Miss Enchanter - Ophelia's Story (8 page)

“My poor mother! How did they get away?”

A knock on the door caused Thelma to jump and
Ophelia to let out a screech. “It’s me, Sebastian! The snow is
picking up so I wanted to bring over the rest of your supplies
tonight before it gets any worse outside. Hello, Ophelia, Catherine
said she enjoyed meeting you today.”

“Come in, Sebastian.” Thelma said as the
women jumped up to help him carry in what appeared to Ophelia to be
a year’s supply of groceries. Luna then went into the kitchen to
help and to pour Sebastian a mug of hot chocolate.

When the groceries were all brought inside
and the refrigerator full, Sebastian sat down at the kitchen table
with the women and drank his hot chocolate. “I understand you want
to remodel The Spa, Ophelia. Tom and I will be happy to make
whatever changes or repairs you have in mind. Just let us know
when.” He said.

“Oh, that project is just in the thinking
stages. I am not sure what I want to do. I understand that the
Chocolate Shop was opened years after The Spa was built?”

Luna and Thelma confirmed that fact.

“Well, then I was thinking that I would like
to put in a small self-serve coffee machine in the lounge area
where the customers could enjoy a cup of Thelma’s coffee as well as
herbal teas.” Ophelia said.

“That is a great idea!” Luna and Thelma both
agreed. “It is nice to have a fresh perspective.”

“I can get on that right away for you.”
Sebastian offered.

“Thanks, but why don’t we wait for a bit. I
want to pick out a color scheme for the new lounge area and entire
Spa first. I don’t know if I should keep it in all shades of the
same color, like it is now with the red, or if I should give each
room a theme, or its own colors.” Ophelia said. “Maybe put one of
those flat screen TVs in there.”

Sebastian looked puzzled and Thelma jumped up
and said “Sebastian, did you unload all of the baking goods and
canned foods into the kitchen of the other house?”

“I got it all in the door, I wanted to make
sure I got all this stuff to you as soon as possible.” He said.

“Let’s go take a look, I am sure you have my
full order, but maybe you can help me with the larger bags of flour
and sugar.” Thelma said, standing up and making it clear that they
were to attend to it immediately.

“Of course” Sebastian said. I need to get
back soon, the snow is not letting up any out there. I want to make
sure Zippy can get me back to the hill and him back to the barn
again for the night before long. Good night, Luna, Ophelia.”

“Was it something I said?” Ophelia asked Luna
as soon as Sebastian and Thelma left through the back door to go
down the path and to the smaller house in the back.

“As a matter of fact, yes. You mentioned
television. We have no televisions here, nor internet access.” Luna
told her.

“I know we had none in this house, but not in
the entire Village? Why not?”

“Because Enchanted needs to stay the way it
is. Why bring all that talk of crime and wars, politics and despair
into our lives?”

“I miss television, Mrs. Johnson and I
watched it all the time. Thelma loved playing with the computer
over the Gaunter’s house while she was there. She used the internet
to map out our way back here. Don’t you want to know what is going
on with the rest of the world?”

“Why would that be necessary, dear? We have
everything we need right here. To have internet would put us on the
radar and this way we remain safe and able to help people.
Enchanted is for reflection and hope, a place to heal. We have no
crime here, everything you need is provided.” Luna explained.

“Then why make everyone work, if everything
is provided for you?” Ophelia said.

“We all work. We operate on the old barter
system.”

“What do you mean?”

“The history of bartering dates all the way
back to 6000 BC. People would exchange goods or services for food,
spices, tea, and even weapons. At times, human skulls were used as
well. Salt was another popular item exchanged. Salt was so valuable
that Roman soldiers' salaries were paid with it. In this country
during the Great Depression, it was used to obtain food and various
other services. We prefer the barter system here in Enchanted,
although we have cash available as well.” Luna explained to
Ophelia.

“What does any of that have to do with
me?”

“Have you ever paid a penny for anything when
you were in the Village? No, you haven’t. Catherine, Sebastian,
Tom, London and many others are paid a wage, we do have a bank
here.”

