The Princess and the Magic Ticket
My girlfriend, Cherry, works as a college recruiter. The college she works for sent her on a whirlwind trip around Asia to entice young high schoolers to come join the college. She’s gone for all of September, which pretty much sucks for me, but there are some upsides. For one, I’ve gotten to see many foreign cities through Skype and her hotel windows. Another great benefit is that she has some pretty good stories to tell. The following is one of them, though I’ve edited it some in my pursuit of good story-telling:
It’s that time again. Taiwan was so good to me, but as most things in life, my visit to that wonderful city had to come to an end. But before I fly off to my next destination, I must, oh yes I must, tell you a story, of a beautiful young princess in a foreign city, and the adventure she found herself in on her first day….
There was a Friday, early in September, when a foreigner who wasn’t really a foreigner, entered the hollowed corridors of a train station that wasn’t really a train station. In a hurried pace, she dashed through the doors, searching frantically for a machination that would give her a famed magic ticket to board what was known only to her as the Bullet Train. She’s never ridden such a wondrous vehicle, but oh was she excited.
Scampering about the station that wasn’t really a station, she finally spotted a bright, glowing machine. It was occupied by the most unlikely fellow–a young fairy child, no more than ten, eagerly pressing all the buttons as if it was his own personal arcade. Politely, the young princess interrupted his fun. The lad, recognizing that he was in the presence of a great royal, stepped to the side, but he could not leave her gracious presence entirely; instead hovering ever so gently above her shoulder to see what the young princess would do and where she was headed on the wondrous Bullet Train. The lovely fairy tried to make sense of the fantastic machine for the young lady in this foreign city, but there was nothing to be done. The much sought after magic ticket was not easily procured.
As the fairy flitted about, the princess gaze was temporarily drawn from the otherwise entirely fascinating machine, and, in that brief moment, the princess spotted a lighted booth. With an eager face, she hurried over to the counter, glancing at the bejeweled clock on the pristine wall. It was there that she met a warlock of immense power. Biting her lip, the foreigner who wasn’t a foreigner frantically tried to communicate the emergency she found herself in to this magical man, but despite his deep knowledge of the dark arts, he too could not produce the magic ticket. He instructed her to descend to the mysterious dungeon in her quest for the ticket she so desired.
Bidding the warlock goodspeed, and warning him to use his power only for good, the princess hurried off again, giving the fairy child a smile and wave as she passed him by. To her great surprise, she was no longer alone in her journey, as she joined the other hurried myriad of others descending the stairs below.
Finally, just as she set foot on the last step, a brighter, glowy-er, more fantastic machine appeared in front of her, as if by fate. And in a language she recognized, she followed the instructions until the sought after magical ticket was at long last procured.
Oh but wait, for the story doesn’t end there. The awestruck young princess rode the wondrous Bullet Train twice more until she was done with her adventuring and was ready for one more ride back to the city. Feeling quite proud of herself for surviving a day full of the Great Unknown, she paid the chariot driver. But alas, she was running low on gold! Looking at her watch with worry, she passed through the sliding doors, and came upon an AATM (Automated Alchemy and Transmogrophy Machine) machine. She was saved!
Or so she thought.
The machine would not allow her to get the much needed gold she so desperately desired. And royal seal after royal seal, she tried to convince the horrid machine that she was in fact the princess of the land that wasn’t a land, but to no avail! Visions of being stranded with no way of getting back to the city flashed before the young princess’ most beautiful eyes. And even the glowing machines that had produced her first magic ticket betrayed her, spitting out her royal seal in spiteful denial. Finally, the young princess spotted an eager face in a booth, similar to the eager warlock she had first met earlier in the day. And her savior was found! With a touch of her magical hands, the young princess’ seal finally worked!
Safe and sound once more in her castle, the young princess lay down in her bed of the finest silks, and began her descent into the dream world, where once again she could live her fantasy life as a college recruiter.
