tea. The citrus scent of the Lady Gray tea permeated the air. Gram only made her
favorite black tea on special occasions. She once told me that it was the only kind of tea her mother, Genevieve, would drink.
After taking a small sip of her beverage, Young Marina murmured,
“Delicious.” Humming, she began to fill the other cups, and carefully added several of the tea biscuits along the rim of the saucers.
As Young Marina sat patiently waiting for her guests, a great ball of white light appeared above her. It danced with colors of reds, blues, greens, and yellows that swirled in the center until it exploded into four separate balls.
Bouncing directly over Young Marina, the four orbs were a breathtaking sight.
The yellow ball held feathery streaks of blue that blew wildly inside. Flickering
flames of orange tinged with pink filled the red one. Inside the blue orb were glittery white and aqua waves. The green sphere seemed to sprout little brown leaves and yellow flowers.
Dancing around each other, the balls of light hummed with magical sounds.
It was a melody I felt I had heard before. It felt like a song I knew, but I couldn’t
remember the words.
What a delight it was to see the free spirit within my young self. I wanted to
join her as she clapped and danced joyfully. I wanted to feel carefree again.
When the music stopped and the balls stilled, I wanted to cry out, “More!
More!”
The red ball was the first to catch my eye as it began to grow. Expanding, it changed from a red ball to an orange flame that twisted and turned until it formed into a beautiful young woman. The petite girl was no more than a foot tall. Her long slender frame was covered in a red dress layered with shimmery orange scales. Large catlike eyes shone with golden radiance. Her long hair, a salmon-orange in color with dark red streaks, waved down her back.
“Blaze,” I said to myself, as I looked at her. I felt like I knew her.
The blue ball of light bounced up and down, pulling my attention away from
Blaze. It went up high into the sky, moving faster and faster. In one swift moment, it suddenly stopped and came crashing down in a rapid descent. As it
hit the ground, it splashed into a hundred droplets. As quickly as it had come apart, the water came back together and formed, yet another beautiful girl.
Both girls had round angelic faces and were not much taller than most of my
old dolls. However, this time, the lady’s catlike eyes were piercing silver. She had straight blue hair with aqua streaks running through it that was tied up into a
high ponytail. It was held by a seashell band that matched her glittery aqua dress.
As she twirled the short and frilly frock, the edges turned up, showing white
and seafoam green petticoat. Her feet were covered by sparkly sandals of silver
with straps that wrapped up around her calves. Spinning around, she laughed while spraying droplets of water flung about.
“Bay,” Young Marina called, “would you like some tea?”
Halting her movement, Bay plopped down in front of a blue cup and said,
“Of course, and another biscuit.”
Sighing, Blaze rolled her eyes and shook her head at Bay's entrance, and then
stared at the activity above. The green and yellow balls had begun circling around each other. Weaving up and down, it seemed as though they were
competing. I could only assume they were trying to decide who would be next to
join the party. Around and around, they went until they collided, both dropping
to the ground.
The green sphere looked like it had destroyed itself. Instead of a round and
green orb, it was now just a large brown mound of dirt. As I stared in shock, I
watched a small green blade poke out from the soil. As it grew long, it began to
sprout a yellow bud that grew until it formed a large white flower. It twisted and turned on the stem, taking shape as it rose. Another beautiful girl's face formed
in the yellow center of the blossom.
Young Marina laughed. “Daisy! Join us before your tea grows cold.”