“Wait – are you saying that I will not be
paid for managing The Spa?” Ophelia asked.

“You can pay yourself, you own it, remember?
When you have The Spa painted, the paint will be provided to you at
no cost, as will the labor that Tom and Sebastian put into making
your changes for you.”

“You said they get paid a wage.”

“They do, but that does not come directly
from you. The Village of Enchanted has accounts set up in the bank
and all transactions go through there. Not everyone is meant to
stay here permanently. Those who will eventually leave must have
the means to be able to leave and start fresh elsewhere.” Luna
said.

“I asked Thelma this earlier, about people
who live here but leave. I asked her if you wipe their minds clean
before they leave so they will not remember. Is that why Sebastian
had that look on his face when I mentioned the flat screen
television?” Ophelia asked.

“I know it might be hard to understand, but
when you mentioned the television, Sebastian had a flicker of
recognition, but it’s like a dream that you know you had, but can’t
remember the details moments after waking up. The confidence and
knowledge people gain while they are here in Enchanted stay with
them after they leave, although the actual learning process does
not.” Luna tried to explain.

“So they become ‘DIS-Enchanted?” Ophelia
laughed.

“That is a good way of putting it.” Luna
smiled.

Luna and Ophelia cleaned up the dinner dishes
and washed out their wine glasses. They were just finishing up when
Sebastian and Thelma walked back into the kitchen.

“Well, I’d better be going now, it’s getting
late. Luna, are you staying here, or would you like me to round up
one of the horses for you?”

“You can pull up one of the other wagons, I
need to get going home myself. Thank you Sebastian.” Luna told
him.

Ophelia was disappointed that her talk with
Luna and Thelma was cut short. She knew she could probably continue
talking about her mother with Thelma, but it was getting late and
she preferred having both Luna and Thelma there when they talked
about the old country and of the King’s palace. She stood on the
porch with Thelma and waved as Sebastian headed towards the hill
and Luna’s carriage turned towards the woods.

Ophelia did not sleep well that night. She
could not turn her mind off long enough to fall asleep and the few
times she drifted off, she had disturbing dreams about her
mother.

There was a definite disconnect between her
memories of living with her mother and Donald, living as Snowball
the pet cat of Mrs. Johnson, and being herself here in Enchanted.
Her thought process was blurred. How could everything be so
different between Enchanted and the outside world, and yet in so
many ways be exactly the same? Would her memories fade the longer
she stayed in Enchanted?

Ophelia woke up just in time to see Thelma
walking to the front door with her coat, hat and gloves on and
carrying a large tray. Ophelia looked outside and noticed how deep
the snow was this morning. “Thelma, are you really going out into
that snow? Can I help you carry anything?”

“Good morning. Thank you, but Tom is here and
he is helping me load these goodies into the sleigh, works well in
this weather, better than the wagons. I’ll be gone most of the
day.”

“Are you taking them to your Chocolate Shop?”
Ophelia asked.

“No, the kids have no school today. The snow
fell so heavy and it is beautiful. We are going to have sleigh
rides and the children will make snowmen and so we are setting up
hot chocolate and goodies at the Recreation Center for them to
enjoy and have a place to come in from the cold.” Thelma said.

“You are going to freeze out there, it is
beautiful, but it must be very cold. I hope you have help.”

“Plenty of help, and besides, I am not going
to be at the Recreation Center for long. I will just help Tom take
these trays there and then I will go to the Chocolate Shop and
Catherine will supervise and help the kids with all the outdoor
events. They will build forts and have snowball fights and just
have fun in the fresh air. Would you like to join us?”

Ophelia took another look outside. “Naw, I
think I will just hang around here today by the fireplace. Too cold
for me. Be careful out there. Oh, what a beautiful sleigh, I don’t
think I have ever seen one as long or as large as that one.”

“We have several. Zippy, Caramel and Ace are
used to pulling them. It is actually probably easier on them with
the blades on the sleigh, the wagon wheels would get stuck quickly,
and the snow is very deep.”

