Free Serendipity by Joanna Wylde Page A

they stopped the tension seemed to be gone. Mali got the hiccups, and Sarai gave her a drink to help her get over them. Inevitably, it didn't work, and the next time she hiccupped, bright red juice came out her nose and they were all laughing again.
    By the time they had finished lunch, a sumptuous picnic Sarai served on a large blanket, Mali's eyes were starting to droop. Able was also looking tired. Exchanging a knowing look with Jax, Sarai said, "Do you want to lay down for a little while, Mali? I can scoot over on the blanket so there's room?"
    "No, I'm not tired," Mali said instantly, sitting up. Able gave her a superior look.
    "Young children need regular naps," he said, his voice a perfect imitation of Sarai's.
    His mother laughed softly, and padded the blanket next to her.
    "I'll tell you what, Mali," she said. "All of us can lay down for a little bit, and I'll tell a story. If you fall asleep, that's okay, but if you don't we'll go for a walk before heading home. Sound good?"
    "I want Jax to tell the story," she said, lying down. Sarai raised a questioning eyebrow at Jax, and he nodded back at her.
    "Do you want to hear a story that my mother used to tell me when I was a little boy?"
    he asked softly. Mali nodded. Sarai lay down next to her, on her side.
    "Able, you have to lie down, too, before I start," Jax said. Able flopped back on the blanket, and Jax lowered himself to his stomach next to the boy. He propped himself up on his elbows, and started speaking softly.
    "Once upon a time there was a beautiful planet where every season was wonderful in its own way. In the spring, all kinds of new plants would grow, and there were parties to celebrate new life. In the summer, everyone would take the time to enjoy the beautiful weather. They would go swimming every day and eat yummy fruits that were only ripe for a few weeks every year. In autumn, they would harvest all the grains, makes piles of leaves to jump in and store up lots of wood to keep warm when it got cold. In the winter they would gather in close next to the warm fire and tell stories at night. During the day they would go sledding and ice-skating. They'd even build giant castles made out of snow and ice, and throw balls of snow at each other. Everyone who lived there was very happy.
    "Now, the most amazing thing about this planet is that there were four different kinds of people, and each group had their own king or queen. The winter people had very pale skin, so pale that you could just almost see the light blue veins in their arms. They were ruled by a beautiful queen, who had long, straight black hair and eyes like blue diamonds.
    Her husband was the king of autumn. Like all of his people, he had dark skin, and beautiful hair full of orange, red and brown streaks. The summer people were all golden, from their skin to their hair. They were the most fun loving of the groups, hosting fairs and dancing from morning until night."
    "Every day?" Mali asked, popping her head up to look at him. Sarai reached an arm out to gently pull her back down, and Jax nodded.
    "Yes, every day," he said solemnly. "Now, the last group was the spring people. They were magical, because they could make things grow. They had a beautiful queen who was all green, even her hair. Everywhere she walked, little plants would sprout out of the ground and flowers would grow. She was married to the king of the summer people.
    "Now, every year all of the kings and queens would take turns ruling over the people.
    For three months every year, they would open their palaces and have parties and feasts. It was a wonderful place to live, and everyone was very happy all the time. But then one day, something bad happened."
    "What?" Able asked, enthralled.
    "Well, you see, every 20 years or so they would pick new kings and queens."
    "Why?" Mali asked, her face twisted in confusion.
    "Well, I think it's because being a king or queen if probably very tiring," Jax said, trying not to laugh. He'd never