1991 DollyWood,
Pigeon Forge, TN
The park is busy with the sounds of patrons and employees buzzing about. The hot July sun beats down on the grounds after a small thunderstorm making steam rise in wisps from the concrete. A small dark brown haired girl sits beside the carousel as it turns. In her lap a small acoustic guitar which she strums a little tune. She begins to sing softly “Coat of many colors” by Dolly Parton. Paying no mind to the people surrounding her.
One woman stops and walks over to the small child and sits next to her. The lady watches the little girl and smiles ear to ear before she speaks. “Well, you sing my song so beautifully. Would you care if I join you?” The girl quits playing and singing then looks up at the blonde haired woman and is instantly star struck. “Wow...you're Miss Dolly.” The young girl stammers completely amazed at who the woman is. Dolly Parton herself sitting right next to a very young Kira Phoenix.
Dolly looks at Kira and gasps, one green eye and one brown widen at the response then try to hide. Kira turns her face away shy and ashamed of her odd eyes. Dolly reaches over and takes Kira by her chin turning her face back towards her own.“Oh baby child don't turn away! I was so taken with how pretty your eyes are, you are just like the song you were playing so sweetly just now. I would be honored to sing with you if you would want me too? What is your name little lady?”
“My name is Kira Phoenix!” She smiles widely and shakes her head up and down with sheer enthusiasm. “Alright then! Let me get my guitar too and we will sing the song together haha!” A small assistant of Dolly brings the instrument to her and two picks with a butterfly embossed on them. Dolly hands one to Kira who can't help but smile at the star.
She brushes a strand of hair away from Kira's eyes and gives her a tight squeeze around the shoulders. “Don't you ever hide those gorgeous eyes child! You are something really special and after we sing, let's go get something to eat. What do you say about that?” She smiles genuinely at the little brown haired girl.
“Yeah!” Kira beams full of excitement.
Dolly laughs then starts strumming her guitar, Kira hops to join in and starts playing along. After a few chords they begin to sing together.
“Back through the years
I go wonderin' once again
Back to the seasons of my youth
I recall a box of rags that someone gave us
And how my momma put the rags to use
There were rags of many colors
Every piece was small
And I didn't have a coat
And it was way down in the fall
Momma sewed the rags together
Sewin' every piece with love
She made my coat of many colors
That I was so proud of
As she sewed, she told a story
From the bible, she had read
About a coat of many colors
Joseph wore and then she said
Perhaps this coat will bring you
Good luck and happiness
And I just couldn't wait to wear it
And momma blessed it with a kiss”
Dolly nods and taps her toe on the ground with the beat and Kira joins in.
“My coat of many colors
That my momma made for me
Made only from rags
But I wore it so proudly
Although we had no money
I was rich as I could be
In my coat of many colors
My momma made for me”
A small crowd starts gathering around them, watching the duo singing under the shade of the tree above. They take pictures and listen to the beautiful melody.
“So with patches on my britches
Holes in both my shoes
In my coat of many colors
I hurried off to school
Just to find the others laughing
And making fun of me
In my coat of many colors
My momma made for me”
“And oh I couldn't understand it
For I felt I was rich
And I told them of the love
My momma sewed in every stitch
And I told 'em all the story
Momma told me while she sewed
And how my coat of many colors
Was worth more than all their clothes”
“But they didn't understand it
And I tried to make them see
That one is only poor
Only if they choose to be
Now I know we had no money
But I was rich as I could be
In my coat of many colors
My momma made for me
Made just for me”
The pair finish the song and they stand and take a bow. The applause is almost too much for small Kira as she stands alongside the country star. Dolly turns to Kira and whispers into her ear. “Lets go get some grub baby girl.”
“I need to ask my mommy and daddy if it's okay Miss Dolly” Kira stammers at her idol.
“Okay, haha where are they at?” Kira points over to the carousel where the couple are standing. The man has his hands around his wife's shoulder. They are smiling and waving at the duo.
The two make their way over to them. Kira dashes ahead of Dolly bouncing in excitement. “Can I go have lunch with Miss Dolly Plllleease?! I will be really good I promise!” Miss Parton extends her hand towards the couple shaking theirs.
Kira's mother speaks. “We cannot thank you enough already Miss Parton for singing with Kira. She absolutely adores you and has all your records.”
“I do! I do!” Kira exclaims.
“She is a delight! I asked her if she could join me for lunch and come with me for the day if that's alright with you all haha!” Dolly explains to Kira's parents.
The couple look at one another then Kira's father begins to speak softly. “We haven't got much money Miss Parton and…” Before he can finish Dolly holds up her hand to stop him.
“Don't you all worry one little bit! I won't hear of it! Your little girl is something very special and I deem you all my honored guests! Whatever you all want I'll take care of that. In fact. I want my assistant here to make note that you get the VIP treatment my treat!”
Kira and her parents stare at the country star in awe then to one another. “We can never thank you enough Miss Parton, we can never repay your generosity!” Kira's mom stammers.
“Can I go?!Can I please?!” little Phoenix asks again.
Her father kneels down cupping her face,and brushes her cheek with his thumb. “As long as you mind your P’s and Q’s and use your manners.” Kira's eyes light up like fireworks. “Yes sir! YAY!!!” She dances around in a twirl.
“Hahaha!, Well that settles it! You all have a good time! My assistant will help you with anything you need, I will take good care of little miss Kira today.” Dolly shakes their hand once more before they part ways.
Taking Kira’s her hand into hers they depart the awestruck patrons and her parents. The pair then proceed to make their way through the park. Smiling at one another the whole time. They reach one of the cafes and head inside. The manager leads his boss and guest to a separate side of the restaurant.
