STORY 1: Tiana & The Magical Fabric Rack
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Tiana is sooo excited…she hardly slept last night because she kept thinking about the magical day her mom had planned for them today. In a few weeks, she was turning 5 years old. That’s a big deal for a little girl because all her entire last year of life, she was told she wasn’t old enough…”you’re only 4, Tiana!” The grownups said that all the time…it seemed to be a standard response to her asking to do something they didn’t think she was ready for. Well, in a few weeks, she will be 5 and they couldn’t say that anymore!
So, Tiana hopped out of bed and began to get ready for her day. She and mom were going on an exciting adventure. There was a big beach party being planned for her birthday and today they were shopping for invitations, decorations, party favors, and ordering a cake big enough to feed all her family and friends. She also needed a special party dress. She had begged and begged her mom to take her Tiki Kids, but mom kept saying, “We’ll see,” and “I’ll think about it.” Then, last night, as mom tucked her into bed, she let it slip that she had, indeed, made an appointment with Tutu Lole, the proprietor of Tiki Kids, where Tutu lived and worked and where she designed and created the most beautiful tropical dresses that Tiana had ever seen. Tiana was ecstatic and, when she finally fell asleep, she dreamed of what her perfect 5th birthday tropical party dress would look like.
Later that day, after all errands were run and shopping was completed, Tiana and her mom headed over to the special parking lot that was close to Tiki Kids. On their way to the shop, mom told Tiana all the old stories about Tutu Lole and the Dream Shop which made Tiana want to go even more. It sounded so mystical and magical and she couldn’t wait to meet Tutu Lole.
The parking lot was on the outskirts of town and there weren’t a lot of businesses around that used it. Surfers and other beachgoers were sometimes dropped off there so they could take advantage of the beach path, but it wasn’t very popular because it was surrounded by lots of palm trees, Monstera plants, Hibiscus bushes and other tropical greenery and ferns. Serious surfers went around the long way because it was hard getting their surfboards through all the foliage.
The shuttle bus turned into the lot and dropped Tiana and her mom by the little wooden Tiki Kids on a post that was next to a sandy, overgrown path leading to Tutu’s shop. It was kind of a long walk to get to a store, maybe about 5 minutes, but then, Tiki Kids wasn’t really like a store…it was more of a beach hut or shack. Tiana couldn’t explain it – she just knew it was a magical place on a beautiful beach.
The longer Tiana and her mom walked, the more excited Tiana became. She kept running ahead on the path and her mom had to keep calling her back. Finally, the path opened up and there was the most beautiful, little, white-washed bamboo shack surrounded by green, leafy plants, colorful tropical flowers, white sand and lots of seashells. Behind the shack, she could see the beach and the seashore and up the stairs to the deck there was a bamboo rack with a dozen or so tropical outfits hanging from it. There were shelves and shelves of folded tropical shirts and outfits and there were places to sit and rest mixed in with beautiful tropical flowers in pots in bright, bold colors. The entire place smelled like Plumerias and the ocean. Three very friendly shop cats greeted them as they got to the stairs then went back to their spots where they had been lounging and enjoying the sun. To top everything off, there was a thatched roof sitting on top and a big pink and blue TIKI KIDS sign across the front of the shack. Tiana was in love and never wanted to leave.
“What do you think, Tiana?”, her mom asked. About that time, Tutu Lole walked out of the door and pointed to 3 beautiful hanging on a large bamboo rack that was sitting right in front of the shack. One was turquoise like the ocean. One was lavender like the island flowers. And one was pink with cheerful pineapples dancing across it. How did she miss seeing that rack when she walked up? They had to have walked right past it. It seemed to magically appear at the same time as Tutu Lole!
Tiana and her mom walked over to the fabric and Tiana slowly ran her fingers across the beautiful fabrics hanging on Tutu Lole's magical fabric rack.
She smiled.
She knew exactly which one she wanted.