Into the Land of the Elves: A Swim in the Bell's Rush

The Diary of Miss Aidyn Hall, author

July 12

10:00 AM

A Swim in the Bell’s Rush

            Apple Blossom ran up to me with an ear-to-ear smile on her face and her green hair flying out wildly behind her. She was wearing a strange short blue dress with white sashes around the shoulders and waist, and dark blue shorts. “That’s a very interesting outfit,” I told her. I liked the look a lot.

            “This is a swimming outfit,” said Apple Blossom. “My friends and I are going swimming in the Bell’s Rush. Can you come with us? Are you very busy today?”

            I had never gone swimming in a lake or river, but a swim in the Bell’s Rush sounded especially pleasant. It was deep blue and pristine, and the tingling sound it made was very relaxing. I had learned during our sail that it was highly populated with frogs, crickets, water nymphs, water sprites, and even fairies (which I had gotten to see!) whose pretty voices created a harmony with the bell sounds. Besides, it would give me excellent material in case I ever wanted to write about swimming in a lake, or in case I ever wanted to write about swimming in a lake full of fairies and water sprites. “I’d love to go swimming with you,” I told Apple Blossom. “If you’ll wait here for a few moments, I’ll go change into my own swimming outfit.”

            “You can borrow one of Mother’s,” said Apple Blossom. “She wouldn’t mind.”

            Of course she would mind! “She’s a little smaller than me,” I said. “I don’t think any of her clothes will fit me. It won’t take long for me to go change.”

            Apple Blossom agreed to wait for me, and I returned home to look over my bathing suits. I decided on my green and white leaf patterned tankini, knowing that Apple Blossom would approve of a woodsy pattern. I tied a bright floral sarong around my waist and packed a bag full of things I bring to the pool: two towels, two water bottles, a pen set, my notepad, and a book. I put my tag in with them. There was no need to bring sunscreen or sunglasses; deep in the Greenwood, the trees would do a good job of obscuring the sun. I tied up my hair and returned to the magnolia archway.

            Apple Blossom burst out laughing when she saw me!

            “Hey!” I exclaimed, chuckling a little myself. “What’s so funny, huh?”

            “Is that a human’s swimming outfit?” Apple Blossom asked through her laughter.

            “Yes it is,” I said, “but it’s only one kind. It’s called a tankini. What’s so funny about it?”

            “I don’t know,” said Apple Blossom, “it’s just funny!” She only thought it was funny because it was different. I ruffled her hair. “Okay, Lady Laughsalot, calm down and lead the way.” This made her giggle even more, but she took my hand and began leading me into the Greenwood. I used to think my friend Janelle was the giggliest person I’ve ever met in my life, but now I don’t think anybody could top Apple Blossom in the Giggles and Cheer Department!

            We ran into the Grand Elder Guardian on our way in, but his web was positioned above our heads to let us go through. Apple Blossom nodded to him and I did too, as I ducked to keep from messing up his web. Beyond the entrance, the forest was absolutely crawling with spiders. There were small brown spiders and big black spiders, red spiders and green spiders, spiders in webs and on leaves and crawling up the bark of trees. The Jadeite guardians still felt that the princess needed such protection. I was allowed in, but that did not mean I was trusted. There were webs nearly everywhere I turned, and I sidestepped and ducked under them as carefully as I could. If an arachnophobe looking for trouble wasn’t turned away by the sight of the Grand Elder Guardian, then this would definitely send them running for an exit!

            The sound of the Bell’s Rush rang clear and melodious as we entered the Greenwood. We passed by the houses full of elves who were still inclined to gawk at me. Apple Blossom led me through a patch of wooded area and around to a bright clearing, where the Bell’s Rush curved in a sort of kidney shape before branching off in its usual formation. Apple Blossom’s four friends from the party were laughing, splashing, and playing like young mermaids. Their mothers, including the queen, sat around a picnic blanket, chattering and laughing while playing a card game. All of them were dressed in different-colored versions of the swimming outfit Apple Blossom wore, with only very slight variations in design. The queen glanced at me, and I gave her my friendliest smile. “Where should I put my things?” I asked her.

            “You may set them down with the girls’ things,” said the queen, gesturing to a pile of rags and sacks lying under a jade-flanked willow tree. I set down my bag, untied my sarong, and took my first steps into the waters of the Bell’s Rush. Usually, when you step into water it’s either too hot or too cold, and you have to swim around to adjust to the temperature. That wasn’t the case with the waters of the Bell’s Rush, which were just the right blend of warm and cool. The little waves from the currents tickled me, and I dunked my head to feel the water caress my face. It was so refreshing and I was so happy that I laughed out loud.

