The Sapphire Fruit

Chapter Two-1

Chapter TwoA year had passed, and Melanie was pregnant. Her mother was so pleased that she would soon be a grandmother. One day, Melanie had a sudden desire to eat something sweet, and she remembered the fruit that Alya had given her. To satisfy her sweet tooth, Melanie went to the cupboard in her room and grabbed the second portion, ate it, and thought of a wish. But before she could think of one good enough, she was distracted and forgot about it.

A few months later, the weather outside had become cold, and Melanie desired to eat the fruit again. She asked her husband to fetch the last piece from the cupboard; he did so without even looking at it. Melanie ate it and became relaxed, but then felt a sharp pain. She screamed because of her discomfort as her husband ran outside in the cold to fetch the midwife. Her mother came in to calm her while they waited. During that time, the weather had become frigid, and the winds had grown powerful. It was as if the storm felt Melanie’s discomfort and was reflecting it back at her. The storm raged with fury as her husband finally arrived with the midwife. They heard Melanie shouting, and the midwife told the husband to wait downstairs. As the hours went by and the winds blew, a faint cry came from upstairs. The screams became louder as the storm outside passed. The husband stood by the stairwell watching as his mother-in-law poked her head out of the room and told him to come up. He went upstairs and walked towards the bedroom to see Melanie in the bed, holding their newborn child. He smiled at her and walked over, but he noticed that the baby’s hair was different. It was purple. He stood over them, and Melanie whispered to him the child’s name: Amethyst. They were both excited about their daughter; the knight smiled at the baby, and she yawned. The midwife, however, had been surprised by the baby’s appearance and left without saying a word.

“Why does the child have purple hair?” Melanie’s mother asked.

“I am not sure, but maybe it is a sign,” the knight said as he passed Amethyst to Melanie’s mother.

“I hope it is a good one and not evil,” her mother declared as she cradled Amethyst in her arms.

She saw Amethyst's eyes were hazel, and she smiled up at her grandmother. Amethyst’s grandmother smiled back and passed her to Melanie, and they all noticed that the color of the child’s hair had begun to change to a light blue. Just then, Melanie remembered about the fruit and the two wishes that she had forgotten.

I wonder if you had made any wishes, she thought as she kissed Amethyst on the cheek.

The news traveled around the settlement, and many wondered why a child would be born with such odd hair. Several villagers arrived to see the newborn, but they were not allowed. The grandmother told everyone that her grandchild was healthy, but rumors spread that the child was a demon and that frightened Melanie. She rarely left the house with Amethyst and the only times she did was when Amethyst’s hair was light red.

A year later, Amethyst was outside playing in a sandbox, when some of the villagers came by. They noticed that the child was average, her hair was a light reddish color. The rumor of the child being a demon vanished as the days passed.

Two years later, the knight was obliged to go into battle. As he prepared to leave, Melanie gave him an armband that had an emblem in the shape of the sapphire fruit.

“What is this?” he asked.

“An armband that I made to give you luck and to keep you safe.”

“It is charming. Thank you.” He kissed Melanie, then looked at Amethyst. “I will see you soon, my little girl.”

He kissed Amethyst on the forehead then rode to the battlefield.

That would be the last time Melanie would ever see the knight. A few months later, news of her husband’s fate reached Melanie, and she was distressed by his death. She wept in her room while Amethyst and her grandmother went outside to the apple tree and set up a small monument for the knight. Amethyst stared at it with a puzzled gaze and wondered why they were doing this. She heard a sound from above, so she looked up at the tree and saw a strange silhouette of a creature. Amethyst spoke to this creature, and it waved its hand to her. Her grandmother asked Amethyst who she was talking to, so she told her. The grandmother looked up but saw only a blackbird that stared at them and flew away.

* * *

As time went on, Amethyst grew up to be a healthy child, but there was something special about her that no other child was able to do: her hair would turn different colors whenever the weather changed. On freezing days, it would become a light blue that was almost white, and on hot days, a fiery red with portions of black. She also was able to use fire and ice. Amethyst learned it one day while she was playing and revealed it to Melanie. Amethyst would blow air on her hands that would become so hot, one could see her bones. She was able to melt anything she touched and shoot small fireballs. When she chilled her hands, they would be as hard as stone, and she could punch a hole through metal and freeze anything. Her mother and grandmother told her to be careful because of the danger of harming or killing someone with her powers. Amethyst obeyed their requests and would conceal her skills.

However, being a child that loved to play, she would sometimes break her promise. On several occasions, Amethyst went outside and created an ice path which she would use to glide upon. At times, Amethyst would use it to travel from her house to the market and back again. Everyone in the village found out about it, as there were eyewitnesses. At first, the townspeople were alarmed, reverting to calling the child a demon, but Amethyst won their trust; she would help anyone, and she was a person with a heart of gold just like her mother.

One day, Melanie asked Amethyst to head into the village to buy cotton and warned her not to use her abilities to travel there. Amethyst nodded, but once she was far from the house, she went skiing down her ice path. Amethyst zipped through the village and avoided any obstacles or anyone on the road. When she arrived at the center of the market, her best friend Nira was holding a basket of apples, and she went to greet her. Nira had black hair, blue eyes, and was about the same height as Amethyst.

