PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

As the days went on, the little girl found herself being drawn up the mysterious staircase to the terrace on the castle roof. Usually she just sat and watched the sky. It was always night time when she went. Her star was not always there, but she was always happier inside when it was, sometimes appearing from behind a cloud.

Today, however, was different. The girl, on her way up the stairs, had found a most curious basket. She had no idea where it came from or how it got there, but that wasn't the most surprising thing about it; things were always appearing in the castle with very little explanation. The basket was full of eggs, but most surprising thing about these eggs was that they were coloured. Red, pink, yellow, spring green, deep blue, purple. The little girl had never seen such a thing before. "Oh magician, where are you?" she called out as she walked up the rest of the stairs, carefully carrying the precious apparition. "I need you to tell me why I have a basket of rainbow eggs..."

The 'magician' was indeed around, and heard the call, but he would not appear today. He did not know where the basket of eggs came from either, and he did not like admitting that. Strange things were happening in this castle that was supposed to protect the little girl. He was not a fan of strange things. The magic of the castle was coming undone and the world was seeping into the little girl's perception, something that was not supposed to happen at all. Was that not why she had been sent here? To keep her from the strangeness of the world? The gentleman watched anxiously from a hidden place as the rest of the scene unfolded.

When the little girl reached the top of the stairs, she gasped. Growing out of the stone terrace was something she had never seen before. The little girl stood very still, her eyes taking in this second strange thing of the day, lit up by the moonlight. How tall it was! How strong, how green, and how... sad, somehow. The little girl rushed over to it.

She wrapped her arms around its base, feeling the roughness. "Why are you sad?" she asked it. But the long, thin leaves only brushed her face in response. She sat down, holding her basket tightly in her lap. She felt like this giant apparition was there to comfort her somehow, but she did not remember ever feeling sad...

Her face was brushed by the leaves again. The little girl suddenly remembered. "You're a tree!" she said up to it. "A tree... a very sad tree... how did I forget what a tree was? I used to know trees... in some... other place..."

The little girl was troubled inside. She could not recall any specific memories, but she knew that she had once seen trees, played with them, sat under them, hugged them.

It was cloudy tonight, and the little girl could not see her star. She could not see the magician, who had quietly disappeared, unable to handle things he could not understand, abandoning the little girl he was supposed to protect. He was starting to feel like she needed other protection than what he could give her, but he didn't know what that was or where it would come from.

The little girl looked down at her basket of eggs. "I need... a river..." she whispered to the tree. "I don't remember why, but I need a river."

So the little girl sat and waited, under the willow tree, waiting for a river that would never come, for a star that would always remain just a star.