            Apple Blossom’s friends kept their distances and looked at me with eyes full of uncertainty. We had gotten on well at the party, but to them I was still just a wayward bogeyman trying to earn their trust—trying, perhaps, to lure them into a sense of security and let them drop their guard. Little Wildflower was especially inclined to stay clear of me. She had huddled into a cluster of wild reeds and was peering at me with eyes half the size of dinner plates.

            Apple Blossom, always the icebreaker, took my hand and said, “Come with me, Aidyn! I want you to meet the water sprites, and I want you to see the frog chorus at their lily pads, and I’ll show you…”

            “Show me everything,” I interrupted her. I’d hoped that her friends would want to join us, but I wasn’t going to push them. I followed Apple Blossom down the stream, catching bright green reeds and algae in my hands. We passed by a cluster of lily pads, each topped with a white water lily. A chatty group of frogs were crouching on and swimming around the lily pads and the surrounding reeds. A tiny girl with iridescent wings sat perched on a petal of one of the lilies. Two others fluttered in circles above her, buzzing like flies. When Apple Blossom passed, the frogs fixed their glassy eyes on her, and the tiny winged girls bowed so low that their noses touched the tips of the petals. But when they saw me, the girls looked frightened and several of the frogs swam away quickly. I was disappointed but not surprised. I know how timid frogs can be; I’ve spent numerous summer days trying to watch them in the pond after a rainstorm, and sometimes I could only barely catch a glimpse as one hopped away or dove into the water or scurried under a leafy plant.

            I heard a splash in the water behind me and thought it might be another frog—a very large frog—but when I turned around, there was Wildflower slowly paddling toward me. She wanted to approach me, but she was lagging back, still unsure of how wise it would be to do so. I smiled encouragingly, but for a few moments she just treaded water and watched me as if waiting for my next move. I swam over to the cluster of water lilies, gently plucked one from its stem, and set it down in front of her. Wildflower looked at it, then at me. Carefully, she picked it up and held it to her face, inhaling deeply to breathe in its fragrance. She shyly glanced over the petals at me, and then finally, she smiled. She was ready to trust me, at least for the moment.

            I was ready to join Apple Blossom, who was trying to talk over the croaks of the returning frogs. I beckoned Wildflower over, and she clumsily paddled to my side, still holding on tightly to the water lily. I patted her on the head and took one of her hands so she could hold her water lily with the other while I helped her swim. She was agreeable to this, and every so often she looked up at me and smiled.

            It turned out that Apple Blossom was not talking over the frogs, but with them! She’d speak to a frog, and it would answer back with a familiar croak as if their language was one and the same. I looked at Wildflower, wondering if she was as taken aback as I was, but she was playing with the three tiny winged girls and did not seem to notice.

            I tapped Apple Blossom on the shoulder. “Hey, can those frogs really understand you?” I asked.

            “Yes,” she replied, “they understand me perfectly. I asked them to come back after they ran away, and I told them that you were my friend and you wouldn’t hurt them. They believed me, because frogs always believe you. And I was asking them if they would give a concert for you, because they have such beautiful voices and I’d really like for you to hear them.” She turned to the frogs and asked, “Will you please, please give a concert for Aidyn?” A large green frog answered back raucously.

            She turned to me and told me, “He says that they need to talk it over first. But they will sing for you. They just love to sing for anyone! While we wait, we can visit the mermaids. Oh, Wildflower, come here! We’re going to visit the mermaids.”

            Mermaids! This just kept getting better. “Lead the way!” I exclaimed, and held my hand out for her. She took my hand and Wildflower’s, and we swam in the direction of the currents. I could hear the frogs croaking musically, perhaps rehearsing for their concert. When we came upon an orderly group of bright green shrubs, Apple Blossom stepped out of the water and motioned for us to follow. Wildflower held my hand tightly as we were led down a path shaded by blossoming magnolia trees. “Is your mother okay with you coming all the way over here?” I asked Apple Blossom.

            “She lets me go anywhere I want to, so long as I have this with me.” She reached into a small pocket at the top of her swimming tunic and pulled out a perfectly round jade stone tied to a silver cord. “It’s my personal jade, and I use it to channel the jade essences.”

