and dreamers get a chance,
follow with a faerie in your hand,
for the world’s fuller of hope and light,
when you enter this land.”
The door opened and offered a view of a bright light. I felt hesitant at first, but my curiosity got the better of me, leading me to enter the narrow knothole.
As soon as I stepped through the doorway, I found myself in a field filled with the most colorful flowers—purple and pink roses, peach and white peonies, violet foxglove, and scabiouses, which I had developed a fascination with when I was a child. They only grew in the garden of one of my neighbors, and whenever I snuck into her fields, I plucked one of them, and my mother had to deal with the repercussions.
Continuing across the field, I saw a sign that read ‘Faerie Village.’ There were little houses resembling play houses of children colored in yellow, blue, purple and pink. While some of them were hanging on trees with twinkling lights all around, others rested on the ground.
And then my heart caught in my chest and I saw them…faeries.
They danced among the leaves and flowers, laughing so happily, like they had never experienced hurt or sadness in their lives. One faerie was playing the flute. He was dressed in purple tights and shorts. His top consisted of a purple blouse with long greenish sleeves and purple foxglove around their ends. The faerie word a pointed hat, and its small wings shimmered in silver-lilac. Another light-pink-haired faerie was playing the harp and wore a pink tulle dress, the bodice embellished with crystals. Her wings resembled swans’ feathers, with a faint shimmer of silver.
The melody the faeries were playing was ethereal, filled with enchanting and soft notes I’d never listened to before.
Abruptly, the music came to a halt, and everyone turned their eyes to me.
The silence was expectant. The faeries froze in the middle of their dancing, even those sitting on their balconies were leaning forward to look at me. There wereso manyof them.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized quickly. “I didn’t mean to disturb your fest.” I took a step back, ready to flee into the woods, or wherever the way back home was supposed to be, until I felt a small tug at the hem of my dress, causing me to stop.
It was the young faerie girl who had been playing the harp. She was smiling brightly at me. “No, don’t go,” she pleaded, embracing her small hands around my dress. I must have been about twenty inches taller than her, making this fairy stand probably around three foot nine. “We never have visitors. Especially no one as beautiful as you.”
My cheeks burned with embarrassment, but the little girl didn’t stop.
“Who are you? What is your name? Did you enjoy my music?” the little faerie asked in a breathless stream. I began feeling overwhelmed, I’d never been the center of attention before andcertainly not the object of such fascination.
“Elvina, stop being so irritating to our new visitor. I’m sorry, that’s an annoying trait of crystal faeries. I’m Fayette, nice to meet you.” A faerie with long, pastel-orange hair came up to me. Her wings looked like a butterfly’s, colored in the most iridescent shades of oranges, coppers, and yellows.
“I’m Gwendolyn,” I replied. I didn’t understand why they were so friendly and open with me. They didn’t know me. I didn’t belong here.
“Gwendolyn… what a beautiful name, almost perfect for a faerie.”
I smiled weakly, but she wasn’t finished yet.
“So, where do you come from? You certainly aren’t an elf, since your ears are round. And there is absolutely no way you are a vampire,” she stated, her nose wrinkling. “We have heard from descriptions that vampires are ugly, like super ugly. Almost hideous.”
Her boldness made me blink. “Um… thank you, I guess?”
“So, what are you?” Fayette repeated her question. Her small wings kept fluttering behind her.
I exhaled, suddenly very aware of how out of place I was. These curious, glowing creatures were staring at me like I was a mystery to be solved. “I’m… a human,” I declared finally. “And I’m fairly certain that where I come from, vampires, elves, and faeries don’t exist at all.”
“This must be a very strange place where you come from,” she said, her small eyes widening. “No faeries like us? What a dull and boring place.”
“Very dull,” the boy in the purple hat agreed.
“Believe me such creatures as elves exist, just as much as we do. The Elven King Dandelion is said to be the most powerful ruler in the world,” Fayette explained.
“That’s not true, Fayette,” the boy interrupted. “His sonis much more powerful. He was said to be the nightmare bringer…”
The nightmare bringer? What were they talking about?
Fayette rolled her eyes at him, amused. “I know, but those are only rumors, Pip.”
