ALWAYS…….BELIEVE!
A story about COMMUNITY SPIRIT
By Peggy Dennison
YOU DRAW the pictures in the empty space
It began as a usual September morning. In the gentle
breeze the clouds performed an early morning dance.
Crystal Cloud left her castle and a cloud had taken her
and Starshine, her special unicorn, on their early
morning ride down to the moon. Crystal Cloud
loved her morning visit to the moon's forest where
she had grown up with the unicorns. They always
came out to give her a good morning kiss by
licking her on the cheek.
Today the unicorns were gathering at Adara’s Mountain.
They had their meetings secretly very early
in the morning because the evil pirates were
always trying to capture one of them.
The unicorns were safe in the early
morning because the evil pirates always
slept in late after their nightly plundering.
The unicorns were magical and the evil
pirates believed that if they caught a
unicorn they could sell them for a rich treasure.
Suddenly they heard a BIG BOOM! It was louder than clapping your hands, louder than slamming a door, and even louder than the thunder on a humid August night. Everything went dark, even though it was the morning. Now dust began to fall everywhere, a heavy dark gray dust. It was covering everything; the white daisies were now just as gray as the bark of the old weathered pine trees.
“Starshine, let's find out what happened," said Crystal.
"There’s BIG WIND the fastest cloud, let’s catch a
ride on her." BIG WIND was the fastest cloud in
the sky and she had been resting overhead.
BIG WIND saw Crystal Cloud and Starshine
the unicorn and she swooped down and
picked them both up as quick as a wink.
“BIG WIND can you take us near where
the boom was?” asked Crystal. “Certainly,
“said BIG WIND. “I can see
gray smoke
hang on tight….I am very F-A-S-T!!!!!!!!”
In less than a moment they saw the brightest meteorite ever, crashed right into Adara’s Mountain. It was steaming and fires were raging all along the edges. Quai the Wizard knew when asteroids or meteorites were near but he had issued no warnings. Crystal Cloud and Starshine saw many unicorns galloping towards the forest running away from the meteorite. They were nudging the little ones along faster than they had ever run in their whole lives. Many of the unicorns were limping at the back of the group. Some were crawling and some were stuck under the meteorite. It took all Crystal's strength to hold Starshine by the mane so she wouldn't jump right off BIG WIND to be with her unicorn friends. Crystal immediately knew that it would take more than just her magic to bring enough help to save the unicorns. She would need the whole COMMUNITY to help with the rescue. BIG WIND was truly the fastest cloud in the sky and in a flash she had Crystal and Starshine back to the clearing in the forest.
As soon as they reached the edge
of the forest Tomiko, the wise woman,
was coming down the path.
Tomiko was concerned that Crystal
had not arrived for her morning mint tea.
Both Crystal and the unicorns loved
the sweet mint that grew by Tomiko's
cottage. Often Tomiko found the unicorns
nibbling the sweet mint leaves.Tomiko
had raised Crystal from the time she was born.
She was like a mother to her and had
a special way of knowing exactly
when Crystal needed her. Crystal was relieved
to see Tomiko and described what she
had seen. Tomiko had also heard the boom.
Crystal saw a worried look that she
had never seen before. Quai the Wizard
was rushing down from his mountain
followed by Kelly and Dottie his dogs.
He rarely came to the forest.
Crystal felt sick. WHAT WAS HAPPENING?
Crystal told Quai the Wizard
that a meteorite had crashed.
He looked at Tomiko and
shook his head while stroking
his gray beard. “I thought as much,"
he said. The three of them knew
something had to be done
immediately.
Starshine was running around in
and out of the trees searching
for her unicorn friends. She kept
frantically darting into every possible
corner of the forest. Starshine
was calling for her unicorn
cousins,
Jupiter and Neptune,
Over and over and over again.
Together they all agreed that they needed the help of everyone.
Crystal was shaking on the inside yet she didn't dare let anyone know how frightened she was. She hadn't even told Tomiko about the Unicorn Stardust that was drifting up to the stars. You see when a Unicorn dies, something special happens; it just dissolves into a magical stardust that returns to the stars in the heavens. Crystal had seen some of this while she was on BIG WIND. It was so dark from the smoke of the fires around the meteorite that only the sparkling bits of dust could barely be seen. Crystal's heart was heavy and sad about the unicorns that would not be coming home. Crystal put on her bravest face because she knew her job was to rescue the unicorns. She found MJ the Unicorn Keeper, with a tear on his cheek. “Crystal, only a few of the unicorns have made it home. Most of them are missing.”
