The Diary of Joy

Linky's tale

7. Joy, the year of the Phoenix

Dear Angel,

Last night was a bit of an unusual night for me, and I want to tell you all about it since it's nice to have someone listen to your problems without interrupting as my siblings often do.

When I finished writing to you yesterday, I realized that I had left my favorite book in the living room, and since I wanted to read a bit before I went to bed, I headed to the living room.

Upon reaching the closed door, I could hear raised voices and, don't judge me, but I decided to eavesdrop.

I know that it's not nice to do so, but I was curious when I realized that the voices belonged to aunt Linky and mom, which was quite odd.

As far as I can remember, I have never heard them arguing so loudly, before. When I think about it, I have never heard them arguing at all.

That's why you can't blame me for deciding to listen in on their conversation and find out what it was all about.

Imagine my surprise when I learned that it was about me.

Well, not exactly about me, but about what happened with my grandparents, and how grandmother behaved towards my siblings.

"I keep telling you Lyna, they will never change! Why do you keep hurting yourself looking for the approval of the family who abandoned you? For the love of all that's fairy, your mother didn't even come to your wedding!" Linky yelled.

"I know Linky, but I can't just stop caring about them, no matter what they did. They are still my family. I can't turn my back on them." Mom said.

She was trying to keep her voice down but it was barely lower than aunt Linky's who was furious and yelling at the top of her lungs.

"Why do you have to be so utterly forgiving?! They don't deserve your forgiveness! They don't deserve the privilege to spend time with your children, their grandchildren. The same grandchildren they refused to even acknowledge for years!" Linky said.

"You are right, but I want to give my children the chance to have a normal family. I don't want them to miss out on anything." Mom said.

"Can't you see that you are an amazing mother? They don't need anything else. They already have a family, the one which loves them and accepts them. Why would they have to try and win the love of the ones who should have given it to them unconditionally?" Linky said.

"They don't have to. But they want to." Mom said.

"Really? Joy, too?" Linky asked.

There was silence, and I knew that my mother could see that Linky was right, that I had problems dealing with my grandparents, especially the way they treated my siblings.

"She is doing what you and the others think is best, but it's hurting her. It's not in her nature to pretend, and your parents are not so fond of honesty these days." Linky said.

"I know, I know. I'll think of something." Mom said.

As the silence after those words lasted for a while, I decided it was high time to announce my presence.

"Hey, there Joy. What are you up to?" Linky asked me.

"Hi, aunt Linky. I just came to get my book to read before bed." I said.

"How about you leave the book, and I come to tell you, your brothers and sister a bedtime story? What do you say?" She asked.

"That would be awesome!" I said as I hurried ahead to tell the good news to my siblings.

Still, I managed to catch a warning look that mom was giving Linky, and I was pretty sure that she was using her telepathy to warn her not to tell us any tales that are not good for us.

Knowing aunt Linky, I was sure she would do quite the opposite, and I was looking forward to it.

I rushed my brothers and sister to get ready for bed and no sooner had we finished than aunt Linky appeared.

There was always a certain amount of wild energy, of rebellion around her and we all love that about her.

No matter what dad thought about himself, we know that the only rebel we know is aunt Linky.

She is not afraid to show the world who she is, and she doesn't care if they don't like her.

"Alright children, are you ready for a story, to top all stories?" Aunt Linky asked.

"Yes!!" We all yelled in unison.

"Once upon a time in the most magical land of all, there lived a nice, kind-hearted princess Yna.

She was known all across the lands as one of the kindest souls and was respected by many but by none as much as her best friend.

Her friend was, of course, a free-spirited, never stopping warrior by the name of Inky. She was the most courageous warrior that the princess had, and they were the best of friends.

Inky helped the princess learn how to have fun while the princess taught Inky the meaning of balance, of living to fight another day.

But what neither of these amazing beings knew was that there was evil lurking in the very castle were they abided. There was a corrupted heart, or two, in their very midst.

However, it all became clear one beautiful day when the princess announced the name of the man who was to be her prince, the future king of the land, the skillful warrior and a wonderful being.

Nevertheless, he was of a land far away, and many rebelled against such a notion.

Weren't there enough suitable men in their land? Why allow a stranger to take the throne?

To Yna's utmost shock, the one person whom she relayed on, whom she thought would be on her side, was the one voicing her opposition the strongest, her mother, the queen.

The poor gentle-hearted Yna had to be led away from the commotion by her dearest friend Inky.

Inky's only goal was to protect her friend, but it was impossible to protect one from evil words and lack of acceptance.

That was when the queen, the evil witch that she was..." Aunt Linky started to say.

"Linky, that's enough! Don't scare the children! That's not a good bedtime story." Mom yelled, bursting into the room.

"But mommy, please let aunty finish. We want to know what the evil witch did." We all wined.

"That's enough. You should all go to bed. I need to talk with aunt Linky." Mom said firmly.

We did as we were told, but it took me a while to fall asleep since I worried about aunt Linky.

I was sure that she was in a lot of trouble because we could all tell that the evil queen the story was about, was our grandmother and I knew mom wouldn't like that.

Anyway, I have to go now.

Love always,

Joy