THE USUAL MONDAY MORNING ?

TRING TRING!!! " Geez! I'm up, I'm up," cried Ari, "another usual Monday morning", she said as she stretched out every strand of muscle in her body followed by a long yawn. she had just been woken up from a beautiful dream where she was living a rich life as a singer and everyone around her were cheering for her. Her parents too were present in the crowd cheering for her while holding up a huge banner with her name on it. But as all good things have to come to an end, Ari was woken up by the alarm just before she could finish her beautiful dream. She pulled the sheets and dragged her body out of the bed. As her senses started to work again the sweet aroma of fresh pancakes rushed into her nostrils, waking Ari up completely from her dreamy mood. Being a foodie herself she couldn't hold in the temptation of putting her mother's freshly prepared hot pancakes in her mouth and thus rushed to the bathroom to get freshen up as quickly as possible. After getting ready she quickly packed her backpack and sprint downstairs to fill her mouth with some hot pancakes and sweet syru....p?

To her surprise the dining table was empty and there was no one in the kitchen as well. That's when she realized that the pancakes were being prepared at Ms. Honey's place. [Ms. Honey is Ari's neighbor who is not very kind in fact is the total opposite of what her name describes. She is selfish and greedy and only makes relationships that benefit her needs.]

Ari was disheartened when she finally realized that she wasn't dreaming anymore and that her parents had already passed away two months ago in a car accident and that now she was living along with her toxic aunt and uncle who were drunk and fast asleep in their room. Even though she didn't like the idea of waking her aunt up to make her some breakfast, Ari was starving so she went up to their room and tried waking up her aunt. " aunty jane?" she whispered, " Could you please make me some breakfast?" "Shoo away you little brat, do you expect me to leave my sleep to fill your fat belly?", screeched her aunt with her cracked up voice. Ari shut her eyes with fear and decided to quietly leave the room.

She decided to eat her breakfast at school as she had enough money in her cafeteria account as well as her piggy bank to help her with food for a couple of days until she gets a part-time job. Ari leaves the house with welled-up eyes and a growling stomach, thinking about her parents and how much she missed them and their love. Tears roll down her chubby little cheeks as she passes by the park that she used to visit every Saturday along with her parents.

Suddenly "Ari... Ari..." a gentle voice came from behind. Startled Ari wipes her tears and looks back to see an old woman who was fair-skinned and had short grey hair, She was wearing a beautiful pink floral dress and had a kind smile on her face.

" Mrs. Darla!" Ari squealed as her eyes widened with amusement. " you're back!" she continued " I missed you so much, how are you doing?" " I am doing very well dear" Mrs. Darla replied," how are you, I heard the news and I'm extremely sorry for your loss. how did it happen?" Ari explains how she lost her parents in an accident and how her uncle and aunt became her foster parents and are now staying at her parent's home. Mrs. Darla wipes the tears off of her cheeks and pulls Ari closer and gives her a warm hug. Then she asks Ari if she would like to have some breakfast at the new cafe that she opened and as expected Ari agrees and follows Mrs. Darla to her cafe.

[Ari: If you are wondering who Mrs. Darla is then let me tell you, she is one of the best people that I have ever met. she used to be my tutor when I was a young girl. She always took care of me when my parents used to go out on business trips. Every time I was bullied and came home crying, she would hug me and would always encourage me to become stronger. Surprisingly her words would heal me within no time and I would forget all that had happened at school. She was my true healer. Unfortunately, she had to move away to fulfill her dreams of starting her own cafe.] (Now back to the story.....)

As Ari entered the cafe her jaws started to part ways and the words came out, "OMG" she gasped, " Mrs.Darla this cafe is out of the world, literally."

The cafe had an amazing ambiance with celestial-themed props and artwork. the ceiling and walls were painted with a dark blue background on which stars, planets, galaxies, and other celestial objects were painted. The cafe had 3d projectors in every corner to give a realistic galaxy vibe. There were also mind soothing sounds in the background which refreshed the moods of all the stressed-out customers. along with these the cafe also had many crystals and different objects made of crystals (such as, moon-shaped dream catchers with crystals dangling from them) which truly caught Ari's eye. She knew that Mrs. Darla always has specific reasons behind everything she has and does.

So she slowly went up to Mrs. Darla, who was preparing breakfast, and asked her about the crystals and the purpose for their presence, to which Mrs.Darla replied, " dear Ari, these crystals are no ordinary crystals, they possess immense positive energies which help me keep my environment as well as myself very positive." Ari's expression changed from curiosity to laughter. she did not believe in Mrs. Darla's words and started to giggle. " At least my words bought a smile on your face" Mrs.Darla exclaimed with a pure smile on her face. " but dear what I said is true, these are some of the secrets that only a few experience in their lifetime. Ari's smile turned into a smirk, " If it is true then can you tell me more about them, and are there other such secretive objects too with different purposes." asked Ari, listening to that Mrs. Darla sighed and placed a plate of hot pancakes and a glass of strawberry milkshake in front of her and said," let's do one thing, why don't you come after school and give me a hand in the cafe. that way you will have a part-time job as well as have time to learn more about these crystals." Ari's face lit up as she didn't have to go out looking for a place to work part-time to earn for herself. she ran to Mrs.Darla and hugged her. " Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!" " Alright now, that's enough. eat up and go before you get late.

Ari sat down on the chair, gobbled up the pancakes, slurped in the milkshake, and kissed Mrs.Darla goodbye with a huge smile stuck on her face. She was finally so happy to know that she had someone to count on after all the tragedy that she had gone through. she couldn't wait to finish off with her classes and meet up with Mrs. Darla again.

Do you think her day will go as GOOD as it started?

Or

will she come across something that might just ruin her day for sure?

What could be the secrets behind the crystals?

FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER...