“I’m rather plain, Great Grandma,” said Azuline.
“If you knew how beautiful you look to me, you wouldn’t
feel you need redoing,” said grandma Divina to Azuline. “But there is a lot of
fun in dolling up, I won’t deny that, so we are going to let your brother work
his magic on us.”
“I’ve been a-maying,” said Rosendo, “though ´tis still not
May, and the merry month is longed for, but yet far away. The presence of Flora
is strong here, as you can see, and indeed I have brought here the budding
spring that is to be. In your hair I shall spread it, if you allow, Let me do
and you'll soon see how.”
An abundance of flowers there was indeed in Malvinio’s sumptuous
beauty salon and soon there was an abundance of blooms in Azuline and Divina’s
locks.
Ah, and Azuline looked so pleased!
“Now, tell me dear, who are you looking so pretty for?”
asked Grandma Divina, “because obviously it’s not me you are wanting to impress!”
“I don’t think she knows yet,” said Malvinio. “But there is
sure to be a someone, if not two someones or more today that she shall please.”
“What can you do for me?” asked a tiny voice that belonged
to someone who had gone forgotten, so small was she that she was lost in one of
the parlour’s chairs, under the smothering folds of a beauty bib.
“Who are you, dear?” asked Divina peering at the little
face that had just spoken once she distinguished it. The bib could have wrapped
up twenty babies like this one.
“Anemone,” she said. “I think that’s to be my name. My
sisters approve it. I’m here to practice hairdos for my name day party. One
can’t go to a party with windblown hair, can one? And I´m Wildgale and
Mathilde’s youngest.”
“Oh, my dear! Then I’m your great grandmother! And this is
your cousin Azuline. And Rosendo, I suppose you know he is your cousin too. Now
when did you show up, dearie? Not at this salon. I mean, how did you happen to
come to be? That is, when and where?”
“Yesterday. At home. Bleak house. A gust of wind left me
sitting on a window sill. I knocked on the glass because I wanted to be let in,
out of the rain and the storm. The dragon Grrr was first to detect me and gave
a growling alarm. Wildgale blew me right into Mathilde’s arms.”
“Where did the wind
bring you from?” asked Azuline.
The little girl did something like shrug, but the
gesture was practically lost under the
bib.
“Her parents must have thought her up,” said Malvinio.
“That’s how these things usually happen. One starts getting strange ideas and
suddenly someone appears out of nowhere.”
“Mine can’t have thought me up,” said Azuline. “They were
nowhere near. It took me a while to find them. I don’t know where I came from
either,” said Azuline. “All I remember is wandering among some rocks for a
while before I saw someone I became interested in. Daddy Demi,that’s who. What
do you say, Great Grandma?”
“I say you all made it here to us and that’s what matters,”
Divina went up to Anemone and unwrapped her and held her up in her arms to
examine her properly. “You’re very like your sisters. I’m sure your parents
thought you into existence.”
“I don’t look much like Rosendo,” said Azuline. “Or like
our parents. Did we think ourselves up?”
“I burst out of a walnut when a squirrel cracked it,”
contributed Rosendo.
“Just so long as you have pleasant thoughts, that’s all
that matters,” said Malvinio. “Nice thoughts, nice kids.”
“Uncle Arley was just here to cut his hair,” said Rosendo.
“He was with Great Grandpa who asked him if he still had nightmares. Nightmares
are bad thoughts, aren’t they? Is Uncle
Arley a bad kid?”
“No!” said
both Divina and Malvinio.
“Great Grandpa AEternus said he’s afraid to have nightmares
but that Arley must know that by now.”
“Well, sooner or later you’re bound to hear about this, so
perhaps I had better explain, at least, as far as I can. I haven’t had a
nightmare in my life. But your great grandfather does. He´s always had them.
Which is why he plays so much golf and chess. So as not to think too much. Now
some people blame him for all the bad spirits that suddenly pop up in the
worlds. He insists he has nothing to do with their existence, but like I said,
some people blame him for them. Don’t listen to those people. They are utterly wrong.”
“And they don’t blame you? Because you are ancient too,”
said Azuline.
“I sure am. But I haven’t once had a nightmare. Only sweet dreams.
My twin sister has the nightmares for both of us. That’s why she works so much.
She keeps very busy so she won’t think bad stuff, but when she sleeps, well,
unless she’s completely tuckered out, she could have a bad dream. My son, your
Uncle Gentlerain, works a lot too, like my sister, but he always sleeps like a
log, and dreams pleasantly, if at all, like me.
He only has fears or is upset when he is awake and sees something isn’t
the way it should be. And then he tries to remedy whatever that is.”
“And Great Grandfather Excelsius?”
“Nobody knows what that man thinks. He never says anything
much.”
“And he gets blamed by people for bad spirits that pop up
too?”
“No. Only AEternus does. Excelsius always goes unnoticed.
AEternus is noisier. More scandalous.”
“That doesn’t sound much fair, does it?” concluded Azuline.
“Look, dears, spirits, good or bad, first show up where
they have to. Their beginning is always where it is. And it doesn’t make much
sense to blame anyone else for them. Well, sometimes yes, but not people who
don’t create frankenstein monsters on purpose. I hope you all take after me. It’s a
lot cooler being easygoing like I am. That’s my advice for you. And no more
speaking about this, or a problem might pop up right here.”
And then, the beauty parlour doors popped open and hollering
“Malvinio!
Malvinio!” in popped Bigwig Brushland.
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