I tried to open the box, but it was locked. I looked up at my reminders, hoping they might tell me what to do.
The key is in the apples.
Excited energy flowed through my body. Today was a good day. I remembered to wear my crown and my stockings, and I remembered one of my reminders without having to read it.
But what if tomorrow is a bad day?
My heart quickened. I needed to open the box today. Tomorrow might be a bad day, and I only had one moon left.
A loud bell rang outside in the hallway. I liked that bell. That’s when I got to see Nurse Princess, and she gave me tiny round pills that made me feel good. I looked around for a safe place to hide the apple from the servants. I found the perfect spot—a big, white, ceramic box in the bathroom. I tossed the apple inside and wrote a reminder to myself on the wall: The apple is in the box.
***
Later that day, I sat on my bed holding the box and feeling its gentle rhythm. Pulse-pulse. Pulse-pulse. My fingers traced its carvings. I hated my fingers. They were ugly and withered. Unfortunately, the box was still locked, and I wondered how I would open it. The key was in the apple. That’s what my reminders said. Now I just needed to find the apple I took that morning.
An hour later, I had taken all the clothes out of my drawers, and I was still looking. I entered the bathroom, hoping I had written the apple’s location in my reminders. Time was short. I only had one moon left. Today was a good day. I had to find the apple.
I looked on the wall. The apple is in the box. I just had to open the box and get the apple, and then I could use the key in the apple to open the box.
Scuff-scuff. Scuff-scuff. My feet scraped across the ground just like the box’s rhythm. I picked it up, but it was locked. I must have locked the apple inside.
My jaw started to tremble, and tears filled my eyes. I needed to open the box, and today was a good day. I wouldn’t be able to open it on a bad day.
Just get another apple, I thought.
The thought made me smile. I liked apples—especially red ones, and today was a good day.
I grabbed my walker and headed to the dining hall.
***
Scuff-scuff. Scuff-scuff. I smiled. I liked that rhythm, and I liked my red slippers. I tiptoed past the Colonel’s quarters and tried to keep my walker from screeching. He was sleeping, and I liked him asleep. Awake, he caused too much chaos. I also kept quiet as I passed Bag’s chambers. Looking at her without clothes made my eyes hurt. Things that should have pointed out drooped and pointed down. That made me sad.
I looked at the grandfather clock in the hall next to the big, gold mirror. 2:04. Something bad always happened at 2:00. I needed to get to the dining hall before it happened. The Preacher sat in his wheelchair in the hallway. I wanted to pass him before he realized it was 2:00. I quickened my steps. Scuff-scuff. Scuff-scuff. Maybe if the Preacher heard the nice rhythm, everything would be fine.
He smiled at me. “How do you do, ma’am. Isn’t it a fine day?”
The Preacher didn’t have any teeth either. This made me sad. That meant he couldn’t eat apples. Everything was sad. Even the pink walls were sad. They should have been made of stone. I wanted to cry.
“I’m getting some apples,” I told him. I smiled. I liked apples—especially the red ones.
He rested his head on his chest. I thought I was safe and started walking again when without warning, he pulled his head up and glared at me. He yelled a bunch of words that no lady or queen ought dare repeat. The Preacher always got angry around 2:00. He would remain like that until tomorrow morning.
I continued toward the dining hall and decided I wasn’t going to share any apples with him. He continued to scream at me and the others in the hall. I started to feel sad again and began to sob.
Stop! I told myself. Today was a good day. I could be sad on a bad day. Today I needed an apple.
I entered the dining hall. It was quiet without the servants and the others, but it still smelled like unknown meat and urine. I looked around. The apples had to be somewhere.
“What are you doing in here, Miss Helena?” Squeaky Shoes was in the way. I didn’t like her much. She was ugly, and she tried to take my crown earlier this morning.
“My name is not Helena.” I wanted to watch her reaction. If she cowered, I might decide to like her.
Instead, Squeakers took my arm. “Let’s get you back to your room.”
