The Girl With the Icy Hair

2

After the first fitful night’s sleep, Aura awoke tiredly to the loud calls of the first morning’s birds. The air was crisp and chilly, smelling faintly of pine needles in the breeze. The tangy smell tickled Aura’s nose and she sneezed.

         “Flutterfly!” Aura called again. Looking around, amid the intense green of the trees, and browns and greys of soil and rock, something caught her eye: the shockingly bright blue of the butterfly perched atop a lone blade of grass. Teetering, Aura stood up, all the while watching the small wings flutter back and forth slowly. Yearning to touch it, she moved toward it, stumbling slightly with the first few steps, with her red curls bouncing behind her. Aura brushed her fingers against the rough bark of the birch. Slowly, she turned her palm up and stretched her hand out flat. The butterfly, which had been sitting on a strip of loose bark fluttering its wings slowly, moved toward her hand. With its legs scrambling forward one after the other, the butterfly crawled over Aura’s fingertips as they rested against the trunk. The small blue insect finally came to rest in the center of the girl’s palm. For a few seconds, time seemed to stop as the butterfly began to glow. The blue of the wings grew brighter and brighter until it seemed that it had turned white. It glowed so brightly that it looked like Aura was holding her own personal star. Blue streaks began to encircle Aura’s hand. Slowly, the streaks of color snuck up her arm and continued to encase her until she was inside a glowing orb. It was then that Aura realized that her feet were no longer touching the ground. The orb hovered a few feet in the air for what seemed like forever. Aura was lowered back to the ground as the streaks dissipated and the blue faded. After being returned to the ground, she looked around. The butterfly was nowhere to be found. All that remained was a blue spot in the middle of her right palm.

         “Where did it go,” Aura said without realizing it. Did I just say that out loud, she wondered to herself. “Hello,” Aura called aloud. “Mom? Dad?” What just happened to me? Aura looked down and examined herself. Her skin was the same as it had been before aside from the blue patch on her palm. She wore the same clothes and had the same short, stubby legs. She still had her hair, curlier than ever. Pulling on a short strand to look at it, she noticed a difference. Her hair was no longer red. It was now an icy blue. An unnatural blue. It shone in the early morning light, dazzling strands sparkling like ice. A few minutes ago was a normal kid, and now I have blue hair and I have a big spot on my hand, Aura thought. What does all of this mean? I wonder if I can fly like Peter Pan. Aura sat down quickly without worrying where she would put her feet. She folded her feet under herself and closed her eyes. She remembered a story that her mother had told her many times right before bed.

         Aura remembered the tale of the boy who was a perpetual child that lived on the island of Neverland. The boy could fly wherever and whenever he wanted, although he had the magical help of pixie dust. Aura always loved that story, longing to fly in the never-ending blue expanse of the sky. After sitting on the ground for a few minutes, there was a rumbling sound that came from underneath Aura’s body. Slowly, many small pebbles and granules of dirt started to rise. While concentrating intently trying to make her body airborne, Aura’s head began to ache. Still, she kept her focus. Just as she was ready to give up, Aura opened her eyes to see that she was easily 30 feet off of the ground. Looking around in shock, Aura saw a family of birds to her left on a branch of the birch tree staring at her as if they were in mortal danger. For one second, Aura lost her focus and began the plummet back to Earth. She quickly regained her focus and slowed her fall before continuing her descent. Whoa, Aura thought. Did that really just happen? So I can fly too. Just add that to my list of abnormalities.

Feet now solidly back on the ground, Aura noticed a sharp pain in her stomach. With each gurgle and groan the pain grew. She needed food. Without very much sunlight on the floor of the forest, there was hardly any shrubbery. The meager bushes that had managed to survive were fruitless. So, hungry, she wandered into the forest. There was a warm, salty, savory smell that tainted the air. Aura’s stomach grumbled again. Standing still to savor the delicious scent, a light breeze blew making the smell stronger. The breeze blew again, this time shoving Aura’s hair back over her shoulders. Following her nose, Aura smelled out a small campsite among the large trees. Concentrating, Aura buoyed herself up to a low hanging branch of an oak tree. After situating herself so that she could sit and see the campsite, Aura carefully examined it. Amid the small clearing sat a bright orange tent. There was a decent sized fire a few feet from the tent that was encircled by several short stools. A small pan sat upon an apparatus above the flames. The wonderful smell was that of a small animal of some variety sizzling in the pan. Aura was so focused on the pan that she could feel herself drooling.