            “Oh! Is that how you were able to talk with the frogs?” Apple Blossom had told me on the day we met that the jade essences allowed the Jadeites to communicate and form bonds with the forest around them. I had several notes on the subject written down in my notepad. “Yes,” answered Apple Blossom, “that’s exactly how!”

            “Can my tag do the same kind of thing?” I asked.

            “The tags do contain the jade essences,” Apple Blossom explained, “but they are different than the ones contained in stones like this.”

            “So I can’t use my tag to talk to animals?” I asked only half-jokingly.

            Apple Blossom laughed. “I’m afraid not, Aidyn!”

            Wildflower reached into a pocket at the top of her own tunic and pulled out her own jade stone to show me. It was no bigger than a garden pebble, and Wildflower was no older than five. Yet it contained the same magical abilities that, according to Apple Blossom, were hidden in every jade stone, and Wildflower was able to access them just as easily as any other. She smiled proudly at her jade stone, and I told her that it was a great stone.

            At the end of the path was another kidney-shaped curve, which was occupied by several men and women with the kind of stunning faces that would put even the most dolled up makeup model to shame. Aside from these pretty faces and their long, flowing hair, they didn’t fit the typical image of mermaids. They had no fish tails, but rather fish-like fins on their arms, legs, and shoulders. They wore thin clothing that appeared to be made from reeds and grasses, and several of them wore shells, pebbles, or jewels around their necks and in their hair. And though mermaids are often said to be angry, treacherous, and malicious creatures, there was certainly none of that in these mermaids. They were sweet, playful, and happy as could be. Watching them splash and dunk and dive and laugh made me laugh along with them, and of course they all turned to look at me when I did. But none of them looked frightened, unnerved, or even a little bit uneasy. Nobody gasped, yelped, drew back, or tried to hide. Instead, they greeted me with smiles, waving, and happy chattering in a language I could not understand. It was a language of strange clicks and gurgles and bubbly sounds that I could only describe as what a fish might sound like if it could talk. I was so thrilled that there was somebody out there who was so ready to accept me that I nearly ran to them and gave each one of them a big hug! But instead, I smiled and waved back at them with equal enthusiasm, chirping, “Hi! Hello, everybody! It’s a pleasure to meet you all!” even though they couldn’t understand me. Thankfully, Apple Blossom could translate. She took my hand and led me through the gaggle of mermaids, nodding to each one and introducing me: “Hello, Zalana! This is my friend Aidyn!” “Galinder, I’d like you to meet Aidyn!” “This is Aidyn, Lula!” I felt like a movie star or a visiting noble, or someone much higher than a new author just trying to get by. Apple Blossom is the princess, yet she goes out of her way to put others on a higher pedestal than herself. Does she do this for all of her friends, or does she hold me in such high regard because I’m human and she wants to go out of her way to show that I’m not a monster? I have a feeling it’s the latter.

            I looked behind me to check on Wildflower, and found her trailing behind us with her precious water lily woven into her hair. I held out my hand for her again, but she shook her head. She had her eye on one of the mermaids, a girl just a little older than Apple Blossom with long, rose-colored hair held together with a lotus-topped reed. She swam over to the girl as fast as a dart, calling, “Marla! Marla!” The girl received her with a squeal and open arms.

            Around me, the mermaids chattered excitedly. Several swam up to me and touched my hair, my shoulders, and my suit. Their curiosity got a chuckle out of me, and I let them go on with their little examination. To them, I was one of the rarest and most interesting of specimens, and clearly they had not heard the same stories about humans that the Jadeites had. But I wished we could understand eachother! If I was going to have allies—admirers, even—of this caliber, I wanted to be able to talk with them. Was that ability really locked up inside that tiny jade stone?

            I flagged down Apple Blossom, who was sitting on a rock and talking with an attentive-looking mer-woman with long blonde hair and a sweet doll’s face. “May I have a look at your jade stone for a moment?” I asked her. She nodded and handed it to me without asking what I needed it for. I stared long and hard at it, trying to pick up on a sign, a spark, a glow, anything that would reveal the presence of jade essences. Was there a certain aura? I couldn’t see it. Was there a pull or a trance I was meant to feel? I couldn’t feel it. I waded over to a cluster of chattering mermaids and strained my ears for a familiar phrase, word, or even just a sound. But there was nothing but the clicks and the watery gurgles. I looked for Wildflower and her friend Marla, and found them in a little pool, swordfighting with two long cattails. They were shouting; Wildflower cried, “I’ll get you! I’ll get you good!” but Marla’s responses were foreign to me. Holding the stone did not make the difference for me that it did for Apple Blossom and Wildflower. Wildflower noticed me and called, “Hello, Aidyn!” I waved to her and left the two of them to their game.

