Naomi's Story - Somewhere in Time
Baron and Naomi went in to dinner.....
"It's so nice to have you back again Baron. It's been a bit lonely here at dinner time the past while."
The maid just smiled to herself....
"Well, I must admit I've missed the wonderful dinners here..."
Naomi was feeling a little awkward. She wasn't used to 'Medieval dinner etiquette', and constantly being served."
"I hope everything is to your satisfaction, My Lady?"
"Yes, it's all wonderful. Thank you."
Miho turned to Naomi... "How was your first day here, my dear?"
"It was very interesting.....to say the least..."
"Everyone has been so kind and welcoming..."
"...and I loved hearing all the stories about Baron..."
"...and I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I'd ever meet a real live dragon..."
"...so it's been quite the day."
"After all this talk about Baron today, I'd love to hear a little more about you. My son is clearly in love with you, and I'd really like to get to know you better myself.""
Baron shot his meddling mother a disapproving look.
Alone
"I suppose I should start at the beginning..."
"I was orphaned at an early age...."
"My father passed away first, when I was just five years old. We'd been very close. He was such a wonderful father, and I missed him so much. So my mother would take me to the cemetery so I could 'talk' to him...."
"I'd bring him flowers..."
''..and tell him all about what I'd done that day...."
"...and I'd tell him..."
"....how much I missed him."
"Then not long after, my mother died too....of a broken heart. She just couldn't go on without my father. She had loved him so much."
"So I was all alone......and went to live with my grandmother."
An Imaginary World
"How incredibly sad for you to lose both parents so young."
"I'm so sorry..."
"Thank you. Yes, it was very hard...."
"I missed them both so much."
"My grandmother loved me, but there were no other children around....so it was a little lonely"
"I had my teddies....and my books..."
"I loved to read, and found an escape in my books....."
"I'd spend many happy hours reading my favourite stories..."
My favourite stories were Fairy Tales and tales of adventure.."
"I'd imagine myself the heroine in the stories...."
"I'd imagine I was Alice, exploring Wonderland..."
"...and having her adventures Through the Looking Glass.."
"I'd imagine myself the Princess in all my favourite Fairy Tales..."
"One of my favourite books was 'the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe', and I'd imagine I was Lucy going out on adventure with Aslan, the lion. I loved those stories."
Cinderella's Gown
"Another of my favourite childhood stories was Cinderella."
"As an orphan myself, I could relate, and imagine what it was like for her...."
"There were so many different versions of the story, and in all of them Cinderella's Fairy Godmother would come to her rescue, and send her to the Prince's Ball, wearing the most gorgeous, magical gown. I used to dream about wearing such beautiful dresses."
"I'm not surprised. I know several Fairy Godmothers, and they all possess the most extraordinary fashion sense."
"Well yes, but even though I loved Cinderella's beautiful ballgowns..."
"... what really inspired me in the story, was how her little friends, the mice, had altered one of her mother's old dresses to make something special so Cinderella could go to the ball."
"Cinderella loved that dress, and I always cried when her stepsisters later ripped it to shreds."
"Anyways, my grandmother still had some of my mother's old dolls. Some of their clothes had seen better days, while others had lost their dresses altogether. I decided I wanted to fix them up, and sew new clothes for the ones that needed it. I figured if mice could do it, then so could I...."
"So I asked my grandmother to teach me to sew...."
"...and I set to work...."
"....making new gowns for my mother's old dolls."
Of Princesses and Fairies
Naomi continued with her story....
"I've always loved all the arts and crafts, and loved drawing and colouring. My grandmother was always very encouraging, and would buy me pencils and crayons, and keep her eye out for colouring books featuring Princesses and Fairies."
"I did love colouring them, but I wanted to draw my own, so asked for a sketch book..."
"Then I could draw whatever I wanted."
"I'd spend many happy hours drawing Fairies and Princesses in fancy gowns...."
"I dreamt of becoming a costume designer, so when I grew up I went to a special school to study Fashion and Design."
"My first love had always been fancy costumes...."
"So when I graduated, I opened my own Costume Shop."
