| Saturday, July 03, 2004 |
| The Adventures of Crystal the Little Crystal Ball |
Not a fairytale
Once upon a time in Tralala Land, there lived a fairy queen. She was good and beautiful and powerful and wise, and she never aged. Yet when you looked at her - which none could, because her beauty and light blinded all lesser beings - it was impossible to tell her age. She was ageless, yet ancient. She had ruled wisely over her land since the start of time, and would until the end of time. Certainly there were many who doubted her soverignty, even plotted of overturning her rule. There were those lived lawlessly and on the edge, yet always one step ahead of the law. The fairy queen knew. It broke her heart. With a wave of her hand, she could give those people what they deserved, but she did not and could not, because her love prevented her from acting out her anger and her sadness.
But this story isn't exactly about the fairy queen. It's about a little crystal ball she has. In fact, she had crafted it herself painstakingly. It was imbued with her beauty. It would, if shown to anyone, captivate the person who beheld it in his or her sight. It was gold and silver and every precious stone and metal that ever existed. For that reason the fairy queen kept it in a tailor-made sheath at all times. She knew the world was not ready for it.
And neither was it ready for the world. You see, this little crystal ball had life, absurd as it may sound to you. It had emotions and feelings, and could communicate with its master and maker, the fairy queen. It loved her dearly, yet at the same time often wondered about the world outside the palace. She had heard people talking about it in the palace. How exciting it seemed! The fairy queen, of course, knew the secret thoughts of her crystal ball. She knew, too, that one day her crystal ball would run - no, roll away from her and her palace. But she also knew something else, for she knew all things.
Let us just call this little ball Crystal so that the author would not have to keep typing "the little crystal ball" over and over again. And along the same lines, Crystal will be a 'she' as the name suggests.
Soon the day came when the Crystal decided to embark on her big adventure. I'll just sneak out for an hour or so and come back, she thought. She was foolish enough to believe that her all-knowing, all-seeing fairy queen did not know about her escape. Or rather, she had deceived herself into believing that. The palace was surrounded by woods, and beautiful woods these were, though in no way any more beautiful than the palace Crystal had left. That fact didn't bother her, though. It was a whole new world for her, as different as night and day, and she immersed itself in the new sights and sounds. An hour passed; two, three. It was dark when Crystal realised that she was lost.
She was also very dirty, though she had not realised it. There was dirt and grass stuck all over her, but thankfully, the sheath had protected her from being scratched or chipped. Now she looked around her fearfully - but she could see nothing. She was cold and she now realised that the ground did not smell very nice. She could hear tiny feet scrabbling in the dark, and fear entered her crystal heart for the very first time. She was on her own now, she realised. Where was her fairy queen? Surely she knew that she was in trouble! At the same time she felt a stab of guilt. It was her own fault for running away in the first place. Now she missed the comforts of home, and her wonderful master.
Meanwhile, the fairy queen knew all about Crystal. Yet she would do nothing, because she knew that since it was a choice Crystal had made to run away, then she would have to continue following that path until circumstances led her back home again. She would not lift a finger, for she knew it was something Crystal had to go through.
To be continued...
|
posted by esther @ 12:30 AM  |
|
|
|