            I returned the jade stone to Apple Blossom. “Here you go,” I said. “I was trying to…” I was interrupted by a sudden racket of frogs. “Oh!” cried Apple Blossom, clapping her hands. “It’s the frog chorus! They’ve begun their concert! Come on, Aidyn! Where is Wildflower?”

            When we met up with Wildflower, she held on to Marla and insisted that she come watch the frogs with us. The mermaids waved and shouted happy goodbyes as the four of us set off. Along the way, Wildflower tugged at one of Marla’s fins and asked, “Marla, will you let me ride on your back?” Marla gurgled happily and complied with the request. I listened to the approaching croaks, clicks, murmurs, and sputters of the frogs, and I longed to hear the secret words that I knew existed within them.

             When we reached the frogs’ pool, we met up with Raindrop, Crystalline, Holly Berry, and all of the girls’ mothers. Wildflower climbed off of Marla’s back and paddled over to her mother, who set the little girl on her knee. Apple Blossom motioned for me to join her and the queen. I reluctantly complied, though I would have preferred to be by myself and away from the contempt the others surely held for me. But as it turned out, nobody was paying me any mind. They were all lost in the songs of the frogs, the background chanting of unseen water nymphs in the distance, the quiet chatter of the tiny, fluttering water sprites, and of course, the ringing of the Bell’s Rush. I closed my eyes and let myself get lost in it too. 

The Pearls

All parts of "The Pearls, in order from 1 to 5

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

The Pearls, part 5 (ending)

            Dani crossed over the golden bridge and approached the princess. Her face was calm now, and Dani felt at ease. She had been frightened of the princess’ frowning visage, but now that her expression was calm, Dani could see that she was beautiful like a precious Victorian doll. She looked as she had when Dani had first encountered her.

The princess smiled, delighted to see that her precious pearl necklace had come back to her. She was even more beautiful when she smiled. “Hand them to me,” she ordered. Dani felt so calm looking at the pretty face that she complied without hesitation. The princess put the necklace on and looked at her reflection in the brook. “They look so much better on me than you,” she said.

            Dani didn’t say anything. For a moment, the princess looked at her as if observing an interesting insect under a microscope. “You think you are a real beauty, don’t you?” asked the princess.

            “I suppose you can say that.”

            “But look at you! You’re so plain, almost raggedy. I’ve seen farm girls more beautiful than you!”

            Dani didn’t say anything.

            “Your box is filled to the brim with jewels of all kinds, sizes, and shapes,” said the princess. “You think that donning them makes you a beauty. You use them to distract others from how plain you are.” The princess approached Dani and looked straight into her eyes, and though she was small and delicate, she managed to look quite imposing. “If you had done what was right, and willingly returned the pearls upon learning that they belonged to me,” she said sharply, “then you could have gone on being plain. You might have even become beautiful along the way. But now, you are ugly. You’ve shown that you are a vain, selfish, dishonest woman whose own petty desires come before all else. You are willing to steal a precious heirloom from a princess in order to further your desire to pass as beautiful. But your ways have shown that you are ugly, even hideous.”

             “You said yourself that I’m plain,” Dani snapped, “so what difference does it make that I’m selfish and ugly and whatever else? If I can’t be beautiful, I might as well be ugly!” Mouthing off was the only way she could suppress the guilt and shame of having her wrongdoing, her insecurities, and her most unattractive flaws thrown in her face all at once.

            “I pity you,” said the princess, “because you don’t know what beauty really is. If you were to take away my gowns, my crowns, my diamonds and my pearls, my gold, silver, and jewels, and all of my silks and brocades, I would still be beautiful. I could have nothing and still be beautiful, while you are plain and ugly even with the finest pearls, because you don’t understand that real beauty comes from your character. For that, I pity you.”

            “I didn’t come here to listen to an after-school special!” Dani snapped. “You have your lousy pearls and you’ve told me how ugly I am, so I’ll be taking my leave. Now tell me how to get home.”

            “I can see that you’ve learned nothing,” said the princess, shaking her head in exasperation, “and that you are hard-hearted to the point of stupidity. But still, I am willing to help you, even though I shouldn’t waste any time on the likes of you.”

