Are you ready to meditate with Kori?
Climb up into your bed and make sure that you're super comfortable.
It's time to settle down your body,
So try not to whittle around too much.
It's time to try and be still and quiet,
So that you can relax your body and let go of your busy,
Busy day.
Stephanie was freezing.
Where she lived was super,
Super cold.
She just got home from school.
It wasn't snowing where she lived,
But it was frosty,
Nippy and cold,
And she couldn't feel her fingers or the tip of her nose.
She said hi to her mum and ran upstairs,
Still wearing her big,
Big padded coat and a woolly hat.
When she got upstairs,
She took her hat and her jacket off and hung them up on the back of her door.
The house was nice and warm,
But she was shaking because she was so cold.
The school bus was cold,
Inside the classroom was cold.
She felt like she'd been cold all day,
Cold to the bone.
Stephanie thought to herself,
It would be so nice to be on a summer vacation somewhere by the beach.
Laid down on the sand,
Soaking up the sand,
Listening to the ocean,
Reading a good book,
She thought to herself.
She decided to have a nice warm shower,
To try and warm her bones,
To warm her toes and her fingers and her nose.
The shower felt lovely,
Hot water all over her cold body.
She washed her hair as well,
And the warm shower falling onto the top of her head instantly made her feel more relaxed and calm.
When she got out of the shower,
She decided to put on her pyjamas,
Even though it was only early in the day.
She wasn't going anywhere for the rest of the day,
So why not?
She put on her checkered,
Plush,
Furry,
Comfortable pyjamas,
And sat down at her dressing table to brush her wet hair.
She was looking at herself in the reflection in the mirror while she was brushing her hair,
Wishfully thinking about the beach.
She wondered if Moonbow Forest had a beach.
Hmm,
She thought to herself.
She reached over to where her jewellery box was on her dresser and opened up the drawer that contained her magical earrings.
The ones that she's had for quite a long time now.
The ones that allow her to create a portal from this world to the other world,
The world that she calls Moonbow Forest.
Stephanie puts the left earring in first,
And then quickly follows it with the right.
She takes a nice big deep breath and closes her eyes.
She feels that familiar tingle in her fingers,
And then in her toes.
The tingle starts to spread up her legs,
Trickles all the way up her spine until she shivers as if someone just walked over a grave.
The tingles get really,
Really strong in her tummy and her nose.
Her nose starts to itch and twitch as if she's going to sneeze,
And she smiles to herself with that familiar knowing feeling that it's about to happen.
The magic is about to take place.
There in front of her face,
She sees the veil,
The magical,
Glistening,
Silvery looking curtain,
The one that divides this world and Moonbow Forest.
Stephanie focuses her gaze and tries to peer through the curtain.
She just sees shadows.
She doesn't see anything clearly.
So without hesitation,
She reaches up with her left hand and pulls the curtain to one side so she can step into Moonbow Forest.
Step away from the world that she knows.
The world where she has to go to school.
The world where she has homework.
The world where it's freezing right now.
The first thing she feels is the soft,
Slightly prickly,
Spongy grass underneath her bare feet.
She doesn't focus too long on the grass today,
Instead she looks up at the sky.
It's a beautiful pale blue,
As bright as can be.
And there's white clouds spread thin,
All the way across the sky,
As far as our eyes can see.
It looks like someone spread butter all over toast.
White butter on blue toast.
And there's little bits of blue peering through the white butter.
It makes her tummy rumble.
She's a little bit hungry.
She didn't even think about food.
She was so cold when she got home from school.
But thinking about toast and butter sounded good.
But then she pulls her attention down and forward,
Looking at the trees there in front of her.
Walking towards one of the trees,
She grabs a couple of leaves and pops them into her mouth.
It's been quite a long time since she's enjoyed the mint chocolate leaves on these trees.
They're creamy and velvety and just the right amount of mint.
Milk chocolate mint leaves are the best,
She thinks.
She strokes down the trunk of one of the trees and says thank you out loud,
In appreciation for the fact that the trees are willing to share their beautiful,
Beautiful leaves.
Then Stephanie spots Luna.
Luna and her friend Stella are walking towards her.
Stella's another unicorn there in Mumbo Forest,
And Stephanie's not seen her for a really long time.
