Last week I asked fellow members of the Winter Park Short Story Society group if anyone had saved examples of Kimberly’s work and two members shared two stories that they had saved and I am now sharing these stories with you. Each week we had a theme or genre to write in and this example comes from our Fairy Tale assignment. Finally, if anyone has any other stories written by Kimberly, please feel free to contact me, I know that there is one zombie and one crime story floating around there somewhere… Enjoy.

The Mirror of Truth by Kimberly Wolski-Leatherman (2014-06-12)

This is a tale of an Enchantress name Kimberly. She had emerald green eyes that gleamed as the most precious jewel. Reyes that would sparkle could Cath the attention of most passerby’s. She was not necessarily an enchantress because of her beauty but for her charismatic ways. People enjoyed her company and were mesmerized by her allure. Friendship and trust is all that the allure would bring to our dear enchantress. Maybe this tale should have started with the cliched “Once upon a time” or “in a castle far far away,” but that just doesn’t seem to fit with Kimberly. Now, don’t get me wrong she lived her life believing in said cliches. She has kissed many frogs in hopes to find her prince and she as pricked her finger on a dozen spinning wheels to help her sleep from the torment of heartbreak. Which of course led her to many infections in her fingers, but she never gave up hope. 

Kimber grew up in a time where Enchanted Forests exist, Princes and Princesses ruled the lands, and where small creatures could provide much comic relief to any stressful situation. However, Kimberly lived far away from such places. She grew up where the prairie was vast and the soil was perfect for harvesting. Isolation, that one day would lead her to her demise.

Her father one day was somebody, but that time is gone. She remembers more of a time without him than when he was with the family. Her mother took a job working in the potions room in a witch’s coven in exchange for room and board and excellent education for Kimberly.

She loved visiting her mother at work. She knew not to touch the potions that surrounded her. She was fascinated for the need for so many potions or concoctions. Somebody needed a cure for a lazy eye, or to solve a problem for infidelity, they would come to her mother in hopes for help. Kimberly was not sure what it all entails to make a concoction or how the potions worked, but she knows that they indeed work. For some reason, Mr. Jeff does walk around a lot funnier lately.

One day while helping her mother in the coven, she noticed a small emerald green vile. The vile was almost the exact color of her eyes. She tried to ignore that vile all day, until her mother stepped out to deliver another concoction to Mr. Jeff to help with his walking problem. She had to at least see what was in the piercing green vile. The sticker on it read “For eternal beauty for your one true love.” Fascinated, she read the vile over and over again. The witches and warlocks were already calling Kimberly names since reaching her 30th birthday and have never had much of a suitor to visit. It seemed like a selfless act: “Eternal beauty FOR your one true love.” How could she go wrong? Opening the stopper on the vile, she took a quick sip. It smelled like mint and tasted like candy. Hoping for dramatic change, Kimberly rushed to the mirror to find herself looking just like she did moments before. Shrugging her shoulders, Kimberly put the stopper back on the vile and put it exactly where she found it. As soon as her mother returned, Kimber went back to her chamber to get some rest. 

Throughout the night, Kimberly couldn’t rest though. She kept staring into the mirror. The mirror of truth, as Kimberly has deemed it over the years. Squinting trying to see the ethereal beauty come bustling out of her pores like a magical vortex that would vanish her plains face. The longer she stared the more disconnected Kimberly felt to the woman lingering back at her. Sure, there were similarities like the emerald green eyes, but they didn’t feel like hers. Finally falling asleep, Kimberly curled up on the floor next to the mirror and slept until noon the next day. 

Waking up to a strong desperation for a new day, Kimberly decided to dress the “eternal beauty” part and put on one of her finest dresses. She was just going to work like she does every day, but Kimberly was vowed to change herself even though her reflection appeared the same. Kimberly worked in the coven just as her mother did, but she was the coven’s treasurer/accountant so the dress isn’t needed for the job but she needed the dress. The dress was made from the finest silks, a green to compliment Kimberly’s eyes, and a tight bustier that would make her waist seem even smaller and her already ample bosoms seem bigger. The witches gave Kimberly the dress for her 30th birthday, even they have lost faith in her abilities and put faith into her hourglass figure. Looking into the mirror of truth again, she thought to herself that today would give her a better shot at landing a second glance.

