April Showers

           Dia looked out the window watching the rain pour in torrents. The lawn was quickly becoming a lake. She didn’t like the constant rain. April showers bring Mayflowers, thought Dia as she sipped a cup of tea. Sighing quietly to herself, she moved slowly away from the window. She noticed Granny sleeping soundly in the large, comfy chair. She thought she heard someone coming through the back door. Maybe now was a good time to sneak into the Blue Room.

Dia swiftly tiptoed over to the Blue Room and turned the handle. Quickly looking at Granny, Dia let herself into the Blue Room. A long time ago, it was Dia’s mother’s room. Somehow it made Dia feel closer to her mother when she was in there, but Granny didn’t like the room disturbed. Granny referred to it as “the Blue Room” because it was painted a soft, ocean blue. The windows were covered with wispy, white curtains. It was a peaceful place unlike the rest of the dark spaces in her granny’s house. The home was covered in dark wood paneling. There were dark wooden shelves that were packed with all kinds of knickknacks. Dia felt like everything in the main room was so crowded that the contents cluttered her already troubled thoughts. The Blue Room was different. It was cool, peaceful, and held onto the light giving it a soft glow. The Blue Room wasn’t crowded with much. Each of its corners contained white shelves filled with lots of leather-bound books. In the center of the room there was an ecru, French sofa. Right in front of the sofa was a little table that proudly presented a large snow globe.

           Dia moved over to the snow globe and was mesmerized by the colors inside. Gently picking up the snow globe, she turned it upside down and let its contents fall and then quickly turned it up while setting it carefully on the table. She knelt and held the base as she pressed her eyes and nose against the glass. Pink, green, yellow, and silver glitter mingled together to create one swoosh of magical brightness. Dia watched as the unicorn in the middle was laden with bits of glitter and wished she could escape from her life. This place was her home, but it didn’t feel like home. She hated the constant rain. She hated the dirt. She just wanted to feel clean and safe. She needed the sunshine.

Just as she finished her thoughts, she felt her body becoming light. It was like the moment that blissful sleep transforms the mind and carries one off to dreamland. Except, she wasn’t dreaming. She realized she was getting smaller and the unicorn was getting larger. Suddenly, she was no longer in the Blue Room, but inside the globe with the unicorn. The globe was a gateway to an unknown world.

           Dia rubbed her eyes and brushed a dark curl away from her face. The unicorn moved and Dia jumped. She leaned over and cautiously stroked the unicorn’s silky, lavender mane. What happened? Where am I? What am I doing? Dia wondered what in the world was going on and hoped her tea hadn’t caused her to become sick. She was excited and terrified at the strange change of events.

           She saw a tree stump covered in moss and walked towards it. Dia noticed there was no dirt here. The grounds were covered in flecks of glitter. The unicorn followed and Dia let her eyes gaze out across the plain. There were rolling green hills filled with flowers of pink, yellow, purple and silver. The sun was shining brightly, and there were a few puffy white clouds in the sky. She breathed deeply and smiled. This place was breathtaking, and she wanted to explore. Dia stood on the stump and carefully mounted the mythical beast.

“I shall name you, Rainbow,” she said smiling at the unicorn.

They started riding through the green fields. She realized that her clothes were suddenly transformed. She was no longer wearing her fraying jeans and dirty pink shirt. Instead, she wore a white, muslin gown embellished at the waistline with diamonds. Daisies lined the hem and there was a small bouquet of sweet peas in the diamond belt. Dia had never worn anything so beautiful. Together, Rainbow and Dia rode over the hills, past the lake, and to the edges of the mountains. Dia gasped in surprised when she realized they were entering a garden filled with more flowers than she thought possible.

Looking carefully at the flowers, she realized they were all sweet peas, but with varying colors of blue, purple, red, white, cream and peach. She couldn’t help but smile brightly at the beauty that surrounded her. She lifted her head and saw a regal woman walking towards her.

The woman wore long, white gown embellished with silvery stars. On her head, she wore a silver crown that had twelve stars each filled in the center with diamonds. The woman was beautiful and Dia didn’t know what to say. She curtsied and the Queen smiled kindly.

“Hello Diamond”, the Queen said warmly.

“You know my actual name?” whispered Dia.

“Of course, Little One. I named you. Do you remember living here for a time?”

“What? I lived here before? When? Why did I have to leave? I don’t ever want to leave here again because it is so beautiful. The place I come from is always raining and dirty. What happened?”

“So many questions at once, my Dear Dia. Let’s have tea and I’ll tell you a story.”

           The Queen waved her hand in the air and soon some blue birds flew overhead carrying a white tablecloth. Two gray rabbits walked out of the wooded area. One rabbit pushed a tea cart that held a golden teapot and cups for tea. The other rabbit held a tray filled with the most scrumptious looking desserts. There were tiny little pink cakes, lavender sugar cookies, and sparkling yellow candies like lemon drops.

           The Queen gracefully eased herself down on the tablecloth and poured Dia a cup of tea. She also made a small plate with the decadent desserts and gave them to Dia. Although unsure of what exactly was happening, Dia was cheerfully enjoying the atmosphere that held such beauty. She still had so many questions.

           Taking a sip of the fruity tea, the Queen began her story. “One time, I lived in your world and I had a baby girl. I loved the baby girl with my whole heart. I had to part from the other world. For a while, I thought I could bring my baby girl here, but it wasn’t time yet. I had to leave my baby girl in the other world, but I was granted a visit starting on the girl’s 10^th birthday.”

I’m 10 thought Dia, but she didn’t want to interrupt the Queen.

