Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the world.

Special Treat – Magdalena James

July 9, 2006

Serendipity

by

Magdalena James        

            There will be no parade for her today.  Her tiny fingers wrapped around the little doll held closely to her chest.  Strings of hair hung down across her face as she stared out the window, down... toward the road where the parade would begin - where the clowns complained of the heat and ill fitting costumes.

            But the child, nose pressed against the window, could not hear the complaints.  A tiny smile rose from the corner of her pale lips as she watched one of the clowns fill his deep pockets with handfuls of brightly wrapped candies.  His pockets bulged outwards and hung down with the weight.

            Without reason, he suddenly turned.  He looked up - and there he saw her.  His painted face held a frown despite the up-turned lips drawn across it.  She caught his gaze, and catching her breath, jumped back, away from the window.  With a giggle of curiosity, she returned, peeking around the edge of the frame, pulling away the curtains and looking down toward the road again. Like a pixie thief, she stood and watched.  Her smile remained on her lips as the clown with the bulging pockets danced.  Suddenly he turned, and with no forethought at hand, looked up again and calmly took a bow before his silent single member audience.

            Boldly, she stood before the window and clapped her hands.  The clown bowed again. His large red shoes shone in the sunlight.  His painted smile grew larger as his lips rose and his bow deepened after every dance: step, step, step, almost trip, step, clap, bow.  For endless minutes the performance went on.

            Soon, the other clowns joined in.  The pale child clapped endlessly.  The parade had begun.

            The music began and other children swept along the street cheering and yelling and reaching out for the candy being thrown to them.  The child in the window watched it proceed until it turned the corner and disappeared, bringing with it the clowns and their dance.

            She left the window with a smile.  It had been a good parade.

Magdalena James resides in northern Ontario where she lives her dream of assisting writers, both young and old, in publication. She is owner/publisher of Wynterblue Thunder Publications, www.wynter.ca and publishes a bi-monthly literary magazine Wt~ Blue Sky Region (hard copy) which is sold by subscription. Maggie is a published author and her book is being used in several schools across the north to help identify signs of abuse in students. Her book, “My Firefly” by Karin Brideau ISBN: 0-9731911-5-5 has been sold out and is currently being looked by a publisher for reprint. Aside from using several pseudonyms over her 34 year publishing career, she is most consistently known as Maggie the Magpie. Fortunately she still knows who she is and what she was put on this earth to accomplish!

Maggie can be contacted at wt@wynter.ca