Stephanie starts to speed up her walk into a run so she can get to Luna and Stella quicker.
When she first gets there,
She of course leans down her forehead and puts her forehead on Luna's forehead and they both close their eyes for a couple of seconds,
Just connecting to one another.
And then Stephanie opens her eyes and smiles at Luna,
Big and happy.
It's been a while,
She says.
Luna looks down and smiles at Stephanie and says yes,
It has my dear.
And then Stephanie pulls away from Luna,
Runs over to Stella and gives her a big hug.
Stella always makes Stephanie think of cotton candy.
She's a bright pink unicorn with purple mane and purple tail.
She looks like she's good enough to eat.
She even smells sweet like cotton candy.
Stephanie takes a big inhale and smells around her neck where she's hugging her.
And Stella giggles,
That tickles,
She says.
Stephanie takes a couple of steps back and looks at them both.
Hi guys,
She says.
I have a little bit of a request today,
Stella says.
Oh,
I'm intrigued.
Stella looks at Luna.
Luna stares at Stephanie and says,
What is it?
Stephanie said,
Does Moonbow Forest have a beach by any chance?
I would love to go to the beach.
It's so cold right now where I am,
So,
So cold.
And all I want to do,
Luna,
Is just lay on the beach.
I just want to lay on the beach and just soak in the sun.
Luna smiles a knowing smile at Stella.
And Stella says,
Do you want to go for a ride?
Yes,
Stephanie says,
Very excited.
Stella says,
You can ride on me today.
Ooh,
Says Stephanie.
She normally always rides on Luna's back when they go anywhere.
Stephanie runs quickly towards Stella.
And Stella leans forward so she can climb up on her back.
Stephanie wraps Stella's mane around her wrist a few times and grabs a hold of it with both hands.
Ready,
She says.
Luna said,
I have some things I have to do here today.
I'll let you take her,
Stella.
Enjoy yourself.
I'll see you when you get back.
Luna leans forward and rubs her nose very gently on Stephanie's nose and Stephanie giggles.
And just like that,
Luna backs up and then walks away into the forest.
Stella turns her head to the side so she can see Luna up there on her back and says,
Hold on tight.
And then just like that,
She's up in the air.
Flying through the sky,
Up over the forest,
Up over the hills,
Up over all the different places that Stephanie's visited down below.
There looks like lots of activity down below.
Stephanie leans forward.
Which way's the beach?
She shouts.
West,
Says Stella.
We're heading west today.
Stephanie settles down and settles into Stella's back and gets comfortable.
Ready for the ride,
Not knowing how long she's going to be flying.
About 10 minutes into flying,
Stephanie notices that she's starting to feel quite warm.
It was a lovely day there in Moonbow Forest when she first got there,
But now it seems to be getting hotter.
Stephanie's a little bit worried.
The only thing that she's wearing is fluffy,
Warm,
Woolly checkered pyjamas.
She's sweating.
It's so warm.
About five more minutes of flying and Stella starts to descend towards the ground.
Stephanie can see the beach.
It looks very,
Very quaint and quiet and the ocean looks so unbelievably blue.
It can't be real,
She thinks to herself.
They get closer and closer and closer until Stella lands on the pebbly beach.
It's not a sandy beach.
It's a pebbly beach.
And Stephanie hears the crunch under Stella's hooves.
Stephanie slides off Stella's back and lands on the pebbles.
When she looks down at them,
She shuffles her feet around,
Making more noise.
They're multicoloured pebbles.
They look just like M&M's.
Stephanie laughs and says,
These look like M&M's.
Stella says,
That's because they are.
Oh,
No,
Says Stephanie.
Instantly reaching down to the ground and grabbing a handful.
Can I eat them?
Oh,
Yes,
You can,
Says Stella.
In fact,
Stephanie,
You can eat absolutely everything on this part of the beach,
Including the ocean.
Everything.
No way,
Says Stephanie.
What about this shell?
She finds a shell on the beach.
Yep,
Yep,
That's a sherbet shell right there.
What about this log?
What about this piece of driftwood?
What about this?
Stephanie is running around like a crazy lady,
As if she's never eaten anything in her life before.
Can I eat this?
Can I eat this?
Can I eat this?
Stella just laughs at her.
