Lorelei "Lori" Prescott lives a happy life as a child until her mother is killed in a tornado when she was 10. Seven years later, everything changes: her widowed father is remarried, and she finds herself with a new stepmother, stepbrother, and step...
Everyone loves the magic seen in movies, especially Disney movies, but everyone knows that in real life, magic is in art and music as long as they come from the heart.
Bryan and Sophia Prescott lived in Kansas, and they loved music very much—they even owned a music shop, called Prescott's Music, selling fancy instruments, songbooks, and any accessory a musician needs. They loved music, but nobody loved music more than their beautiful daughter, Lorelei, whom they called "Lori". Sophia taught her how to play the violin when she was only 1½.
Lori and Sophia looked just like Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid. Ah, yes, Lori loved music, and she even wanted to be a music teacher when she grows up, just like her mother. She filled her parents' lives with joy and song. The family cat, Dorothy, loved the music, too. Dorothy was a rare species of cat called the Amethyst Siamese. This cat ages very slowly unlike other cats.
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But even the brightest days can be darkened by an unseen tempest.
Lori was only 10 years old, and she was playing her violin for everyone in the park. Suddenly, it started to get windy, and she stopped playing when she saw the sky. Everyone turned to see what was wrong. The sky was turning gray, and the clouds were dark. Then it started to get windy, and every Kansan knew what that meant: a tornado! Everyone started to run away. Sophia turned to see that a big tree branch had already landed on her daughter's foot, and she moved it, letting her daughter free. Pretty much, everyone in the park had gone to take refuge. However, when Bryan made sure his daughter was safe, he saw that his wife was still in the park—and many big objects were flying around.
"Sophia!" Bryan cried.
Sophia tried to run away, but the wind was too strong—and she could barely move when she saw that two giant trees and a few big cars were flying toward her. Before she knew it, the trees and cars had fallen on her.
Sophia was taken to the hospital, but she was far too weak to survive. That was it—Sophia had died, and Bryan and Lori were beyond devastated and miserable. Now whenever Bryan looked at Lori, all he could see was her mother, and he became very protective of her—and so did Dorothy. Now whenever there was a tornado, Lori was scared to death—nothing could scare her more than tornadoes.
Seven years later, Lori worked with her father in the music shop and was happy but very much missed her mother. Dorothy missed Sophia so much that she barely left Lori's side. Lori had her mother's possessions. She had Sophia's violin in a display case in the shop for show, a music box, her pink ruby necklace—just about everything that belonged to her mother.
There was a special movie that Bryan, Lori, and Dorothy liked to watch together: The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning. The fate of Ariel's mother was similar to Sophia's, and it helped Lori deal with her mother's death.
When Bryan took Lori to the music festival, he met a woman named Nancy Kristal, and it wasn't long before they got married.
Along with Lori's new stepmother came her twin son and daughter, Muffy and Nicholas—her new stepsiblings, who were just about a year older.
Nancy and her children lived just outside of Topeka, and Bryan and Lori moved into their house and transferred their music store there.
It was the day Bryan and Lori moved into Nancy's manor house. Lori was in her new bedroom, sorting out her stuff, when she saw a picture of her mother playing the violin.
"There you are," Lori sighed. "Hi, Momma."
Dorothy meowed sadly, showing how much she herself missed Sophia. Suddenly, Bryan came in. "Settling in okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine," Lori declared. "I just hope Nancy is okay with having a cat in her house."
"Aw, she loves cats—she said so herself," Bryan said, taking the picture and putting it on the bedside table. "Dorothy just needs to give Nancy a chance." Then he saw the look on his daughter's face. "What's the matter, little mermaid? Missing your mother?"
"Not just me—Dorothy misses Momma, too," Lori sighed. "Ever since Momma died, Dorothy has been stuck to me like glue because I look just like her. Don't get me wrong—Nancy is nice, but I just wish Momma was here. I wish it didn't have to be like this."
"I miss her, too, Lori," Bryan said, picking up his daughter. "But she's with us...right here. When you love someone, they stay in your heart forever."
"Thanks, Daddy," Lori smiled.
Suddenly, Nancy came in, holding something. "Lori, I have a little something for you," she smiled. "It's something special I order from your father's music shop." She handed her stepdaughter what looked like a violin case.
Muffy was passing by when she saw what was going on, and she couldn't help but spy. Lori put the case on her bed, and when she opened it, she saw a beautiful blue Little-Mermaid-themed violin. The scroll was shaped like a seashell, and the sound holes were in the shape of seahorses.
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"Wow, I had no idea Daddy made these in the store," Lori gaped.
"It's a one-of-a-kind violin just for my new little mermaid," Nancy smiled.
"Thank you, Nancy," Lori smiled.
Muffy was a little jealous of the gift her mother gave her new stepsister, and she scoffed and went on her way.
"You'd best get ready for bed—you start school at Old Rosebud Academy tomorrow," Nancy said.
"Okay," Lori nodded. She hugged her father and stepmother tightly.
"Good night, dear," Bryan smiled.
"Good night," Lori waved.
Once Nancy and Bryan left, Lori put her new violin in its case. Then she changed into her pajamas, brushed her teeth, climbed into bed, and fell asleep.