As they are seated and drink order taken Dolly then looks at Kira and begins to speak to the little girl. “So little darling, where do you all hail from sweetie?”
“Um...I think it's called Ap..Appalachia?” Kira stammers as she takes a sip of her drink. “Oh! That's a very pretty place. I like it there in the mountains. Where do you go to school Kira?”
The little odd eyes girl sits back into her chair and thinks for a moment. “I don't go to school anymore, my mommy and daddy are teaching me now...I miss my friend though…” A tear falls from her green eye rolling down her cheek. It plops on the table joined by a few more.
Dolly reaches over with a napkin and wipes away the tears. “Awe don't cry sweetpea! You're too pretty to cry hun! Here, let's dry those tears and think of some happy times okay?” She says as she hands Kira another napkin.
“*sniff*...Okay…” Kira responds a little less distraught than a min ago. She attempts a half hearted smile to ease the tension.
“Now, what are your favorite things to learn about little miss Kira? I liked reading the most when I was little, how about yourself?” Dolly asks the small girl with her eyebrows raised slightly.
“I like when we go outside and do rituals, mommy said I am quite a healer. I saved a baby turtle that daddy accidentally mowed over! It's leg is gone but I made him all better. His name is chip, since he is missing some pieces.” The star laughs and then wrinkles her forehead a little.
“A healer huh? That's quite a great gift! What else do they teach you baby girl?” Miss Parton leans over onto the table arms folded one over the other listening intently. The waiter comes over with menus and interrupts the conversation briefly as he takes their order. As soon as he heads towards the kitchen Kira speaks up.
“I'm learning Spells and constellations this week and next week is healing medicines and her...herrr….herbology?” Kira strains to say the words correctly. “Oh! That sounds really interesting. So, you must be a young mountain witch in training then?” Dolly inquires of Kira.
The waiter brings their food to the table and then leaves again. Little Phoenix looks at her favorite singer shaking her head up and down yes in response. Her mouth full of chicken tenders that she ordered.
Dolly smiles and takes a bite of her food then clears her throat. “You don't hear of your kind of people anymore. It's nice to know some old school skills are being kept alive in the mountains still.” Kira beams as the two finish their meal together just enjoying each others company.
The memory fades away to be replaced with a live feed from Fury Studios.
“Sometimes in life you get slammed down to the ground. This is a paradigm most of us are associated with. No matter how hard you try, it just never seems to be enough...Sometimes it even kills us in the process of living through it. Deciding whether or not to come back... that's the true question now, isn't it?”
Kira Phoenix sits alone atop a huge boulder in the middle of the Arizona desert. A camera drone she borrowed from her husband Crimson live streams the footage to all of the world. The sun is beginning to set across the painted canyons and monolithic rock formations. It frames the wrestler in a fiery outlined silhouette as she continues to talk to the sky.
“Life can be a most wondrous and splendid gift!”She throws her arms straight at the sky, bowing them slightly then brings then back down in a disheartened manner. Looking down at her long fingers she begins again. “Then at the same instant of bliss...it can be the most horrible curse fathomable. Depends on which one you happen to be on the end of that is. Me...i'm nowhere but in between the two...limbo if you will? Or purgatory perhaps?”
Kira holds her hand to her chin with a quizzical expression across her face. The other helps prop up her elbow in the pose. She looks at the camera hovering below under the brim of her cowgirl hat and smiles crookedly. A chuckle escapes from her lips briefly then a sigh.
“Between the land of the living and of the dead floating down the river styx is where I reside. These eyes I was so gratefully bestowed by the goddess have two functions. One to navigate the darkness of the water, the other to watch the living in the sun. To which neither side accepts me fully due to what I am,...a MOUNTAIN WITCH. Now don't get me all wrong here, this is no woe is me tale. Oh no...it’s an understanding that most never reach.”
She stands and dusts off her jeans briefly then looks into the camera. “Courtney Pierce heh? You are a new one to me. I can stand here and preach of the things I will do to you...but..showing you is more fun. I'm not like the other ones you have encountered this is a straight up fact.”
Kira shakes her finger back and forth, “Tsk tsk tsk to underestimate me is a mistake that costs greatly. Just go ask Mercedes Vargas on that note why don't ya?” She looks around at the scenery for a moment.
“The wheels of fate have turned to bring us together Court..however...i'm afraid the deck is stacked against you little one. I am a force that no one understands, and that is what makes me absolutely certain. You cupcake are to be a offering to the gods that will be served in the ring by yours truly. I never miss paying the toll to be here where I am now, and payment is due.” Kira glares at the drone hovering eye level.
She looks down at the ground below her then back to the lens. “It's nothing personal deary, just the way the cards are dealt. Now...show me what you got and learn a lesson most never do...to let go.”
Suddenly the wrestler walks straight off the boulder and plummets downward! The drone tries to keep up with the motion. It flies over the side catching a glimpse of Kira landing square in a saddle on top of one of her majestic friesian horses. The animal rears up, pawing the air briefly the plants it's legs back to the sandy earth.
The drone comes closer as the horse whinnies aloud and snorts in excitement. Kira reins her steed in the other direction of the camera. Looking back at the drone over her shoulder she speaks one last time.
“I will see you in Dollywood little girl and always will you remember the beating you are about to receive. From the ashes...I...Shall...Rise. Hyah!!!”
The Phoenix spurs her mount into a full gallop, kicking dust into the air in their wake. The black stallion charges onward into the vast desert as the sun begins to set in the horizon. The feed starts to fade out leaving a Phoenix burning in blue flames then to black.
