Piper's Perfect Dream (3 page)
Read Piper's Perfect Dream Online
Authors: Ahmet Zappa
NAME
: Scarlet
BRIGHT DAY
: November 3
FAVORITE COLOR
: Black
INTERESTS
: Crystal climbing (and other extreme sports), magic, thrill seeking
WISH
: To live on Wishworld
WHY CHOSEN
: Scarlet is confident, intense, passionate, magnetic, curious, and very brave.
WATCH OUT FOR
: Scarlet is a loner and can alienate others by being secretive, arrogant, stubborn, and jealous.
SCHOOL YEAR
: Third
POWER CRYSTAL
: Ravenstone
WISH PENDANT
: Boots
NAME
: Sage
BRIGHT DAY
: December 1
FAVORITE COLOR
: Lavender
INTERESTS
: Travel, adventure, telling stories, nature, and philosophy
WISH
: To become the best Wish-Granter Starland has ever seen
WHY CHOSEN
: Sage is honest, adventurous, curious, optimistic, friendly, and relaxed.
WATCH OUT FOR
: Sage has a quick temper! She can also be restless, irresponsible, and too trusting of others' opinions. She may jump to conclusions.
SCHOOL YEAR
: First
POWER CRYSTAL
: Lavenderite
WISH PENDANT
: Necklace
You take a deep
breath, about to blow out the candles on your birthday cake. Clutching a coin in your fist, you get ready to toss it into the dancing waters of a fountain. You stare at your little brother as you each hold an end of a dried wishbone, about to pull. But what do you do first?
You make a wish, of course!
Ever wonder what happens right after you make that wish?
Not much
, you may be thinking.
Well, you'd be wrong.
Because something quite unexpected happens next. Each and every wish that is made becomes a glowing Wish Orb, invisible to the human eye. This undetectable orb zips through the air and into the heavens, on a one-way trip to the brightest star in the skyâa magnificent place called Starland. Starland is inhabited by Starlings, who look a lot like you and me, except they have a sparkly glow to their skin, and glittery hair in unique colors. And they have one more thing: magical powers. The Starlings use these powers to make good wishes come true, for when good wishes are granted, the result is positive energy. And the Starlings of Starland need this energy to keep their world running.
In case you are wondering, there are three kinds of Wish Orbs:
1)Â Â GOOD WISH ORBS. These wishes are positive and helpful and come from the heart. They are pretty and sparkly and are nurtured in climate-controlled Wish-Houses. They bloom into fantastical glowing orbs. When the time is right, they are presented to the appropriate Starling for wish fulfillment.
2)Â Â BAD WISH ORBS. These are for selfish, mean-spirited, or negative things. They don't sparkle at all. They are immediately transported to a special containment center, as they are very dangerous and must not be granted.
3)Â Â IMPOSSIBLE WISH ORBS. These wishes are for things, like world peace and disease cures, that simply can't be granted by Starlings. These sparkle with an almost impossibly bright light and are taken to a special area of the Wish-House with tinted windows to contain the glare they produce. The hope is that one day they can be turned into good wishes the Starlings can help grant.
Starlings take their wish granting very seriously. There is a special school, called Starling Academy, that accepts only the best and brightest young Starling girls. They study hard for four years, and when they graduate, they are ready to start traveling to Wishworld to help grant wishes. For as long as anyone can remember, only graduates of wish-granting schools have ever been allowed to travel to Wishworld. But things have changed in a very big way.
Read on for the rest of the storyâ¦.
STAR KINDNESS DAY GREETINGS
To: All My Darling Friends
From: Piper
Subject: Happy Star Kindness Day!
Happy Star Kindness Day,
A time to spread good cheer.
I'm sending this holo-text to say,
You glow, girls, all staryear.
With Love and Positivity,
Piper
P.S. Personal greetings to come!
To: Sage
From: Piper
Subject: Star Kindness Day Compliment
The first Star Darling to ride a star,
The first on a mission, traveling far.
You triumphed with your heart and glow,
Even gathering some energy flow.
To: Leona
From: Piper
Subject: Thinking of You on Star Kindness Day
The third to go to a faraway world,
You granted a wish, and energy swirled.
But on your way back to our land of light,
Your pendant turned as black as night.
“Why?” you asked, so sad and blue.
No one could answer, no one knew.
But do not fret, Leona dear,
You still rock, that much is clear.
To: Scarlet
From: Piper
Subject: Star Kindness Day Tidings
You had to leave the SD fold,
But you didn't give up, you were too bold.
You joined a mission with a regular Starling,
To prove you were a tried-and-true Darling.
But why did this happen at all?
Why did you take the fall?
Another question, another riddle,
But you stepped up to shine, no second fiddle.
You showed true grit
And even some wit.
My hat's off to you,
Glad you're back with the crew.
To: Cassie
From: Piper
Subject: An Affirmation on Star Kindness Day
Who knows what to do
When we're confused through and through?
You, sweet little Cassie, you always do.
And when you came back from a mission all spent?
The lights went out 100 percent.
But you stayed calm and cool and kept us together,
You figure things out, whenever, wherever.
In her Little Dipper Dorm room,
Piper finished her last holo-text. Then she swiped the screen on her Star-Zap to queue up all the messages. Star Kindness Day was the next day. A ceremony would be held in the morning, at precisely the moment the nighttime stars and the daytime sun could all be seen in the color-streaked sky.
It happened in the morning only once a staryear. And all over Starland, Starlings met in open areas to gaze at the sight. Light energy flowed. Everyone smiled. They exchanged positive messages then and for the rest of the stardayâto loved ones, to strangers, and to everyone in between. Thoughtful compliments. Meaningful praise. Heartfelt affirmations. It was definitely Piper's favorite holiday.
At Starling Academy, all the students' messages would go out at once, while everyone gathered in the Star Quad before class. Piper checked her holo-texts one last time. She had her own holiday tradition: styling her compliments into poetry. What better way to get a loving message across, she felt, than using language that lifted the spirit, too?
That staryear, she'd worked especially hard on the poems. There had been many ups and downs for the Star Darlings. So much had happened already that year. All the SD missionsâsome successful, some not. So that day, of all days, Piper wanted her friends to feel good.
Finally pleased with her efforts, Piper tossed her Star-Zap onto a neat pile of pillows on the floor. She'd played around with poetry ideas for starweeks.
Should I use lightkus?
she'd wondered first.
That poetry originated from Lightku Isle, an isolated island with sandy, sparkling beaches, where the local Starlings spoke solely in those kinds of poems, spare and simple with only three lines of verse and seventeen syllables total.