And a second glance is what she did receive that day. Looking up from her numbers, Kimberly noticed him right away. He wasn’t too tall, he was just right. His face is what caught Kimberly’s eye, it was kid, sweet face. When he glanced in her direction, Kimberly noticed that he gave her a second look and flashed a cute but crooked smile. Butterflies churned in her stomach and her heart seemed to be leaping out of her chest. She was wondering if the potion made her sick or was it the magical effects of this man. Stopping herself from running down to the reformatory, she asked if she could help the man. 

He told Kimberly that he was Prince Edward, who traveled from a township from just across the sea. He desperately needed to come into the coven for a cure for the pox that was plaguing his township. The witches were his only hope. Kimberly quickly led him down to her other’s chamber to acquire her help and the supplies he might need. They chatted all along the journey to the chamber where Kimberly’s mother worked and the options were held. Carrying up boxes of “Eye of Newt,” the conversation continued to linger.

Edward decided to stay for a couple days to make sure he head enough supplies to put an end to the pox in his township once and for all. He couldn’t stand to see woman and children suffer. Kimberly and Edward seemed to be inseparable for the next couple of days. Besides, the obvious Pricer and the Pauper ways, they didn’t seem to hav much in common but that didn’t stop them from enjoying each other’s company. Edward thought she was a bleeding heart Socratic believer because Kimberly believed the earth was raunch. Kimberly thought for a Prince he should believe that there is more to the world than a flat pancake. Just look at the stars she would point out to Edward. They both admired the others’ thoughts even though you could see an eye roll after each statement.

Each night after Edward appeared in the coven, Kimberly noticed a dramatic change to her appearance in the mirror of truth. Her skin looked softer, her muscles looked tighter, and those green eyes were even brighter. She was happy. It had appeared that the potion indeed worked. She found her one true love and she was happy to give him her “Eternal Beauty.”

The day came and Edward finally had to leave to help save his township. Kimberly was sad to see him go but she knew that wasn’t the last tie she would see him. She knew that he was her one true love and he would be back for her. 

Each morning, Kimberly would walk along the beach to find a bottle with a message from Edward. He would tell her tales of how his township was thriving from the help of the witches and especially her mother. Kimberly would send him messages back of the funny things witches do when no one is looking and the clouds making distinctive animal shapes that surprisingly made Kimberly hungry for that animal. 

Every night upon returning to her chamber, Kimberly would peer into the mirror of truth still noticing that her eternal beauty still shining bright. She would dream about Prince Edward. His strong arms holding Kimberly close and his sweet, kind face turning darker and eyes filled with need. She could feel his mouth and hot breath against her neck. In her dreams she fed his hunger and with delight, she woke up each morning restless but yet beautiful.

Eventually, each morning didn’t bring a bottle and scroll. Even though, Kimberly still sent them daily. Sometimes trying to entice a response, Kimberly would send a scroll of a synopsis of her dreams. When a scroll would arrive from the township, it would spew a tale of thriving and busyness that kept Edward from having the time to write. 

Just like a ritual, sad and alone, Kimberly wold return to her chamber and to the mirror of truth. She would stand there for hours squinting into the mirror. Slowly each night the beauty seemed to fade in front of her emerald green eyes. But how can the beauty face? Kimberly thought to herself. “He was my true love, I saw the transformation myself. It was right here. I saw it!”

Each night, the mirror would show a woman with ashen skin and crows feet showing her age. her dreams became more haunting of a sweet, kind face that disappears as if he was only a figment of her imagination. Kimberly started to wear cloaks and hoods to mask her external fade.

As the aloneness got unbearable, Kimberly stood once more and stared into the Mirror of Truth. Squinting she tried to connect her soul with the image in the mirror. The only resemblance is the sparkling emerald eyes. Eyes that seem now to be mocking the fading and sad woman. With anger and loneliness wallowing inside, she took her fist and boar them through the mirror with all of her force. Shards of glass fell to the floor cutting into her arm deep. Seeing her reflection and the red blood dripping to the floor, she picked up an extra shard and boar it deep up her arm and feel to the floor.

Legends still talk about the emerald green eyed enchantress. The eyes sparkled as the ost purist gem and her heart broke like the most precious vase. Some say that vanity killed her. Some say unrequited love did her in. I like to think that the potion was too much on an already troubled soul. But everyone agrees, the best gift you can give to your one true love is yourself. If they will not take it, they are indeed not your “One.”