Raising a Unicorn
Jola and Uni were so much in love with their new baby, in human form she had light skin like her father, but her mother’s features, the beautiful dark eyes, the same soft black hair, and her mother’s ever present beautiful smile, in unicorn form she was a piebald, black and white, but just as lovely to them. They couldn’t have been happier, but a unicorn baby was more than a handful to raise in a human city.
She had eaten all of hr Grandmother’s flowers, been to the toilet in her Grandfather’s slippers, and Jola had laughed so hard when she saw his face as he slipped his feet into his slippers in the morning. It had taken him a few seconds to realise what had happened, before his face had screwed up as only humans could do when they stepped in something bad, but then he had gone looking for Kasandra, and with her on his lap, explained that it was not nice to do that in his slippers, but she had looked him straight in the eyes and given him the biggest, loveliest smile. He melted almost instantly, but it was a long while before he stopped checking his slippers in the mornings.
Next she had chewed on her Grandmother’s new curtains and dragged them into a pile on the floor, and went to sleep on them, her Grandmother had found her shortly afterwards and sat beside her, stroking her gently with a large smile on her face.
But most of all, Jola loved it when she tried to prance like her, she always fell on her face, but stood up and tried again. Uni sat watching them both with a look in his eyes that showed his love and extreme pride in them both, and they both pranced just for him, even if clumsily, and he adored them both.
Suddenly Jola heard her mother scream, and ran to see what was wrong, the scream had come from the bathroom, and once there she could only see Kasandra trying to poke her nose under the shower curtain, which was in a large pile on the bottom of the shower.
“Are you OK Mom?” she asked nervously.
And her mother’s voice came shakily from under the crumpled shower curtain, “Just a little startled Sweetheart.”
Kasandra changed back to human form and tried to speak, which she hadn’t learned yet,. Pointing at the shower curtain she hid her eyes and suddenly pulled her hands away, saying, “Boo!:”
Jola put her hand tightly over her mouth to stop from laughing and said, “She thought you were playing hide and seek Momma.”
The voice from under the shower curtain laughed and said. “Oh, she loves to play that so much, but I could use a little privacy, and lock the door please!”
Jola took Kasandra by the hand and led her from the bathroom, “You shouldn’t scare your Grandmother like that Sweetie, she fell over, but Kasandra was peeking through the door to see where her Grandmother had been hiding, and when she saw her emerge from under the shower curtain, she cried out, “BOO!”
Her Grandmother wrapped a towel around herself and hugged her and gave her a kiss, making funny noises against her cheek. Kasandra giggled and squirmed and hugged her Grandmother, she loved her Grandmother’s kisses. He Grandmother smiled widely holding the squirming girl her fright forgotten.
When Kasandra had started chasing cats Jola and Uni had to run all over the neighbourhood until they found her and rescued the poor cat from her embrace. On this day Uni had come up behind Jola and putting his strong arms around her, kissed the back of her neck.
“Stop that!” She said angrily.
Uni’s eyes opened wide in innocence, and he said shyly, “Really?”
Jola shook her head and pressed backwards into him and said, Well just a little longer.”
Life was hard raising a unicorn, but it was always full of love and laughter, Jola felt blessed.
