Serendipity and Me (9781101602805) (19 page)

 

Once upon a time a princess lived in an ivy-covered tower. The tower walls were hard, cold stone. From her window she could see a meadow where furry creatures played in the sun, and she longed to cuddle their warm, soft bodies. But the rule-keepers had forbidden animals. No creatures were allowed inside to comfort her.

The princess was lonely.

One night, she heard a cry from below. She tiptoed down the stone staircase to find out who made the sound. She peeked outside the door into the dark. At first, she saw nothing. There was no one on the doorstep. The bushes held their secrets. The princess called out into the night, “Someone, someone who is scared, I am here. Come to me.”

The bushes trembled and rustled and frightened the princess. But she remembered she was lonely and she became brave again.

She called, “Someone, someone who is scared, I am here. Come to me.”

And this time the bushes answered her with a quavering mew, and a furry creature tumbled out and poked a nose at her outstretched hand. He twined his tiny body around her ankles until she picked him up and held him in her arms.

She remembered the rules about creatures. But the kitten creature was scared and alone and she was brave and alone. So she brought the kitten to her tower room and kept him there. And they were happy.

But it wasn't long until the rule-keepers heard about the kitten and demanded she turn him out. The princess couldn't bear to lose the kitten. So she wove a magic rune, a spell to make him invisible.

This worked for a while. But the kitten was playful. One day he saw the rune beckoning like a string and he pounced on it. He worried it until the rune unwound and floated out the window. It landed on the shoulder of a rule-keeper, who looked up to see where the rune had come from. He saw the kitten in the window.

At the same time, the princess noticed the kitten was no longer cloaked by the rune. She ran to get the kitten out of sight and looked out the window to make sure no one had seen. Below was the rule-keeper, watching. The princess didn't notice he was smiling. She only knew he had seen the forbidden kitten. Thinking all was lost, she fainted.

When the rule-keeper saw the princess faint, he rushed into the tower and up the stone stairs. He cradled the lonely princess in his arms and murmured comforting words to the kitten. When the princess awoke she was overwhelmed by his tenderness. The rule-keeper in turn was captivated by her heart. He invited the princess and her kitten to live in his warm cottage where there were no rules against furry creatures. The princess and the kitten joyfully accepted his invitation.

And they all lived in the cottage happily ever after.

 

Now close your eyes, honey bunny

and dream of sweet things.

 

 

 

 

I am full

with the sound

of Mom's voice.

 

But in the silence that comes

with the ending of her story

I have this thought—

The rules are back . . .

 

and I hear a noise.

 

I glance toward my open door

and catch a glimpse

of Dad turning away

 

catch an echo

of Dad retreating

once again

to his room.

 

How much did he hear?

 

It wouldn't matter.

 

He could fill in the gaps

of his own story

told in the voice

of his dead wife.

 

I should have closed the door.

 

 

 

Now I regret

leaving the picture

of me and the orange kitty

in his room.

 

He will go in there

with her voice in his head

 

and see evidence

of my prying and accusing.

 

He may never want to talk to me again.

 

I want to go to his door

and test this out.

 

I want to hear him say

he loves me anyway.

 

I am too afraid to ask.

 

 

 

Dinner is saved

because he has his phone

in his room.

 

I wondered what we'd do for dinner

if he never came out

 

but he has solved that problem.

 

The pizza guy rings the doorbell

and Dad opens his door

a slit.

 

Use the money in the jar, Sara.

I'm not feeling well.

Help yourself.

 

That's usually a phrase directing you

to serve yourself some food.

 

But this time, it feels wider:

Help yourself, Sara

because Dad

can't help you now.

 

The pizza

usually a happy food

tastes hard

and uncaring.

 

 

 

After pizza

I drift back to my room.

 

Dad's door is still closed.

 

I'd like to hear Mom's voice again

but I'm afraid Dad will hear

even through closed doors.

 

I pick up
Love Songs.

There are a few poems at the end

I never got to

so I read them now.

 

And the last one I hear in Mom's voice.

I can remember her reading this to me

many times.

Maybe it was her favorite.

 

Here is the best line:

“I think that every path we ever took

Has marked our footprints in mysterious fire,

Delicate gold that only fairies see.”

 

She made magic for me.

I don't want that to end.

 

 

 

For no good reason other than

I'm just sick of this sad house—

I desperately want to storm

the prince's castle.

 

But I've already burned

that drawbridge.

 

Serendipity leaps from nowhere and lands

on the open pages of
Love Songs

pressing claw marks into the paper.

I gasp and push her away            
No!

 

She looks surprised and scared

and I suddenly remember . . .

 

Tomorrow is my only day left

to woo the prince

 

and he's locked up in his room.

 

 

It occurs to me as I'm walking

lonely to school . . .

 

if Dad doesn't fall in love by tonight—

by tomorrow morning

Serendipity will be on her way

to the shelter.

 

That was the deal.

Well, Dad didn't know about

the falling in love part

 

but as far as he's concerned

today is my last chance

to find her

a home somewhere else.

 

I am past panicking about losing her

and starting to realize

 

I could be responsible for

letting her end up

at the shelter.

 

She might die because

I brushed off a phone call.

 

And it will be my turn

to cry nonstop.