It was hot and dusty. Crystal, Tomiko and Quai the Wizard's
throats were dry and scratchy already. Crystal knew the
rescue teams would need lots to drink to soothe their dry
throats. She remembered how refreshing lemonade was
on hot August days and how helpful it would be. Just
then Floyd the Postman was racing up the path. "Floyd,
you know everyone and I need you to gather as many
volunteers as possible to help us set up lemonade stands,"
said Crystal. He rounded up lots of helpers because
it was clear that the Lemonade Stand would need to stay
open a long time, for as long as the hot dust filled the air.
The volunteers started arriving. Usually when these helpers made lemonade it was for a party or picnic. It was usually fun and there was always much laughter but today there wasn’t much to laugh about. So many of the unicorns were hurt or still missing.
Everyone had heard the loud boom and wanted to help save the unicorns. Lemons were now coming in by the basketful from all over the kingdom. Tomiko was setting up the stands and teaching the helpers how to cut up the lemons and squeeze them into the bowl. By chance, Crystal had her sparkling silver spoon, the one with the purple jewels on the handle, in her basket. With a few stirs the lemonade was magically sweetened. Tomiko had taught Crystal this magic when she was a child. No one was surprised that Crystal was able to sweeten the sour lemon juice so quickly with a stir of the silver spoon.
SUDDENLY the sound of heavy footsteps stopped their work at the Lemonade Stand. Down the path they saw firefighters, police officers, librarians, waitresses, construction workers, sheriffs and even a bride all hurrying down the path. Everyone was coming to help. The rescuers marched to Adara’s mountain. George the Bear, his dad the firefighter, and all his firefighter buddies were right in front. It was still dark with smoke from the fires. They could not believe what they saw. Adara’s Mountain was now a crater. Fires were all around. How could any of the unicorns have survived this?
Crystal watched the brave firefighters lead the way
and started to feel tears tumble down her cheek.
She had been so brave but now she was
remembering what she had seen. The
unicorns had been running for their lives.
Some of them were trying to get away from
the fires but they couldn’t run any more.
She could not help them. Now all she was
doing was stirring lemonade and that didn’t
seem to be enough. She wanted to save
them all and she didn’t know how to do it alone.
Soon Crystal’s tears became sobs. Why had this happened to the unicorns? They were such good and innocent creatures. They were just in their meeting place on an everyday September morning and now their lives had been changed forever. BIG WIND saw Crystal’s tears and she scooted over to Crystal and picked her right up. "You need to get away for a minute," BIG WIND explained to Crystal Cloud. Crystal still sobbing couldn’t disagree.
BIG WIND knew just what to do. Crystal Cloud had always been guided by the words from the STARS. BIG WIND zipped around to the other side of the moon where it was dark and they both saw the twinkling. Crystal’s tears blurred them, but she could still see part of the stars' sparkle. Crystal had been listening to the words from the STARS every night of her life. Today it seemed she needed them more than ever before. She stopped sobbing and she could hear them saying….
believe you can find them…...
believe in the unicorns…..
remember they are magical and you might be surprised how many have made it through the crash and the fires …..
just believe….
“BIG WIND, let’s get back right away," commanded Crystal now determined to be very brave. Before Crystal even finished her sentence, BIG WIND seemed to know this and had started back. In the blink of an eye they were back at the lemonade stand.
While Crystal and BIG WIND were listening to the words of the stars, Tomiko was looking for something that would be a sign of safety for the unicorns. They had to protect the injured and frightened unicorns who had survived the crash of the meteorite from the evil pirates. They needed a way to let the unicorns know where they would be safe. Tomiko remembered that she once found a flag that had been left on the far side of the moon. It had red and white stripes and a blue rectangle in the corner with many stars. Tomiko especially liked the stars. She had safely packed this special flag into an old trunk where she kept other precious things. She knew that someday she would need this flag. She knew the stars on this flag would be a sign of safety. Every house that flew this flag would let the unicorns know it was a safe place to go and they would be protected from the evil pirates.
Everyone wanted to fly the flag and protect the unicorns.
They would need many, many, many flags. Many
sewers arrived ready to work. Soon the buzz of the
sewing machines sounded like a hive of bees.
The sewers were cutting the fabric into the stripes
and blue rectangles, and sewing the pieces together.
Even though the unicorns had never before seen this
flag, they would know the wisdom of the stars and knew
that stars meant safety. But how were they going
to get so many stars on the flags in time?
Crystal Cloud was coming back on BIG WIND and saw how many hundreds of
volunteers had come to help. "Just help them BELIEVE," she thought to herself. Crystal
Cloud saw how hard everyone was working. Tomiko told her about the flags and that
they just needed stars on them. Crystal smiled and said,” I think I can take care of that."
She asked everyone to squeeze their eyes tight and just BELIEVE that they saw the
unicorns all coming home. Instantly every flag had stars in just the right place. "It
must have been her magic," whispered one of the helpers to another. However it
happened, they were all relieved that the stars were on the flags. Everyone took a flag.
