Strawberry Girl

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who loved strawberries. All of her clothes were covered in drawings of them. She would blend them into smoothies, make them into jam, or just eat them in their natural, perfect form. “Here comes the strawberry girl,” the old woman living in the house over would say. “Why do you wear those clothes? Do you ever eat anything else?” she would ask. Strawberry Girl just continued living her life, unbothered.

On an especially hot summer day, Strawberry Girl was picking strawberries in the garden behind her house. She picked them out of the soil gently and placed them in her basket. She sang and talked to her strawberries. Sometimes she imagined they talked back. She wished she could live in a world where everything was like strawberries – sweet and bright. She imagined an entire village that looked like strawberries. A place where even the sun was a giant strawberry. A place that was the opposite of where she lived now where the people were mean, and it was always raining.

One day while exploring the garden behind her house, Strawberry Girl stumbled and fell down a hill. She got back up slowly and rubbed the back of her head. She climbed back up the hill carefully. The first thing out of the ordinary that she noticed was the sky. The clouds were strawberry-shaped. I must have really hit my head, she thought. She had a wild imagination, but not even the most unimaginative person could deny that the clouds looked exactly like strawberries!

“That is so wonderful,” she said. The second thing that seemed out of the ordinary was the people. The people had on very strange attire. What was strange was that the girl actually admired the clothes they were wearing. She usually could not stand the sight of their boring getups. The people she saw looked like what she thought everyone ought to look like. So much red! Splendid strawberry designs decorated every hat, coat, and legging.

“Why has everyone become so stylish all of a sudden?” she wondered aloud.

“That’s very kind of you to say,” said the old lady who made fun of her. “I know I am quite the sight.”

“I thought you hated strawberries,” said Strawberry Girl.

“Nonsense, I have always said they were my favorite fruit! Why would you say such a thing? Besides, everyone in this town loves them.”

“Well that is news to me!” said the girl, crossing her arms.

“The festival is starting soon, I hope to see you there, little girl!”

Strawberry Girl was not used to the old lady being nice, so she was not sure how to respond.

“What festival?”

“You are too much! The famous Strawberry Fest of course,” smiled the old lady. “It happens every year on the longest day of summer.”

“Well this is the first time I’m hearing about it,” said the girl. “I am positive I would have known about this as I love strawberries.”

“We all do, dear.”

The old woman got on a bike that had a strawberry basket attached to the front.

“Do you need a ride?” asked the old lady.

“Sure.”

This day was getting wilder by the minute. She had to pinch herself to make sure she hadn’t fallen into a dream. She was all too conscious. She could barely recognize the town. Everything was painted red, yellow, and green. People’s clothes, nails, and glasses were all matching colors. Strawberry Girl shook her head in disbelief. Everything was so beautiful it looked fake, but it was undeniably real.

“There’s going to be a strawberry competition,” said the old lady. “I happen to be one of the judges.”

Finally, they came upon a massive field. There were endless booths and tents. An enormous stage was visible at the far end of the field where a crowd had gathered. The whole town must have been present because the girl had never seen such a crowd. People had their faces painted like strawberries and looked like they were waiting for someone to come on stage. Suddenly a very impressive figure made his way onto the stage. He had a very regal-looking outfit of white trimmed with gold. His hat was a strawberry beret. The crowd instantly burst into cheers and applause which did not stop until the man on stage got comfortable behind the microphone and raised his hands. Everyone became quiet.

“Welcome to the annual Strawberry Festival!” said the man.

The crowd erupted into cheers once again.

“Who is that?” asked Strawberry Girl.

“That is the mayor of our town,” said the old lady.

The mayor raised his hands once more to quiet the crowd.

“This is going to be a Strawberry Fest like no other,” said the mayor. “We have a very special guest tonight.”

The crowd murmured in excitement.

“The chosen one is among us!”

“Who is he talking about?” asked the girl.

But before the old lady could answer the mayor spoke again.

“You,” said the mayor pointing directly at Strawberry Girl.

“Me?” the girl could not believe it.

“Yes, you.”

Strawberry Girl was lifted up gently by the people around her. There were horns and drums and beautiful melodies as she was pushed along on wave after wave of hands all the way to the edge of the stage where the mayor stretched his hand out to grab hers and hauled her up onto the stage. Strawberry girl gathered herself and looked out at the enormous crowd.

“I would like to present to you – Strawberry Girl!” the mayor exclaimed.

The crowd went absolutely insane.

“We have been waiting for you,” said the mayor, smiling at her.

The crowd became quiet as Strawberry Girl stepped up to the microphone. The crowd waited in giddy anticipation. She looked up at the mayor who smiled at her and gestured for her to speak.