Like I said,
You can eat all of it,
Stephanie.
Stephanie grabs a hold of a big,
Giant piece of driftwood.
Can I eat this?
Even this?
Stella says,
Yes,
You can eat that.
Stephanie takes a bite of the driftwood.
Oh,
It's licorice!
Licorice driftwood.
Perfect.
She takes another big bite and then moves on,
Dropping the driftwood onto the ground.
What did the shells taste like?
Stella says,
Ooh,
Great.
Very sour,
Though.
Stephanie picks up a shell and puts it in her mouth.
She puckers her face as if she's been sucking on lemon.
Oh,
Gosh,
You're right.
But it's so good.
Sherbet shells,
Says Stella.
They're the best.
Stephanie runs down to the ocean,
The piercingly,
Brilliantly blue ocean.
It looks like it's moving quite slowly,
As if it's thick.
It's not water.
It's thicker than water.
What is this?
Stella says,
Dip your toes in and feel.
Stephanie walks forward and dips her toes in the blue,
Blue,
Blue ocean.
And it's freezing.
I can drink this?
Yes.
And then Stephanie puts two and two together and realizes that the ocean could possibly be a blue raspberry slushie.
She pulls her hair back and leans in and slurps at the top of the ocean.
It is blue raspberry slushie,
And it is so delicious and sweet and tangy and a little bit,
Ooh,
It's everything,
Everything that you could think of.
It's the best slushie she's ever,
Ever tasted.
She bends forward to get another taste of the slushie ocean.
She hears a big splash,
Not too far in front of her,
And instantly looks up.
Whatever it was,
She missed it.
Stephanie turns back and looks at Stella,
Who's standing on the side of the beach.
What was that,
She says.
And just as she turns back to the water,
What it was jumps out big,
Glorious,
Shiny,
Covered in blue slushie,
Hovers in the air and then dives back in.
Mermaids,
Mermaids,
Says Stephanie.
Stella smiles.
Yes,
This part of Moonbow Forest has gummy tail mermaids.
They're so funny.
They are absolutely hilarious.
Stephanie peers out at the water once again,
Waiting for the mermaid to reappear.
It doesn't for a minute,
But then all of a sudden there's a big splash right there in front of her feet.
And the gummy tail mermaid lays on its side by the edge of the water and smiles the most brilliant smile up at Stephanie and says,
Well,
Hello there.
Stephanie just smiles.
Hello,
She says.
My name is Jellica.
Oh,
Nice,
Nice to meet you,
Jellica.
Stephanie is staring with her mouth slightly open in shock.
Jellica has the most beautiful,
Transparent,
Long,
Gummy looking tail.
It's bright,
Bright orange.
It looks like you could dive into it,
But obviously you couldn't because it's solid enough that she's swishing it back and forward.
And the ocean,
The slushy ocean,
Is moving as she does so.
Is that literally made of gummy?
Stephanie says,
Pointing to Jellica's tail.
Oh,
Yes,
Yes,
It is.
We can do so many things with these tails.
Watch.
Jellica stands on the tip of her tail as if she's standing tall like a statue and she starts bouncing all over the M&M pebbles.
She has got some bounce.
She bounces as big as Tigger would bounce,
Like really bounce,
Like her tail is a pogo stick or something.
And she boing,
Boing,
Boings up and down on the beach.
And then she says,
Watch this.
Jellica dives back into the slushy ocean and then hovers on the top of the water and does this flippy thing with her tail and her tail starts to get longer and longer and longer as if it's extending,
Stretching like a gummy bear would stretch.
It stretches,
She shouts,
Giggling at the same time.
I can bounce on it.
I could stretch on it.
I can wobble it so fast.
Watch this.
She starts to wobble her tail back and forward and she speeds up her swimming,
Moving really,
Really fast through the water.
I can do so many things with it and I can also do this.
Jellica without giving Stephanie any notice,
Swishes her tail around really,
Really fast and tickles Stephanie underneath her chin with it.
Stephanie starts laughing.
Oh my gosh,
You can do a lot with that thing.
Told you,
Says Jellica.
As if proud of herself,
She jumps up in the air and then dives back in and disappears under the blue slushy ocean.
And then she comes back up very quickly and swims her way back to shore and lands back on the beach.