Naomi's Costume Shop
"My dream had come true, and I had my own Costume Shop...."
"..and I hired two friends from fashion School to be my assistants."
"Over the next few years, we got the costume contracts for several major theatre productions...."
"So we were always very busy..."
"...almost too busy."
the Fashion Showroom
"The Costume Shop was very successful, and we had to expand and hire lots more help."
"Then, having passed off much of the actual sewing work, I thought it was time to finally get into haute couture gowns as well. So we expanded once again, and with awards season just around the corner, I started a Fashion Showroom featuring my own designs.
It was a very elegant looking space..."
It was a very elegant looking space..."
"My assistants and I were busy putting the final touches on several gowns."
"I had been contacted by the editor of a prestigious fashion magazine...."
"...and he wanted to do a feature article on my designs."
"...so we were under pressure to get everything done."
'That looks amazing!'
'Looks like everything will be ready for tomorrow.'
the Magazine Editor
"The next day the magazine editor arrived. He said he had discovered a potential new photographer..." Naomi smiled at Baron...." and he wanted one of my models to pose for him, to see what he could do..."
"He liked my green floral evening gown, so I had our model try it on for him...."
"The gown could be worn two ways, one as a shorter elegant evening gown, and also full length as an extravagant ball or gala gown."
"The editor was very particular."
"He loved the colour, all the flowers, and the back bow...."
"But he really loved the longer version...."
"So he wanted the model to wear it for the 'test photo shoot'.....your test photo shoot"
"So that was the one we agreed upon."
"It really was a beautiful gown....."
A Gown for the Cover
"The magazine editor loved your photos, and had me send more of our gowns for you to photograph...."
"He brought the photos to show us...."
"They were really good!"
"He said he still needed one more for the cover...."
"I knew the one that would be perfect..."
"...and showed him my favourite....the pink gown with all the beading."
"He loved it, and said it would be perfect."
"...and he wanted me to model it myself."
"I didn't know if I could do it - or if I even wanted to. I didn't have any experience as a model."
"But he insisted..."
"...and I'm so glad that I did, because that's when I met you...."
Another Surprise
"So...here you both are now. What are your plans?"
"Well.....it's been a wonderfully interesting day...."
"But I keep thinking about my two friends..."
"...and how I didn't show up for work today. Without a word."
"I disappeared into thin air. Literally. Without a word of explanation."
"Well....I can send you back....."
"I can send you back to before you meet Baron..... and you would lose all memory of him....and of being here.....and you could carry on with your old life....as if nothing has happened."
Baron took her hand as she leaned in to whisper to him....."She's kidding, right?"
"Can she really do that??"
"YES!!"
"Yes...I can!!"
"Mother!!"
"You....you have wings!?!?"
A Choice
"You have wings!!"
"How wonderful!"
"They are beautiful!"
It was definitely not the reaction Baron had expected....
"I love it here, but it's just that I can't help but think of my business associates.
I'm sure they'll be worried that I disappeared so suddenly."
I'm sure they'll be worried that I disappeared so suddenly."
"Well, I can send you back if you like..."
Baron took Naomi's hand....
"I love you...."
"....and would like you to stay..."
"....but the choice has to be yours."
Somewhere in Time
Naomi took Baron's hand....
"I love you...."
"...and I want to stay."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
And she turned to Miho...
"I love your son...."
"...and I'm going to stay."
Miho thought for a moment....
The girl was willing to give up everything for her son. She clearly loved him.
"I realize it's a great sacrifice on your part to make the decision to stay here with Baron, so if you write a letter to your friends, I can send it to them. I think that may ease your mind about what you've left behind."
"Thank you. I really appreciate that. It would make me feel better about it."
Baron swept Naomi up in his arms....
"I love you."
The maid smiled....
..and Miho was happy...
... that her son had found true love at last.
"I love you!"
And he kissed her....
...and this time....
..nothing happened. They stayed where they were.....exactly where they were meant to be. A girl from the future, and a guy from the past, happily ever after, somewhere in time....
* Epilogue
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