Smile 4 Smarts

By: Kristie

            There is always magic, but we fail to see it. There is always mystery, but we fail to solve it. There
 is always a quest, but we fail to complete it. There is always a question, but we fail to answer it. That is, until Katrina came along. That is, until, Katrina set out to find the glass rose made of earth, fire, and water.
 Katrina will change the lives, and expectations, of many.

CHAPTER 1.

            Katrina had been in the town library for over two hours now. She was totally absorbed in a book
 called, "The Treasures of Old", and she just couldn't put it down. It talked of old legends, myths, and
hidden objects, still waiting to be found. There were so many that fascinated her, but her favorite was the one hidden in Mt. Althea, the mountain next to her home, the little town of Karpend. Karpend was a small town,
 but it thrived. There were people who traveled to the town Durming to trade and buy things such as clothes, food, animals, jewelry, and even the occasional toy for the children. Many tourists came to Karpend for a few days to see the beautiful Mt. Althea. Many people spent years studying Mt. Althea. But Katrina bet that nobody knew that a glass rose was hidden inside of Mt. Althea. Nobody knew that the glass rose had all power, and
 was made of earth, fire, and water. But Katrina did. She had been studying all about it from the little book.

            A voice interrupted Katrina's thought. It was Ms. Dester, the librarian.

            "Katrina," Ms. Dester said, "you're mother is outside."

            "Thanks for telling me Ms. Dester. Good-bye!" said Katrina as she walked out, placing the book on a shelf by the door.

            "Good-bye, dear." Ms. Dester said as she left.

            Katrina looked around as she got outside. Her mother wasn't by the shoe-makers, the clock repairers,
 the schoolhouse- oh! There she was, over at the trading house, getting into the wagon. Katrina walked
across the street and hopped into the wagon after petting Twilight, the horse pulling the wagon. Katrina and
 her mother had had Twilight ever since Katrina's dad died in a shooting. He was trying to protect Katrina
and her mother when he accidently got shot in the head. Every time Katrina saw Twilight, the memory came back, no matter how hard she tried to block it out.

            "Hi mom. Have a good day at work?" asked Katrina as her mom guided the horse back towards the house.

            "Sure did." her mom replied. "The saloon was a little busier than usual. That's why I'm late. How was school today?"

            "Fine. I had a good time. And I found a really interesting book at the library!"

            "Great! Now let's go home, I'm starving!"
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            After dinner Katrina went to her room and started reading her only book for about the millionth time. She loved reading, but one can get tired with reading the same book over and over. She practically knew it by heart now! That's why Katrina loved going to the library so much. The only thing is, since books are so hard to make, no one can check them out of the library for fear of ruining them, and then all the knowledge in them will be lost forever. Some of the educational ones are even chained up!

            Since Katrina didn't want to read her book anymore, she decided to write one instead. She grabbed a piece of paper (one of the 5 left on her desk) and a pencil. Then she sat down at her desk and thought. She wasn't sure what she wanted to write about. There were so many things that she wanted to write about, but her mind wouldn't settle on just one! She decided to write an adventure/romance book. The setting would be in the African jungle. There would be an explorer trapped there, and then a lovely young lady will help him to escape and they'll live happily ever after.

            Katrina smiled and started to write. After a few minutes her hand started to cramp, but she continued on. A few minutes later she had filled the paper and was starting on the back when her mom came in.

            "Katrina." she said. "I managed to get some blueberries. I made some muffins. You want one?"

            Katrina looked up from her work.

            "Sure. Thanks mom!" said Katrina, grabbing a muffin off the plate. Her mom set the plated down on the dresser.

            "What are you doing?" asked her mom, looking down at the paper.

            "Trying to write a story." Katrina replied.