            “I don’t need any ‘help’ from you!” said Dani. “And I’m going to be pissed if I miss work tomorrow because of you!”  

            But instead of chiding Dani any further or commenting on her rudeness, the princess smiled and took both of her hands. Dani’s first instinct was to pull back, but something in the gentle gesture and the doll-like face would not allow her to. She felt calm all over, too calm to run away or strike out or even mouth off again. The princess looked at her with the kind of gentle expression that an older sister might use for her younger sibling. “Tell me your name,” she said. Since there was no anger or malice in her voice, Dani answered: “Dannica Halliwell.”

            “Dannica Halliwell, I can see your beauty clearly when you aren’t being as disagreeable as you were,” said the princess. “You have pretty eyes, hair like spun gold, and your lips form a nearly perfect rosebud shape.”

            “I thought you said I was plain.”

            “You are rather plain,” said the princess, “but I can see your beautiful qualities when you choose to be calm and pleasant as you are now. I see your potential, and you may be plain, but you are no longer ugly.”

            “Well, it’s hard to be pleasant when you’re so plain, or ugly,” said Dani.

            “Even if it makes you more beautiful and you know it?” asked the princess.

            “I wouldn’t know it,” said Dani, “because nobody would see it that way.”

            “I see it that way!” said the princess.

            “I mean, nobody where I’m from would see it that way,” replied Dani.

            “That’s a pity,” said the princess with a sigh. “Anybody could turn ugly in a world where the most beautiful qualities are not valued. I can see why you feel as though you need jewels and adornments to be beautiful, but it is still no excuse for trying to steal my pearls. But even with your thievery, I know you are not really the scoundrel you’ve made yourself out to be. And in addition to helping you realize how wrong you were, I’d like to help you realize what beauty really is. Let me take you under my wing.”

            Dani was taken aback. “What in the world do you mean?”

            “I mean,” said the princess, “that I will let you stay with me and be my companion. You will have my old dresses and robes, but you will have no other luxuries. But I will be so kind to you and make you feel so beautiful and worthy that you will find luxuries to be quite unnecessary.”

            “You’re going to take me away from my home?” cried Dani.

            “I am making an offer,” said the princess. “If you want to take it, you may. If not, I’ll send you back home to your sad and ugly world. But if you do decide to stay with me, you will find that you have no more need for pearls.” With that, she let go of Dani’s hands and walked towards the castle.

            Dani looked around at the magnificent castle, the pristine brook, the splendid courtyard and the colorful garden beside it. She watched the princess’ golden ringlets bounce at her shoulders, her long velvet gown—a world away from Dani’s little pink velour dress—trailing behind her as she walked. Her kind and gentle smile was still fresh in Dani’s mind. When she wasn’t angry, the princess was so lovely and sweet, and she was ready to forgive Dani. What would an old ragtag assortment of jewelry matter if Dani could live as the companion of a fairy princess? What would her apathetic bar friends and her co-workers at the stuffy old office think if they could see her by the side of a princess straight out of a fairy tale? Then again, Dani was quite all right with not seeing them for a long, long time.

           So Dani followed after the princess, and it didn’t take too long for her to discover that she never had a need for pearls, rubies, sapphires, or anything else of the sort. But everyone who saw her by the princess’ side would marvel at just how beautiful she was, even lovelier than the princess’ spectacular pearl necklace. 

The Pearls, part 4

Throughout the day, Dani checked the mirror, but the ruby necklace remained where it was. To Dani’s great relief, there was no sign of the princess in image or voice. But that evening, after Dani had finished getting ready for bed, the princess appeared, frowning more intensely than ever. “I don’t want your ugly necklace!” she cried. “I want my pearls! Give them back to me!”

            Dani felt trapped. She looked back and forth between the pearls and the princess. Which was worse, giving up those wonderful pearls or being harassed by an angry fairy princess forever? Dani had to look long and hard at the pearls to remember that they were worth it. She approached the mirror, looked the princess in the eye, and said, “I will give you anything else, but I won’t give you the pearls.”

            “They were mine in the first place, you scoundrel!” the princess shouted. “You have no right to keep them! I don’t want any of your things. I want what is mine!”

            “Isn’t there anything at all that you would like more than an old pearl necklace?”

            “If it was only ‘an old pearl necklace,’ you wouldn’t have wanted it for yourself!”

