So, Invisible Friends, I’ll make you a deal.

If you promise to take a look at the latest Twirl,

And check out our latest creative woman Liz,

And maybe peek at the latest wisdom from our favorite floaty friend…

I’ll tell you the story of the toilet seat covers on my closet wall.

Deal?

Deal.

When you’re in college living in dorms and apartments, you don’t want to have a lot of nice things. Especially if you’re a boy.  Ben’s apartment was geared towards chaos and dirty, messy boys.  While girls tended to have nice furniture and TJ Maxx art on the walls, most boys had anything from flat screen TVs they bought with book money to beer kegs as coffee tables.

Ben’s apartment wasn’t that bad.  He had a couch his roommate brought from a old frathouse, a box from a Daewoo TV that served as a coffee table and posters stuck to the walls with tape.

At the time, my bathroom was decked out in total duck stuff with a duck toilet seat cover.  Ben liked it so much I got him one, and he stuck it on the wall.  Then I found a fish one and stuck it up there so the duck wouldn’t be lonely.  The running joke was Ben would tell everyone he hunted and point to the duck as a “trophy.”  The covers stayed on the walls all four years of college, to live on in my closet.

And now it’s time for the Gift….

For those who don’t know, the Gift is the story of Samantha, a grad student who discovered a strange gift while staying with her friends at her parent’s vacation cabin over winter break.  After traveling to her old friend’s bar to try to determine the origin of the strange necklace she received, she suddenly found herself in the enchanted forests of Ireland being pursued by a secret admirer.  Can her friends and loser boyfriend Jeremy save her before she gets trapped in a real-life fairy tale?  Read on…

To read previous issues of The Gift, look under the Never Ending Stories Tab…

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Clutching the silver chain and pendant in his hand, Rouge rushed through the forest with the tree fairy, Aine, on his shoulder.  Ashley and Cleo sprinted after him with Jeremy trailing behind them.

“I can’t believe I had to give that–that thing my cell phone,” Jeremy grumbled as he stumbled along behind them.  “Do you know how much that phone cost?  $300!  It was a touch screen, played videos, movies…”

“I’ll buy you another one when we get back to the States,” Rouge snapped, ducking under a branch and leaping over a rock.  “We’ve got to hurry and find Samantha!”

The group rushed into a clearing.  Rouge panted as his eyes darted about, scanning the trees and ground.

“This is where they were,” Aine replied, her voice solemn.  “She must have found the first clue already.”  Rouge glanced at her sharply, his eyes narrowed.

“That’s bad, isn’t it?” he asked, his voice hoarse with worry.  “The way you said that…”

Aine sighed, placing her hand on his shoulder.  “It could be, but it could not be.  We have to be very careful.  The more clues she finds, the more entwined she gets in his grasp, in his power.”

“Well, surely we can save her,” Ashley interrupted, stepping closer to the fairy.  “There’s five of us and one of her.  I’m sure we can talk her out of staying there.”

“You don’t understand,” Aine said, shaking her head.  “It isn’t a matter of convincing her.  This world is magic, and he is pure magic.  Dark magic.  The clues will always be jewelry, which she will have no choice but to wear.  The more she puts on, the more hold he has on her.  At first, he can read her thoughts.  By the second and third clue, he can begin to change her thoughts.  By the third piece, she will be his.  He will wed her and toss her aside with all his other captured maidens.”

“But Samantha is stronger than that,” Cleo argued, her voice wavering despite her words.  “She wouldn’t let him talk her into leaving us.”

The fairy shrugged.  “She’ll have no voice by that time.  She may want to leave, but she won’t be able to.  She’ll be locked in her mind, trapped in her own body.  Forever.”

Rouge stared at the ground.  His jaw set and his eyes flashed.  “I won’t let that happen.  I lost her once.  I won’t lose her again.  I was too stupid to say it before, but now…”  He trailed off.  Ashley stepped forward and laid a comforting hand on his chest.

“She always knew,” she whispered.  His green eyes met hers and she nodded.  “She always knew, deep down.  And she never stopped caring about you.”  Rouge smiled and placed his hand on Ashley’s.  Cleo stepped forward, placing both of her hands on their shoulders.  Aine walked down Rouge’s arm and placed her hand on top of their stacked palms.

“We can do this,” the fairy reassured them.  “We just have to have faith.”

“I’m still going to propose,” Jeremy shouted, breaking the soothing moment.  He pulled the cheap costume ring out of his back pocket, waving it in the dim light.  “She’s still my girlfriend, magic prince or not.”

“I wish the goblin would have wanted that ring,” Ashley muttered.

“Even he knew what a cheap piece of crap it was,” Cleo replied snidely.

“The ring or Jeremy?” Ashley shot back.  Both of the girls giggled.  Jeremy glared at them and shoved the ring back into his pocket.

“So how do we stop her before she finds the second clue?” Rouge asked Aine, who had resumed her position on his shoulder.

The fairy thought for a moment, tilting her tiny head to the side.  “If she puts on the clue, then we have to find a way to enter his realm.  But first, we have to find out if she put it on or not.”

“Why wouldn’t she just leave it off?” Cleo asked.

“She’s got the prince’s right hand man with her,” Aine replied.  “He can force her to wear it if he wants.  But if she keeps refusing to do things, the prince will get suspicious.  And if he gets suspicious, then he’ll get angry.”

“What then?” Rouge asked.

The fairy’s face darkened and she shook her head.  “You don’t wish to know,” she murmured.  Her eyes were dark with fear and worry.  Raising a slim hand, she pointed in front of them.  “We must go to the Twin Stones,” she informed them.  “They’ll tell us what we need to know.”

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“I’d rather wait,” Samantha replied, smiling at Brogan.  “It seems too pretty to wear in a forest, don’t you think?”

“You’ll put on other trinkets,” Brogan countered, pointing to her rings.  “Why not the prince’s?”

“What can you tell me about this prince?” Samantha asked, smiling widely.  She had to distract him.  The last thing she wanted to do was slide the silver bracelet over her wrist.

“The prince,” Brogan repeated, his grey eyes flicking blue.  “Aye, the prince.  A magnificent man, he is.  He has fought in countless wars and won thousands of battles.  His bravery is only equal to his father’s.”

“What’s he like?” Samantha pressed, sliding the hand holding the bracelet behind her back.  “Is he mean?  Nice?  Quiet?”

Brogan smiled.  “He loves frivolity,” he recalled, his voice taking on a nostalgic tone.  “He was always thinking of new games to play, new parties to throw.  Everyone loved him and his antics.  Loyal to a fault, he is.  He would do anything for anyone he cared about.  And he loves adventure.  Oh, he loves adventure.  It’s all about the challenge for him.  He never backs down for a fight.”

His eyes slid to hers.  “And he always gets what he wants.  Always.”

“Why does he want me though?” Samantha whispered.  “I’m just a girl in grad school.  I mean, he was raised around fairies.  What would he want with me?”

Brogan smiled.  “For that, you’ll have to ask him yourself.”  He slid her arm from behind her back and took the bracelet from her.  Raising it up to her eyes, he twirled the delicate silver in his fingers.  “And what better time than now?  After all, we must be getting to the second clue.  It’s almost sunset.”

To be continued….

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! Tomorrow we have a fun new game here in the Pond!  Then Wednesday we have a new tale from Penelope’s Pie Shop, a new recipe Thursday and Twirl Friday!  Stay tuned!

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