An Enchanted Fish Tale
While searching for signs of royalty amongst the common frogs of their favorite Japanese garden, Coco and Yoko spied a golden koi swim straight through their reflection and gaze up at them. “Enchanting,” the little girls called out while leaping in their princess slippers and pointing into the silvery blue. The fish was unlike any they had seen before, and it whirled playfully, before spraying them with a flick of the tail and vanishing. Coco’s finger followed the direction of the splash—down, down, down; yet before they knew what was happening or could stop it, their beloved bracelet slipped from Coco’s slender wrist and tumbled into the air.
The bangle seemed to fall in slow motion, turning over and catching light on its journey to the pond. It was a lovely thing—strewn with glass beads intertwined with ceramic stones and metallic pearls. Yet its beauty alone is not why the girls loved it so, but because of a special secret that they alone shared. Wondrous things happened each time they wore the bracelet, confirming its magical powers that made them real princesses. Now, struck by an overwhelming sense of loss, they wondered what would become of them without it.
The little girls embraced as they helplessly watched the bracelet float to the center of the pond, where it settled upon a flowering lily pad. An unsympathetic turtle swimming past offered no assistance whatsoever, and the girl’s tears, falling like rain, created a magical rainbow all around. The water level rose due to the incessant crying, and it forced the frogs to higher ground and alarmed many of the passersby. Yet without assistance from the garden keeper, with his long fishing poles and high-waisted rubber boots, retrieving the bracelet was futile. And because he was gone for the day, they headed for home, casting long downtrodden fairy shadows as they trailed their plastic wands in the dirt behind them.
That night as Coco and Yoko dreamed madly, as all precocious little girls do, something astonishing happened. From the center of the Japanese garden the bracelet began to glow, and an unearthly music emanated from its center. A tidal wave of starlight flowed into the spot where their tears had fallen, and a phosphorescent cyclone of pixie dust swirled about. Drawn by the wondrous display of music and light, the golden koi ascended to the water’s surface, slipped the bracelet onto its regal head and wore it like a crown. Immediately, every creature in the enchanted garden bowed down to honor its new queen.
Early the next morning the girls entreated the gardener to fetch their beloved bracelet from the center of the pond, though it could not be found. Together they examined every inch of the garden, scrutinizing red and white koi swim lazy circles, while a blue heron started upon a fat snack of salamander and basil, from which they quickly averted their eyes. And though they investigated the highest branch and the lowest stone without a trace of the bracelet, curiously they felt the magic return. And so, it did not take long for the best friends to realize that they would always be princesses in their favorite garden; where, like the statues, wild moss, and hue-strewn maples, they were happy and belonged.
Years passed, and the little girls grew into strong, practical and wise women. One evening, they returned to the garden where they had once passed a lovely summer during their childhood. “Do you recall,” Yoko asked, “the time you lost our pretty bracelet in this pond?” “Vaguely,” replied Coco, suddenly remembering the golden koi with its royal air. Hand in hand they watched the sun sink lower on the horizon, as if their own bright futures and the sky aflame were somehow intricately connected. Then from the old footbridge where Coco’s bracelet had been lost—and found—they promised each other that they would never forget the magic of childhood.
And while their new dreams ascended to mingle with the emerging stars, a huge golden koi, now over seventy years old, swam beneath their feet and up through their reflection. With melancholy remembrance it gazed into the women’s faces while whirling gracefully below. Adorning its head was the bracelet, still glimmering in the fading light. The women, laughing together and reminiscing, did not notice the fish at all. So, with a playful flick of the tail, it splashed them with a cool mist before diving into the silvery blue and out of sight.
Andra Norris
2010
