Jellia

                                         

It is an extraordinary story of an ordinary girl, Darcy Grace, who was seven years old and was born as a disabled child. She could not see, or saying bluntly, she was blind. Yes, she didn’t know how the world she lived in looked like. She was a cute child with a rabbit-like smile. But, unfortunately, she didn’t know what cuteness was like. She had sea green eyes, resembling a profound ocean, which could fascinate anyone looking into them. But, unfortunately, her beautiful eyes were of no use.

Just think about the things that can bring joy to a kid’s life. They can be dolls, balls, fairy movies, action heroes, comic books, flowers, favourite stickers, delicious dishes and the list goes on. Now, imagine how a child would feel if he cannot see them! Wouldn’t he feel terrible? That’s how Darcy felt.

Darcy loved roses. She could touch them and feel their soft petals. She could smell their sweet fragrance. They were her favourite. Her mom once told her that the roses Darcy was holding in her hands were red in colour. Darcy tried to understand what red meant but couldn’t. So, she innocently asked her mother what red is, but, sadly, her mother failed to give her a proper explanation.

 Darcy loved tarts and jelly beans. They tempted her the most. Her cook would always decorate the tarts and would tell her that they looked so alluring. To which, she would always ask, “Really?”

One day, Darcy’s friend, Leena, visited her with her family for dinner. After dinner, Leena was asked to perform a few steps of ballet dance. Everyone’s eyes glued to Leena. She danced gracefully. While everyone was busy appreciating Leena’s dance, Darcy, sitting in a corner, kept clapping with an awkward smile.

Darcy was very fond of tales. When her mother would tell her interesting stories, she would always listen attentively. But, while listening to the stories, in her heart of hearts, she would sigh with a feeling of disappointment because she knew that she would never be able to read books in the way normal people do.   

All she wanted was her eyesight. She would always wonder how everything looked. Her foremost desire was to see herself in the mirror.

One winter evening, Darcy excitedly asked her mother to go out for dinner. Her mother was overjoyed to see her in a happy mood. She took her to the best baker’s of the town. They took the corner seat near the blower. Darcy ordered honey pistachio tart for herself and cappuccino for her mother. She was so lost in the taste of honey, caramel, and jelly that she completely forgot about all her worries. All of a sudden, she felt like a very sticky hand had gripped her wrist, and all she could focus on was a voice talking to her. The voice said, “Hello, dear Darcy! Please don’t be afraid. Just listen to me carefully. I know how you feel. You are treated differently, even by those who love you. You are pitied upon and I know how much it hurts! But, believe me, I am right here to transform your life. It might hurt you in the beginning but you will be happy at last. You will be able to see one day. Yes, you will. I will meet you soon. Hey, I’m sorry! Enjoy your jelly, little Darcy. Good bye.” Darcy was petrified with what just happened with her. But, along with getting astonished, she got emotional, too. She burst into tears. The idea of being able to see one day made her wildly happy. While Darcy was busy imagining the day she would be able to see, her mother had her eye on her. On seeing peculiar expressions on Darcy’s face, she stopped taking sips of her cappuccino.

“Baby, are you okay?” She asked Darcy gently.

“Uhh… Yeah! Nothing. I was just carried away by a flashback,” Darcy replied confidently.

Darcy was an introvert and she never wanted to become a laughing stock in front of others. So, she preferred to keep her weird experience to herself. The voice she heard at the baker’s couldn’t let her sleep. Now, she desperately wanted her eyesight. Yes, she wanted to see her face.

Next day, when she woke up, she didn’t open her eyes and instead, called her mother to her bedroom. She asked her mother to take her to the mirror. She had a hope that something magical would have happened. Then, she opened her eyes slowly but it was still all dark. She began to move her fingers all over the surface of the mirror and again, it was something sticky. She asked her mom whether there was something sticky on the surface of the mirror, but her mother told her that the mirror was perfectly clean. This experience was weird for Darcy and even her mom was observing her anxiety.

At night, Darcy’s mom entered Darcy’s bedroom, where Darcy was silently listening to her favourite track,

“This is jelly jam… This is jelly jam...”

She gave Darcy a plate full of boiled eggs, peas, and butter, and then, left the room to fetch a glass of milk for Darcy. Darcy was going to have her first morsel, but, surprisingly, there were only jelly beans in her plate. She called her mom, and her mom too found that her plate was full of jelly beans. Mrs Grace wondered for a while and then, concluded that Darcy, after being fed up of her life’s humdrum, wanted some excitement and so, she was playing some kind of prank. She thought that Darcy must have replaced the food with jelly beans that she always kept with her. This made Mrs Grace both angry and upset. She cursed God for choosing her child for such miseries and slammed the door behind her. On the other hand, Darcy thanked God for giving her life, prayed for a better future, and slept.

Now, there came a turning point in Darcy’s life. When she woke up in the morning, it was all new and different. SHE COULD SEE! But, the place and people were different. It was a strange place. Out of fear, she started crying her eyes out. Then, suddenly, she heard a soft voice: “Little Darcy, please calm down. I welcome you to Jellia! This is a land of people with jelly bodies. I am Nata De Coco. Let me introduce you to a few people. She is Wild Cherry Chew. You need to be careful. Haha, she is very naughty. He is Cupid Corn, a clever one. He can make anybody fall in love. See, he is Ferrara Cinnamon Bear. You will enjoy his fragrance and company. Now let’s come to...”

While he was introducing everyone, Darcy’s gorgeous eyes filled with tears. She begged them to let her go back to her home. She loved her mother and didn’t want to live in this new world. Nata told her that everyone understood her pain and so, she could freely make a choice between her old life and her gifted eyesight. Darcy remained silent. Nata said, “It will take some time, but you will feel like home with us, too.” Then, they left her alone for a few hours to take a decision. Finally, with a heavy heart, Darcy agreed to live her new life, for she knew the importance of the gift of vision. Nata took Darcy with him and asked her to get ready for a change. He began chanting the spell:

“Dear Darcy Grace, turn into jelly..

You belong to us…

You have to belly..

No need to fuss..”

Darcy’s eyes were wide open as she saw her body swelling and turning into a red sticky material. She was surprised to see that magic really existed.

Nata said to her, “You’re now Fini Red Berry!” Darcy smiled and liked her new name. With each passing day, her memories of Earth began to fade, and she started living a happy life in Jellia.

—Amrit Versha