Writers Workshop

The next day, Cora thought about meeting the little fairy. She was somewhat discouraged because of its bad manners. She always believed that if you were nice to someone, they would be nice to you. She was learning that this isn’t always the case. “Never mind,” she thought, “I will always be nice to others. I can’t control their behavior, only my own.” With that, Cora decided she would attempt to contact the fairy again. She would like to learn its name so she could stop calling it Just Am. She laughed to herself. Just Am is a silly name.

Cora spent the day in school with the other children talking and dreaming about Christmas vacation. Just a few more days and she would be free to spend time in the library with her fairy friend. While the other children dreamed of sleeping in and what gifts Santa might bring, Cora thought about Just Am and whether or not he, uh, it would grant her wish for Uncle Mike. Before she knew it, the day was done and she was walking home with her friend Emma.

“Aren’t you listening to anything I’m saying?” asked Emma.

“Uhm, yes?” guessed Cora. Emma raised her right eyebrow in that way that says, “Yea and pigs can fly.” They both laughed as Emma asked Cora what was on her mind.

“Well, uh, I don’t know,” Cora said evasively. Again the eyebrow shot up.

“Seriously? I know you better than anyone. Just tell me what’s going on,” replied Emma with the best authoritarian voice she could muster. She truly was Cora’s best friend and deserved to know what was going on in Cora’s mind that couldn’t pay attention.

“Ok, don’t laugh at me. You might think I’m crazy, but…” Cora blurted out everything. She told Emma about how sad Uncle Mike was and about researching Christmas fairies. She told Emma how desperately she wanted to find one so she could ask it to help Uncle Mike feel happy, even if it was only for a day. Cora carefully looked out of the top of her eyes at Emma. She feared rejection at this crazy notion of fairies. What she saw instead was her friend’s face full of concern, eyes brimming with tears. Emma couldn’t speak right away.

“Oh Cora, that’s beautiful. Your Uncle Mike is lucky to have you. You know that, right? I don’t think the idea of a Christmas fairy is crazy at all. What should we do first?” Cora was surprised at Emma’s intensity and her love.

“Well, Em,” she choked out. “Uh, I kinda met one last night at the library. At least I think I did. It was late and I was so tired. I wonder if I imagined the whole thing.” She went on to explain the events of the previous evening. “I mean, I wanted it so bad, maybe my imagination got the better of me,” she finished. Emma thought about everything Cora told her. She needed a moment to gather her thoughts.

“No Cora. You don’t make things up, not even to yourself. I’m sure if we went to the library again tonight, your fairy will be there.” The girls made plans to visit the library after dinner. Cora felt such relief that she skipped all the rest of the way home.

“Well, hello my little mermaid!” Uncle Mike greeted her. He seemed to be in a better mood than usual. When Uncle Mike is in a great mood, he teases her, calling her fish face or scaly bottom. He can be so silly at times. “Tell me about your day while I get dinner on the table,” he said. Uncle Mike was a notoriously bad cook, so dinner often consisted of macaroni and cheese with fried sausage bites or if he’s feeling particularly goofy, he makes frozen fish sticks and claims they look like her friends. Now Cora’s mer-friends are not actually fish at all, but mer-people who, by the way, also eat fish on occasion. Tonight’s repast was the best pizza in town from Georgie’s. It looked delicious, steaming hot and ready to eat. While Uncle Mike set the table with their finest paper plates, Cora told him about her day. All the kids at school are excited for winter break and not a whole lot was accomplished in class. She asked if she could go to the library with Emma after dinner.

“Gee, fish face, I was hoping we could grab some ice cream after dinner.”

“Oh, that sounds great, Uncle Mike,” Cora exclaimed. “I’ll call Emma after dinner and let her know that I can’t make it to the library.”

“See if her folks will let her come along,” replied Uncle Mike. Cora was excited. Her dream of a happier uncle was coming true already. Just Am can wait another day. After dinner, Cora called Emma. Her parents agreed to let her join Uncle Mike and Cora and the three drove into town for ice cream. Cora and Emma exchanged knowing glances on several occasions while Uncle Mike pretended not to notice. “These girls are up to something,” he thought as he rolled his eyes upward. “Here we go again. The last time Cora got that look on her face, I ended up under the sea visiting with mermaids and mermen! She certainly keeps life interesting,” he told himself. Emma ordered chocolate with sprinkles while Cora delighted in plain vanilla which she topped with a generous dose of salt. There’s something fishy about that, laughed Mike to himself. He looked lovingly at his niece and his heart swelled with joy. Just then, a woman stepped up to the counter to place her order. Mike noticed her, of course, as she was indescribably beautiful. She wore no make-up on her face and seemed to glow from within. Her thick, dark hair flowed about her as if she was underwater and she moved gracefully as though she were swimming. He was fascinated. Cora caught her uncle’s gaze and smiled to herself. Maybe I should wish for this is the woman for my uncle, she thought. Well, just sitting here won’t get introductions made. With that, she jumped out of her seat and yelped, “I think I saw a spider!” Catching the woman’s attention, she apologized for her outburst and said it was a fuzz ball and nothing to worry about. The strange woman’s eyes glistened knowingly as she smiled and said, “Oh darn, they make such good toppings for ice cream.” With that, she salted her plain vanilla cone and began to walk away.

