by Martha Faë
That was the last page. The sun was beginning to sink lower on the horizon. We both stood up.
“I think we have to say goodbye,” said Gondra.
“Don’t be sad. This is your journey.”
Gondra looked me directly in the eyes.
“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”
“I’ve never had a dragon friend. I’ve never met anyone as special as you.”
“We’ll always remember each other.”
“Always.”
Gondra and I hugged each other, and he began his walk towards the sun, which at that moment was already like half an orange buried in the grass. When its brightness had practically disappeared, a dazzling ray of light burst out of Gondra’s chest. The dragon fire shot out of him at great speed like a jet of water. The sun swallowed it all up with such a blinding explosion that I had to cover my eyes. When I lowered my arm from my face, night had fallen. There was no trace of Gondra, only a very dim light coming from a small mound in front of me. I crouched down and scooped it up in my hands. It was like superfine sand, but with a shimmer to it that I’d never seen before and will never see again.
I kept the sparkly dust, because I knew that it was Gondra’s last gift for me. I didn’t have to go to the castle and look through the window to return home. When the last little grain fell into my pocket, I found myself in the tunnel ascending at full speed. I landed in my room at the exact moment when Mum called me to eat.
“Have you noticed that we bought you a new headboard?” she said, leaning happily around the door. “You’re ready for a big girl’s headboard now...”
I looked up. It was true, the pink princess crown was gone. In its place was a long white rectangle.
From that moment on I slept like a log every single night. The dreams that had been trapped in my hair started to slip out one by one, in order, taking their turn and giving me many nights full of scenes that were joyful and fun. I even dreamed about Squirelle one night. She told me that in The Forest a local prince had appeared and he had married the Princess Enedina. I never did discover if this was just a dream or if Squirrel Tattletail had really come to visit so she could bring me up to date with all the latest news.
I made some cardboard stars and on them I glued the sparkling dust that Gondra had left behind when he disappeared. They are, by far, the prettiest things in my room – a souvenir of my beloved dragon.
Ah, yes... My bugs. In the end, after all those years of having them, I found out that they were bags and not bugs. But anyway, at this stage of my story that small difference doesn’t matter. It only took a few days for them to completely disappear from under my eyes. My ‘big pool’ eyes became, according to Mum, the prettiest eyes in the whole neighbourhood. The curls gave up, since they had nothing to hold anymore. Then one morning when I went into the kitchen half asleep, Dad looked up from his newspaper and, on seeing me, exclaimed:
“The impossible curls are gone! My little girl’s hair has gone all straight again.”
THE END
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**THE AUTHOR
Martha Faë lives in Spain, in Madrid, in a loft apartment very similar to Amaranta’s (they’re not exactly neighbours, but almost). She worked for many years as an English teacher, and then as a translator. Now, instead, she is watched constantly by her cat, who won’t let her stop writing stories so she has something to tell it every night beneath the moon. Martha studied English Philology and Italian Philology.
**THE ILLUSTRATOR
Paco Regueiro also lives in Madrid and has two cats. Besides illustrating stories he also has his own brand of clothing designed by himself (Diablo – www.diablocamisetas.com). He loves music and for that reason in his free time he likes to play the bass guitar, and write and sing songs with his band.
**THE TRANSLATOR
Karen Cleary lives in Liverpool, England. She has been many things including a musician, singer, and songwriter, and she studied Modern Foreign Languages and English at university. She loves reading, languages, and writing, and loves to mix them all together by being a translator. She thoroughly enjoyed reading and translating Amaranta and is thrilled that now more people can read it and love it in English as well.
You can keep up to date with news about Amaranta at:
www.facebook.com/pages/Martha-Faë
www.marthafae.com
@MarthaFae
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