13
PRINCE AND THE PANDEMIC Raziya Marks Our story begins in a beautiful castle. With a King, a Queen, and a Prince. The castle sat in a plush village of colorful fruits, vegetables, trees, bushes, flowers, and wildlife! The Royal family were truly a beautiful trio. They were three different shades of stunning browns, their hair was thick with bounds of black strands streaming from their crowns and their smiles were radiant bolts of ivory. They were a happy family and enjoyed playing music and singing together. From the time Prince Hasani was born, music was used to celebrate births, weddings, graduations and served as a tool to bring families together and showcase individual talent throughout the kingdom! Music is a part of the rich land of Quansas and its people. Hasani was touched by the music fairy very early. Before he could walk, Prince Hasani loved to make noise and dance! He would stand and wiggle, stomp one foot, or shimmy before falling on his diapered bottom. He would bang pots and pans, tap pencils, strum curtains, pluck strings, whistle and attempt to sing. He always thought that he was making music but some people who were in ear’s distance of his musical performances would sometimes beg to differ. As he grew, he kept a song in his heart, and a beat in his step. One day, like so many before, Hasani was overtaken by a beat created by the wind blowing through an open window as it slapped against the castle wall. Following the beat, Hasani searched the room for a dance partner. Hasani, asked for the hand, hmmm… stem, hmmm... or branch of the nearest and largest plant he could find. A towering African Violet plant was whisked from the floor to join Hasani as he twirled and stepped to follow the rhythm of nature. The room changed to a ballroom. Hasani smiled widely, and a ray of pearls arose from his grin. The plant grew legs and the two were off! The dance ended in Hasani dipping the potted flower. As the dance ended, Queen Zola was entering the room. She strolled across the floor just in time to catch her lovely flower before it hit the ground! (I say she strolled, instead of ran. The Queen never ran. She was never too hasty in any matter.) The Prince awoke from his daydream as the Queen startled him! The Queen sat her son down and discussed with him the worries of his father. King Kama wondered how strong of a king Hasani would be one day amidst his love for music and dancing. The Queen urged Hasani to take his future responsibilities more seriously. Hasani listened and stopped dancing and singing and focused more on his training to prepare for battle. The Queen noticed that her son was not as happy anymore. She thought of ways to help her son be who he wants to be. And so, the plans were made to have a ball in Prince Hasani’s honor. She spread the word and put up flyers about the affair to be held at the castle. Queen Zola put up the last flyer and she began to walk back to the castle. A green covered hand grabbed and balled up the flyer. That hand belonged to Queen Rot. She was not an actual Queen but rather a low-budget leader of an underground wretched bunch of creatures called the “Slug people.” She did not want music to be heard again in the kingdom and she went to work to make a spell.
