Young Writers Society

*This story is underneath my folder titled “Mariposa’s misadventures”. Gacha Club character designs are under my forum titled “My character designs <33”. Enjoy!*

Introduction

Mariposa Diablo sat at her window seat, watching the cats, Faith and Arthur, and the teen ghost, Marie, outside.

Mariposa tried telling the story of how the cats would fight nonstop, but Marie didn’t give it a happy ending. She chose to end it with both of them dying and against their will, the cats killed her.

The cats weren’t always cats. They were once small children. But a witch named Maybel had turned them into cats after she got annoyed with them. Mariposa briefly gave them their humanity back, but when Maybel told Mariposa that she would disappear if she let them stay human, Mariposa chose to change them back.

At the time, the notion of disappearing seemed so awful, so frightening.

But perhaps it was the right choice. After all, they were only children.

Mariposa sighed. She knew what she had to do.

Chapter One

“Maybel! Come here!” Mariposa called out.

A pink light morphed and materialized into a young, black-haired, dark brown-eyed woman in an ankle length cotton pink dress.

“I’ve decided that it’s…that it’s better for me to disappear.” Mariposa said. Deep down, she still didn’t want to disappear, but if it would help the children, then so be it.

Maybel laughed lightly and sweetly, but her eyes glinted with true evil.

“You really think that disappearing will help them? I only said that so you could feel bad! The only way to help them is by finishing the story. You’re not allowed to finish it anymore, because you already tried and failed once. You need to find someone else.” Maybel said.

Mariposa never felt more robbed in her life. She was prepared to disappear, to give up everything, only to find that Maybel lied to her?

How would she find anyone that would give the story a perfect ending? Dawn ended the story violently, as did everyone else. How would she find the perfect person to give the story a happy ending?

Maybel disappeared before her very eyes, just as quickly as she came.

Chapter Two

There was no one left in town to tell the story to. No one paid attention to Mariposa. She lived in a Victorian style pink house with white trim and flowers decorating the exterior, far off in a hill. It was nice and peaceful, save for the cats, the ghosts, and the guilt.

Dawn was living a good life, from what Mariposa had seen. She was married to a kind man, had a generous daughter…wait…daughter?!

Mariposa never told the story to Dawn’s daughter before! There was still hope! Mariposa could still help!

She ran out of her bedroom, excitement brewing in her veins.

Mariposa was going to fix everything.

Chapter Three

Mariposa drove in her car, searching for Dawn’s familiar pink and white striped painted house. Dawn liked stripes, ever since she was a little girl.

There it was, only a few blocks away! The lovely striped house that would open the doors to freedom!

Mariposa eagerly turned the wheel, hardly believing her own luck. Things were finally working out in her favor.

Chapter Four

Mariposa pulled up to the house and walked out of the car, with a purpose in her blood.

Whether Dawn would be happy or displeased to see her would be determined once Mariposa rang the doorbell.

Chapter Five

Mariposa pressed the small brown button on the side of the white door, the whispering chime ringing throughout the house.

The door creaked open, Dawn’s blue eye hiding behind a sheath of blond hair.

“Mariposa! I’m so glad you’re here! Have you come to tell the wonderful story of the two cats?” Dawn asked.

Mariposa smiled politely at her. Dawn seemed to only care for giving the story a violent twist, as though it were just a story and nothing more.

“I’ve actually come to tell it to your daughter.” Mariposa said.

“Come in, come in! Liven up this dull house!” Dawn beamed.

Mariposa stepped inside, thinking of the irony of Dawn’s words. Her house was the only house Mariposa had seen in her life that was decorated with stripes and Dawn was asking her to “liven it up”?

It didn’t matter. Dawn didn’t whisk her away, she let her in. Mariposa would be able to give the children the freedom that they deserved.

Chapter Six

“This is my daughter, Pandora. Pandora, this is my good friend, Mariposa!” Dawn said, walking into the living room.

A young girl with the same blond hair and blue eyes as Dawn was scrolling lazily on her phone, not a care in the world, until Dawn had spoken up.

The girl placed the phone beside her.

“You’re going to tell me the story, aren’t you?” Pandora asked.

“Yes, yes I am.” Mariposa said.

How in the world did Pandora know?

