It was ten O'clock in the morning, Jean jumped hastily from her bed. Talking to Twinkle who had obviously woken up earlier since she had prepared breakfast and was seated at the study table browsing," why didn't you wake me up? The ferry must have already left, how then am I supposed to get to the mainland? Is the universe really this mean?" She stood before her parent's picture with hands on her head saying , "Everything seems to be against me. Oh holy God! Take me now! Unite me with these lovely souls!" The hopelessness and despair in her words were as loud as thunderstorms in the savannah.
"Worry not ,dear friend, dress up and I will take you for a superb adventure, you will only have to take me to the shore. Look, I was able to gather some energy this morning," Twinkle said while pointing at the bar below her neck. Unsure of what to think or say, Jean sluggishly walked into the bathroom.
It took her long enough to get ready, she kept on moving to and from and must have spent most of the time in the mirror trying to convince herself that she looks fine despite the conspicuous changes in her body that she found really annoying.
With her small camera on her right hand and Twinkle, in beatle form, in her old tiny hand bag together with the magical egg, Jean stepped out. She stood some steps from her door watching a video playing on the camera. It was recorded on the day she received the camera as an award from her online tutor. She had ever since developed a hobby of taking pictures, until the unspeakable happened and she stopped going out.
" Go! Go! Go girl!" Twinkle uttered, bringing Jean who was almost lost in her thoughts back to reality.
On arrival at the shore, the water was already forming a layer of ice on its surface.This was the reason why the ferry operated in the very early morning hours.
"Here we are ,Twinkle, what's nex.." Jean was about to make a statement when the little beetle suddenly jumped into her mouth and she swallowed it. She felt dizzy and unconsciously fell into the waters.
' Up on a hill across the blue lake, that's where I had my first heartbreak, I still remember how it all changed, my father said… Don't you worry, don't you worry child, the heavens got a plan for you' a song by Swedish House Mafia played meekly in the background as Jean regained her consciousness.
A cold shiver ran down her spine. She then opened her eyes to a beautiful blue surrounded decorated with colourful coral reefs and an exemplary spectacle of locomoting sea creatures. She wanted to let out a loud scream in excitement and instead a whistle came out. "Twinkle? Are you still in my belly? What's happening, have I gone mute or something?" She spoke in her thoughts amidst panic and a certain feeling of fulfillment.
" Whales don't scream,Jean!" Twinkle's gentle voice uttered. "Woow! A..a whale? I love whales," she said as she tossed the gigantic streamlined body into the deep dark waters. Typically, she would be scared to her last nerve in such a dark depth however this time she was in just the perfect form for the occasion, so she thought but Twinkle had something different in mind. "Hurray!" Twinkle's voice from quite a distance could be heard. Jean suddenly felt stranded.
Jean was trying to swim away when she felt her legs kicking. Back to her human form? Certainly yes. Wild thoughts raced in her mind. She regretted trusting Twinkle.
Her soul fought to take a leave as her heart pounded hard, chasing away every breath . An unequipped and inexperienced diver wishing to end their life in the dark unventured kingdom of secrets is what she felt like at this point. The dense waters felt so heavy on her in that her lame swimming skills could barely be of any use.
She was now drowning.
At just that moment a tiny spark illuminated the blue waters and a shiny pearl-galaxy formed surrounding a golden castle. Then ,Twinkle, in the form of a pink unicorn, swept over Jean and sped off towards the castle saying," all this while you allowed fear to take charge that you failed to look at the positive side. Did you even realise that you are breathing normally in the water? That, dear friend, is a lesson I want you to learn, seek the bright side."
The song by the Swedish House Mafia plays on…
Jean and her ride now entered the magical castle. Before them, a pleasant spectacle of sea dwellers in their dancing shoes . The thrilled teenager jumped right into the waters to free herself from the bondage of sorrows. She didn't realise just how long she had been in the sea dancing when they arrived at the mainland's port.
Jean was standing drenched and lost at a corner near the mainland port's warehouse when a tall blonde handsome guy walked to her with charming blue eyes. She felt nervous. Twinkle, who must have been aware stood still from her palm throwing sneaky glances at her.
" Hello, are you okay? Come..," his deep masculine voice roared with concern as he walked her to the staff's changing room and gave her a towel. " Sit here, I will find some dry clothes for you," he said and walked out.
" Who's that guy? Oh my God! He is so gentle" Jean said with a clear sparkle in her eyes. Twinkle must have been eagerly waiting to be asked since she was armed with every info about the guy and she gladly spat it faster than Eminem. " His name is Fred, twenty years old. He is from a filthy rich background and his father is the CEO of the largest tech company in the region and a business man too. I mustn't forget to mention that he has a record of being very mischievous. He is working here to compensate for the money he stole from his father sometime back. He is a student at the university and has never had a girlfriend."
