She won’t come back, she won’t knock on your door, and her sweet voice won’t let you in if you knock on hers.
The truth is too much to bear.
Usually, I will not leave my home without a book in my hand, but it’ll be too many items, too much to bring and too heavy to carry. I question myself, checking one more time if there’s anything else I’ll need.
“Oh, my pocket watch!”
I grab it from my nightstand, it’s in a deep warm gold and has the pattern of my wings printed onto it. It was a gift every fairy received once their wings had fully developed.
Glancing over my room one last time, not wanting to forget anything else, I step out and close the door behind me.
Picking up the old book from the kitchen table, I skim directly to the last page, which is... Supposed to be the map? Confusion slams into me. Why is it ripped out? Did he? No, he was kind enough to give it to me, why would he do such a thing?
Suddenly, the walls around me begin to spin as dizziness consumes my body. I’ve had panic attacks before, and the familiar feeling of one is quickly building.
There is only one map, and I need it to get my sister back.
Take deep breaths, Genevieve, everything will be okay.
Deep breaths. A slow breath in, a slow breath out.
My body paces back and forth through the kitchen, not knowing what to do, or how to act.
I don’t know that guy’s name and I can’t fly through the whole village trying to find him.
That would be ridiculous.
“Shut up!” I whisper-scream out loud for my brain to keep quiet, refusing to let my anxious thoughts control me.
There has to be another map somewhere in the book. My hands grab the tome, immediately looking through it but not finding anything useful.
I remember the beginning of the map, it showed that I needed to go to Fairy Tales, then through Fairy City, but after that, my memory is blank, like an untouched piece of paper.
I need to leave, or I won’t have the time that I need to get her back. Her birthday is in two weeks and I need her back home before that, she has to be here with us on that day.
I miss her so much, and not knowing how long the trip will take makes me anxious. I don’t want to wait another minute for her, I don’t want my mother to wait another second. She needs to be able to hold her second baby in her arms again, to feel that loving warmth again without a single worry in her veins.
My wings lost their strength and my legs felt shaky, and suddenly, tears were building up in my eyes. Quickly, I wipe them away with the back of my hand, I can’t cry now. I need to do this without my emotions getting a hold of me.
I snatch my bag from the kitchen table and leave my home. I feel awful for not telling my mother I’m leaving, but I’ll be back soon. Hopefully sooner than I can imagine.
Fairy Tales will be my first stop and I need to get there as soon as possible so I can continue to Fairy City. But it will be a long flight with no breaks.
You have everything you need within you to make this happen. Just believe in yourself for once.My thoughts speak, needing to push myself forward when no one else can.
I can do this.
—
I can’t do it.
I’ve been flying for hours straight. I’ve almost passed Fairy Tales and now I’m on my way to my next stop, Fairy City.
My wings are not strong enough for this and it hurts, feeling like a thousand small bones being bent at the same time.
I’m not built to fly this long without any problems whatsoever.
We fairies can’t fly this far, except for the mailing fairies who push themselves every day.
