High-Heeled Princess

A soft, red petal gently kissed Mesa’s front door and floated in through his mother’s kitchen window like a love bird searching the lands for a new suitor. The warm breeze delivered the delicate parcel to the table just before Mesa could take a bite of his Frosted O’s.

“Mama, look what the wind blew in!” Mesa said with a dash of exhilaration. “What is it?”

Lola removed the scrambled eggs from the hot stove and brushed them on an empty plate. She turned her attention to Mesa, who was wearing his Ninja Turtles pajamas, and smiled. His black hair was frizzled, and a bright smile was plastered on his youthful face.

“Papi, your eggs are ready!” Lola yelled.

She sat down and studied the petal. It had a velvety texture, and the color was bright and vivid. “I know what this is,” she said. “It’s a petal from a red tulip. I need to explain quickly because I’m afraid of being overheard by your Papi.”

“I understand,” Mesa replied. “I know how he gets, but a red tulip? How did it get in—”

“Good morning, my wonderful family!” Papi said, storming into the kitchen. His thick, white mustache was curled upward, matching his goofy grin, and his white hair was full of pep. He saw his daughter, Lola, holding the red petal and gushed, “Oh! You found a love petal, huh?” He sniffed the air and finished, “Ah…I can smell the passion in the air already!”

Lola stood and said, “That’s not the smell of love in the air, you silly old man. That’s your scrambled eggs getting cold!”

Papi patted Lola’s right cheek and beamed, “So full of vigor! I’m so glad I moved in with my two beauties last year! What would you ever do without me?”

Lola raised her left eyebrow and pursed her lips. “I could think of a million reasons—”

“What’s a love petal, Papi?” Mesa cut in. 

Papi sat down next to his thirteen-year-old grandson and widened his gray eyes. “A love petal is a precious gift from fate. You see…it is said that whoever finds a love petal is destined to meet their soulmate!”

“Really?!”

“Yes. It’s how I met your late Grandmother…God rest her soul…”

“Now Papi,” Lola said, “You met Mami at the market when you two worked together all those years ago. Leave your fairytales for bedtime.”

“That is true,” Papi said, holding the red petal in the light. “But I found a red petal exactly like this one before I laid eyes on her, and we lived a life of a thousand lovers! Now, tell me…who found the petal?”

“I did,” Mesa said, mashing his lips.

“Oh, that’s grand!” Papi replied. “You see, love is upon you. Why…I bet if you looked out the window right now, you might see your future wife!”

“Now Papi, that’s too much,” Lola scowled. “Mesa is too young for love.”

Papi stabbed one of his eggs and shoved it into his mouth. He knew his daughter didn’t approve of such things. Ever since the devastating loss of Mami, Lola had lost her imagination. He chewed heavily.

Mesa ran to the window and peered out. The sun was shining on the cobblestone road and the maroon shingles on every roof shined like a glistening ruby.

“Ah, what do you see, my boy?” Papi asked.

“Nothing,” Mesa said. “There’s no one out there.”

“You see,” Lola cut in. “There’s no such thing as fairytales. Now, come away from that window. You’re going to be late for school.”

“Okay,” Mesa sighed.

He turned to the window for one last look and saw a young lady wearing a blue dress with matching high heels. Her black hair and hazel eyes gleamed like a golden coin that some foolish pirate had lost. As she crossed the road, she unexpectedly spun around, and her dress twirled like a tulip dancing in the wind. She must have been a grand princess to move so elegantly.

“Woe…” Mesa bellowed. He turned to Papi, and his eyes were like moonbeams.

Papi gave his grandson a playful wink while Lola turned to do the morning dishes. “The secret to a woman’s heart is flowers,” he whispered. “You must win her affection with a beautiful bouquet of nature’s beauty.”

“Flowers?”

“No,” Lola said. “That’s right, I hear you two whispering. If there was a girl out there, and I highly doubt there was, it doesn’t mean anything. And if you really want to win a girl’s heart, Mesa, all you need to do is be yourself. There is no substitute for genuine realness.”

Papi shook his head and mouthed, “Flowers.”

With that sound advice, Mesa ran to his bedroom and got dressed for school. Nothing fancy, just his blue jeans, black shirt, and white sneakers. He grabbed his green bookbag and dashed out the door. Along the way, he saw the high-heeled princess again. She was prancing through the open fruit market, squeezing melons with a grace he had never seen before.