I wrenched my arm away. “I need an apple.”
Squeaky smiled. “I think we can manage that.”
Maybe I could like Squeaky Shoes.
She led me to a basket that held apples. She picked one up and handed it to me.
The apple felt smooth and cool in my hand. I sighed. I loved apples—especially red ones, but this apple wasn’t red. “This apple is wrong,” I said.
“How is that?”
“It’s the wrong color.”
“It’s a Golden Delicious apple. It’s supposed to be that color.”
I definitely did not like Squeaky Shoes. “No. It’s wrong. Crowns are gold. Apples are red. Snow is white. Pretty is good. And I’m not pretty!” An overwhelming feeling of despair wrenched its way out of me. Time was short. I needed to open the box. The key was in an apple, and the apples were wrong.
I held the apple in one hand, squeezing it.
Suddenly, the apple exploded.
Bits of the fruit’s juicy flesh flew everywhere: on the walls, on the counters, on my black stockings, and all over Squeaky Shoes.
She let out a yell.
I stumbled back and fell to the ground, unsure of what had happened.
Michael the Black Bear and Nurse Princess rushed into the dining hall. Michael ran over to Squeaky, and my Pretty Princess hurried straight to me.
I leaned against the wall mumbling, “And mirrors are supposed to talk.” Panic took over. I started to cry. “And boxes are supposed to open.” Panic turned into rage. I only had one moon left. I needed to open the box, but the apples were wrong. And pretty was good. Ugly was bad. “And I’m not pretty!” I roared.
The ceiling lights shook and flickered along with my temper, and the microwave blew a fuse.
Black Bear threw Squeaky Shoes behind him. The Bear always protected the other servants from me. Our eyes locked: his filled with determination and mine with fury. I knew our eyes had locked like this before—outside this building even, but I couldn’t remember when or how. That was why headstrong servants were dangerous.
Nurse Princess placed her hand on my arm. I relaxed at her touch and so did the lights.
Squeaky Shoes watched me from behind the Black Bear, whose gaze remained on me. “The apple in her hand... It just... exploded. Like magic or something. How did she do that?”
“It’s after 2:00, Yolanda,” he said. “She and the preacher always get this way after 2:00.”
“She got angry because the apple wasn’t red.” Squeaky Shoes looked at the ceiling. “I can’t help that.”
The servants were talking around me again. I hated that.
Black Bear kept his eyes on me. “No one is blaming you, Yolanda.”
Nurse Princess smoothed my hair with her hand. “It will be fine, Miss Helena. We’ll get you cleaned up. What happened with the apple?”
“I don’t know. I’m not pretty anymore,” I said. “I used to be the prettiest woman in the world.” I started to sob. “And now I’m ugly.” Hot tears rolled down my cheeks. I looked at Nurse Princess. “You’re the prettiest.”
Nurse Princess helped me stand up. “Which one of you wants to take her back and get her cleaned up?”
Black Bear stepped forward. “I’ll take her.” He stepped closer to Nurse Princess. “She just said you were the prettiest.”
“Yeah. So?”
“You be careful.”
“I’ll
be fine,” said Nurse Princess. “We have a special bond. She’s like my grandmother.”
“Just be careful.” He turned away from her and the twinkle returned to his eyes. He offered me his arm. “My beautiful lady, may I escort you to your chambers?”
I smiled. The handsome servant with the dark hair and eyes called me beautiful. He was so charming, that one, but his arms were hairy. That’s why I called him the Black Bear. I gave him my hand, and he helped me to my walker.
***
That evening I walked from the dining hall back to my chambers. A sea of faces surrounded me: old, withered, ugly faces. The faces were walking wrong. Scuff. Scuff. Scuff. Scuff. Their rhythm was wrong. It needed to be Scuff-scuff. Scuff-scuff.
Where was I? I knew I should know, but it was a bad day. It started off good, but the servants took away my stockings and wouldn’t let me wear my crown.