“Good morning, Ophelia, are you joining us
today at the Rec Center? I could come back for you after we take
this last load of supplies.” Tom said, walking up to the porch and
taking the tray from Thelma’s hands.

“Good morning, no, you two go ahead. I’m not
much one for winter sports. Have fun and be careful, the bridge
must be all ice.” Ophelia said.

“It is fine, the bridge didn’t freeze at all
last winter and we had less snow, but colder temperatures. We will
be off then, if you change your mind, all you have to do is ring
the bell on the porch and someone will be here to take you to the
hill.” Tom said, helping Thelma into the sleigh.

Ophelia waved and then quickly went back into
the house and made herself some coffee and breakfast. She ate and
cleaned up after herself and then felt at a loss. She sat by the
fireplace and wondered what she should do with herself for the rest
of the day.

Her thoughts drifted back to her mother and
how many years it had been since she had seen her. Ophelia wished
now that she would have been nicer to her. Ophelia had been so
rebellious and so annoyed that they had to have that Donald kid
live with them.

She realized now though that Donald didn’t
have it easy himself. There he was, no mother and his father going
off to war like he did and never coming back. He was stuck with his
father’s girlfriend and her daughter. Gertie had been nice to
Donald and treated him as if he were her own son. Ophelia had to
admit to herself that she was just angry that Donald was there,
because as long as he was there, she could not openly explore
whatever powers she had.

Worse of all was that they could not come to
Enchanted as long as Donald was with them. It made Ophelia shed a
tear to realize that now her mother would never be able to enjoy
Enchanted again.

Ophelia had thought for a while that her
troubles would be over when this young woman named Adela Johnson
started hanging around. She and Donald went to the same school and
that Adela had a crush on him. Donald was either clueless or he
just didn’t care, because although they went out a few times
together, nothing came of it.

Ophelia had tried to help. She told Adela
that she should give Donald a test and tell him that she was moving
out of the state and hopefully then Donald would see what he would
be missing and leave with her, which would have been the perfect
solution to Ophelia’s troubles.

But stupid Adela took it too far and actually
had her car packed and ready to leave the state and when Donald
acted like he could not care less, Adela actually did leave.

Ophelia had been furious that Adela was
unable to convince Donald to leave with her. Not only would she
still be stuck with Donald, but there goes any chance of him
leaving the house now. Donald did not seem to be interested in
anyone else. Ophelia had argued with Adela and tried to get her to
stay and fight for Donald to leave with her, but she would not.

It was then that Ophelia had turned herself
into feline form and jumped into Adela’s car. Fully intending on
scratching up the leather seats and doing the most damage she
could. Ophelia knew how foolish that was now, for her to believe
that Adela Johnson would run back to Donald to tell him about her
car. That did not happen. Instead, Adela had thrown her purse and
coat in the backseat and taken off.

The purse hit Ophelia in the head and the
coat covered her so that Adela did not know she was not alone in
the car. Ophelia did not know how long she was out of it, but when
she came to, there was Adela looking at her and holding out a piece
of chocolate.

Apparently, Adela found her in the car and
decided to keep her for now Ophelia was in the front seat of the
car, wrapped in the coat for warmth and Adela was saying what a
pretty white kitty she was and calling her Snowball.

Adela had driven from Tennessee to somewhere
in Michigan and life went on. Ophelia’s days and nights were spent
watching television with Adela and all she was expected to do was
to look cute and keep Adela company. Time moves very differently
for mortals and although many years must have gone by, Ophelia was
still a small kitty even though Adela Johnson was now an old
lady.

Adela had never married and at first Ophelia
would run in circles turning very fast and creating the blue mist
that turned her back into a young woman every chance she got. She
did not get many chances though because Adela rarely left the house
and slept with her arm around Ophelia. Ophelia planned her escape
for a few years, but she did not know where she was or how to get
back. She missed her mother and wondered how she would ever find
her again.