Promises Forgotten✔

Chapter 08

"Jillian! Hey! I need to talk to you!" Jillian turned around to see Storm.

"Storm! I need to talk to you too!" She says as she smiles softly.

"What I need to tell you is really important." He says.

"Okay then go ahead." She said.

"I dont think this is working out.." He says. Her eyes widened.

"I was kinda thinking the same thing." She says quietly. He smiled softly.

"Who are ya gonna go for next.. StormX." He says as his wiggles his eyebrows. She covers his mouth.

"SHHH!! He's right there!" She said as she pulled Storm to the side into an empty room and watched StormX walk by.

"I think he's looking for you." Storm whispers as he notices the look in his eyes.

"Should I go?" She whispers.

"Uh yeah! Why wouldn't you? We'll always be best friends!" He whisper shouts as he pushed her out. She smiles and winks.

~Later that Day~

"Its so colorful!" Nashi says as they look around the schools festival. Storm smiles at her and nods.

"So what do you wanna do first?" He says as he looks the opposite way. But by that time. She had already stopped to look at all the treats.

"You want one?" He asked her. She nods with a smile repeatedly excited.

"Can I get a~." He looked at her not knowing which one she wanted.

"Candy apple please!" She says. He looks back at the guy and nods. He gave them two.

"Buy one get one free." The guy says with a smile. He was a quiet fluffy sweet guy.

"Thank you!" Nashi says as she grabbed hers and Storm grabbed his and put the money down. She then grabbed his hand and pulled him over to where they were telling the kids a story. She sat down. He sat down with her.

"A young man of Matsue was returning home from a wedding party when he saw, just in front of his house, a firefly. He paused a moment, surprised to see such an insect on a cold winter's night with snow on the ground. While he stood and meditated, the firefly flew toward him, and the young man struck at it with his stick, but the insect flew away and entered the garden adjoining his own.

The next day he called at his neighbor's house, and was about to relate the experience of the previous night when the eldest daughter of the family entered the room, and exclaimed, "I had no idea you were here, and yet a moment ago you were in my mind. Last night I dreamt that I became a firefly. It was all very real and very beautiful, and while I was darting hither and thither I saw you, and flew toward you, intending to tell you that I had learnt to fly, but you thrust me aside with your stick, and the incident still frightens me."

The young man, having heard these words from the lips of his betrothed, held his peace." The story teller told the story. Nashi laid her head on Storm.

"The Firefly.." She said quitely as she smiled. Storm looked at her.

"You know this?" He says. She nods softly.

"How about tell another one." He says. She smiles.

"I dont know what if~" she was interuppted when Storm got up.

"Excuse me! She would like to tell a story!" He says as he points to Nashi.

"No I'm good." She says. A little girl comes up.

"Please. Tell us a story." She says with hope in her eyes and a smile. Nashi smiles and pats her head. She walked up there with Storm and sat down on the chair. Storm sat on the stage. Then she began.

"During the time of the Ch'in and Han dynasties, a cave chief named Wu married two wives and each gave birth to baby girls. Before long Chief Wu and one wife died leaving one baby, Yeh-Shen, to be reared by her stepmother. The stepmother didn't like Yeh-Shen for she was more beautiful and kinder than her own daughter so she treated her poorly.

Yeh-Shen was given the worst jobs and the only friend she had was a beautiful fish with big golden eyes . Each day the fish came out of the water onto the bank to be fed by Yeh-Shen. Now Yen-Shen had little food for herself but she was willing to share with the fish. Her stepmother hearing about the fish disguised herself as Yen-Shen and enticed the fish from the water. She stabbed it with a dagger, and cooked the fish for dinner.

Yeh-Shen was distraught when she learned of the fish's death. As she sat crying she heard a voice and looked up to see a wise old man wearing the coarsest of clothes and with hair hanging down over his shoulders. He told her that the bones of the fish were filled with a powerful spirit, and that when she was in serious need she was to kneel before the bones and tell them of her heart's desires. She was warned not to waste their gifts.

Yeh-Shen retrieved the bones from the trash heap and hid them in a safe place. Time passed and the spring festival was nearing. This was a time when the young people gathered in the village to meet one another and to find husbands and wives. Yen-Shen longed to go to the festival but her stepmother wouldn't allow it because she feared that someone would pick Yeh-Shen rather than her own daughter.

The stepmother and the daughter left for the festival leaving Yeh-Shen behind. Yeh-Shen wanting desperately to go asked the bones for clothes to wear to the festival. Suddenly she was wearing a beautiful gown of azure blue with a cloak of kingfisher feathers draped around her shoulders. On her feet were beautiful slippers. They were woven of golden threads in a pattern of a scaled fish and the soles were made of solid gold. When she walked she felt lighter than air. She was warned not to lose the slippers.

Yeh-Shen arrived at the festival and soon all were looking her way. The daughter and step-mother moved closer to her for they seemed to recognize this beautiful person. Seeing that she would be found out, Yeh-Shen dashed out of the village leaving behind one of the golden slippers.

When she arrived home she was dressed again in her rags. She spoke again to the bones, but they were now silent. Saddened she put the one golden slipper in her bedstraw. After a time a merchant found the lost slipper, and seeing the value in the golden slipper sold it to a merchant who gave it to the king of the island kingdom of T'o Han.

Now the king wanted to find the owner of this tiny beautiful slipper. He sent his people to search the kingdom but no ones foot would fit in the tiny golden slipper. He had the slipper placed on display in a pavilion on the side of the road where the slipper had been found with an announcement that the shoe was to be returned to the owner.

The king's men waited out of sight. All the women came to try on the shoe. One dark night Yeh-Shen slipped quietly across the pavilion, took the tiny golden slipper and turned to leave, but the king's men rushed out and arrested her. She was taken to the king who was furious for he couldn't believe that any one in rags could possibly own a golden slipper. As he looked closer at her face he was struck by her beauty and he noticed she had the tiniest feet.

The king and his men returned home with her where she produced the other slipper. As she slipped on the two slippers her rags turned into the beautiful gown and cloak she had worn to the festival. The king realized that she was the one for him. They married and lived happily ever after. However, the stepmother and daughter were never allowed to visit Yeh-Shen and were forced to continue to live in their cave until the day they were crushed to death in a shower of flying stones." Nashi told the story. Storm watched how all the kids would smile and listen to her read.

"and that was Yeh-Shen: A Chinese Cinderella Story." She said as she smiled. Storm smiles as he saw some kids sleeping. They got off the stage and left the festival.

"You really love to read your tales." He says as they walk by a pond. The same pond they did as children.

"Yeah. We learned about them when I was younger Yei-Shen was my favorite." She said as she stopped and looked at the moon. She sat on the wood. So did Storm. They both laid on each others shoulders. Storm looked down at the water and saw two sets of little feet. He didnt see anyone else here but the two. He kept looking down. Then he shook his head and their own feet came back. He then looked at Nashi and saw the glow in her eyes from the moonlight. A memory started coming back and Storm fell back and passed out.

<Finish editing>