Finally, they reached Princess Elara. Tomás grabbed a black crayon. "Her hair is black!" he said.

But this wasn’t a coloring book where the princesses were already finished. No. This book had beautiful, black-and-white line drawings of princesses from every land. There was Princess Mei with her flower crown, Princess Amina with her starry veil, and Princess Elara with her long, wavy hair.

Lucía had a special box of crayons—24 colors, including "Glittering Gold" and "Royal Purple." Every afternoon, she would sit at her little wooden desk and open her favorite book: "Dibujos de Princesas a Color."

She colored slowly, and Tomás watched the gray lines turn into a gentle, dreamy princess.

Lucía smiled. "Not yet, Tomás. First, they are just dibujos (drawings). Then, I add the color."

Lucía showed him Princess Mei. "Most people would color her dress red," Lucía said. "But Mei lives near a quiet lake. I think her dress should be the color of morning mist—soft lavender and pale blue."