            Dani sighed, opened one of her night table drawers, and took out her jewelry box. She presented her collection of all the jewels, baubles, stones, and precious metals she had acquired over the years to the princess, who looked at it with unconcealed scorn. “You can have anything you want out of this,” said Dani. “I have all kinds of lovely things here.”

            “They are not so lovely,” said the princess. “You haven’t even got one pearl!”

            “You’re right,” said Dani, “I have no pearls. How many pearls have you got?”

            “It doesn’t matter if I’ve got one pearl or a thousand pearls,” said the princess. “There’s no excuse for stealing from me!”

            Dani took another look at the pearls and imagined them resting against the collar of her blue satin dress. “Will you let me keep them for just one day?” she pleaded.

            “No,” said the princess. “You will give them to me tonight, and I will give you no peace until you do!”

            There was no way out. With a heavy heart and tears forming in her eyes, Dani returned the jewelry box and picked up the pearls. She looked at them with longing, and felt pained by having to give up the most precious object she had ever come into contact with—one that belonged to a genuine fairy princess. The other jewels that she owned now seemed as dull and ugly as the princess had said they were. Still, Dani laid the pearls in front of the mirror and said dejectedly, “There are your pearls. Go ahead and take them, and leave me alone.”

            “How do you expect me to pick them up with this glass in my way?” the princess asked testily.

            “Well, how else am I supposed to give them to you?” asked Dani.

            “You will come into my land and give them to me personally,” said the princess.

            “What?” Dani was flabbergasted. “But…but how am I supposed to do that? I’m sure I don’t even have the time to do that! I have work in the morning! Can’t I just give them to you tomorrow?”

            “You will give them to me tonight,” said the princess. “You should have thought of those things before deciding to keep something that doesn’t belong to you.”

            There was nothing else that could be done. “How do I get to your land?” Dani asked with a sigh.

            “Put on the necklace,” said the princess, “and look in the mirror.” Dani obeyed. Looking in the mirror, she saw that the image of the princess had faded behind her own reflection, which was clear and vivid. She felt embarrassed to be wearing the pearls with her pajamas, and she was tempted to ask to change clothes before she discovered that there was no need; she was now wearing a forest-green velvet gown with long, flared sleeves. It very closely resembled the gown that the princess was wearing. Dani gave a start when she realized that it was the gown that the princess was wearing. Her hair, which was tied back, unraveled and shaped itself into ringlets. Their very different faces melded together as if the two of them were becoming one entity. Dani wanted to touch the sleeve of her dress to see if she could really feel the velvet, but she was afraid that the magic would cease if she moved.

           In a moment, Dani was herself again. It was daylight, and she was standing in a field of grass the shade of fine emeralds. A crystal colored brook babbled cheerfully nearby, and its surface dazzled like diamonds. A golden bridge crossed this brook, and beyond the bridge was a magnificent castle of pink, blue, and pearly-white stone. Standing at the castle gate was the princess, in all her forest-green velvet splendor. 

The Pearls, part 3

The next day was Sunday. Dani decided not to wear, touch, or even think too much about the pearls until tomorrow, when she would wear them to work. There they sat on her night table, and their gleam in the morning sun was not at all as pleasant as it had been the day before—looking at them made Dani think of the frowning princess and her cry of, “Give me my pearls!” She could almost see the princess’ frowning face in the largest pearl.

            Dani avoided looking at mirrors. She chose to wear an old t-shirt and tattered old shorts so she wouldn’t have a reason to look at herself. She took a breakfast muffin from the bread box and made herself comfortable on the living room sofa with a book. She rested her feet on the arm of the sofa, nibbled at her muffin, and realized that she wasn’t taking in a word of what she was reading. The princess’ shrill little voice blocked out her thoughts so that she couldn’t concentrate—“Give me my pearls!” She closed the book and growled in frustration. Is she a ghost? Dani wondered. Is she haunting me? She hadn’t seemed very much like a ghost. She was more like a fairy. Dani was angry for having to think about her at all. “They’re my pearls now,” she said to the air out in front of her, “and you are very irresponsible for losing them!”  She returned to her book, hoping that would be the end of it. But sure enough, that shrill voice made its way back into her mind to say, “Being irresponsible is not as bad as being a dishonest thief!”

