Page 54 of Barbie: Dreamscape

But that doesn’t mean I haven’t ever felt wonder.

I think harder, about the rare times something unexpected happened. Like when Robin made my cereal into donuts in celebration of Boxing Day. Or that time when Callie, Sunny, and I snuck out to the top of the tallest tower at Swancrest to launch a miniature hot-air balloon we made in class. We wanted to see how high it could go. We wanted to see how long it would burn.

It didn’t make it far. It erupted into a firework, thanks to Sunny, who was quite pleased with himself. Still, I remember that moment, all of us crowded together, hope in our hearts. Wonder in our souls.

I think of Callie’s wide smile and Sunny’s roaring laugh. The way they’ve comforted and been there for me ever since I was determined Fateless. They never made me feel less than. They didn’t see me through the lens of my worth to society, but my worth simply as their friend. I feel a pang of missing them that comes from deep within my bones.

My friends… they make my life wondrous.

And, as Posey implied, wonder can be found in even the quietest moments.

That’ll do, one of the spiders says.

Immediately, the forest is plunged into total darkness, as if the sun has been smudged away. I gasp—then thousands of silver flecks appear in the trees, as if I’ve fallen into a night sky. They shine just as brightly as the stars.

But they’re not stars; they’re eyes. Spider eyes.

In a flash, I’m blinded by streams of sparkling silk like woven starlight, as thousands of spiders leap from the trees, right toward me, their silk forming constellations and galaxies.

They twirl around my body in glimmering lines before wrapping around me, covering me in silk that twinkles, emitting a silver glow, until the entire clearing is glistening.

When the twirling stops, I’m wearing a dress spun from starlight itself, glowing brightly through the darkness.

The neckline is straight, hitting just below my collarbones and continuing to my shoulders, leaving my two necklaces on full display. The bodice is fitted, and the skirt is full and flowing. I turn around, trying to spot the spiders, and feel the fabric swishing around me in a glowing streak, emitting glitter. The entire clearing is covered in it.

This isn’t just a dress. It’s a gown, fit for an enchanted evening.

Let Your Mind Be the Magic

We take compliments, one of the spiders says, and I smile.

“This is one of the most beautiful dresses I’ve ever seen,” I say, looking down at myself. Glistening fabric blinks back at me. “It’s… impossibly beautiful.”

My voice breaks. I feel a tear sliding down my cheek.

Because this is the first time I’ve ever worn an intricate design my mother didn’t create. And it feels bittersweet. I almost feel guilty, loving something so much that wasn’t crafted by her own careful, talented hands, and now… now I know for certain that she stitched her love into my clothing, because I no longer feel it, as glistening and opulent as this fabric is.

I don’t feel… her.

That’s why she looks so familiar! One of the spiders says, and I go still. I look up, tears frozen on my cheeks.

A scowl. You’re just now realizing it? She is the exact copy of her mother!

My throat tightens. I barely get the words out. “You—you met my mother?”

Met her? One of them says, outraged. We trained her, good girl!

My knees buckle. I settle onto the forest floor, the glowing dress ballooning around me. No… that’s impossible. How would she have even gotten here? Did my mother and Robin use the necklaces to portal, just like me?

I have so many questions. My throat is so full of emotion I can hardly get the words out.

Finally, I manage to say, “Please. Tell me everything.”

We don’t have to. We can show you.

And they begin spinning around the forest again, this time right over my head. Through the darkness, using their silvery silk, they make constellations that move, shapes that tell a story, and I see her—

My mother.