The Box of Seven

 

 

 

 

 

Where the Stars are Born

 

                "When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced."

                        -Native American Proverb

 

            A soft warm wrinkled hand patted Aralyn on the shoulder leaving marks of dust from the dark dry soil out of the flower beds. Mrs. Bain worked along the uneven stones leading to the front step every morning and the bits and pieces of it remained on the young girl’s clean shirt, “Do you know the story of the Orion?” the elderly woman whispered? “Who is OH Ron?” Aralyn asked.  Lilly laughed, “No, no, it’s not a person. It’s a place in the sky that you can see at night where all the stars are born. You just have to know where to look.” the woman smiled as she sat down beside her on the swinging bench.

 

            The woman offered her friend a glass of lemonade, as she sat down beside her. In the cool shade of the front porch while dusting her hands on her apron she smiled and exhaled to rest. The mid morning sun shining on the house made its fresh coat of white wash look brighter. The patches of gardens around the yard had been clean of weeds with only fine worked soil showing between the rows. Not even a seedling dare poke its way from the earth. It would surely be tossed into the basket of its timely death.

 

            “What is that you’re clutching onto there? Is that it? Is that your special box?” “Yes, mam, I don’t leave her alone too much anymore. My momma thinks it’s silly for me to carry ‘round an empty box. She said that could be one more loaf of bread I could carry.” The women held out her hands to ask for the box. “May I see it? I will be careful and you say it is a she? I must remember that.” A soft voice reassured her little friend. Aralyn looked up at the wrinkled face, fixing her eye on a long white hair on the chin of Mrs. Bain, “You can’t shake it or open the lid, you know.” “Ohm, I know dear. I know about these special things.” In that same tone as though she knew what Aralyn was just about to trust her with. “I had a box with a special thing in it too when I was a young girl and it was a star from Orion.” “You did? Really?” Aralyn handed the box to her with self-importance, she had just had her eleventh birthday, just two days before and already she felt responsible. She had an important gift that she had found and noticed beautiful things everywhere she took her box. “So mam, you think she is a star from Oh-Ron?” “Maybe, maybe so.” Holding the box gently, she sat it in front of them.

 

            Lilly Bain was a usual stop every morning to deliver one loaf of bread on her way to the grocer with a wobbly old wagon. The sides so decayed she had to watch for the bumps in the road not to lose her goods and deliver them safely to the grocer in town. Lilly Bain was her seventh and last house before reaching town. Aralyn’s mother baked bread, pies and cakes for the general store. Sometimes in exchange for an extra cake for the grocer’s wife Aralyn would bring home a bag of flour or sugar and pick up apples and nuts along the road in a field near by. She liked the field when the sun was its brightest and under the trees she could sit and go to her place any time she wanted.

 

            Two weeks before her birthday she was resting outside on a dark and moonless evening, the wind blew a steady warm breeze. The sun had been scorching hot for several days. Her mind was buzzing while her mother baked for the next day. Aralyn leaned back on the post leading to the front porch, as usual her mind wandered. Day dreaming was what got Aralyn in trouble on most days. She would get lost and live in her world of magical mischief and forget to finish most chores.

 

Soon the afternoon became dusk and the wind picked up as though the summer night was ready to blow a storm. The cottonwood seedlings flew and swirled around her face, one got caught in her mouth. Aralyn spit and wiped her moist face from the sticky heat. Looking up she saw a seedling sparkle with light. It floated gracefully in the air and landed across the road in the tall grasses. The spark of light suspended on a blade of grass bouncing around with the wind. Aralyn went to discover what she thought must have been a firefly. She looked up and there was not a star in the sky, the only glimmer of light was resting on the grass in front of her. Aralyn grabbed the glimpse of light with the blade of grass still attached and stuffed it in her pocket and ran as fast as she could toward her home across the field forgetting the wagon and its goods.

 

            Aralyn’s mother stepped out onto the porch calling for her. In the darkness she could not see her directly across the road. “Aralyn! Where are you? Where have you been? Aralyn!” “I’m over here Momma. I’m in the ditch.” “Did you bring me the fruit from the cellar like I asked you?” “I got the fruit coming!” as she ran to the cellar door. Then she stopped and ran back to the field as fast as she could. She couldn’t take a breath, gasping for air, sweat dripping; her side had the worst pain she had ever felt in her life. But she knew she couldn’t come home without the wagon. She couldn’t let her momma know she forgot it in the field again.

 

She brought the wagon to a stop at the back screen door and flew down the cellar doors as though she had been there for sometime. With every gasping breath, holding onto her shaking knees, she yelled out, “Momma, I’m just tryin’ to pick out the best apples and pears.”  Aralyn, sat on the cool damp dirt floor, it felt good to her as she pulled the grass out of her pocket. The light was still there. She held it in both hands. It was not a bug, though she wasn’t sure what it was, she knew it was special and hoped her pocket wouldn’t hurt the pretty light.

