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Magic Weepers

By Shireen Panthakee

Long, long ago was a girl that was walking into the woods one night, all of a sudden she heard a cackle. She saw a small house that was all black with an angel and a fierce statue of a dragon on the outside of it. The girl knocked on the door and in a sweet and gentle voice said, "Hello, is any one there?"

No one answered. She tried the doorknob to see if it would open the door. At once the door flung open and scared the girl half to death.

She walked inside practically on her knees for fearing that she might hurt her head because the house was so terribly small in height.

"Hellloooo?" the girl asked again. "Is anyone there? I lost my way in the woods and, and . . . There is someone here, isn't there? I hear you!" the girl shouted backing towards the windows.

An old lady that was a no taller than the 6 year old, spoke out, "Yes, child, it is I." The lady was wearing a black robe with a hood at the back. She had long, and ugly type fingers with drooping skin coming from her eyes. Her ears were huge with fur all over them. It had looked like she had black furry arms that went down to her wrist and then suddenly stopped. The old lady was silent as the girl stared.

"What is your name child, don't just stand there doing nothing, and thinking about . . ." there was a pause as the old lady thought, ". . . about how I look."

The girl tried not to look terrified by thinking how the lady knew what she was thinking. The girl felts so weak and about to crash that she just quickly answered the questions clearly. "My name is Julia!"

"Oh, Julia, what a nice name!" The old lady said walking away to a gigantic pot that was bubbling. "You're hungry dear, sit down. Have some soup!"

"Oh, well okay. Thank you, thank you very, very much. I am starving!"

"I know dear," said the old lady with a shrieked up voice.

"What's your name?" Julia mumbled with her mouth full, like a little angel.

The lady suddenly screamed while still stirring the pot. She had her back to Julia, and out of the blue she screamed, "It's funny you should ask dear, cause I, ain't GOT ONE!" As her worlds came out she turned around and became a shriveled up old ogre with another part of her body looking like an animal's part. Now she had arms, legs and teeth all from different animals.

"What's going on!" Julia shouted. Julia was only five years old and had no clue what on earth was going on.

"See what you made me do, you stupid fool," mumbled the lady. "Great, one less year to live and another part gone!" said the old lady to her self. "Why oh why did this have to happen to me?"

"What? I can probably help you if you give me a try."

"Well, I have nothing else to do so I think I will tell you, this is how it all started . . . and I wished I could read minds. For each time I read someone's mind the man with the black face that wasn't visible said he could give me the power, but I would have to give up a part of my body each twentieth time I used my powers. So I agreed that I would get the power in exchange for a part of my body. That day, I turned into an old, crippled, dark, wrinkled and self-centered person. I didn't fallow what I had been planing on, just using my powers when I desperately needed it and a few times in a long time. So as a result, this is what happened." The lady showed her arms, legs and teeth.

"What was your name?"

"My name was , , ," there was a silence, ". . . was, Au-ro-ra," she whispered but loud enough to be heard by Julia.

"So, all my life has been spent here in this hut, I haven't seen another human being in a century."

"Really?" asked Julia in amazement.

"No, I was only exaggerating."

"What's exaggerating?" Julia asked confused.

Aurora smiled and nodded, then said, "Exaggerating means when you take the truth and you stretch it. That's exaggerating."

"How old are you?" Julia questioned again.

"Well, how old do you think I am?"

"I think you are 256 years old." Julia giggled knowing what she had just said.

"Really, I look that old? Well, actually I am 28. I had done that silly wish when I was 15 years old. So you can say I have lived half my life away from the rest of the world."

"Wow! That's a long time." Then Julia gazed off and had the saddest face on.

"What's the matter dear?" asked Aurora.

"Well, my mommy said she would never leave me! She even promised! But this guy said that she went up there." Julia pointed up to the sky meaning heaven. She had tears pouring out like she had just been crying a while back.

Aurora put her arm sacredly around Julia and wiped her face with the other.  "There, there, don't you cry, you will stay right here with me."

"Really?"

"Yes, really!"

"May I call you . . . Mom?" Julia said with tears running less and less as Aurora eyes started watering.

"Yes, yes you may, go to sleep now, and I will watch over you."

"Mom, will you be here in the morning?"

"Yes, my child, yes!" Aurora started humming to the song and then words came out . . .

"Mom, what does 'que sera, sera' mean?"

"I will tell you tomorrow my child."

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