Tiernan's Magic Carousel III
Carousel Memories
By The Sweet Joanne
March 16, 1997
And dedicated to the memory of Patricia Winfield
Mother to Princess Tiernan.
And dedicated to the memory of Patricia Winfield
Mother to Princess Tiernan.
The night air held the barest promise of Springtime, yet Princess Tiernan's breath still made frosted puffs as she strolled past the stage toward the Carousel. The Carousel was quiet, although the faint shimmers of Sir Nathan Cuddle-Lion's special magic still clung to the gleaming brass and polished mirrors, reminders of the gift of magic that he had given to bring the Carousel to the doors of the Throne Room for the Coronation. As always, the joy of the Carousel and the joy it brought to Cuddleland brought a smile to the elven Princess' lips.
Tiernan sighed, and stepped up on the Carousel. She walked slowly around among the horses and menagerie animals, pausing here and there to run a hand lovingly over a delicately carved mane or almost lifelike nose. She came to her favorite horse upon the Carousel, one which was a perfect replica of a horse she remembered from her childhood. Hitching up the full skirts of her coronation gown, she pulled herself up into the carved wooden saddle and sat sideways, leaning against the pole. She gazed into one of the mirrors surrounding the band organ, and remembered...
She couldn't have been more than five or six years old, when her parents took her to an amusement park that boasted a real carousel. Not a fiberglass replica, but a real old fashioned one with wooden horses and a band organ just like the one on the Magic Carousel. She remembered her mother lifting her up onto a seemingly huge white Charger, one with gleaming golden armor and colorful red trappings. It was scary to the little elfin child, but her mother stood by and held on to her tightly, showing her how to grip the gleaming brass pole. Very soon she was squealing and laughing with delight as the carousel spun round and round, musical and magical as all carousels were. She remembered her mother telling her when the ride was done to pet the horse and tell him thank you, because even though he was a wooden horse he was a *magical* wooden horse and she must always remember to thank the magical things in the world for thier wonder and beauty. That admonition stayed with her to this day, and she never failed when she rode on a carousel to thank the horse for his ride.
Tiernan smiled wistfully. "How I wish you could have been here tonight, Mother," she whispered into the night. "You would have loved the magic and the wonder and the beauty of it all."
A breeze sprang up, eddying around the Carousel and stirring the leaves into a merry dance. It swirled around Tiernan, and in the sighing of the wind she heard a familar laugh, felt a much loved and deeply missed touch.
"What makes you think I wasn't there, my child," the breeze seemed to say.
Tiernan sat up straight and peered into the mirror. There, in the faintly glowing shimmer of Sir Nathan's magic, a faint image began to form. It became stronger and stronger, growing more bright until the astonished Princess found herself gazing at the image of her beloved Mother!
"M...M...Mom?" She stammered, slipping down from the horse and rushing to the mirror. Her fingers brushed the smooth silvered glass. "Am I dreaming you?"
"I am always with you in Dreams or awake, my child," the image replied. Although you could not see me I was there when you married your Admiral, and I was there when you brought the Carousel to Cuddleland. I was there for all your sorrows and all your joys and I stood with you in the Throne Room when Princess Ginger set the circlet upon your brow. As long as you remember me and cherish my memory, I will be with you. Remember, nothing is ever gone as long as you remember and in remembering, give love to those around you." The image smiled gently. "And remember this as well, that those you love who have gone on may be invisible to your eyes, but look with your heart and you will see they have never left you." And with those words, the image faded back into a breeze that with a final sighing laugh wafted off into the February night.
Tiernan stood for a long moment after the image had faded, looking into the mirror which now reflected only the Carousel. And then she looked with her Heart and saw that Mom was right, that she could see with her Heart and that indeed Mom had always been there for her and always would, in the memories and the lessons and the love that were her legacy and her Gift. And she realized that her Carousel Memories were the embodiment of those Gifts, Gifts not meant to be kept but to be shared and given away again and again, wherever magic was needed.
With a smile, Princess Tiernan walked through the Portal into her Faerieland Castle.