“Hello, Nira,” Amethyst shouted as she slowed down and began to circle her. “It’s great to see you again.”

“Hello, Ameth. What brings you to the market?” Nira placed the basket on the ground.

“My mama sent me to buy some cotton,” she replied as she balanced herself. “How about you? Do you need help carrying the basket?”

“Umm, no. I can manage.” Nira turned her head to follow Amethyst as she went in circles. “Didn’t your mother tell you not to use your powers?”

“Yeah, but what’s the point of having powers and not being able to use them? What happens if there’s an emergency or—”

Just then, they heard a scream, and Amethyst stopped to look for where it had come from. A woman was shouting that someone had stolen her coin purse. Amethyst saw a man running with the bag, so she skied after him. She blew on her hand to heat it up and discharged a ball of fire straight towards the man’s trousers. His pants burst into flames, and he screamed as his behind began to burn. Amethyst laughed at the man’s crazy dance as he tried to stomp out the fire. Some of the villagers came to help him, and afterward, they tied him up. One of the villagers returned the purse to the woman, and she thanked Amethyst for assisting her before walking over to the thief and slapping the man’s face with the coin purse. Amethyst giggled and walked back to Nira.

“See that? What if I wasn’t able to use my powers right there?” Amethyst declared as she smiled at her friend.

“I guess it’s all right to help others,” Nira replied as she lifted the basket. “But you still have to be careful that you don’t get in trouble with your mother.”

As she was about to place the basket on her head, Amethyst quickly grabbed the other handle and started to ski with Nira.

“So where to?” Amethyst asked.

“What are you doing!” Nira screamed as she closed her eyes. “I said I could manage on my own.”

“Come on; this will be easier! Just tell me where to go, and we’ll be there—”

“Fine!” Nira snapped. “Just take me to my house.”

“You don’t need to yell.”

Nira sighed and grabbed onto Amethyst as they both skied towards her home. Amethyst laughed all the way as they zoomed past the market and headed in the direction of the blacksmith’s shop. They went down a hill, and Amethyst saw an old man in a wagon being pulled by a horse.

Nira opened her eyes and warned her, “Watch out! We’re going to ram into them.”

Before they were about to strike the wagon, Amethyst created an ice ramp, and they jumped above the cart and horse. The old man hollered at them as Nira looked back.

“I can’t believe we made it over them.”

“I knew I was able to do it. Plus, we’re going very fast and—”

“Look out!” Nira screeched as she pointed to the fence in front of her house.

Amethyst saw it; however, she was not able to do anything, and they both crashed. Nira’s father was outside working when he heard the cracking of the fence. He looked up and saw what had occurred and ran to them.

“Nira! Amethyst! Are you two all right?”

“Yea, I’m fine.” Nira held her head. “How about you, Ameth?”

“I’m okay. Just a bit bruised.” Amethyst laughed as an apple which was on the fence fell and hit her head.

“I can’t believe you did that, Amethyst. Didn’t your mother tell you not to use your powers?” Nira’s father scolded. “You could have gotten hurt or worse.”

“I’m sorry.” She stared at the ground. “I just thought it would’ve been faster going downhill.”

“Well, at least you and Nira were not hurt. However, I can’t say the same thing about the apples or the basket,” the blacksmith said as he picked it up.

“Again, I’m sorry. I will pay for the broken basket and the apples.” Amethyst offered him the money in her pocket.

“There’s no need for that. I think a few survived the shock,” the blacksmith answered with a smile. “Pick them up while I go fetch another basket.”

“I knew something like this was going to happen,” Nira whispered as she gathered the apples. “You never listen to me.”

“Sorry. I know—” Amethyst gasped when her fingers wrapped around a blue apple among the bunch.

“What is it?”

“Umm…nothing. I just thought I saw a rat.”

“A rat? Where?” Nira squealed as she jumped up onto the tree stump.

“There’s no rat.”

“But you said you saw one.”

“I said I thought I saw one. Now get down from there and help me. I’ve got to do my shopping too.”

Nira climbed down and carefully looked at the apples to see if any rats might be hiding. After they finished, Amethyst said goodbye and went to the store to buy the bundle of cotton; afterward, she headed home. On her way, she studied the blue apple she had taken and wondered why it was such an odd color. Amethyst took a small bite and as soon as she tasted it, she spat it out.

“Ah, it tastes terrible. Guess it’s not good.”

She threw the apple away and blew on her hand to form a small snowball to use to rinse out her mouth. As the fruit rolled down the hill, a giant bird picked it up and flew into the clouds. Amethyst noticed the shadow as it passed over her, but there was nothing.

As she approached her house, a carriage with four beautiful horses and a well-dressed man waited out front. She greeted the man, and he bowed his head to her. Amethyst entered the house and was greeted by her mother.

“Good, you made it in time.” Her mother set down a bag on the work table.