A Cloud of Hair

Every night at midnight, the purple clouds came out to dance with the blushing sky. Up in her room, little Salacia stared out of the open window with a glimmer in her eyes. It was her favourite time of the day- the stars would twinkle like glitter scattered in the sky. The clouds would sway to the rhythm of the winds. The sounds of frogs in the nearby pond replaced the songbirds of the day, and twilight thrushes sang a sweet and melodic tune.

It was magic.

"The sky is purple again," Salacia heard her rabbit mutter, and she turned to him with a smile. "Those frogs are at it again too."

"Pepper, isn't it wonderful?" Salacia clasped her hands and pulled them close to her chest, then closed her eyes and swayed her skirt. "I could never get tired of something so beautiful."

"Ugh," Pepper scampered over to Salacia and hopped onto the window sill. He glanced out to the pond below and watched as the frogs, the crickets, and the squirrels danced to the sounds of the night. "It looks like a unicorn vomited all over the sky."

"What if a unicorn did blow its dust to cover the sky?" Salacia turned her gaze back to the sky, and her eyes widened as she imagined it. "Wouldn't that just be magnificent!"

"Unicorns don't exist, darling." Pepper rolled his eyes and leaned his back against the cool window frame. "This is the real world, not a fantasy."

Salacia ignored the talking rabbit and smiled softly. She knew that unicorns didn't actually exist, but what if? If something so otherworldly and magical really did not exist, how could the purple skies be explained? The glittery stars? If this wasn't magic, what else could it be?

"Why don't we go outside?" Salacia heard Pepper say, and she turned to him with a sharp breath. "Get a closer look."

"Oh, oh I," Salacia shook her head and took a step back from the window. "I c-c-could-d n-nev-ver!"

"We could sneak out and be back before sunrise." Pepper hopped down from the sill and onto Salacia's shoulders, and the little child froze. "We'll be back before you know it!"

Salacia didn't respond, and Pepper tapped his foot on her shoulder repeatedly as he waited for her to speak. If he could just get her out of the house, maybe he could finally change the ending. How he longed for a beautiful ending- one that put his conscience to rest and allowed him nights of peaceful rest.

"I-I-I d-don't kno-ow..." Salacia finally spoke and turned her back on the window. She bit her lip and twirled the hem of her skirt in her fingers. "Wha-at if w-w-we get c-caught?"

Pepper leaned forward and nestled into the little girl's neck. Salacia's heart was filled with warmth then, and her trembling fingers grew calm.

"You'll be okay. We are just going to see the purple sky, remember?"

"Yeah," Salacia muttered softly and took a deep breath. "We're just going to see the glittering stars!"

Pepper smiled and nodded his approval. Balling up her fists, Salacia marched toward the door. She took a deep breath, and pushing aside all feelings of doubt, she grabbed the door handle.

Then the door slammed open.

"M-m-mother!"

Salacia's mother, Porcelina, was a gruesome troll. She was fierce and ugly, donning large bead-like eyes, a thin nose with a wart on the tip and yellow, dull teeth. She walked with a limp in her left leg and a cane, one which she sometimes used to discipline the child, in her right hand. Salacia feared her mother, but the woman loved the child in her own way. She wanted to keep her hidden and protected from all evils in the world. She wanted the child to have peace and live a long life. If only the little girl knew that; if only Salacia trusted Porcelina as much as she feared the woman. But she could not. All her life, her mother had locked her away and never allowed her beyond the front steps. How could she love someone that kept her in such a piteous state?

"The purple skies and the glittering stars are a curse!" Porcelina's voice bellowed in the little room, causing the child to cower behind her bed. "How many times must I warn you of this? You must never go outside! Not a single step!'

"B-b-but m-moth-th-ther! H-how c-c-can a c-c-c-curse b-be so b-b-beaut-tif-ful?" Salacia peeked from over the bed and mustered the little courage she had left. "E-even p-pep-p-pepper th-th-thinks s-s-so."

"You're talking to that darn rabbit again!" Porcelina growled and raised her cane into the air. "How many times must I warn you of the little devil? Rabbits are not your friend! Where is it?"

"Quickly, child." Salacia heard Pepper say and she glanced toward the window. "Quickly! You have to jump!"

Salacia glanced between the rabbit, who was motioning Salacia over and her mother, who was frantically waving the cane in the air.

"Where is the little devil? We are having rabbit stew for dinner!"

"Quickly!" Pepper yelled again and Salacia rushed over to the window. She glanced below, the ground stretching further away, and she looked in horror at the rabbit.

"I can't! It's too far!"

"Your hair is fluffy like the purple clouds!" Pepper bellowed and hopped onto Salacia's afro. "And clouds float, don't they?"

"I'm scared." Salacia began to cry and the rabbit shushed her. Between her mother's angry cries and Pepper's soothing words, Salacia didn't know what to believe.

"Look at me child." the rabbit tugged at the child's afro softly and Salacia glanced up. "It's okay. You're going to be just fine."

Pepper hopped down onto the window sill once more and pointed out at the horizon.

"Its magic, remember?"

Salacia followed the rabbit's little paw and glanced out the window. The purple clouds danced in one rhythm, as though inviting her to dance with them. She smiled and nodded her head in a trance- it was a beautiful sight. Then he pointed to the pond below.

"All you have to do is jump."

Salacia pulled herself up onto the window sill, the wind now bowing in her afro, and she heard her mother gasp behind her.

"What are you doing?"

Salacia turned around to find her mother frozen in place.

"Salacia, get down from there this instant!"

"I'm sorry mother," Salacia could not stop the tears. She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand and took a deep breath. "I'm going to be free now."

"Please." Porcelina begged, but she knew it was too late. It was as though time had slowed, and she couldn't grab her daughter's hand in time. As Salacia fell, the last thing she saw was her mother crying. A tear rolled down her cheek and she closed her eyes.

"Don't cry." Salacia muttered.

Then her body plunged into the pond below.

The rabbit watched as the child sunk into the water, and a small smile of satisfaction graced his lips. Finally, he would sleep in peace for all the nights to come.