The Escape

I watched the rain fall. It's what they do; fall. Perhaps it's the cloud’s tears. Perhaps the droplets do it for exhilaration. Perhaps I am being ridiculous. Of course, there is a logical elucidation, but I like to believe that they do it for euphoria. Abandoning their parachutes and taking a flight. Of course, it won’t do the droplets any good when they hit the ground, but they do feel elation before quietus. But for me? It feels as if a giant had stuck a Brobdingnagian straw in my veins when I passed teenage age and drank all the playfulness from them. I had always desired to be mature when I was a teen, but I regret the inane wish now.

Royalty isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

Behind the caliginous curtain of precipitation, I distinguish airplanes and witches on umbrella-acquired brooms enjoying the company of the sky. Skyscrapers rise up and down, victims of brutal competitions for wealth while most of us stand as uninterested bystanders. The King’s and Queen’s resided in a stupendous castle in the East. (The King and Queen? Lame. I have a dissimilar name for them. Mom and Dad). The skyline is pulchritudinous.

I force my eyes to move away from the window and recommence typing a composition about how to approach ugly metal cans that are littered in the Pacific Ocean.

“MOMMY!” a four-year-old girl yelled as she rushed into my off-limits office (at this rate, she is never going to understand what off-limits mean).

“This better be good, Rayma. I’m working.”

“But you’re the princess. Aren’t the minister generals and maids supposed to do that for you so you can relax and be all fat and lazy?” Ramya asks. 

I must be reading her too many bedtime fairytales.

I affirm, “No. That was in the past. The world has changed.” The fact that I had married a farmer instead of a prince also had something to do with it.

She chews her poor stuffed animal’s ear like it tastes the best thing in the world. “Ooooh-kay. Can you play with me now?”

“Later.”

What I didn’t know back then was that I would never play with her later.

…

Dear Kellaty,

It is of tremendous significance that I must solicit you for a favor. Me and my daughter cannot reside in this world anymore. My progenitors are reaping memorandums that the rebellion will continue if we haven’t departed. I do not wish to cause my progenitors suffering because of me. It is not unassailable for us her too. I had recently discovered three of my windows shattered due to a rock assault. It is only the beginning. It will get worse. You know just as well as I do that the citizens loath me because I married a farmer. His death did not soothe the fury. Me and Rayma must flee to a different world. Please aid us during our predicament.

Sincerely,

You Know Who I Am.

…

I had anticipated that the witch’s pied-à-terre to be freighted with cauldrons, persecuted detainees, and exanimate critters, but the abode was pretty civilized. A dun bureau adorned with vials rested near the tapestry and a chalkboard was covered in an insane-looking math equation, which made me think that Kellaty was a mad scientist instead of a wicked witch.

Kellaty jumped out of their nearby shadow, almost giving me a heart attack. She grinned at me as if cookies were on the way. She gestured to the sofa. “You must’ve traveled for an interminable span. Sit down, it’ll be good for you.”

Yeah, well, mushrooms are good for you, but they still make me want to puke, I contemplate as I take a seat.

Kellaty says, “I read your letter, princess. I agree.”

My jaw drops. I hadn’t expected her cooperation. I was even prepared to beat her with a fork for liaison. (I know, I know, that sounds ludicrous, but don’t tell me that your mind has never developed absurd ideas when you are stressed out).

Kellaty titters. “Oh don’t look so dumbstruck. I will help you, but not without a price.”

I frown. “I asked for a favor.”

“You’re nuts,” Kellaty decided. “I don’t do boons. Everything comes with either a consequence or a cost. Besides, nobody can consummate your desires except me. Unless I’m a serial killer or something, you’re stuck with me.”

I sigh. “Fine. What do you want?”

“Nothing too crazy.”

Kellaty pointed to my emerald pendant around my neck which I thought was well-concealed.

A demon consumes my heart. “Goodness gracious, Kellaty! This is way too crazy.”

The witch shrugs. “What you are asking is one-hundred percent bonkers, so why can’t my price be one-hundred percent bonkers too?”

I finger my emerald pendant. It’s more valuable to me than anything else. Accurately, it’s the most valuable thing anyone could possess. I could have bought everything in this world with it if I had desired. I couldn’t give this up. Then I visualized my parent’s distressed faces, and my three disintegrated casements, and my daughter as she laughed.

“Okay.”

“Princesses are wise like that, handing over the most valuable thing in the world to a wicked witch for their selfish motives,” the witch says sarcastically. “Go fetch your daughter and come here tomorrow. I will infuse the constituents and prepare the potion. Would you like octopus tentacles as a side?”

I retch. “Maybe next time.”

I could trust her to keep her word as far as I could through a ponderous hippo, but I had no choice.

…

I woke up to see a mesmerizing sunset the next day. As if an artist had accidentally splattered scarlet, amber, and indigo paint on an eager canvas, thought oops, and walked away. The sunset was imperfect. But then again, some of the most beautiful things in the cosmos are imperfect.

I dolefully stare at my bedroom. I never adored my house since my husband had expired here, but I didn’t want to ditch it either. Especially since I wasn’t going to bring anything to the other world with me and Ramya. Oh. Ramya. How the heck was I going to tell her? You can’t just walk up to a little kid and say, “Eat all of you food, sweetie. Oh, and by the way, a witch who wanted to feed me octopus tentacles is going to teleport us to a different world, which could be filled with moldy mushrooms and killer monkeys for all I know. Isn’t that just wonderful?”