“Hello,” said Strawberry Girl.

The crowd cheered the loudest cheer yet and started to sway and sing.

We live in a strawberry world,

A strawberry world

We live for our strawberry girl

Our strawberry girl

The sweetest girl you’ve ever seen

Our strawberry queen

Our strawberry queen

We were born from her lonely dream

Her lonely dream

Strawberry Girl had never been the center of attention in her entire life, so she was very uncomfortable with her newfound fame. The people danced all around as the music continued to play. In the crowd, she could see everyone she knew from her past life. She had never seen them smile before, she thought.

“What is a queen without a crown?” asked the mayor as he placed the most ornate crown on Strawberry Girl’s head. The crown was covered in strawberries that were made out of rubies.

Strawberry Girl thanked the mayor and bowed.

“You are quite welcome.”

A glorious feast was served in the field. Strawberry shortcake, strawberry cheesecake, strawberry lemonade, and more. She had not realized how hungry she was until that moment. She ate everything in sight until she could not eat anymore. She had forgotten all about the world she had come from.

All of a sudden people started to pack up. The strawberry clouds had gathered together into a gray mass and thunder began to sound. The strawberry sun was completely hidden. It started to pour. Strawberry girl stuck out her tongue. Even the rain was strawberry sweet.

Strawberry Girl walked through town in the rain looking into the shop windows in awe. Everyone she met on the street greeted her with much respect. Suddenly, she felt someone grab her arm and pull her away down an alleyway.

“Who are you?” asked Strawberry Girl. “What do you want?”

She looked at the shroaded figure. It was hard to tell who it was, as the alleyway was very dark. The figure stepped slowly out of the darkness. It appeared to be someone about her height. In fact… it was her… but it couldn’t be. The girl across from her looked nothing like her. Her own hair was dyed red, and she wore very bright clothing. The girl standing before her had brown hair and a very plain outfit.

“I am you,” said the other girl.

“I don't…”

“When you created this world, the version of you that belonged here was missing… so I was put here in your place. I am the perfect reflection of you Strawberry Girl. I am the version of you that belongs in your world.”

Strawberry Girl was in shock.

“You have to help me get back to your world, it’s where I truly belong,” said the other girl.

“But… that’s my world.”

“Please, you have to help me,” said the other girl. “I can’t stand it here, no one understands me.”

The thought of never seeing her parents again made Strawberry Girl sad. She also knew exactly how her other self felt, as she had felt that same way her entire life. But she could not stay here.

“I can’t help you, I’m sorry.”

Strawberry Girl started walking away but her other self grabbed hold of her once again.

“You can’t leave me here!” screamed the other girl.

“Let me go!”

She somehow managed to pull away and ran as fast as she could out of the alleyway. The village was a psychedelic maze of shops. She tried to remember how she had gotten to this strange strawberry world in the first place. She remembered the garden behind her home and felt the bump on her head. She could hear the crowd coming before she saw them. They knew she was trying to escape. She could hear them singing once again. The song was much more sinister now.

Our sweet strawberry girl

Our strawberry girl

Never to return

Never to return

She ran and ran away from the horrid song until she found the place her home used to be. She ran to the garden which was still there. As she ran, the strawberries around her began rotting before her eyes. The world she had created was starting to crumble. All of the colors were fading to gray. What had she done to get here? She tried throwing herself on the ground but all she got were scrapes and bruises. She was stuck in strawberry land. It was like trying to wake up from a nightmare. She could hear the villagers gaining on her.

Never to return

Never to return

She could see her other self among them chanting as well. The crowd had now made its way into the garden. Strawberry girl had nowhere to run. She backed away slowly as the villagers gained on her. Her foot caught on something, and she fell backward down the same hill she had fallen down before.

“Please!” yelled Strawberry Girl from the bottom of the hill, her hands covering her head. “I’ll stay, just please don’t hurt me!”

She braced herself, but nothing happened. She slowly looked up the hill, but there was no angry mob descending upon her. She walked slowly through the woods out onto the street.

“There she is!”

Strawberry girl screamed and almost fainted before she realized it was just the old lady from the house over. The old lady was wearing the same old boring clothes she always wore. Strawberry Girl had never been so happy to see the old woman in her life. She ran over and gave her a big hug.

“Well, this is new,” said the old lady. “You are even weirder than usual.”

The girl was on the verge of tears as she ran back into her real house.

“There you are, Strawberry Girl,” said her mother. “Say, where did you get that?”

“Where did I get what?”

Strawberry girl hadn’t noticed, but she still had on her head the strawberry crown. She just shrugged.

“Off to bed my sweet strawberry queen.”

She was so happy to be home.