 

Aralyn’s mother walked through the house to open the screen door in the back propping it open with her toes. “Aralyn, you’re going to be a young lady soon and you’re going to have to be more responsible and stop thinking about your make believe stories so much. There’s work around here. What on earth would you be doing in the ditch?” “Sorry, Momma and yes I am responsible. Yes, Momma.” Climbing out of the cellar, her voice wound down and swirled in the wind as she answered. Aralyn slumped over the water pump. With quick motion she straightened her back and ran into the house toward her room, breathlessly declaring, “I’m tired Momma, I’m washing up for bed.” Running up the stairs she could barely hear her mother declaring, “Aralyn you never wash up for bed. What are you up to?”

 

She hopped on top the bed, standing on her knees, Aralyn pulled the blade of grass from her pocket; she thought the sparkle must have stuck inside. Carefully she turned her pocket inside out and nothing but dirt and a couple small twigs fell onto the comforter. She sat down with a sad thought of losing the likable thing. She kicked off her shoes, one at a time they hit the wall with a thud and a thump. Laying on her back looking up to the ceiling she saw the light flicker a shadow quickly here and there. Over in the corner, in the middle of the room, on the door and back to the ceiling the shadow bounced from place to place.

 

            Slowly standing up on the bed to get closer to the ceiling Aralyn was filled with delight. “There you are! You are real! You’re not a bug, not a shinny thing, are you a tiny light?” She carefully pulled the tiny spark of light off the ceiling and into her palm. “I won’t hurt you. Please don’t hop away. Here’s your grass. Here, you want it?” The spark didn’t move and Aralyn put her hand up closer to her face to get a better look, closer and closer she got until her eyes where just inches from it. It was moving; it had life, yet no legs, no tails, no teeth, no stinger. What could it be she wondered? Quickly she jumped from the bed and pulled a wooden box from under her bed dumping all of the other special things she had found. The colored stones, marbles, pieces of tin and half of a necklace fell to the floor, gently replacing her new spark of light into the box. The light inside the darkness of the box made it illuminate as though a brilliant gleaming bit of sunshine was poking though.

 

            Aralyn slowly shut the lid and closed the clasp sliding the box under her bed, she laid her head on her pillow and had a feeling of warmth and happiness like she often did in her far away places she dreamed of.

 

The next morning Aralyn woke extra early and ran down the stairs with her box. “Find something new there?” her mother spoke without turning around. “Yes mam, you know all those times you tell me I need to see the light? Well, I got a piece of it right here. I found the light!” she announced with pride. Her mothers frown was not the welcomed response Aralyn thought she would receive. “You think I’m making it up again, don’t you momma?” “Aralyn, we discussed this just two days ago! Now what am I gonna do with you? You can’t go through life day dreaming, it’s not real. It’s only a pretend sort of thing and it’s gonna get you in a lot of trouble one of these days. No, no, no more of this nonsense! You get on down to the grocers since your up with so much energy today. And leave that box here!” Aralyn left slamming the back screen door while her mother was still yelling.

 

She whimpered to herself, “I’m not making it up, I got it right here.” With a heavy sob she put the box in the front of the wagon and loaded up the baked goods to go to town. On her way she made her usual stops, saving the nicest loaf of bread for Mrs. Bain. It was that day they visited on the porch drinking lemonade. Lilly Bain was a widow and Aralyn had always wondered what kept her friend so happy and busy. Mrs. Bain had begun sharing stories with Aralyn quite some time ago. Though Aralyn’s stories told to Mrs. Bain belonged to her day dreams, Mrs. Bain told Aralyn her stories were true. It was as though Mrs. Bain had been all over the world and saw all the things Aralyn always wanted to see and do. Although, Aralyn knew Mrs. Bain had never really went far from this farm. Aralyn had left her special box with Mrs. Bain to protect it from the hot sun, telling her she would be back later.

 

            It wasn’t until that very day, that day they went to the stars. The day they shared the special box to the great Orion where all stars are born, even the special ones. That was the day that Mrs. Bain and Aralyn made a bond that lasted Aralyn’s lifetime. The fairies of seven appeared.

Inside the box as Mrs. Bain gently held it up to peak inside, “I’m just looking dear. Do you know what a fairy is dear? And do you believe?” “Yes, yes!” Aralyn’s excitement grew as she jumped from the bench. Someone finally believes that it was a special flicker of light! It was alive! It was a fairy!