            Her mom held the paper and began reading. "'There once was brave explorer. He was looking for ancient artifacts in the African jungle when a bunch of people jumped out and captured him. He was taken to their hideout and was forced to tell them where the treasure was hidden. He refused to tell them, so they trapped him in a lion's den. They told him that he had one night to make a final decision. If he still chose not to help them, they would release the lions. The explorer, Davis, looked around the den. It's walls had claw marks on it. Dry blood lay scattered across the floor. On the roof next to the hole, which he had been dropped through into the den, was a drawing. But Davis couldn't make out what it was. It had and x on it, a tower, a small village, and some hills and mountains. Then Davis realized that it was a map to where the treasure was hidden. This map had more detail than his own. He grabbed some paper and a pencil and started to copy it down.

          ' Why Katrina!" her mother exclaimed, "That is absolutely amazing! So you're going to be an author now are you?"

            Katrina smiled. She wondered if she should. She knew that if her book got published that it would be worth a lot of money, but she didn't know if it were good enough.

            "I don't know mom. I don't think that it's good enough. It needs to explain more. Have more detail! Books are better that way."

            Her mother smiled. She took Katrina by the arm and pulled her onto the bed. She looked deep into Katrina's eyes. "Katrina, you have real talent. Don't be afraid! You can do whatever you want to, as long as you put your mind to it! I promise."

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            That night, as Katrina lay in bed, she thought about the glass rose. She wanted to find that rose more than anything. Even more than going back to the library and reading all day tomorrow! Then she remembered that tomorrow was a weekend, so she wouldn't have school, her mom would have work, and she would get to spend half the day at the library.

            "Tomorrow," thought Katrina, " I can do some more research on the glass rose. Maybe I can figure out just where it's hidden. Then I can go get it." Then she fell asleep.

            Her mom came in a little later, leaned over, and kissed Katrina on the head. She sat there stroking Katrina's hair, then she gently got up and walked out, shutting the door behind her. She stood in the hallway leaning against the wall. She looked at the picture on the wall that Katrina had drew when she was little. It was of a tree on a hill in the night. All kinds of animals were gathering around the tree to listen to the wise owl. Coyotes howling, birds chirping. The moon shone high above the tree like a light to all the animals. Katrina's mother knew that Katrina has so much promise, she just has to show Katrina that.

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            The next morning Katrina woke up and went into the kitchen. Her mother was heating up the muffins from last night. Katrina grabbed one. Her mother smiled, then went into her room. She came back out a few minutes later dressed in her saloon dress. She handed Katrina a mirror.

            "Hold this for me while I brush my hair, please." her mother said.

            Katrina held the mirror with one hand and ate her muffin with the other.

            "I'm going to the library today, right?" asked Katrina between bites. Her mother took the mirror back.

            "Of course. Why wouldn't you? It's Saturday." her mother replied.

            "Just making sure. I want to look at that book some more. It was quite fascinating!"

            "Must have been or you wouldn't be so worked up about it." Katrina's mother looked around the room. "Katrina, have you seen my hair clip? The one I use for buns?"

            Katrina got up and picked up a hair clip off the coffee table and handed it to her mom. She sat back down and watched as her mom put her hair into a bun and stuck the clip in. She thought about the clip. It was gold, and looked kind of like a miniature comb. The top of it had black frills on it. The frills had a pretty spiraling pattern. Her mother had gotten it from Katrina's grandmother, Margret. Margret gave the clip to her mother before she died saying to her,

            "Mary, I want you to have this. This was the clip that my husband gave me as a wedding present. He is gone now and I will soon be too. I want you to have it. Keep hold of it, and when it's your time, I want you to give it to Katrina. When it is her time I want her to give it to her beautiful daughter, and so on. This clip shall remain in this family for generations, and we shall be remembered."

            Katrina remembered her mother taking the clip and grasping it tight. Then grandma Margret waved us out. We walked slowly home, mom carrying the clip the whole way.

            "Do I look okay?" asked Mary.

            Katrina looked up, a little dazed. "Huh? Oh, yes. You look lovely!" she answered. Katrina smiled at her mother and her mother smiled back.

            "Okay then. Time for me to go to work and time for you to go to the library."