Chapter Seven

Well, that didn’t matter. Mariposa had a story to tell.

She sat next to Pandora on the couch and began:

“There were once two cats who always fought, day in day and day out. Never did they once stop to rest, until…”

“Now you finish the story.” Mariposa said.

Pandora creased her eyebrows in confusion.

“That’s it?” She asked in disbelief.

“No, it’s not. You get to finish it.” Mariposa said.

Pandora thought deeply, her eyes far off.

Chapter Eight

“Until one cat declared that they wanted to be the other cat’s friend! They had been fighting because they were scared to be friends and when one of them admitted it, they all lived happily ever after.” Pandora said.

Mariposa sighed in relief. Phew. That was a happy ending, at least.

“That’s all? You’re not going to give it an interesting ending?” Dawn asked in disappointment. She had never pictured an ending where the cats didn’t die.

Pandora shrugged.

“I think that it’s a good enough ending.” Pandora said.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Chapter Nine

Mariposa ran up to open the door. She didn’t know who would be knocking, who would want to come over.

On the other side was Faith, Arthur, and Marie, only that Faith and Arthur weren’t cats, but human.

“Dawn, Pandora, meet Faith and Arthur, the cats. They were cursed by a witch to become cats and by giving them a happy ending, you’ve set them free, Pandora.” Mariposa said.

“This girl here is Marie. She ended the story with the cats being undead and fighting each other, but Faith and Arthur taught her a lesson. They killed her.” Mariposa said.

Marie rolled her eyes, annoyed at Mariposa for speaking the truth, for she didn’t want to be reminded of her death. Dawn’s jaw dropped. Pandora asked in disbelief: “Ghosts are real?”

“You let me into your house. If you can trust me, then you can believe in ghosts.” Mariposa pointed out.

Chapter Ten

Dawn shrugged, accepting the strangeness of it all. Mariposa let the ghosts in, greeting them as though they were her friends.

“Why are you still here? I thought that Pandora set you free.” Mariposa said.

Before Faith could reply, a high, penetrating voice laughed behind Mariposa.

Chapter Eleven

“So you saved them both! Everything is alright….but I’m still here, so they cannot leave for the afterlife.” Maybel said.

Maybel? Maybel? What was she doing there?

“Who is that?” Dawn asked, her voice rising with alarm. Pandora ran to Dawn’s side, the three ghost children ran to Mariposa.

“It’s Maybel. She’s the woman who cursed them.” Mariposa said.

“Those children got into my garden. My beautiful, fairytale garden. I’m not letting them go.” Maybel said.

“I can’t believe this! All that for a garden?” Mariposa asked. The way Maybel said it, one would have thought that the world was ending.

Maybel’s eyes tinted with coldness, her hands balled into fists.

“Just a garden? Just a garden? Let me show you how important that garden was.” Maybel said steely.

A clap of bright, saccharine pink light crashed into their ears, louder than any scream that Mariposa heard in her life.

Chapter Twelve

They were standing in a many-splendored garden, filled with dew-dropped roses, bell-like foxgloves, and small, fairytale baby flowers.

“This garden is a gift.” Maybel said.

A little girl, just like Maybel, ran into the garden, white dress flowing around her.

“My older sister grew it for herself originally, but she knew how much I loved coming.” Maybel said. She laughed a little, perhaps reminiscing.

Mariposa watched as an older girl, about Pandora’s age, someone who looked similar to Maybel, followed close behind, lavender dress slithering on the grass.

Mariposa had no friends and no siblings. She never knew what that kind of love felt like, what being surrounded by those who knew one’s heart was.

So many people talked about how wonderful it was to have siblings and friends, but Mariposa didn’t understand. She wanted to, though. It wracked her bones, how she couldn’t understand.

Chapter Thirteen

“She promised me the garden when I was older.” Maybel said.

The girl gave young Maybel a rose, which she held close to her face, taking in the sweet, gentle scent. Mariposa could smell its femininity, its beauty. Dawn had placed a loving hand on Pandora’s shoulder, Faith and Arthur watched while holding hands.

Marie was sitting on the grass all by herself, just like Mariposa did on recess days in the playground, with Faith and Arthur being her only friends.

Chapter Fourteen

“So, of course, I looked forward to the day that I would inherit it.” Maybel said.