"The girlfriend part was quite unnecessary! So it seems like we can trust him to show us around…" Jean was still speaking when Fred came in. " Are you talking to someone?" He asked while scrutinising the place. " No not at all.." she stammered . He then handed over the clothes to her saying " Okay but I overheard you saying that you needed someone to show you around. I would gladly do that, if you don't mind."
She took the short white sleeveless dress and put it on. Twinkle held onto her hair and matched perfectly with the yellow piece of cloth on Jean's head. The two teenagers strolled around and Jean couldn't hold back the urge to take pictures. The town had beautiful sceneries. They toured extensively on most of the major streets and came across the street where Jean's uncle used to stay but on asking around they were informed that her uncle and his family moved to a different city months ago.
Evening came and the sun settled. The streets started to clear up. The two were at the bridge enjoying the beautiful view from the dazzling city lights. Jean stood puzzled and stressed. It was getting chilly and she couldn't figure out a place to spend the night. She had left her house knowing that she would be accommodated by her uncle for as long as it takes however she was now stranded. Fred noticed the troubled look on her face. He then held Jean's hand and led her way. They walked to a tall skyscraper which belonged to Fred's family and checked in.
" You can stay here for as long as you want, here is my phone and on that table is a laptop. Feel free to call me on that number whenever you need anything," Fred said in reassurance as he exited leaving Jean to rest for it had surely been a long day.
She had never been to such a fancy place before. The room's interior was outstandingly elegant. From the large tidy bouncy bed to the well equipped bathroom, it was all heavenly. She then remembered the little buddy on her head. Twinkle looked worn out, as expected after spending the whole day in the sun. She shifted to her lady form and the intensity of her distress got even more clear.
Jean was alarmed and asked, " what seems to be the matter? You look quite pale. Was the sun too hot?"
Walking to the corridor with her eyes cast at the large water mass which stood waverly miles away, Twinkle said, " I think I saw Vicky today as we were on our little sea adventure. I can't be mistaken, it was him for sure."
" Well then I guess it means that you will soon head back home, right? But what about the quest which brought us here, will you just abandon me?" Jean couldn't help but ask worriedly. " It'll not be as easy to go back yet. I ought to convince Vicky to come with me or perhaps use force to get her to agree. There is something telling me that it will be quite a task and might take a long time, long enough to have fulfilled your quest, dear friend," Twinkle spoke.
The both stood at the corridor for some time liberating.
It was almost midnight, Jean had spent an hour or two in the bathroom. Who wouldn't have? The bath tab was designed spectacularly to ensure maximum comfort with warm scented water and relaxing music in the background. She was now dressed and had a nice meal delivered to her room. As she ate, she took her camera and scrolled through the pictures she had taken during the day. Alas! She was met by an ecstatic recording of her sea adventure. She instantly uploaded the video on her Instagram. It had always been her dream to become a celebrity and this was just the perfect way to catch the crowd's attention.
At sunrise, the place was all quiet except for the sound of tides from the sea and the singing birds. Jean heard a knock on the door and walked lazily to get it. Before her stood a plump old man with Fred on his side. The man immediately entered , not patient enough to wait to be welcomed. Jean looked into Fred's eyes and couldn't quite put a finger on what they were trying to communicate. " Hello young lady. I am Mr Martin. The owner of this place and father to this boy over here," he paused tapping on Fred's back and then continued, " in normal circumstances you would be in hot soup for receiving services not paid for however this case has some exceptions . I have always longed for my son to bring a lady home but he instead brought her to my hotel, it's all the same after all. I therefore take this opportunity to officially welcome you as part of my family and perhaps come home with me," he concluded.
The whole situation felt like a telenovela. She stood speechless. " This is a grand chance for me. I will get to live in a mansion and get many opportunities for my personal growth and success. I can't turn this down, but Fred and I aren't lovers as his father thinks. No! It doesn't matter as long as we play along," Jean thought before accepting Mr Martin's offer. "Well.. I will now leave you two. Meet me in the car," the old man said as he exited.
Jean had nothing to pack, except for her bag with the magical egg,so the two sat on the bed planning on the act they were about to put up as lovers. They then realised that they shared a favourite romantic love novel. That came in handy since they needed a language that only they could understand. With everything said and done, Jean picked her camera and it was at that moment when she realised that she had not seen Twinkle. Fred was watching and she didn't want to make things weird so when she was asked, she claimed to have lost her Beatle- like hair clip. They turned the room upside down with no avail. " Don't worry about it, I will buy you a new one, let's not keep dad waiting any longer," Fred uttered.
The Benz EQS SUV rolled smoothly on the well tarmacked path as Jean peeped outside. Her head was clogged. Without Twinkle her trip to the mainland was useless but Twinkle is intelligent and she would surely locate her eventually, so she thought.