            “I’m not a thief,” Dani said aloud. “I didn’t come into your house and take them from you. You carelessly dropped them and you didn’t bother to come back for them. Clearly, I know how to take better care of them than you do, and so I deserve them more!” Dani knew that what she said was wrong, but she would rather be wrong than have to give up the finest jewelry she had ever owned. “I refuse to continue this argument,” Dani said before the voice could have a chance to say anything else. She couldn’t go on reading; she had been interrupted enough times to have gotten bored of reading. She decided that she wanted to go to her room and play with her jewelry and makeup, before she remembered that she would have to look in the mirror for that. More than anything, Dani did not want to look in the mirror. She knew what she would see.

            It was the beginning of May, and the day was warm and bright. It was a good time to begin working on a golden summer suntan. Dani went outside and began moving her lawn chair to the sunniest spot she could see…

            “Thief! Scoundrel!”

            Dani ignored the voice. She smiled satisfactorily at the patch of sun she had placed her lawn chair in. She took off her shoes, sat down, and stretched out her legs…

            “Wretched scum!”

            She covered her ears, but what good was that when the voice was inside her head? She shook her head as if trying to shake it from her mind.

            “Villain! Devil! Trash!”

            Dani groaned, pulled at her hair, and smacked her head. Still, the voice continued to shout every name and horrible insult it could come up with. She couldn’t find any peace. She didn’t want to tan, and the day was no longer pleasant. Suddenly, she hated those pearls. As beautiful as they were, she didn’t want them anymore if they were going to cause so much trouble.

            Dani stomped back inside, slamming the door hard enough to rattle the picture frames on the wall and the knickknacks on the shelves. The voice in her head subsided as she headed for her room, and ceased completely as she eyed the pearls lying on her night table. But the moment she laid eyes on them, she realized that she had been mistaken; she couldn’t give them up, not to anyone, for any reason. They were hers, and their beauty would be tarnished if they were worn by anyone but her. She had looked like a real princess at the bar last night—nobody had noticed, but she had. She had to keep them for work the next day. She would wear them with her blue satin dress and rose-printed tights.

         Dani went to her jewelry box and took out a gold necklace with a pendant featuring three large ruby drops. It had been a gift from an old boyfriend of hers. She approached the mirror, placed the necklace in front of it, and said, “I am keeping the pearls, but you can have this necklace. Rubies are much showier than pearls anyway.” She knew that no ruby could be more splendid than those pearls, but still she hoped that the princess would accept the gift and give her some peace. 

The Pearls, part 2

            The next morning, Dani took the pearls off of her night table and put them on just to smile at herself wearing them again. In the morning sun that shone through her window, they looked even more spectacular. In those pearls and her pink dress, she would look almost like a princess when she went out that night; all she needed was a silver tiara and to curl her blonde hair into big ringlets, and perhaps a lace collar that the pearls could rest against. And though velour was a lovely material, her pink dress would be so much better if it was satin, with puffy bell-shaped sleeves that flared at the cuffs…

            Dani jumped as if she had touched a hot coal. Her fantasy was interrupted when she realized that it was not a fantasy at all, but the image in the mirror! Her reflection had twisted into the image she was sure she had only been picturing in her mind: silver crown, long blonde ringlets, pink satin dress, and the pearls. The face had changed from Dani’s own face into a sweet, delicate face like that of a porcelain doll. Dani had been smiling until now, but the face in the mirror was frowning.  

          “Give me back my pearls!” a shrill voice uttered. “Give them back to me now!”  Dani shrieked and ran into the hallway. I’m dreaming, she thought, her heart pounding rapidly. Or else I’m still so tired that I’m seeing things! Hesitantly, she crept back into the room. She blinked a few times, rubbed her eyes, and approached the mirror. Her heart was still pounding, and the thought of seeing that face again terrified her, even if it was a pretty face. But it was only her own plain face looking at her from the mirror, with the pearls resting over her owl-printed pajama top. Dani took off the pearls and set them on her night table, then went back to bed, sure that the whole thing had been a tired hallucination.

            Dani left the pearls alone until that evening, when she went out to the bar to show them off. She had forgotten all about what had happened with the mirror that morning, and she was admiring the look of the pearls with her pink dress, sapphire drop earrings, and Grecian hair updo, when her reflection began to twist and she found herself looking back at the frowning princess’ face. She yelped and ran away, and decided that her experience from the morning had caused her already quite active imagination to run away with her.

            At the bar, Dani took her usual seat, which always allowed her to be seen by the most eyes, and greeted the bartender: “Hi, James!”

            “Hey there, Dani,” James replied with a friendly, familiar smile. “What will it be tonight?”