I sniffed as I approached my chambers. I smelled something. It reminded me of how it smelled when they painted the walls the stupid pink color instead of gray. I hobbled inside my room and saw Black Bear standing next to a man wearing a jumper that was splattered with all different types of colors. The paint smell grew stronger.
The Bear held up a bruised, wet red apple. “We found this inside your toilet tank.”
“Why is the servant with the colorful rags here?” I didn’t like servants entering my chambers unannounced—especially a new servant.
Black Bear motioned for the man in the colored rags to leave. “We were just doing some touch-up work.”
He set the old apple on my dresser and left. I listened for his footsteps to echo down the hall, but I wasn’t sure if I heard them.
I grabbed the apple. It would help me open my box, and I needed to open the box because my time was short, and I only had one more circle, and the moon was getting bigger.
I set the apple and the box on my bed and stared at them both. I knew the apple opened the box, but I couldn’t remember how.
My reminders!
I headed to the bathroom. Scuff-scuff. Scuff-scuff. The smell of paint was even stronger in the bathroom. I turned on the light and looked at the wall by the mirror.
Then I saw what they did.
I backed away from the wall. Fury erupted from the pit of my stomach down to my feet, up to my forehead, and out my hands. I let loose a horrendous, panicked roar. The lights flickered, and sparks flew out of the electrical sockets. My windows shattered. My shower started spraying water. I saw everything with a red outline as my voice echoed across the hall in pure rage.
Black Bear made the man in colorful rags paint over my reminders! Now I would never open the box, and I only had one moon left.
***
I rocked back and forth in my rocking chair. Swish-swish. Swish-swish. The chair had turquoise fabric, but I always thought it should be red. Swish-swish. Swish-swish. Why didn’t the servants know that everything should be red? Swish-swish. Swish-swish. It had been a week and a half since the horrible event that I didn’t want to talk about. My time was short. I had a box that needed opening, and the moon was getting bigger, but all of my reminders were gone. I held the box in my hands as I rocked, feeling its gentle rhythm. I rocked in time with it. Swish-swish. Swish-swish. It relaxed me.
I traced at the box’s carvings with my finger—especially the star on the lid inside the big circle.
The star.
The star must be important. It was in the center of the circle. Apples were important, too. I smiled. I liked apples, but just the red ones. Yellow ones made me angry.
Swish-swish. Swish-swish. Red was pretty. Not turquoise.
Swish-swish. Swish-swish. I needed to open the box, but I didn’t know how.
I stopped rocking. I decided to ask the mirror—even though it was broken. Maybe I could fix it. The moon would be a full circle tomorrow night, and my time was short.
I hobbled into the bathroom. Scuff-scuff. Scuff-scuff.
I turned on the light and stood in front of the mirror, staring at the foul creature in it. That person was not me. The mirror was lying. That’s how I knew it was broken.
“Who am I?” I scowled at the ugly face in the mirror. It scowled back.
The mirror said nothing.
I slapped the wall next to the mirror. “Who am I?” I yelled. Why didn’t the mirror answer?
“Am I pretty?”
The mirror refused to respond.
I hit the mirror with the palm of my hand. It cracked, and something stung my finger. I had cut it on the broken glass.
Out of instinct, I put the finger in my mouth.
The metallic taste of blood covered my tongue. I swallowed.
Suddenly my thoughts became less foggy. Even without the reminders I had lost, I knew I needed something inside the apple to open the box. The apple—or something else—needed to be red. I still wasn’t quite sure about that point. I had to open the box before the sun broke the horizon the morning after a full moon. If I failed, I would die. I still didn’t know what inside the apple would open the box, or why it needed to be red. Tomorrow, I could get an apple. I needed to beware of Michael, who would do anything he could to stop me. I grabbed a marker out of my robe pocket and started writing on the wall.
