Chapter 3 - Later that day..............

.................the bravest of the women slowly peek out of their windows and doors. All is quiet and the treacherous vine has not engulfed their world as they feared.

Gradually their courage returns, they fill a huge cauldron with the tears of one thousand ancients and place it in the courtyard.

Then with trepidation the women gather their strength, carrying the precious materials to the pot of steaming tears, they quickly thrust the shimmering coils beneath the surface.

They know not what will become of it.

 Princess Elizabeth has told them this is what they must do when the stitching is complete.

Behold! 

 Right before their very eyes the cauldron begins to seethe and a wonderous change takes place. The shining magic film leaves the stitching and becomes a milky well of hopes and promises.

The last of the film is slippery and clings to the hands of the women as they squeeze and press the vine, crushing it and reducing it to nothing but a harmless web of threads.

 

All that remains now is a milky puddle containing the last vestiges of  promise for the magic they hoped to create. The sad and bedraggled stitches encased with crushed vine are draped across a cord and left in the sunshine to dry........................

We must be patient my Lovelies for true magic is never an easy road to travel.................