“My name’s Cora and this is my friend Emma and my uncle, Mike. He’s single,” she blurted out. Mike turned a shade of red heretofore unseen on his face, while Emma giggled. Being Cora’s best friend, she was used to Cora’s sometimes embarrassing outbursts. The woman’s smile, filled with mirth, told a similar story. She found the outburst delightful. “My name’s Asherah,” she simply said. Mike’s mouth dropped open as Asherah placed the salt shaker back on the table. There is no way, he thought, that she could be a mer-person as well. “Asherah is a beautiful name. What does it mean?” he asked before he could stop himself. He wanted to know more about this unusual woman before she left the shop.

“Thank-you,” she replied. “It means ‘she who treads on the sea’. My parents lived by the sea in the Bushehr Province when I was a child. That’s in Iran. The part of Iran that was once called Persia. My parents were fascinated by all things ancient and mystical,” she said with raised eyebrows to emphasize the mystery of her name.

“Would you like to join us?” Cora innocently asked. “I’d love to hear more about Persia.”

“Well, ok. I guess I could stay for a minute.” Asherah smiled demurely at Mike, tilted her head to the side and asked how he lucked out to be on niece watching duty. He smiled easily and explained that Cora was his ward turned daughter. He found her as an infant floating on a pile of seaweed towards the shore one morning while he was walking on the beach. With no parents to claim her, he took responsibility for her and became Uncle Mike, although now he was more father than uncle. The name Uncle Mike stuck, though. Asherah listened with the intensity of paparazzi. Uncle Mike found this interest unsettling. Why was she so interested all of a sudden? He wondered. Cora caught on to Uncle Mike’s discomfort at Asherah’s intensity.

“Please tell us more about Persia or Iran. How long did you live there? Where do you live now? This is a small town. Why haven’t we seen you before?” she said in one breath, hoping to unbalance Asherah a bit and glean more information about this strange, lovely lady. Her efforts were not lost on her uncle and his brow relaxed as he listened to his favorite manipulator work her magic on Asherah.

She smiled at Cora’s interest and replied, “Well, we lived there for the first four years of my life, then moved back to the US, just a few miles up the coast from here. I don’t really remember anything from those early years, but we did go back to visit family once or twice when I was younger. I haven’t been back since then, though.

Cora’s face fell, “Oh, that’s sad. Well, what about your name?” she quickly countered. “Can you tell me more about that, She Who Treads on the sea?”

Asherah’s face brightened briefly as she explained, “Oh yes as I mentioned, my parents loved mythology. They were both professors teaching ancient religion at the local university. My mother went into labor as they were enjoying a last day at the beach. The call of the sea stirred my unborn soul and I yearned to be free,” Asherah laughed. Uncle Mike laughed too, while the young girls merely looked on, puzzled at the unspoken humor shared between adults. “Well, I was born right there on the beach, sand and all!” We were transported to the local hospital where both Mom and Dad decided to name me Asherah, She Who Walks on the Sea. I guess they thought it fitting considering my birth place. Well, I hate to story tell and run, but I must be getting back home,” she announced. She looked at Mike for a long moment, smiled and nodded, then turned to walk away. This time, Emma intervened. “Can we get together again? I want to hear more about the sea and your mystery birth?” Mike rolled his eyes at her obvious yet sincere attempt to lure Asherah back to the group. Asherah made eye contact with Mike and they both burst out laughing.

“Asherah, I’d like to see you again, if I may,” Mike said quietly.

“I’d like that too, here’s my phone number. It was lovely to meet all of you. I do hope to see you again soon.” She directed the last part directly at Mike, who generally missed all cues, but caught on this time.

They shook hands, while an unspoken message of interest passed between them. The preteen girls crooned at the Hallmark moment, gawking openly at the elegant woman as she glided away into the night.