The Silver Paintbrush
The Silver Paintbrush
On a cold winter’s night in the city of Münich, a woodsman and his wife were blessed with the birth of their first child. Bartholomaus and Alise watched as their daughter Clara grew into a beautiful girl. While Bartholomaus was away on one of his logging trips, Clara and her mother would hide inside, away from the icy winds, and spend the entire day covering their walls with an imaginary land. The pair loved to paint and awaited Bartholomaus’ return so that he could see their newest creations. Their home was filled with love and joy that exuded onto their muralled walls.
However, one night when Alise was fetching some firewood, she slipped on an icy rock and hit her head. When she woke up, she found herself in her daughter’s arms. Her fingers were numb and her lungs felt like solid ice. Clara struggled to carry her mother in from the cold but by the time she got her to the fire, it was too late.
“Clara I need you to listen to me. Don’t be afraid of losing me my dear because even after I’m gone, I will always be looking out for you.” She then gave Clara her favorite silver paintbrush and told her to paint if she felt she needed an escape.
After the passing of his wife, Bartholomaus worried about who would care for his daughter while he was away. Although he was still grieving over the loss of Alise, Bartholomaus did what was necessary and married a widowed woman from a nearby town. Nastelle settled in quite nicely at first, and eventually her and Bartholomaus had a daughter of their own. However, Bartholomaus would continuously gloat over his eldest daughter’s beauty and talent causing Nastelle to become full of envy. While Bartholomaus was away, Nastelle demanded that the murals be painted over. Clara couldn’t help but cry as she watched her magical world turn into dark grey walls. To make matters worse, Clara became Nastelle’s personal slave. The once warm and loving house had become just as cold as the outdoors.
In time, Clara could hardly bare it anymore. She sat in her room and stared at her grey walls. Clara missed her mother more than ever. As she starred, she noticed the faint outline of a palace door she once painted. It was then that she remembered what her mother had told her.
In desperation, Clara reached under her bed and grabbed her mother’s silver paintbrush. She retraced the outline with some lavender paint and, to her amazement, watched as a doorknob shot out from behind the wall. As Clara turned the handle, a beam of light streamed out from behind the door. She stepped in and found herself in a black hallway lit by a starry sky. Clara walked forward until she came across a silver gate. As it opened Clara couldn’t believe her eyes.
She found herself in the magical world that once covered her walls. The ground was filled with flowers and mushrooms, while her pink castle remained not too far in the distance. A woman in a sparkly diamond cloak flew down from the sky to greet Clara.
“Hello. I’m so happy you finally found your way here,” she said.
“Who are you?”
“I am you fairy godmother Clara. I was sent here by your mother to look out for you.”
“My mother?” Clara said to herself. “What is this place?”
“This is your kingdom Clara: Sapphirea. Here, you can create whatever you want to. All you have to do is paint; with that silver paintbrush, you can do no wrong.”
Clara put it to the test and watched in astonishment as her butterfly came to life. “But Clara,” warned her fairy godmother, “no matter what, you must always return to your home before the Sapphirean sun sets, or you will lose this place forever.”
And so she always did. Clara would spend all day in Sapphirea. She would paint until the sun started to go down and then return home just in time. However, Nastelle found the child’s newfound bliss to be quite suspicious. So, she sent her 8-year-old daughter, Jessa, to follow Clara and see what she was up to. Clara, being the kind older sister that she was, happily showed Jessa her magical world. Although it was difficult for Jessa to leave, Clara explained the kingdom’s one rule and the two girls returned home.
“Oh Mother, it was so spectacular! Clara painted a door with this magic silver paintbrush and then it opened to this beautiful world.”
“What was this world like?” Nastelle asked.
“It was so wonderful. I didn’t want to leave, but Clara said that we always have to return home before the sun sets or else something bad will happen.”
Upon hearing that Nastelle had a horribly evil idea. She listened to what her daughter had told her and watched from the doorway as Clara waved her paintbrush and stepped into another world. Then, Nastelle pushed one of Clara’s dressers in front of the door and filled its drawers with bricks. Now, when the sunset in Sapphirea, Clara would have no way of getting out.
At the end of another magnificent day in Sapphirea, Clara went on her way back home through the starry black hallway. As she stepped up to her painted door she tried pushing it open but it was stuck. She pushed and pushed but the door wouldn’t budge.
“Help! Help! Somebody please help me,” Clara began to panic. The light that was shining through the Sapphirean gate began to dim. She could tell that the sun had almost set. Clara banged on the door as she realized the silver gate was fading behind her. The sun had set and the magical land had completely disappeared. Eventually, the hallway’s twinkling stars burnt out and Clara found herself in complete darkness. She sat in the blackened hallway with no ability to re-enter either world.
Meanwhile, back in Münich, Bartholomaus returned home. Nastelle told her husband that Clara had gone out into the snowy woods and sadly had never returned. Bartholomaus was grief stricken and could barely gather the courage to tell Jessa the news. Heartbroken, Jessa thought it was only right to let all of Clara’s Sapphirean friends know about her tragic death. To the young girl’s surprise, the door to Sapphirea was being covered by a heavy wooden dresser. She called for her father and the two pushed the dresser aside. Jessa could hear her sister’s weeping from behind the wall. She grabbed one of her paintbrushes and wished with all her being that she could set her sister free. And she did. Jessa traced the door; with a beam of light, it appeared brighter than ever. She ran to her sister and returned her safely to their normal world.
Shortly after, Clara and Jessa told their father of Nastelle’s evil actions. Bartholomaus was set on banishing Nastelle when Clara came up with a much better idea. Nastelle became the house’s maid and Bartholomaus saw to it that she slaved away for the rest of her life. As for Clara and Jessa, the two sisters were saddened that the gates to Sapphirea had faded forever, but they gladly restored the walls with new magical paintings.
And they all lived happily ever after.
Word Count: 1238