Stella's New Old Gift

Stella’s New Old Gift 

It was Stella’s 35th Christmas Eve on this planet. It hadn’t been a great year for her. Her extreme social awkwardness had gotten worse, there was her ugly breakup, followed by the depression, which was followed by the relapse of drug abuse. On the bright side, she didn’t need to worry about her job getting in the way of her holiday fun. She’d been let go from her first grade teaching gig because of the failed drug test, but that was a couple of weeks ago, and she’d been sober for the last 9 days. So things were looking up! 

She hadn’t bothered to put up a Christmas tree this year. She couldn’t afford to buy gifts for anyone, and it was unlikely anyone was going to bring her anything. She had pissed off all of her family and friends over the last six months with her erratic behavior.  

Stella figured it would be a pretty quiet holiday. She’d watch a movie, eat a bunch of baked goods, and the highlight would be spending some time online commiserating with her social media “friends.” As she opened her messaging app, she noticed a friend request from someone named Frida Bergman. She had a few Bergmans in her life, since it was her mother’s maiden name, but she didn’t know of anyone named Frida. 

She thought, “why not?” and accepted the request. 

An immediate response came from Frida’s account thanking her for accepting. After a bit of chatting, Frida explained that she was Uncle Leroy’s illegitimate daughter with a woman from Stockholm, Sweden.  Stella was a bit skeptical at first, but the details of her story all seemed to make sense. It was one of those big family secrets, to go on top of all the other big family secrets. 

Stella was shocked to learn that Frida was actually in town to visit Uncle Leroy’s grave for the first time. She wanted to meet with Stella tonight. It seemed pretty strange to have a long lost cousin from Sweden suddenly pop into her life and then urgently want to meet up with her. Her temptation was to make up some excuse and tell this woman that she couldn’t meet with her tonight, but there was something about the situation that made Stella curious. Frida would be at her door in 20 minutes. 

Eighteen minutes later, Stella’s doorbell rang. When she opened the door, she was taken aback by Frida’s attractiveness. Not that she was stunningly gorgeous, but her look was so unique. Stella had never seen anyone with such interesting features. Yet, she could see the striking family resemblance. They had similar eye shapes, but Stella’s eyes were blue, while Frida’s eyes were the color of polished gold. The two women obviously shared the same genetics from the shape of their slightly pointed ears and their high cheekbones. These shared characteristics were very comforting to Stella, and she was never comfortable meeting new people. 

Frida stepped in through the doorway and pleasantly said, “Cousin! It’s so good to finally meet you in person.”  Her voice sounded clear like a mountain stream tumbling over stones. Her thick Swedish accent sounded like something from a fairy tale. She hugged Stella with what may have been the most meaningful hug of her life. 

Stella said, “It’s good to meet you! Come in, I’m making some tea. Would you like some?”

“Oh yes, that sounds lovely!”

Stella was  mesmerized by Frida’s appearance. She seemed so familiar, and yet so foreign to her. There was something almost magical about her, and she gave Stella a feeling of comfort that she had not known from any person she’d ever met.

They spent the next the next 30 minutes pleasantly drinking their tea and getting to know each other.  Suddenly, Frida’s tone turned more serious, “You don’t fit in with this world, do you? There is an emptiness within your heart that you just can’t seem to fill no matter what you do. You feel magic everywhere, but you do not speak of it because you know others will not understand you.  I know this because I have felt it too, and we are cut from the same cloth. Am I correct?” Frida asked.

No one had ever expressed the way Stella felt in her core the way Frida had just done. Tears came to Stella’s eyes, “Yes! That is exactly how it is. The way it’s always been!” 

Frida looked at her with kindness, “That is because we are different from the rest. We are Elven.”

Stella laughed, “You mean like the ones that work for Santa or like the ones in The Lord of the Rings?”

Frida smiled with amusement, “More like The Lord of the Rings type.”

“Oh thank god. I don’t want to have to make toys for the rest of my life.”

Frida continued, “Our kind was nearly hunted out of existence in the Dark Ages. A crusade to destroy our magic was begun. Our ancestors were scattered to the wind. Occasionally, by luck, two Elven blood lines have crossed since then and created enough magic to reignite our people. The Bergman line is one of those. Fortunately, your father and my mother had enough Elf to combine with the Bergman genes to create us and the magic within us.”

“But, what does it mean? To be Elven?” asked Stella.

“That is what we are going to find out. If you are willing to try. You may be able to see things that others do not see. You may be able to use magic to bend space and time to your will. You may become immortal. Some of the greatest leaders and prophets throughout history were Elven. We will just have to see what magic is within you`` Frida said smiling. “It is a long process, but we can start tonight.” 

“Tonight? I guess we can, but I wasn’t prepared for anything like that. I still need to wash my hair…” Stella added jokingly.

Frida smiled and drew an eye dropper from her bag. She tilted Stella’s head back and put a drop in each eye, “This may be uncomfortable, but I assure you, it will be over quickly.” 

“What will be over qui--” was all Stella could say before the drops began to strip away the human DNA in her eyes. She gasped and put both hands to her eyes to cover them and began rocking back and forth in pain. Within seconds, though, she stopped and slowly withdrew her hands. Her eyes were wide with amazement at what she could see. Her irises were now the golden color of Frida’s eyes. 

“Tell me what you see, Stella.”

Stella was staring at her hands as she turned them over and over. She scanned the room, her eyes and mouth wide with shock at the sudden understanding of what she had been missing her entire life. “I see...everything. I can see atoms, and energy, and consciousness! It’s everywhere!” 

Frida smiled, “Yes, it is.”

“I’m ready. For all of it. The whole process!” Stella begged.

“Then you must come with me. We will return to the old world tonight. There you will continue your transition under the guidance of the elders,” Frida said.

Stella stood up quickly and began to head toward her bedroom. “Let me get my coat and my passport.” She stopped and turned around, unable to contain her excitement, “Wait, so are you telling me that Jesus and the members of ABBA are Elves?’

Frida, rolled her eyes playfully, “Of course they are, Silly.”

The End