by Lia Kane
“Alright,” I said with a little laugh. “And the third?”
Haley tugged at my arm.
“Okay Haley, tell me.”
“We clap for every story at the end,” she said.
“I think I can live with those rules,” I said.
“You go first, Miss Jerrika!” Haley begged me.
“You want me to go first?”
“YEAH!” The kids shouted.
“Alright,” I said. “What kinds of stories do you guys like to hear?”
“Dragon stories!” Jermaine and Jervonne shouted.
“No!” Haley disagreed. “Princess stories!” She gave my hand a not-so-gentle squeeze.
“How about this? I’ll tell a story with a princess and a dragon in it. Will that work?”
“Yeah!” The children cried out.
I thought for a minute, digging deep into my imagination to conjure up an original story involving a dragon and a princess. My mind was blank.
“Come on, Miss Jerrika!” Haley urged me.
I was no good at telling stories. I opened my mouth, anxious to see what the hell was going to come out. “So… this story starts with a princess. I need some help with her name. What should the princess be named?”
Haley’s hand shot up.
“Yes Haley?”
“I want her name to be Miss Jerrika.”
“Miss Jerrika? But that’s my name!”
“I like your name,” Haley insisted.
“Any other ideas?”
The twins shrugged. Jonathan raised his hand. “Just call the princess Jerrika. Drop the Miss.”
“Alright. Princess Jerrika it is. Hey… I kind of like the sound of that.” I laughed and the children giggled along with me. “Once upon a time, in the kingdom of… um… White Cloud, there lived a young princess named Jerrika.”
Jermaine’s hand shot up. “White Cloud is toilet paper,” he said. The other children laughed.
Sarah shook her finger at him. “Remember rule number two,” she warned him.
“Sorry,” said Jermine. “Was she a good princess or a bad princess?”
“A good princess,” I said.
“Aw, man!” He pouted.
“What’s wrong?”
“If the princess is good, that means the dragon has to be the bad guy, right? I don’t want the dragon to be bad.”
“The dragon won’t be bad,” I promised. “And who knows? The princess might not always be good. Nobody is perfect, you know. Not even princesses.”
Haley hugged my arm tightly. “But Princess Jerrika is mostly good,” she insisted.
“Alright young men and young lady,” Sarah scolded. “Let’s remember the rules – we need to raise our hands before speaking. Actually, let’s hold some of those questions and suggestions for a while. If we stop Miss Jerrika every time she opens her mouth, she’ll never be able to finish telling her story.”
I winked at Sarah. “Okay. So… Princess Jerrika, who was a mostly good princess, decided that she wanted to go on an adventure. She packed her bags and took along her best princess friend, princess…” I stopped, completely at a creative loss. The kids all wanted to offer suggestions for a name, I could tell, but they squirmed and cupped their hands over their mouths in self-restraint. “Whitney,” I finally blurted out. “Her best friend’s name was Princess Whitney. Who was, of course, a good princess too. Mostly good, although she could be a little bratty and bossy sometimes.” I paused while the children were seized with giggles. “In spite of that, she was still a very good friend to Princess Jerrika.”
Haley could contain herself no more. Her hand flew up. “I’m sorry Miss Jerrika but I just have to ask; what did Princess Jerrika and Princess Whitney look like?”
“Princess Jerrika was purple with pink hair,” I told her. “And Princess Whitney was green, and she had blue pigtails, and a very, VERY big head.”
The children laughed. Even baby Molly giggled.
“So getting back to our story, Princess Jerrika and Princess Whitney went away to the kingdom of… uh… Cartwheel.”
“I love doing cartwheels!” Haley sighed.
I continued storytelling. “When they arrived, Princess Whitney met a handsome stranger. He invited her to a ball. So she ran to Princess Jerrika and said, ‘Hurry, hurry, we have to get dressed and ready to go to the ball!’ They put on beautiful gowns, and they wore their princess crowns, and they walked so fast to the ball the Princess Jerrika’s legs hurt!”
More laughter from my audience.
“Then they got to the ball,” I continued. “And there were lots of people there. Princess Whitney introduced Jerrika to the handsome stranger who had invited her. As it turned out, that handsome stranger was a wizard. A bad wizard, who used magic to do bad things. And when he met Princess Jerrika, he tricked her into leaving the ball, and going away into the woods, where it was dark. Then the wizard put a spell on her. He turned her into… guess what he turned her into?”
The twins’ hands flew up in the air.
“Jermaine and Jervonne?”
“A DRAGON!” They shouted in unison.
“That’s right. That bad wizard cast a spell on her. And at first, the magic spell was so evil and so bad that it almost made her die. But Princess Whitney found her and took care of her, even though she had changed into a dragon.”
Haley raised her hand. “A good dragon?”
“Of course she was a good dragon. She was still the same Jerrika on the inside. Nothing else about her had changed. But, she had to break the news to her parents, the king and queen of White Cloud. So she and Princess Whitney journeyed back home and when they got there, Princess Jerrika revealed herself to her parents. When they found out that their daughter had turned into a dragon, they cried. They were very, very afraid of dragons.”