Mariposa left the group and sat next to Marie on the grass. She’d listen to the rest of Maybel’s story later, it looked as though Marie needed someone.

“Are you alright?” Mariposa asked.

Marie shrugged and said: “As alright as being dead can be.”

”You know, I told you not to finish the story. I told everyone not to finish it, yet I still told the story.” Mariposa said.

For in that moment, Mariposa realized that after she told the story to Dawn, she repeated it to everyone else but strictly advised them not to finish it.

Did some small part of her not trust them? Did she still want to help, but also worried that they would end it terribly?

Was that what she thought of Marie?

“I don’t know. It just seemed right. You can’t just leave things sitting in silence, now can you?” Marie asked.

Most of Mariposa’s days were in silence and the solitude felt infinite and gray.

“No, you can’t.” Mariposa agreed.

Chapter Fifteen

“Don’t you see? What they did was wrong! They destroyed my garden! It meant so much to me.” Maybel said.

“But they didn’t know that. They were just playing, right?” Mariposa asked.

The children nodded slowly. How could one curse children that simply wanted to have fun? How were they to know of the garden’s significance? It was awfully unfair for such vulnerable little creatures.

Chapter Sixteen

“Who cares if they didn’t know? It’s common knowledge not to destroy the property of others! They did it so brazenly! You know what it feels like, Mariposa. You know how cruel kids are.” Maybel said. Tears formed in her eyes.

In front of Mariposa, she saw young Maybel and the older girl giggling with each other, flowers in their hands. The memory was hazy, sweet, and full of love.

“My sister’s name was Marina. You get it, Mariposa. You get it…”

Maybel’s eyes were lost and desperate, searching. The garden was her heart and soul. For her, it was the essence of Marina, her only true friend.

Chapter Seventeen

“Well then, let’s go see her.” Mariposa said.

“But how? It’s not possible. How would we-“

“Just take my hand. Anything is possible. Come on, everybody. Gather round.” Mariposa said.

She wasn’t certain that they could see Marina, but if Pandora freed the ghost children, then Mariposa could take Maybel to Marina.

Chapter Eighteen

Maybel and Marina running carefree in the garden, with only each other.

The world didn’t mean a thing to them, only sweet nectared flowers and singing birds were their lives.

Bright, kind girls. Bright in the sense that they had love, not in intelligence.

By holding Maybel’s hand, Mariposa could see all their memories. Mariposa could hopefully reunite the sisters.

It was a great wish, not definite, but powerful.

Chapter Nineteen

Mariposa opened her eyes. They were still in the garden, but a glowing golden light was present.

“Marina!” Maybel called out, letting go of Mariposa and running towards the light. From the sparkle in Maybel’s eyes, she knew that the light was Marina.

The light enveloped Maybel. She turned to look at Mariposa with grateful tears and said:

“Thank you.”

Maybel melted into golden light herself and then, she was gone.

Chapter Twenty

Like magic, they were back in Dawn’s backyard. Faith and Arthur floated hand in hand to Heaven, Marie following after.

“Dawn?” Mariposa asked.

“Yes?” Dawn asked, looking at her.

“You’ve been a big help to me. You could have turned me away, but no, you let me in. By letting me in, Pandora saved the ghosts. Thank you. I’m sorry that I haven’t been a real friend to you, it’s just-“

“It’s alright. You were going through your own problems. My violent endings for the ghosts wasn’t helping, you had reason not to talk to me. You just wanted to help.” Dawn said, interrupting her.

How could Dawn so easily forgive her? She had almost doomed the ghosts of children and turned Dawn away because of how she was. Dawn was the one person who could be Mariposa’s friend.

“Let’s go eat sandwiches and watch a movie before my husband gets here.” Dawn said softly.

Mariposa and Pandora grinned, glad for something sweet to break the sorrow.

Epilogue

Mariposa and Dawn still met up with each other after that day. Pandora would wave at Mariposa, but most of the time she would be with friends, enjoying her time.

No longer did Mariposa feel alone. That day was a reminder that friendship was found in those overlooked. That a good soul was hiding in plain sight.

Because of her choice, the ghosts were free. Because of her choice, she had a friend.

It was all because of Mariposa Diablo’s choice.