back home. "I need to get these dolls home right now! I can't let ANYTHING happen to them!"

     She ran past a lot of Neopians enjoying their time at the Usukicon convention. Some Neopians cosplayed as Usuki dolls, and others were getting their beloved dolls autographed by the artists who designed them. It was clear that they were having a great time, and they all shared a similar passion about Usuki dolls. The Usuki-crazed Usul hardly noticed them, though, as she pushed and shoved her way past them. She almost made it out without noticing anyone, but some yelling managed to catch her attention.

     "Hey, give me that doll. Why do you even have it?"

     "Yeah! You don't need it, and we want it more!"

     A group of young bullies were shoving a younger Grarrl into a deserted corner, nearly hidden from the rest of the convention-goers. The Grarrl was firmly holding a brand new Usuki doll against his chest and was almost in tears. "P-please! Get away from me! This is my doll! I bought it with my own neopoints..."

     "What are you going to do? Eat it?" The biggest bully puffed his chest out and made chomping motions with his mouth while his buddies giggled and snorted at the helpless Usuki fan.

     "Yeah!" The next bully to speak up moved towards the Grarrl and poked at his doll, causing the Grarrl to flinch. "Do you even know what this doll is?!"

     The Grarrl looked at his Usuki, which was still clenched tight between his claws, and sniffled, "N-no... I just thought it was really cool!" He started to smile, feeling incredibly happy that he was able to save up and buy a cool doll, but before he could feel any kind of relief he felt one of the bullies tug at his doll and yank it out of his hands.

     "This doll just came out last year, and it's LIMITED EDITION! Do you even know what that means? Come back when you actually know what these items are worth, kid!" The bullies disappeared into the crowd, leaving the poor little Grarrl in the corner alone. His favorite doll had been stolen from him, and as he realized this he began to cry harder.

     The Usul, who had stopped and witnessed this terrible exchange of words and actions, felt her heart sink. How could anyone do this to someone else? Also, why hadn't anyone around them tried to stop what happened?! The Usul screamed, "Someone stop those kids!! They just stole a doll from someone!" Some turned around to look at her, knowing she was the Usul freaking out over finishing her collection before, and hesitated to take her seriously. "Don't just stare at me! DO IT NOW!!" She pointed in the direction the bullies went and snapped at some nearby convention-goers before they decided to run after the bullies. She would have joined them, but she knew she had to do something else instead.

     "Hey you. I'm sorry those mean bullies treated you that way." The Usul bent down and patted the Grarrl, who had just finished wiping his eyes to look at her, on the head. "No one deserves to go through that!"

     The Grarrl sniffled a bit and managed to make a small smile towards the Usul. "Thanks, but they're probably right. I'll probably just accidentally eat my doll like I do with all of my other toys. I thought that maybe if I saved my own money and bought a toy myself, I would be more careful with it, but I already messed up by letting those guys have it..." The Grarrl began to sob even more.

     Realizing she has the same exact doll in her possession, the Usul clenched her bags. If I give this to him, she thought, my collection won't be complete anymore...

     "Here you go." The Usul looked away and shoved her doll towards the kid. "You can have it."

     The Grarrl looked at her with a confused face. "Why? I heard you earlier... you needed this to finish your collection, right? You should keep it."

     "That's nonsense. I can always finish my collection later. You worked hard to save up for your doll, so you deserve to go home with it."

     The next moment was when the Usul knew her decision was worthwhile. The Grarrl perked up and smiled really big, revealing his pointy (and somewhat scary) white fangs. He gave the doll a huge hug and looked up at the Usul. "Thank you so much!! I'll never forget this!" As the two exchanged their goodbyes, she heard the boy say, "I'm going to name it Sully! I can't wait for you to meet the rest of my friends!"

     With a smile on her face, the Usul started to head back home. She would have turned around to repurchase the doll she just gave to the boy, but she realized that collecting something shouldn't just be about getting as many as you can or finding every single item necessary to complete a collection. You should enjoy what you collect and treasure all of it. That way, the effort you put into your hobby will feel more important to you. She decided that she would go home and enjoy the dolls she does have before focusing on the last doll...

     ...However, her trip home was interrupted by someone calling for her. "Hey you! Are you the girl who told everyone about the thieves?"

     She turned around and nodded at the Neopian in question. She recognized them as someone she had snapped at earlier and started to feel afraid that she would be scolded for that, but before she could apologize, they handed her the doll the bullies had stolen from the Grarrl. "Why are you giving this to me? It belongs to the boy..."

     "I saw what you did back there. You pushed everyone to help the boy when they had been ignorant to the bullying before, and you helped him by giving him your own doll that you bought for yourself." The Neopian grinned and whispered, "The Grarrl isn't the only one who lost something they paid for with their own money today. You deserve to go home happy too!"

     The Usul smiled and thanked the kind individual before continuing home. Not only did she complete her Usuki collection that day, but she took home a valuable lesson: Pay attention to those around you! Help those in need, and encourage others to be nice too. Life isn't just about collecting dolls... but it sure makes life more fun!

The End

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