Today I remembered Aunt Patty.
I haven't seen her in years, but I remember that she was very cheerful and kind to me and that she used to knit, but I don't know if she still does. The only thing that she has ever given to me is a knitted doll. The doll was a cat with vey fair fur and crystal-clear blue eyes made of glass buttons, and she wore a floral dress and burgundy ballet flats, but I lost it. Knock, knock!
"Who is it? Aunt Patty! I haven't seen you in such a long time! How have you been?"
"Well, very well actually, but, my dear, I must leave soon... before I leave, will you bring me a cup of tea, Isabella? I am travelling to London so I thought I should stop by and give you this."
She handed me a carefully wrapped present.
"Open it later",she said, Darling, what's the time?"
"Half past ten, why?"
"Sorry, honey , I am late, I must go now, I will see you soon! " she said, grabbed her coat and left.
Well, that was strange... I can open the present, maybe it will give me a hint where she is . Inside the box there was another doll, also a cat but this time the cat was wearing a cashmere top hat that was the same colour as his eyes, emerald green. His suit was khaki, and his tie was burgundy. As soon as I picked him up, ny vision became blurry and suddenly, I was sleeping... I woke up in the middle of a meadow; I heard the bees buzzing and felt tickling in my arms. I looked at myself I was no longer in my tracksuit, I had a floral dress, burgundy ballet flats on and my hair was braided in a single french braid tied with a ribbon.
"Hello, is someone here? Who is there?" someone said.
"Who are you? I am Oliver the shoemaker, who are you?"
"I am Isabella. Oliver looks exactly like my doll, maybe Aunt Patty has something to do with this..."
"Where are we?"
"The Aria of course"
"Do you have any idea how I got here?"
"No, but you can come with me, so you won't be alone."
"NIce shoes... I think I custom made those for someone, where did you get them?"
"I can`t remember. Where are we going?"
"We are going to the Capital of Aria. I must see a friend of mine and consult with him. You asked many questions, can I ask you one?"
"Of course, you have been so kind to me."
"Have you seen a cat with a very fair fur and crystal-clear blue eyes that wears a floral dress and burgundy ballet flats."
"That description also fits perfectly! I think I need to tell you something... In my world my aunt gave me dolls that look just like you and that cat that you described just now . The thing is that I lost her doll. Maybe it has something to do with it ?"
"Wait, what is your aunt`s name?"
"Everyone calls her Patty but her real name is Petunia."
"Oh my gosh... Our queen`s name is Petunia and that is why I know those shoes I made are for her; we must visit her; we must visit her! You can sleep in my carriage, but I will have to stop at three houses so I can drop off shoes for my clients which unfortunately will slow us down. But you should rest now Isabella. I will drive."
So, I rested in the back of the carriage, but I couldn`t sleep I just thought about Aunt Petunia and her secret life, maybe that is why she never visited me, maybe she needs my help, why did she visit me now, why not sooner? Those are questions that only she can answer. But until we meet, I can only think and worry about them. I am so tired...The sun`s rays woke me up.
"Oh, you woke up, good news, one of my clients cancelled and I already delivered one pair of shoes! So we only have one more to go and guess what, that order is for your aunt! The way to her castle is very long so we will have to speed up the time. So here is how it works. This is a time meter which looks like an ordinary stopwatch, but it isn`t, you will have to hold my hand on the count of three."
Oliver said:"What? I don`t understand! Just trust me on this - one, two, three - now! Suddenly I am in an interspace between now and what will happen. I must say that it wasn`t very pleasant. And... Puff! We are here! A giant castle is in front of us. It is decorated with petunias. On the walls we barely got through the guards.
"Isabella, I need you to think very hard. What does your aunt like to do specifically? What do you think she is doing right now?"
"Knitting...but where? In the garden!"
We sprinted to the garden, and we saw my aunt. Well, I think I must explain myself, I created this world while I was knitting dolls, flowers and many other things. I put so much love into them that I fell asleep like you did. I won`t explain why I became the queen because that is a story for another time."
"You must be wondering why I invited you to Aria. Isabella, I want you to be my heiress, I don`t plan on marrying and you are perfect, and you proved yourself on this journey. Do you accept my offer?"
"Of course. One more thing...Where is his friend?" I pointed at Oliver.
"Oh, she is here", she snapped her fingers and she was here.
"So, now I am an heiress of an empire. How exctitng...nevertheless... it is only now that the adventure and learning begin!"