The Dragonfly in the Tower

1. The Girl in the Tower

The singsong of birds… the gentle lull of something she had never quite identified… the sweet perfume of the purple and white flowers… the sun rising from the east…

Sharon woke up. It was mid-morning and from her bedroom window, she could see a gorgeous spring view. Below and beyond the latticework of the old oaks, the rolling hills of the countryside greeted her as they had every morning since as far back as she could remember.

Then she remembered –

I’m 14 today.

She lightly padded down the spiral staircase to the kitchen. Rather than the usual pots and pans, a rather exotic looking cauldron and beakers of various sizes sat on the countertop. However, as though to defy the strangeness of their appearance, all they held was water and vegetables grown from the garden – fat cucumbers, to be precise.

If only I could really do magic! Then I could –

She squashed the thought down.

Why dwell hopelessly on things that can never happen?

She hummed tunelessly as she prepared today’s food. Vinegar on the cucumbers, pickled plums from the winter, rice and fresh lettuce and cherry tomatoes for a salad with fried tofu. Sharon didn’t have too many hobbies for most girls her age – or friends, either. But she was exceptional at cooking.

On the weathered grey stones grew creeping tendrils of green. She enjoyed watching the morning light soak into the stonework of the tower and light up her space with natural yet powerful light.

Back inside, she covered what she had made with an earthenware lid, then made her way to the library. The diamond brown and gold paneling created a warm ambience for the room, and the shafts of light illuminated stray motes suspended in the air.

I’ll need to sweep out the corners here later. I’ll do that tonight , she cringed when she noticed the darker and dustier corners of the library.

Although Sharon did not go to school, cleaning and taking care of the tower was a full time job in and of itself, particularly for a skinny and not very muscular 14 year old girl.

As a matter of fact, the tower was really far, far too big for one occupant, so by the time Sharon had finished cleaning one room the next was already smudgy, grimy, and grey with dust. At least the windows.

If I were paid for my cleaning, I’d get $300 a day , thought Sharon, who had never actually touched a dollar bill but read about the strange green papers in books.

Luckily, the size of the tower also meant an incredibly large library. Sharon knew that even if she stayed here the rest of her life, she would never run out of books.

Oh no, back to this train of thought again! She hurriedly grabbed a book at random to occupy her mind.

She was able to sufficiently distract herself until evening.

Lying on the chaise, she looked out to the trees. The blossoms had all closed for the day. The white fringes of the petals looked like inner curtains.

Sharon had never left this tower. She couldn’t, in fact.

Next Chapter: 2. The Dragonfly in the Tower

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