           The Queen solemnly continued her story.

“When I tried to keep my baby girl here, the rulers told me that I must wait until the baby girl fulfilled her purpose. Then she could return to me forever and we can live in this beautiful realm.”

“How do you know if you have purpose? Does everyone have it or just some people?”

“Oh, everyone has it my Dear. For my baby girl, her purpose was hidden in the meaning of her name, birth month, and birth flower,” replied the Queen.

Suddenly, Dia felt cold and she looked up towards the heavens. She realized she was no longer in the magical land, but back in the blue room. Wait! No! What happened? Everything was so nice, why did I have to leave?

The roof was leaking and dripping on her head. Dia saw a puddle forming on the cream-colored carpet underneath her feet. Shivering, she walked quietly into the living area, but Granny was no longer in the comfy chair. Instead, Dia heard shouting from the kitchen. She quietly walked through the dark dining room and hid underneath the kitchen table. The Man with Dirt was home again. He came back ever so often to get food and to yell at Granny. Dia winced when she heard a slap and knew her Granny was holding her breath again to keep from crying.

Dia held her breath too. The dining room table had a large, deep velvet tablecloth that nearly touched the floor. It was one of Dia’s favorite hiding spots. She hadn’t been discovered there yet. Above the table, there was a huge chandelier that looked a bit out of place in the small dining room. Dia loved gazing at the diamond crystals that hung off the chandelier. Right now, she could hear the crystals clinking together. She silently felt her way through the chairs and grasped a few of the diamonds from the chandelier. Her Granny would be mad if she discovered Dia had taken the few crystals off, but Dia loved holding onto something so beautiful.

 Dia covered her ears and wished she could hum to drown out the sounds of the slaps. Her granny was screaming now. What could she do? She was just a kid. She focused of the snow globe and the endless field of sparkling flowers. Finally, she heard the Man with Dirt yell and slam the back door. Maybe he was gone.

Dia waited a bit to make sure he wasn’t coming back and stepped out into the kitchen. Her Granny was covered in dirt. She holding an icepack on her arm, and Dia could see her Granny’s face swelling. Tears filled her eyes, but she knew tears wouldn’t do anything. She quickly ran to the back door and locked it. That way they could at least hear him if he came back.

“Are you alright, Granny?” Dia asked.

“I’ve been better,” muttered Granny.

“I’ll make dinner,” replied Dia as she began making a box of macaroni and cheese and a garden salad. Dinner was simple, but it was good to taste something familiar. It was a silent dinner though and Granny barely ate anything. Dia was afraid to tell Granny she’d been in the blue room, but she suddenly remembered the leak. Maybe she should just take a towel in the room and wipe up the carpet. Maybe Granny had enough going on for today. Maybe the rain would stop soon. Maybe the Man with Dirt would never come back. Maybe staying at home would get better.

Dia waited until her Granny told her goodnight and then went to her room. Dia quietly got out of bed and took a large towel from the linen closet. She carefully turned the handle to the Blue Room and entered inside its sanctuary.

Dia quickly tried wiping up the water on the floor. She gazed again into the snow globe and longed for permanent escape. Sleepily, she held the snow globe and moved over to the French sofa. She’d just rest there for a minute…

“Diamond, Darling! You are looking quite pale. Are you alright?” inquired the Queen.

“Was I gone?” asked a confused Dia.

Everything was just as she’d left it. The Queen was sitting straight and sipping her tea quietly. Had Dia simply left the other world frozen in time? Everything was normal. Everything felt right. Everything felt safe. Everything here felt like home.

“How can I find my life’s purpose? I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do with my life. Can you please tell me the rest of the story?”  

“Well, when children of Earth are named, their names, birth months and birth flowers help point them to their life’s meaning. It is up to each person to discover their purpose, but those are some clues.”

The Queen pulled out a large golden book and leafed through the golden pages.

“Ah, here it is my Dear. You were born in the month of April. There will be showers in your life, but you will have everlasting love, courage, innocence and purity. It is your job to impart these qualities to others you know especially those less fortunate or in need of your assistance.”

Dia pondered what the Queen said. She sipped her tea slowly and asked, “Could I live here someday with you?”

The Queen smiled and said, “Yes, someday.”

Dia lay on the tablecloth and felt so sleepy. When she woke up, she realized she was sleeping on the French couch. She saw the faint bit of morning light creeping through the windows. She hurried to sneak out of the blue room and get back in her room. She didn’t hear anything from her Granny’s bedroom so she thought she should go to the kitchen for a drink of water.

As she rounded the corner, she froze. The Man with Dirt was there. He was sitting quietly at the kitchen table and looked up as Dia walked into the room. She started walking back towards her room and he gruffly said, “Stay here or I’ll get dirt on your Granny again. Sit down at the table”. Dia sat down opposite the Man with Dirt. She was glad she was on this side of the table. She felt carefully under the tablecloth for the diamonds she’d pulled off the chandelier. Her fingers tightly gripped the large diamonds. It felt safe to have something familiar. Maybe Granny would wake up soon. Maybe the Man with Dirt would just get tired and leave.

POLICE REPORT

Case: 01100100

Reporting Officer: Bridwell

Date: April 21, 2020

Incident: Man found dead at the scene of residence at 414 Springdale Ln. Body found with shards of chandelier pieces stabbed through head and heart. Woman at residence has some bruises and a black eye. Granddaughter, Diamond, currently missing.

The Queen reached through the snow globe and placed a bouquet on the table. The bouquet was made of daisies and sweet peas with a card that read, “April showers bring May flowers.” Diamond was now safely home.