Jervonne raised his hand. “Why were they afraid? They knew she was still their daughter, didn’t they?”
“Of course they knew. But dragons can be frightening to people who don’t understand them. They’re big and scary-looking. And they breathe fire. Fire is scary! Back then, in that kingdom, everyone was afraid of dragons.”
“Well that’s just stupid,” said Jermaine.
“Rules,” Sarah reminded him. “Be respectful.”
“Oh, sorry,” he said, raising his hand after the fact. “I don’t mean your story is stupid. I mean the parents were stupid.”
“Yes they were,” I agreed. “So at the castle of the king and queen, there was a lot of fighting and shouting and crying between the king and queen and Princess Jerrika. They told her that they were very disappointed and hurt that she had become a dragon. They didn’t understand that she hadn’t had a choice. When she tried to explain what had happened, they wouldn’t listen. And later that night, the king was so upset over his daughter becoming a dragon that he got really sick. His heart stopped working.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sarah’s hand fly up to her mouth, covering an expression of shock.
And for a moment, I flashed back to that night.
I was standing on the front porch of the house where I grew up, holding the door for the paramedics. They wheeled a gurney into the house, stomping across the floor in heavy black military boots.
Stay out of the way, just stay out of the way, my mother had told me. You’ve done enough already. Don’t make it any worse.
I remember the color blue. No matter where I looked, I saw blue, blue and more blue. The medics in blue uniforms dumped their equipment from blue duffel bags onto the floor as they squatted next to my father, who stared emptily out of half-closed eyes. His face was blue.
They shouted at each other while they stuck the leads to his chest, tilted his head back and poked a tube down his throat. Blue-gloved hands were pressing on his chest, pressing on the bag that delivered air to his lungs, then pressing the button that shocked his body and made his arms and legs lift off the floor. Then blue hands were pressing his chest again; blue hands bagging ai
r into his lungs. The cycle repeated for what they said was eight minutes, but felt more like eight torturous hours.
And then there was no more blue.
Only black.
Two days later, the sky opened up and poured rain from the swollen bellies of angry, black clouds. My father’s graveside was lined with men in black suits, women in black dresses. And when I looked into my mother’s tear stained eyes, all that was left was darkness.
Black.
You did this to him, she told me. You killed your father with your news, and now that virus is going to kill you. Doesn’t matter, you are dead to me already.
“What happened next?” Jonathan finally broke the awkward silence.
“Well, next,” I said, pausing to clear my throat to chase away the knot that had formed, “the king died of a broken heart. And the queen told Princess Jerrika that she couldn’t be her princess daughter anymore. So Jerrika the dragon crawled away, back to the Kingdom of Cartwheel, where she waited for another seven long years.”
Haley tugged my sleeve. “Did her mommy forgive her?” she asked. “Even though it wasn’t really her fault that her daddy died?”
“Not yet… I mean, no, her mother didn’t forgive her. They didn’t speak to each other anymore after that,” I said. “Jerrika the dragon was very lonely all those years, but then something wonderful happened. She found out that there was a big family of dragons back in her home kingdom of White Cloud. They wrote her a letter and invited her to come and join them. And you know what happened next?”
“What?” the kids asked in unison.
“Jerrika the dragon was so happy, she snorted fire out of her nose, all over the place! There was so much fire that it lit up the sky like fireworks.”
The children laughed.
“She packed her bags and she came back to the kingdom of White Cloud. And when she walked into the dragon’s castle, she was so excited to see that there were all kinds of dragons there, just like her. There were a couple of grownup dragons, and some baby dragons too. And some of them were little dragons that went to school during the day. Those were the ones that Jerrika had the most fun with. One of the dragons even drew a beautiful picture of Jerrika and gave it to her as a present when she moved in.”
Haley squeezed my hand.
“And that picture was so special, it was like magic; almost like it broke the spell that the wizard had cast. You see, the queen had made Jerrika feel like she was so scary and ugly and horrible that she believed for years and years that no one would ever love her again. But when she looked at that picture of herself, she realized something. She saw that she was beautiful in the eyes of other dragons. And that’s when she knew that these wonderful little dragons and their grownup dragon friends were her new family, and that they would love her just the way she was.”
Sarah still had her hand cupped over her mouth. Claudia was sniffling and dabbing her fingers at the corners of their eyes. I suspected at that point that even the kids knew that my story wasn’t quite fiction; not by a long shot.
“And Jerrika the dragon lived happily ever after,” I said. “The end.”
The mandated round of applause followed.
“I have just one question,” said Haley, raising her hand politely even though my storytelling time was over. “What about Princess Whitney? Did she and Jerrika the dragon still stay friends?”
“Of course they did,” I assured her. “They’re best friends. Nothing can change that.” I felt a pang of guilt.
“Good,” she said. “But I want you to change one thing at the end.”
“What’s that?”
“All of the dragons in the new family should make Jerrika a princess again. She can be Princess Jerrika Dragon. Then she really would live happily ever after.”
“Alright. If that’s what you think should happen, then that’s how the story will end.”
Haley hugged me. “That’s exactly how the story should end.”