But somehow, I spilled the beans to Rayma. About how and why we had to depart. When I terminated, Ramya was taciturn for a moment. My mind was just about to shove me off a cliff and into a futile sea of guilt. She shouldn’t be going through this. I suppose Ramya would’ve protested if she was older, but she is young. 

Ramya finally whispered, “You’ll play with me in the other world, right?”

I bite my lip to restrict myself from sobbing. Hysterically crying in front of your four-year-old kid is not something you want to do. “Of course.”

I take her hand. “Let’s go.”

…

I had anticipated that Ramya would be frightened of Kellaty when she distinguished Kellaty’s sable robes and titfer. But all Ramya did was giggle and proclaim, “The witch looks weird.” I suppress convulsions when Kellaty looks raged enough to dump toad eyeballs on Ramya’s head.

Kellaty glares at me. “What a sweet, adorable brat you have.”

I roll my eyes, which is not what princesses do, but it’s my Lilliputian way to rebel from all the rubbish things princesses accomplish. 

“Moving on, do you know what alternate worlds are, princess?” Kellaty interrogated. 

“Uhh…”

“Of course you don’t! An alternative world is similar to our world but very different in its way too. A change occurs in one of the worlds that sets each other apart. So, basically-”

“That sounds like something a scientist would know, not a witch,” I interrupt.

“Humans underestimate witches’ erudition. I am disappointed in you, princess. You decided to not follow the shallow royal ways, but you aren’t ready to accept that witches are so much more than what you believe. That witches aren’t completely evil.” 

“Don’t play the blame game,” I say. “You always call me ‘princess’. I am so much more than just a princess. I have a name too, you know. It’s Zayla.”

“Very well, Zayla.” 

Kellaty hands me and Ramya a vial brimming with a revolting solution. “See? Witches are the ideal fairy godmothers.”

Yeah, right.

“Ew.” Ramya gags, looking half inquisitive, half ready to puke.

“Ew is right. Should I be wondering why it smells like rotten eggs married to sweaty gym socks?”

“No, you should not.”

I narrow my eyes. “How do I know this isn’t poison?”

Kellaty murmurs, “Why didn’t I think of that? Trust me, princess, that’s not poison.”

I dubiously stare at her.

“Bet you’re wishing the liar’s pants really do catch on fire. I may be egocentric, acquisitive, and gorgeous, but I ain’t a liar. Boom. End of the discussion. Now, gimme the pendant, Zayla.”

She didn’t have a welcome mat at her front door. I guess she isn’t a liar. I shake egregiously enough that you would determine that I had come out of the refrigerator for some giant’s snack as I cede the pendant to her.

“What are you going to do with it?” 

“Save the witch race from defunct. My people are dying. The more witchcraft we execute, it tears down our essence and fatigues us. With this emerald pendant, I can slow down our extinction.”

Oh. Talk about unexpected situations. 

“If witchcraft puts you in a pickle, just don’t do it.”

“Been there. Done that. Miserably failed. I just wish I got the T-shirt, though. Things aren’t as straightforward as you think they are. There are humans and their perspectives of looking at witches. Knights hunt us down and they think they are helping, but they aren’t. The witches use witchcraft to defend themselves. Somebody gets hurt…..That gives witches a horrible rep, you know? It’s a hot mess. More like a spicy disaster, actually.”

I open and close my mouth like a fish out of water. I reach for my thatch to pull out a hairpin. I offer it to the witch.

Kellaty gaped at the hairpin. “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”

“Mom gave this to me on my birthday. If you scrutinize it, it has unprecedented carvings on it. Show this to the guards and they will let you speak to the King and Queen. You can elucidate the predicament. I guess this can be your backup plan if the sitch gets too demoralized.”

Kellaty gingerly accepts the barrette and smiles. I have an inkling that it is a genuine smile. “Thank you. You better depart now.”

 I turn to Rayma and twinkle at her in an enforced cheerfulness that I used to despise as a child. I ask if she is ready and Rayma nods. Life is an everlasting roller coaster and I think I’m gonna throw up. We lift the vial to our lips and guzzle down the liquid. The last thing I hear is, “Too-do-loo,” before the inky darkness devours me.

…

It has been four years since leaving my homeland. No fretting about dragons endeavoring to roast you for dinner or crazed madmen swinging their swords while singing preschool songs. Though I miss my progenitors, my erstwhile domicile, and my fairy compadres. Everything comes with either a consequence or a cost.

I had incessantly desired to go hiking, treasure hunting, and on a picnic with Ramya. But I had never been able to accomplish it while populating my motherland. I could contemplate about all that I had missed by the skin of my teeth. Me and Ramya seize each week to get a look-in on going on sprees. Like today. I am chauffeuring us back to our chateau after seeing pantomime.

“Did you like pantomime?”

“Yeah!”

“So, what happened in your school today?” Typical mom question, I know.

“The usual. It was fun, except for math. Math is weird. I mean, it’s the only place where people buy eighty-two dogs and nobody wonders why.” I laugh. Ramya continues, “Math is also super lazy. It’s been around for so long, but it never grows up and solves its problems. I’m sick and tired of doing it for math.”

“I love you, Ramya.” 

“I love you too.”

Over the last few years, I had come to comprehend something salient. As much as the emerald pendant was revered by me, it’s not more valuable to me than Ramya.