He saw a patch of yellow daffodils on Mrs. Banks’ front porch and plucked them. She wouldn’t miss them. In a world full of various flowers, she probably wouldn’t even notice they were gone. 

With the golden surprise in his hands, Mesa ran towards the high-heeled princess. When she twirled from the apple stand to the peaches, her mesmerizing light blinded Mesa, and he fell face first. The flowers were crushed. “Oh, man…love is painful!” he said.

Luckily, the beautiful princess didn’t see a thing, so Mesa went to school with a heavy heart and got through the day like a true champion. His thoughts never strayed from the high-heeled tulip dancing in the wind without a care in the world.

The following day, Mesa woke up with a smile on his face. He got dressed, finished his breakfast, and gave Lola a kiss on the cheek. When Papi came out, Mesa said in a low, mumbling voice, “The flowers didn’t work. Any more ideas?” 

Papi leaned down and said, “Chocolate. All girls love a box of chocolate. It’s a sweet way to their hearts.”

Lola smiled and watched her son storm out the door.

Mesa ran to the local bakery and bought a small box of chocolate squares with his allowance money. Then, he ran to the market. Once again, he saw the high-heeled princess wearing a red dress with matching heels. Her smile was like a million diamonds shining in a dark cave.

When she twirled to the strawberries, he opened the box of chocolates and walked towards her. Suddenly, a tall, robust man bumped into Mesa, and the chocolates met his face with reckless abandon. After wiping his eyes with his handkerchief, the high-heeled princess was gone.

The following morning, Mesa hugged Papi and said, “The chocolates didn’t work either.”

“That’s okay, my boy,” Papi said. “This next tip will surely win you that prize.”

“I hope so…”

“I know so!” Papi boomed. “Listen carefully…you must sing your way to her heart. No decent girl can resist a love ballad so strongly sung.”

“Really?!”

“Yes, yes…now go, and you’ll see!”

Mesa wasn’t sure about Papi’s advice. He knew a few good tunes but never sang a lick in his life. As he walked towards the market, he saw a beautiful angel wearing a purple dress with matching high heels buying a bundle of green grapes. The smile on her face said a million words at once.

Off to the side, Mesa saw a water fountain and drank deeply. He thought that if his throat was nice and moist, he could hit the high notes without a problem. He steeled his nerves, puckered his lips, and whistled. He wanted to set the vibe before the words came. Out of nowhere, a group of seagulls flew in from the nearby beach and flopped him. Mesa stumbled backward and bruised his backside. After flailing his arms to scare the birds away, the princess was gone…again.

Mesa strolled into the kitchen, rubbing his backside, and said, “Papi, that didn’t work either. I don’t know what to do anymore…”

Papi took a deep breath and replied, “Well, here’s what you do, my boy—”

“That’s enough of that,” Lola snapped. She placed her hand on Mesa’s shoulder and said, “I think we all appreciate Papi’s advice, but sometimes the simple approach works best.”

“What do you mean?” Mesa asked.

Lola smiled warmly and said, “You shouldn’t try to win this girl’s affection by doing fanciful things. Just go talk to her and be yourself. A woman wants to see your soul, not the fancy things you bring her.”

Mesa’s eyes grew ten times larger. “Thanks, Mom!” 

Before another word could be spoken, Mesa ran out the door. Lola looked at Papi’s shocked face and gave him a wink. 

Mesa ran towards the market and searched everywhere for the high-heeled princess, but he couldn't find her. He looked around every fruit stand, every vegetable hatch, and every poultry stash, but she was nowhere to be found. He looked to the sky and saw black clouds raging in, and the rain wasn’t far behind.

“How fitting,” he said to himself. “At least no one can see my tears.”

As the rain hammered down, everyone ran for cover, and Mesa decided to go to school. When he turned, he saw the high-heeled princess holding a plastic bag full of books. She was wearing a white dress with matching heels. He expected nothing less from her at this point. She was perfection personified.

“I just love the rain, don’t you?” she said.

No words came. Mesa was frozen like an ice statue.

“Oh, I’m sorry…my name is Althea!”

At that moment, a slow, jazzy song from the seventies rumbled from the music store across the street, and everything other than the raindrops went silent.

“Um…my name is Mesa. It’s nice to meet you.”

Althea smiled.

Mesa held his hand out and asked, “Would you like to dance?”

The rain turned into a deluge, and as Althea accepted Mesa’s hand, she said, “I would love to dance with you in the rain.”