The next afternoon, I sat in the dining hall watching the others. It had been a good day. I remembered my stockings, and I was wearing my crown. I even remembered that Squeaky Shoes was also called Yolanda.
My Pretty Princess Nurse sat down next to me. “I have something special for you.” She pulled a red apple out of her pocket. “I brought this from home just for you.”
I smiled. I liked apples—especially red ones. Red was right; apples were supposed to be red. Crowns were gold—not apples. And I needed an apple. I had written it all over my arms. “Red is better,” I told her. “It’s prettier. It’s tasty. No one would know that it was poisoned.”
Pretty Princess laughed. “It’s not poisoned. I got it from home.”
“But if it was poisoned, you would eat it. Because red is pretty.”
“Let me show you a trick I learned.” Nurse Princess took a plastic knife out of her pocket. “Did you know that inside an apple, there is a star?”
“A star?” I tried to pay attention. Stars were important. I had a box that wouldn’t open in my chambers with a star on it.
The nurse cut the apple horizontally instead of vertically. She showed me how the seeds in the center of the apple formed a perfect star.
I grew excited. The seeds looked just like the star inside the circle on my box. I knew how to open it! I needed to keep the memory, though, or I would lose it.
Nurse Princess cut the rest of the apple for me and put it on my plate. When she turned away, I took five apple seeds and stored them in my pocket.
***
After dinner, I stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom. Something important was supposed to happen tonight, but I couldn’t remember what. Maybe the mirror could tell me. I stared into it, trying to figure out the words that would wake it up.
“Am I pretty?” I always asked the mirror this question, but it had stopped answering.
Again, the mirror said nothing.
“Am I the prettiest?” Prettiest was the wrong word. I needed to say something else. If I could say the right words, the mirror would talk to me. I huffed. I left the bathroom before I got angry and hit the mirror. Scuff-scuff. Scuff-scuff. The rhythm was important. I walked the same way the box on my bathroom counter vibrated. I looked out the window and gazed at the perfect, round moon. It was the last one: number twelve. I needed to do something, but I always forgot things at night.
I reached in my pocket for a tissue and found five apple seeds. Why did I have apple seeds in my pocket? I hobbled back to the bathroom and set them next to the box. Something about the box was important. The star on the box was important. The
holes on each point of the star were important. I looked at my reminders. I used to have a lot of reminders, but the Black Bear took them all away from me.
Open the box with the apple seeds and something red. I had to admit that it was a bad reminder.
Underneath that, I had written, Red helps you remember. That was a bad reminder, too.
The mirror could help me if I could just get it to talk. I tried saying different words, but the mirror stayed silent. “Just talk to me,” I finally snapped. I glared at the mirror with fury. “Talk to me, mirror!” I slammed my hand on the counter so hard that the box and the seeds bounced. “Mirror on the wall, answer me!” I started sobbing. “I just want to know how to open the box.”
Through my tears, I noticed the mirror start to pulse. Aqua-colored light filled the bathroom. My ugly face faded into the background and became transparent. A new, beautiful face appeared in front of it. She was a woman with raven black hair, supple lips, and a perfect nose. Her high cheekbones framed her large green eyes.
I smiled.
She smiled back, with all of her perfect, white teeth.
This face I knew. This was the face I used to see every day when I looked in the mirror.
A deep male voice echoed in my bathroom. “Blood will help you remember.”
I needed blood. I noticed the crack in the mirror, and I slid my finger down it. It stung but I didn’t care. The blood trickled down my finger to my palm.
Something similar to this happened last night, but I couldn’t remember. “What do I do?” I asked aloud.
“Taste it,” the mirror said.
I put my finger to my lips. The moment the blood touched my tongue, I remembered how to open the box. I picked up the apple seeds and placed each one in a hole in each star’s tip. I needed something red to help open it. That’s when I noticed the blood running down my finger. I squeezed a drop of blood into each hole.
Something inside the box clicked.
I opened the lid and finally discovered why the box vibrated.
The Big Bad II Page 36