One More Wish

Short Story published in Storm Cloud Publishing’s Christmas Anthology 4

‘Isabelle, please keep still,’ Nanny pleaded, folding the child’s long straight brown hair over the hot curling tongs. While Nanny reheated the tongs in the fireplace, Isabelle squirmed on her stool, itching to break free. Finally, her hair was curled and she ran downstairs to the hallway where her brothers Hugo and Ned were wrestling. She joined in, grabbing the cloth of their knickerbockers so they fell over on the slippery marble floor.

            Nanny bustled into the hallway with coats and scarves, telling the children, ‘It’s freezing outside so wrap up warm.’ It was the Sunday before Christmas and Isabelle was relieved that it wasn’t raining so they could still go out.

As the grandfather clock struck eleven, Mama and Papa glided down the stairs and the children immediately straightened their clothes and stood to attention. On fine Sundays the family walked along the seafront and down the grand pier.

Isabelle adored the attractions along the way. First, Papa let the children choose their sticks of sweet rock—pink, red, white. But before they could be unwrapped, Mama seized them and put them in her big velvet bag, saying, ‘Wait until we go home. They’re too sticky. If you eat them now you’ll ruin your clothes.’

Further along they saw a new pavilion with a sign that read Mr Magnifico Can Solve All Your Problems! Mama declared she wanted kitchen staff that obeyed her but didn’t think that was possible, so she sailed on by. Isabelle wondered if he could make her hair curly so she wouldn’t have to endure the morning torture. The family followed Mama but Isabelle hung back and then crept into the tent.

A strange looking man in a floppy black hat and black cloak greeted her.

‘Good morning, young lady. What can I do for you?’ he said with a smile.

Isabelle explained her problem and he rummaged in a battered suitcase, pulling out a tiny brown medicine bottle.

‘Here you are, take a sip from this tonight and see what happens,’ he whispered.

‘I’m sorry, I have no money,’ she replied.

He smiled again and gestured for her to run along.

Isabelle slipped the bottle in her coat pocket and skipped down the pier to catch up with her family.

While the parents sauntered, the children ran towards the merry-go-round where they were allowed one turn each. Hugo and Ned threw their legs across their wooden horses and Isabelle sat awkwardly on hers, holding onto the layers of her skirts and wishing she could ride more freely like her brothers.

The owner cranked a big wheel, switched on the music and they started to move. The horses rose up and down and Hugo shouted to Ned, ‘Let’s pretend we’re highway robbers and we’re going to steal Isabelle’s money!’

‘You can’t catch me,’ Isabelle squealed and waved at Mama and Papa. Round and round they went until the music stopped and although they begged for another turn, Papa declared that it was definitely time to go home for lunch.

That evening, when Nanny had brushed Isabelle’s hair and said goodnight, the girl reached under her bed where she had hidden the little bottle. She unscrewed the lid and wrinkled her nostrils at the pungent smell. The medicine made her eyes water. Perhaps it wouldn’t be such a good idea to use it. Maybe her hair would fall out and she wouldn’t know how to explain that disaster. She put the bottle under her pillow and lay down.

She had a restless sleep, full of dreams and visions urging her to drink the medicine. Eventually she sat up and took a sip. Then she fell fast asleep.

Next morning, Isabelle’s whole head tingled as she peered into her hand mirror and cried, ‘Oh my! That medicine must be magic.’

Nanny couldn’t believe her eyes and gasped, ‘Miss Isabelle, what have you done to make your hair curly?’

‘Shhhh, please don’t say anything. It’s a secret,’ the girl begged.

Nanny loved her enough to do that and, besides, it meant she wouldn’t have the daily fight with the hot tongs.

On Christmas morning, Isabelle sat with her brothers in the lounge room where a huge fir tree filled the bay window. She marvelled at the shiny star hanging at the very top as Mama and Papa handed out the presents. First, there were nuts and sweets for everyone, all wrapped in coloured paper. Then the boys were told to look behind the tree and they shrieked with delight at two beautiful hoops hiding there. Isabelle held her breath with anticipation when Mama handed her a large parcel. She carefully unwrapped it but her hopes were dashed as a shiny new doll appeared.

Cook served up a special lunch of roast turkey and plum pudding. Isabelle tried not to sulk. Perhaps the servants’ present would be better than the doll. When the family had eaten, Cook, Nanny, Kitchen Maid and Groomsman stood awkwardly at the end of the dining table. Hugo thanked them profusely after tearing paper off a homemade cricket bat. Ned’s gift was a cricket ball. Then Isabelle was given a bundle of little lumpy packages that turned out to be hand-carved table and chairs for her doll’s house.

Mama and Papa thanked the servants and allowed them to go home to their own families for the rest of the day.

While the boys dressed in warm clothes to play cricket in the garden, Nanny took Isabelle upstairs to the nursery. ‘What a lovely doll,’ she cried. ‘She looks just like you.’ Isabelle placed the china creature on a shelf next to all the others as Nanny patted her hair, whispering, ‘She even has the same curls as yours! You see, I’ve kept your secret, Miss.’

Isabelle ignored her and took the little pieces of furniture over to the huge doll’s house, placing them in the dining room. As she moved the tiny family figures around the rooms, an idea sprang into her head.

Over the Christmas week, Isabelle crossed all her fingers and toes that the sun would shine next Sunday so they could go to the pier. She wanted to see Mr Magnifico again because she had another secret wish that he might be able to help with – one that would be the best Christmas present ever. When the day came, she peered out of the window and thanked the pale winter sun for showing up. Then, as she pulled on her drawers, suspenders, stockings, crinoline, petticoats and stiff dress, she rehearsed her speech.

‘Please, Sir, I know this may be an impossible request but do you think you could make me into a boy?’ How she longed to do all the things her brothers were allowed to do when she was told to ‘behave like a lady’.

On the pier, Hugo and Ned swung on the railings and pretended to dive into the sea below, giving Mama a fright. Papa bought the sweet rock and Isabelle ran ahead to look for the familiar pavilion. The music from the merry-go-round drowned out her sob: ‘Oh no! He’s not here. I hoped so much he could change my life forever.’

That night she reached under her bed for the bottle, hoping the medicine would work for any problem, particularly this latest one. She screwed up her nose at the same strong smell but forced herself to drink.

In the morning Isabelle’s whole body tingled and she knew the magic had worked again! A sprightly young boy leaped out of bed, took scissors from the needlework box and started cutting off his curls. When Nanny arrived to open the curtains, she got a terrible shock.

‘Good morning, Nanny. I’d like you to call me Isaac from now on.’

‘Oh my goodness. This is going be a really hard secret to keep!’ cried Nanny as her legs turned to jelly and she on fainted on the floor with the curls.