            “A watered down appletini for now,” said Dani. Then she flashed a smile of her own and asked, “Don’t you notice anything different about me?”

            “When somebody asks me that,” said James, “it usually means one of two things: a tattoo or a piercing, sometimes both. Which one are you hiding?”

            “Neither,” said Dani. “Here’s a hint, though: take a look at my neck area.”

            “Oh, so you’re hiding a love bite.”

            “James!” Dani hid her face in embarrassment as her bar company howled with laughter, but she was secretly pleased by the idea of using the pearls to hide a love bite. “No, James, I have a new pearl necklace! That’s what I’m getting at here!”

            James shrugged. “Dani, you coming in here with some fancy new jewelry is nothing new.”

            “I’ve never shown up in anything like this!”

            “It doesn’t look any different from the stuff you wear all the time,” said a friend of Dani’s, who was sitting across from her at the bar.

            “Yes it does!” Dani insisted. “I have never owned anything as nice as these pearls!” Her friend shrugged and turned to face the TV on the wall.

            Dani was livid. It was true that her finery didn’t usually command too much attention from her bar company, but she had expected the pearls to be an exception, and was mortally offended when they were not. These were the most splendid pearls that any of them would ever see in their lifetimes. She had expected stares, gazes, for all eyes to be on her and her pearls. She sipped at her appletini and figured that eventually at least one person (but hopefully more) would gawk at her pearls and ask where she got them—to which she would answer, “Oh, they were made especially for me.” She lapsed into small talk with the bartender and other bar-goers as she started to realize that it wasn’t going to happen. By the time she finished off two watered down appletinis and half of a cheese-and-vegetable panini, and still no one had said anything about the pearls, she felt that this outing had been a complete waste.

            When Dani returned home that night, she took a look at herself in the mirror just to make sure she was still as beautiful as she thought she was. But instead of her own face, there was the frowning princess, who was wrinkling her nose in anger. Dani gasped and took a step back.

            “Give me my pearls!” cried the frowning princess. “They are mine, and you have no right to keep them!”

            Dani was forced to admit that this was real, but she was not at all willing to give up the beautiful pearl necklace that she had found through good luck. “Well, I would give them to you,” she said sarcastically, “but there’s something in the way! Sorry about that!” She laughed and gave the mirror glass a taunting smack, then she set the pearls on her night table before getting ready for bed.

            

The Pearls, part 1

It isn’t every day that you find a pearl necklace just lying on the ground. You might find dollar bills, coins, rings, gloves, or small toys lying on the ground, but a pearl necklace is an incredible rarity. And even if you were to find a pearl necklace lying on the ground, it would most likely be artificial, broken, ruined, dirty, or otherwise out of shape. You wouldn’t expect perfect condition, with eyecatching, perfectly round pearls as smooth and white as the petals of a magnolia blossom and not a sign of wear or tear.

            That’s why when Dani found such a necklace lying on the ground, she pocketed it without any further thought. She was not usually so dishonest, but she had very low self control when it came to pretty baubles. She did not own many precious stones, but she was obsessed with them. Her personal visions were akin to those of a queen sitting atop a golden throne or a dragon sitting high on a pile of jewels. Happiness, to Dani, was being surrounded by gold, jewels, brocades, and silks, and not necessarily living just like a queen, but looking like one.

            Dani had never owned a pearl necklace, and it was a matter of excellent luck that she found one with such large and splendid pearls, that were so clean that Dani could smile at her reflection in each one. The clasp was shining silver filigree twisted into the shape of a rose. Who on Earth would lose this? Dani wondered in astonishment. It must have belonged to royalty, or else someone so rich that they had hundreds of other things just like it or even better. If they even noticed that it was gone, they probably wouldn’t miss it much.

            If Dani had donned the pearls right there and walked around wearing them, she might have run into the owner by chance, and she might have learned that she was wrong in thinking that they wouldn’t miss them. So she waited until she arrived home before trying on the pearls. She looked at herself in her big vanity mirror and gasped with delight. She had never been as beautiful as she was when she was wearing those pearls! She smiled at her reflection, and the woman smiling back at her seemed to be a queen, a princess, a countess, anyone but plain old Dannica Halliwell. But she felt awfully foolish wearing the pearls with a t-shirt. She searched through her closet and brought out a short, soft pink velour dress. Tomorrow, she decided, she would wear this while showing the pearls off at her favorite bar. She figured that by then, the owner will have completely forgotten about them.