• • •
When story night drew to a close, I retreated to my room and crashed on the bed. Exhausted wasn’t a strong enough word to describe how I felt.
I checked my phone again to see if Whitney had called. She hadn’t, but a second message from Victor had arrived.
Good afternoon. Sorry we didn’t get the chance to connect today. I want to invite you to an exhibit tomorrow night, 8 pm at the Arts Center downtown. It’s a black tie and evening gown formal. I have a guest ticket and would be honored if you could join me. Hope to hear from you soon.
I checked the timestamp on the message. It had arrived just seven minutes prior, so I quickly texted Victor back, hoping he’d still be available on the other end.
Sure, I texted back.
He replied almost immediately.
: )
I sat up in bed and stared down at his smiley face message, wondering what it meant. Was he asking me out on a date, I wondered? Or was he simply bringing me along to help me meet and mingle with Blue Sky locals, to ease my integration back into the town?
The even bigger question on my mind was what in the world was I supposed to wear? I didn’t have a formal gown hanging in my closet. I hadn’t needed one since my high school prom. This was an emergency situation, one that only my best friend could fix. My best friend, whom I had insulted and stormed out on earlier in the day. Even if I called right at that moment to say that I was, sorry, I imagined that things would still be too raw between us for me to ask for any kind of fashion assistance.
Fantastic.
And that smiley face… that stupid smiley face that Victor had texted me! What was that supposed to mean? Was it flirtation? Was Victor just being friendly? Or did all small-town politicians text like teenage girls? What should I expect next? Something like CU 2morrow, BFFs 4EVA, LOL!
My phone buzzed again, alerting me that a new text from Victor arrived. I hoped this one would help shed some light.
I enjoyed spending time with you the other night. I’m looking forward to seeing you again tomorrow evening. Sweet dreams, Jerrika.
Victor’s intentions were still clear as mud, but I was ready to claim the sweet dreams that he had wished for me. I kicked off my shoes, threw my phone back in my purse and fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow.
• • •
That night, I dreamed of dragons and princesses.
Of babies and ball gowns.
Of handsome small-town mayors and sensitive, sweet doctors.
Of fathers who didn’t die. Mothers who didn’t stop loving their children.
And then I dreamed I was hungry. Starving. I dreamed that my teeth had turned into fangs and I was biting people. I couldn’t see their faces, and I didn’t know who they were, but I was killing them. Draining their blood. An angry mob had gathered around me, and people were shouting VAMPIRE! VAMPIRE!
VAMPIRE!
With a full-body jolt, I woke up from the horrible dream to find it was still dark outside. A glance at my clock told me I had only been asleep for about an hour.
And I had one of the worst headaches I’d ever felt in my life. It started at the top of my skull, radiated down through my nose and sinuses, filling my mouth and jaw. I lay still for several minutes and the headache finally lifted from my head, nose and sinuses. But my mouth was still hurting. I reached up and poked a finger inside, half expecting to find the fangs I’d had in my nightmare.
When I realized that all was normal, I relaxed back onto my pillow and fell asleep again.
Chapter Ten
I WOKE UP the next morning to a knock on the door. I was thankful I had remembered to lock it.
“Jerrika?” Sarah’s voice called from the other side. “You awake in there?”
The clock on my nightstand informed me that it was 7:20. “Yes, I’m up!” I called out to her.
“You’ve got a phone call in your office,” she said. “It’s Agnes. Can you take it now?”
I shot out of bed. “Yes, Sarah, I’ll be there in just a second!�
�� It hit me just then that I had double booked myself for the morning. Dr. Miles was expecting me for an eight o’clock appointment, and Agnes was supposed to be giving me an orientation to my job.
My job.
I laughed as I pulled on my bathrobe and slippers and scrambled like a mad woman across the hall. This was my third official day at work, and I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing. It seemed like Sarah, Claudia and Lucy had everything under control at the orphanage. Other than botching a presentation at the high school in my ‘liaison’ role, carrying Shannon to a doctor’s appointment, and joining the kids for story time, I felt like I was in the way; a disruption in the normal order of things. Maybe that was how everyone felt in the first few days at a new job.
“Good morning Agnes,” I said into the phone.
“Good morning dear, how is everything going so far?”
“So far, so good.” I tried to sound perky and positive.
“Fantastic,” said Agnes. “I believe when we spoke earlier in the week, we discussed covering your job orientation today?”
“That’s right.”
“I hope you can do me a blessing and reschedule. As it turns out, I’ve been roped into helping out with an event at the Arts Center this evening. All hands are needed on deck for setup this morning.”
“No worries, Agnes. I’d be happy to reschedule.” I was elated, but tried not to sound like it over the phone. I was dreading the idea of calling Dr. Miles to reschedule my appointment after he had been so kind to me. Thanks to Agnes, I wouldn’t have to.
“Oh thank you. You know, Jerrika, retirement is a myth. I had this silly notion that I could leave work behind and enjoy my golden years. Not so much. You volunteer for one thing and then you get roped into doing more, and it’s a vicious cycle. Never ends.”
“Well, it must be rewarding if you keep at it,” I said with a laugh. Agnes was flaky, but she was growing on me.