Finding Casey by Jo-Ann Mapson

didn’t know what to do. I smiled, I was polite, I told everyone my name. All that I had left was to bring up Jesus, but was it time for that? Seth said talking about Jesus would make even the nosiest person give up. I didn’t want to do that right now. I wastired and I had to pay attention to Aspen and I might mess up. I could say, “Be my guest,” like the nurse did, but that sounded unkind, and we are Here in This World to Practice Loving Kindness. I guessed it was all right for her to listen. It was just a made-up story.
    So because it wouldn’t hurt, be my guest, and maybe she could hear me, I started to tell Aspen her favorite story,
The Princess of Leaves
. She loved this story better than any of the other ones I knew, probably because it didn’t come from a book and I could tell it wherever we were, even in the dark, and I could make anything happen in it that I wanted to, and whatever question Aspen might ask me, I could make the story change and twist, just like a river.
    â€œThis is the story of the Princess of Leaves,” I said.
    Once upon a time, long ago …
    How long? Aspen would always say.
    Long enough that everyone has forgotten this story. There lived a princess in a castle near the woods with her parents, the king and queen. Now all princesses are beautiful, but what made her different from other princesses was that she could sing so beautifully that if any bird within one hundred miles of the castle heard her singing, they were compelled to fly near. If she sang long enough, eventually every person in the village would come to the castle. There they’d stand, by the castle’s moat, holding their hats in their hands, looking up to the highest tower, where silver birds perched on the castle walls. They waited for the princess to come out to the balcony so they could catch a glimpse of her.
    Every young man in the kingdom dreamed of asking the king for his daughter’s hand in marriage once she became of age. Her blonde hair hung down nearly to her waist, curlingon its own. Her eyes were hazel, which is the name of the Tree of Wisdom. Some days they were green and some days they were brown. Her smile caused even the saddest person to forget his troubles.
    The townspeople called her the Princess of Leaves, because she liked to collect leaves from the many trees at the edge of the forest. This was especially true in late autumn, when every leaf reveals its true color. Often they would look up from their chores and see her pass by with the palace guard, keeping her safe.
    Autumn was her favorite time of year because that’s when the earth begins to prepare for winter. The leaves turn gold, orange, scarlet, and rarest of all, a deep burgundy. That means red, but with purple in it. Like a plum, or a bruise at its sorest.
    Toward the forest Princess Leafy would go, always with the castle guard at her side to keep her safe. There are some people in the world so angry and unhappy that they stamp on flowers, mistreat animals, and want to make everyone as sad as they are. But you don’t have to worry, I’ll always protect you.
    Her mother the queen often warned the princess, stay clear of the darkest part of the forest. Not a single person who has ventured into the darkness has come back to tell the story. Promise me. The princess promised her mother she would do as she said, but sometimes even the wisest of princesses forgets, accidentally, or on purpose.
    The princess picked up only fallen leaves, because she never wanted to harm any living thing. In her heart, she believed every living thing deserved a lifetime, even spiders that weave webs to catch insects that might otherwise bite or pester you. Their webs are made of silk, and when it rains, drops catch on the web and they shine like diamonds. Beautiful things should be admired and then left alone.
    The princess would lay each leaf on her palm and examine it carefully. Every leaf told a story: the season it