Many put them on their homes, often on a pole by the front door. Soon flags were flying
everywhere. BIG WIND would fly up and down the streets with a gust of wind so the
unicorns would see the flags waving and know where they would be safe.
Just then, the first team of rescue workers started straggling into
the Lemonade Stand. They were so tired and hot from fighting
the fires and their throats were very dry.
The lemonade was just what they needed.
Everyone at the Lemonade Stand noticed that
the rescue workers seemed sad.
Many, many unicorns were still missing. They found some of the unicorns and most of those had been hurt. They carried some of the injured Unicorns in their arms with them to the Lemonade Stand. Many of the helpers who lived nearby brought a unicorn right into their home where they took care of them.
Everyone was thinking about the missing unicorns countless tears were sliding down cheeks and Crystal Cloud remembered her own tears thinking about the sparkling dust she had seen. She took a deep breath and explained slowly,” Always remember that Unicorns never really die. They just become sparkling dust and drift up until they reach the stars. The stars will make sure that some of their special dust will be born in the next baby unicorns. Some of them may not make it back home, but they will always live in our hearts. Please be brave…many of them WILL come home. Keep BELIEVING …BELIEVE with all your heart. Everyone stopped for just a moment and squeezed their eyes shut very tight. More BELIEVING happened on that day than had gone on for many years.
Everyone was working together. One held the glasses while
another poured the lemonade from the pitcher. Some lined
up on the path and clapped and cheered for each group
of rescuers that came for lemonade. The rescuers were
worn out but the cheering and the lemonade helped them
feel better and go back to save more unicorns. And with
all the flags flying not an evil pirate was in sight.
On ordinary days in the forest only Moon and Angel, the chow chow dogs, guarded the Unicorns from the evil pirates.
Now they were joined by Dottie and Kelly, Quai the Wizard's dogs,
and even long eared beagles and poofy poodles.
Today every dog in the kingdom came to help. By the end of the day there was a dog
guarding each and every unicorn in the forest.
Starshine's unicorn cousins, Jupiter and Neptune, were still missing.
Starshine kept feeling tears trickle down her face because she
thought she would never see them again. It was the end of
the day and she had almost given up hope, but remember
I said almost. Tomiko had helped Starshine believe with
all their heart that Jupiter and Neptune would make it home
and here they were. Two firefighters were carrying them
down the path. What was that on Jupiter’s eye? It looked
like a pirate’s patch. Had the pirates tried to capture Jupiter?
No, the fire had burned one of Jupiter’s eyes and the
firefighter had torn off a piece of his T-shirt and made
a patch to cover it. Everyone was worried about the
evil pirates and Jupiter was the only one who looked
like a pirate that day. The unicorns and the rescue
workers never saw any pirates. Neptune was crying
but she was okay. Many of her unicorn friends were
hurt and she was very scared while she was waiting
for the firefighters to rescue her. MJ, the Unicorn
Keeper, came up right away and he was so strong
that he carried both Jupiter and Neptune back to their
home in the forest together, after all they were twins.
Starshine followed MJ so closely that he almost
tripped over her twice.
It was the end of a long hard day. It began like any other beautiful September morning but today everyone’s life had changed.
Crystal Cloud knew she would never be the same. She had learned that it is only when a community, works together that REAL magic happens. People who worked together today became friends for the rest of their lives. Everyone joined together to always guard the Unicorns. They learned that sometimes a disaster will come on a normal September morning. No matter what day it was everyone felt the love for the unicorns in their hearts and kept their flags flying – no one would ever forget any of them. Crystal Cloud had taught them about the magic they already had inside themselves when they all BELIEVED.
They worked together and put away all the lemonade supplies and picked up all the trash. Afterwards Crystal gathered everyone one last time. “Today we all learned how to work together to save the unicorns. I wish we could have saved them all.My heart feels like it is broken into many little pieces inside.” Many nodded and agreed with her. “Just remember to ALWAYS BELIEVE and work together and our help will seem like magic. I think if we all stand, “and they were all on their feet in a flash, “ and put our right hand over our heart and BELIEVE that the pieces will come back together into the best heart ever – because this new heart is full of love and caring. “ Everyone put their right hand over their heart, many squeezed their eyes shut, and they BELIEVED. They believed with all their might. Each one could feel the pieces of their heart coming back together and feeling stronger than ever.
Crystal continued, “I remember something I read that Tomiko had with the flag. It was a saying, a pledge of some kind. This flag will help us remember to always work together as a community. Crystal began the pledge. She said a line and everyone repeated it after her. You may have heard it before and if you have please join me as I say it now.
I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
and to the Republic for which it stands,
one Nation under God,
INDIVISIBLE,
with liberty and justice for all.
ALWAYS BELIEVE!
similarities to those real magical people in life are more than coincidental.