So Stephanie,
What are you doing here?
Oh,
Says Stephanie,
I just wanted to be in the warmth.
I wanted to be on the beach.
I wanted to feel the sun on my body,
Read a good book and get away from how cold it is back home.
Stello says,
Where's home?
Stephanie says,
Oh,
Well,
Earth.
Jellica scrunches up her mermaid shoulders,
Close,
Really close to her ears and then pulls them back down really quick,
As if to say,
I don't know where that is.
Stephanie doesn't think or know how to explain that it's probably a different planet or something.
Because,
I mean,
How do you explain it?
So Stephanie doesn't even try to explain it.
And by now,
Jellica's already started to talk about something else.
Can you bounce around on those things?
She's talking about Stephanie's legs.
Stephanie said,
I can jump a bit.
She gives her an example and starts to jump up and down on the pebbles,
But it's not very impressive.
Hmm,
Says Jellica.
Not that great,
Really,
Eh?
Stephanie giggles.
Stella's right.
Jellica is very funny.
Jellica said,
Can you do this?
She starts to stretch out her tail really,
Really long again,
Wiggling it all over the place in the water.
Stephanie shrugs and says,
No,
Sorry,
Can't do that with my legs.
Oh,
They're not much fun,
Are they,
Those things?
She never stops moving.
She's swimming or shuffling or bouncing.
Did you try the pebbles yet?
She says,
Very excited.
Stephanie nods and says,
Yes,
They're delicious.
I was hungry.
Get more of them.
Get the shells.
The shells are so sour.
Oh,
They're so good,
Though.
Get the licorice logs.
They're really,
Really good.
Stephanie laughs and said,
Yeah,
I think I've tried everything.
Did you try the Swedish fish pools?
Says Jellica.
Stephanie looks at Stella as if to say,
What's she talking about?
And Stella just shrugs.
Follow me,
She said.
Come over here.
It's just on this side of the beach.
Jellica starts to swim quite close to the edge of the water so that Stephanie can follow.
Stephanie speeds up her pace until they get to what looks like some tide pools.
In every little pool in the tide pool,
There's tons and tons of Swedish fish swimming around in the little bits of water.
Are they alive,
Says Stephanie?
No,
No,
You can eat them.
They just move around waiting for people to eat them.
It's like they're baiting you or something.
Watch.
Jellica reaches in with one of her mermaid hands and grabs a hold of one of the Swedish fish.
And as soon as she pulls it out of the water,
It stops as if it's not alive at all.
And then she just pops it into her mouth.
They're so good,
She says,
So good.
Stephanie reaches down,
Grabs a hold of one,
Copies her and does exactly the same.
They taste just like the Swedish fish that she has back home.
It's funny that they even have the same name,
She thinks.
Stephanie reaches down and grabs two and then she grabs another one for good luck.
Eating them while Jellica goes on and on and on about all sorts of different stuff.
After 20 minutes of listening to Jellica,
Stephanie decides that she really likes her.
She would make a really good best friend,
She thinks.
She's funny,
She's lively,
She's energetic and she's also a good listener.
Stephanie found herself talking to Jellica about all sorts of different things.
And they became instant friends.
But then after a while,
Stella made herself known again and said it was time to go back.
Aww,
Said Stephanie.
Stephanie said,
Just a minute.
She reaches down and collects a couple of shells from the beach and puts them into a pajama pocket.
Okay,
I'm ready,
She says.
Stephanie says goodbye to Jellica and Jellica does a big giant jump and then disappears into the blue slushy ocean.
A moment later,
She pops her head back up and says,
See you next time,
Stephanie.
And then disappears again below the blue.
Stephanie climbs on to Stella's back,
Wraps her arms and her hands around her mane and leans forward and says,
I'm ready.
Stella is up in the air in no time at all.
The next time Stephanie focuses her eyes,
She realizes she's staring at her ceiling in her bedroom,
All warm and comfortable and snug underneath the covers.
She can feel the cool,
Crisp air of her bedroom on her face,
The only thing that's sticking out from below the covers.
Stephanie rolls over and smiles to herself,
Reaching down and wrapping her arms around her legs,
Pulling herself into a comfortable,
Tight ball.
She closes her eyes and falls fast asleep.
The End.