 

            Mrs. Bain told of the fairies she had known and how she would call for them in the night to dance and play. There she stood with the biggest smile holding the box of Aralyn’s when she said, “Let’s go. Let’s go to the place in the garden that they come.”  Aralyn followed Mrs. Bain to the back garden and she saw pieces of bread strewn all about. That is when she learned that you must offer the good fairies something good to eat and thank them for coming to play and dance. “I believe here Aralyn you have a wonder fairy of seven. There are many more than I could ever know but I know you have a good fairy and she will guide you but you must let her out of the box until you find the others. You mustn’t keep her either, she is a free spirit and she will come to you when you call for her.” “What would I call her?” Mrs. Bain laughed, “You would simply call upon her, Good fairy, good fairies come out to dance and play.” ‘Can I name her?” Aralyn whispered. “Certainly.”  “Well then, I will call her Seven.” Aralyn announced. “And we will leave her here in your garden?” “No Aralyn, a fairy such as this one is not a possession, it is a special friend that came to you. It did not come to by accident you know. You must have wished upon a star and you believed. We must put her in a special safe place until the time is right.” Aralyn knew it was true. She knew her mother was wrong and that her dreams weren’t all bad. This one is real. She did believe. Aralyn left the box with Mrs. Bain planning on returning that evening when the sun cooled down.

 

            She went to finish her deliveries, all the way home she chanted loudly. “I believe, I believe!” after returning home she got busy on all her chores. Everything her mother would have told her to do, she had done and done very well. She even made her bed. She put away the dishes, brought up fruit from the cellar, watered the animals, lined up the flour sacks in a neat row, swept the floors and even combed her red hair.

“There, now there’s no reason I can’t go see Mrs. Bain and Seven tonight. There’s nothing left here for me to do.” Aralyn announced peevishly, “Momma can’t say no to me now.”

 

            Aralyn and her mother sat down on the front porch as the evening began its colorful pattern on the field nearby. The wheat was a golden color and the skyline made a brilliant hue of blue, purple and orange. “That’s nice isn’t it?” “Yes, Momma, but can I go to see Mrs. Bain?” blurting out the question before she knew she was on the soft side of her mother. Aralyn often could tell her mother’s moods.  “You’ll see her in the morning.” “But, Momma I just want to visit.” “Uhm, wouldn’t be anything to do with that box of yours would it?” Aralyn’s mother’s eyebrow went up. “Well, I did leave it there this morning and I would like to get it, that’s all. And besides, she’s a pretty nice lady. I can’t see none of my friends until school starts and that might as well be another month away.” “It’s only a week, Aralyn. Don’t you have things to do?” Aralyn looked up with both eyebrows arched announcing with pride all the things she had finished. “Of course then, you may go. But don’t be messing around out there too late.” Aralyn didn’t wait to hear the rest of the demands and rules. Besides she heard them all before too many times.

 

            Aralyn tapped on the screen door lightly and it bounced back and forth making a banging noise. “Mrs. Bain, you in there?” in a subtle tone. She tip toed around the house to find Mrs. Bain in one of her gardens and as she watched her she saw Mrs. Bain putting perfectly good pieces of bread in a careful circle. Aralyn was always a very curious girl. She remained quiet and tried to not make a noise. She sat down beside the stump of wood that was used to chop the wood for the fireplace and stove. Quietly waiting, without Mrs. Bain knowing that she was there, she wondered what she was going to do next and nothing happened. Nothing at all. Mrs. Bain just sat down on a rock inside the circle and had that pleasant smile on her face. It began to get dark and Mrs. Bain just remained in the same spot, soon she lit a candle and sat it beside her on the rock. She turned to pull something out from behind the rock. It was the special box! Aralyn’s box! “No!” cried Aralyn running to the circle.

 

            Mrs. Bain grabbed Aralyn’s arm, “shhh…sit…hush…don’t make another sound.” As she sat with hesitation, she watched Mrs. Bain carefully open the box. Out of it came the flicker of light. Mrs. Bain began another chant, “Faiery, faiery, beauty and bright, sound your music, show us your light, this very night.” Under the leaves within the circle another glimmer appeared. Then another, and another, more and more until there was so many they couldn’t move their feet. A radiant glow surrounded them and the rock looked to be translucent. The music came and the flickers began to move about. As they watch the wonderful, beautiful dance of light, too striking to blink and eye, Mrs. Bain explained to Aralyn she could wish upon the fairy bright, Seven. But in doing so would take her strength away to grant a wish and the things we often wish for aren’t often what we want. Each wish affects another and soon it isn’t what we wanted at all. In the end your fairy friend would be a glimpse of dim light. Warning her to be careful for what she wished for.

 

            Aralyn and Mrs. Bain shared the evenings quiet often together and in the winter time, fairies of snowflakes came, with each visit they thanked them with fresh baked bread for playing and dancing with delight. A few were naughty and a few were more playful than others. Although, Seven would always follow Aralyn throughout her life as Mrs. Bain’s first one, which was named Glitter. Each time the visit was near the end, Glitter and Seven would flutter into the sky back to the Orion from which they were born.

 

          The end of the fairy tale.

 

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