Ever since I was a child, I’ve had this obsession of collecting things. It could be rocks, flowers, and even crystals. It truly depended on what interest I had in that period of time.
As I collect the shells, Illysia suddenly starts splashing water against me, leading drops of water to splatter all over my dress. Looking at her and the smile that her face holds, it’s impossible to not think of a princess who’s living her biggest dream. The way her body moves as she dances around, each step deeper into the water as her clothes get drained.
Just as I’m about to join her, totally forgetting about my wings, nature suddenly stops me by sending a turtle. Instead of taking steps closer to the water, the turtle starts taking slow steps towards me.
“Hello, little one.” I say, carefully dragging my hand over its hard shell.
“What are you doing?” Illysia screams before dipping her head into the water, her hair falling around her as she comes back up to the surface.
“It’s a turtle!” I scream back for her to hear.
“A what?”
“A turtle!” I repeat.
She walks towards us, her now wet dress clinging to her body.
“Awww, he’s so adorable.” She says in a sweet voice, bending down to pet his small head.
—
With her hair dripping wet and me still being covered in blood, we decided to look for a clothing boutique. It makes me excited to think that soon I’ll be looking like the beautiful women all around me, in their unique clothing choices that suit them so perfectly.
As we walked past the shop that holds dresses prettier than the ones I’ve seen before, I was done wearing my bloody, destroyed one. One chapter was over and a new one was about to start, ready to feel like myself again. And the only one I could thank for that was Illysia.
She let me know that it was okay to trust again, to believe, and hope. After Ector, the last hope I had abandoned my body like it had never been there, and every drop of joy and love followed.
There was a moment where I felt that I had to be strong, there wasn’t any room for softness. Something Illysia quickly changed.
Looking towards the mesmerizing shop covered in huge shells, I take a few steps toward it and look inside through the window. “Could we get a new dress for me?” I asked my friend.
“Oh, I’m so glad you asked, I’m tired of seeing all that blood on you.” She answered in the nicest way possible.
She takes a steady grip around the doorknob and twists it until the door finally opens. “Hi.” She greets the owner.
The beautiful woman draped in crystals and shining like the sun herself quickly walks towards us. “Hi! Welcome to Fabric and Beauty.” Her soft voice speaks.
This woman looks like she holds higher power. Her tiara is in the form of a sun spreading its crystal rays around her head. And her light brown hair makes the light yellow dress shine onits own. My jaw fell to the ground as I stared at her from top to toe, almost like a goddess who had decided to take me with her to a palace.
“Genevieve, stop staring!” Illysia whispers and pushes my shoulder.
I smile towards the owner and start pacing through the shop to find a new dress. My first instinct was to search for something pink but I quickly changed my mind as a beautiful teal dress stole all of my attention.
I took it from the section and made my way to the dressing room, which felt awfully empty without Ector.
Putting on the light teal dress, it was so long it ended right above my toes. The sleeves were long and two seashells were holding the thin fabric together by the elbows, only to let it fall free around my lower arms. On each shoulder, there was light fabric, painted in shimmery details of gold that could flow free down my back.
The dress had light pearls that surrounded my hips, a big shell held them to one side so that they could move freely on the other.
“Let me look at you.” The woman who owned the boutique spoke to me. “Could I do something with your beautiful hair?” She asked with her fingers going through it.
“Yes please.”
She took a hold of my hair which had now grown back to its full length. She twisted the hair that was placed on each side of my forehead and clipped them together at the back with a seashell clip that held pearls in the same teal color as the beautiful dress.
“Wow.” I said, looking at myself in the mirror of the dressing room.
“You look like a goddess.” Illysia replied with her jaw falling open.
