Blue by Maria Cecile
Zellie sits on her bed and plays with her dollies. Her favorite is Bella. Bella is like a miniature Zellie. She has long golden hair and wide blue eyes with long dark lashes. Like Zellie, her eyes are fixed in a perpetual expression of wonder and amazement. Bella wears a blue dress. Zellie's favorite color is blue. She has blue dresses and a blue night shift and blue slippers. Her blanket is blue and the rugs that cover the chilly stone floors have blue stripes in them. Mommy says Zellie's eyes are the color of the sky. Zellie loves to look out her window at the sky, and she thinks this must be why her eyes are blue. Zellie is careful never to look outside when it is dark or raining in case it turns her eyes not-blue.
Every day Mommy comes to bring Zellie food. Mommy always brings good things to eat. Sometimes she brings bad things like turnips. Zellie hates turnips and spits them out, but Mommy makes her eat them. Turnips are good for Zellie. But when there are turnips, there are always honey cakes for dessert. Honey cakes are sticky and sweet. Zellie loves honey cakes.
When Mommy comes, she calls to Zellie from down below.
"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair..."
These are their special words. When Zellie hears them she lets down the silky rope ladder from the window and Mommy climbs up to see her. Mommy says that if an Anybody Else comes they might try to make Zellie let down the ladder. Zellie is only to let down the ladder when she hears the secret words. Zellie does not know what an Anybody Else is -- she thinks it might be like the bear that sometimes comes to snuffle around the bottom of the tower -- but she does not want one in her room!
Two yesterdays ago Zellie remembers Mommy brought her a special supper. There were no turnips, and her honey cake was extra big. Mommy brought her a new dolly, like Bella only with brown hair like Mommy's. Her name is Lucy. Zellie still loves Bella best, but Lucy is pretty too. Lucy came because it was Zellie's Birf Day. Zellie is Nine Ten. Mommy showed her, she was born so many years ago - the fingers on both hands, and all of her toes except one little pinkie toe!
Bella and Lucy are dancing when Zellie hears a voice.
"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair."
Zellie lays Bella and Lucy neatly on her pillow and slides off her bed. She puts on her blue slippers and pads to the window, where the rope ladder is neatly coiled on its hook. Zellie never lets the ladder be tangled. She always pulls it up quickly and puts it away tidily the way Mommy has taught her. Zellie is a good girl. She unrolls the white silk, opens the shutters, and tosses the weighted ends over the wide stone sill of her window. Then she steps back out of the way and waits.
Zellie is startled when a face appears at the window. It is Not Mommy. She freezes.
The Not Mommy pulls itself over the window seat and hops down into the room. It looks at Zellie with green eyes like grass. It holds out a hand to Zellie.
"Fear not, fairest maiden," it says, "for I have come to free you."
Zellie does not move. She is confused. Could this be an Anybody Else? She does not think so, because it is only a little furry on its face, not furry all over like a bear. And it said Mommy and Zellie's secret words. It is bigger than Mommy and bigger than Zellie. It is not dressed right. It wears long bloomers that cover its whole legs, and no dress. It has no bosoms like Mommy or Zellie. It is a Not Mommy.
The Not Mommy takes another step towards Zellie. It is very close now. It takes Zellie's hand.
"I have seen the witch who holds you captive, fair maiden. I have hidden in the trees and gazed upon your bright countenance. I would take you away from this prisoning tower, my sweet, and make you a princess."
Zellie gapes at the Not Mommy. It talks but she does not understand what it wants. Sometimes birdies come to the window and she feeds them crumbs from her breads and cakes. Maybe the Not Mommy is hungry. She does not have any crumbs for it.
Then it grabs Zellie's other hand, too, and pulls her close to its flat front. It puts its face against Zellie's face and its mouth on her mouth. It is kissing her, like Mommy. But it is a Not Mommy! It opens its mouth over Zellie's and wiggles its wet tongue on her lips. The Not Mommy is hungry! It wants to eat Zellie!
Zellie starts to cry, and tries to pull her hands away from the Not Mommy. Suddenly, Mommy's face appears at the window.
"What is this? Zellie, are you all right? I told you never to let Anybody Else come up here! Get away from my daughter!"
Mommy comes down from the windowsill fast and pushes the Not Mommy -- the Anybody Else -- away from Zellie. Zellie knows she is in trouble. She let an Anybody Else into her tower. Mommy is very angry. Zellie opens her mouth wide, wide, sits down on her bottom with her legs straight out, and starts to bawl.
"Aaaaaa! Aaaaaa! Aaaaaa!" she bellows like a calf. The Anybody Else is frightened now. It can see Zellie's stumpy tongue that has never worked. It scrambles out the window and down the ladder. Zellie is bawling and does not hear the soft cry and thump outside the tower.
Mommy kneels on the floor and puts her arms around Zellie. She strokes Zellie's hair and rocks her gently back and forth, back and forth. Zellie snuffles and hiccups against Mommy's bosoms as Mommy hums her favorite lullaby. Tears dry on Zellie's blotchy cheeks. Tears keep sliding quietly down Mommy's face as she cradles Zellie.
In a few yesterdays, Zellie will forget most of what happened today. Mommy never will.
Background by Tosha