I awoke to something nudging my side. Light trickled into the familiar room from the window as I sat up to look around. Something small was trying to burrow under me and I laughed, petting him. The animal looked familiar, especially as a fiery tail miraculously appeared as he rubbed against my arm happily.
"What's your name, little boy," I asked him, obviously not expecting an answer.
"Russel," a cheerful voice said by the open doorway. "His name is Russel."
I look up to see my mother standing there, healthy and fit as always. I quickly push Russel off of me and run to meet her. "Mom," I said happily. "You're home. How was your meeting? I thought you weren't going to be home for another couple of days."
She laughed gently, pulling me close. "You know I always get back earlier than I estimate." She paused for a minute as she combs her fingers through my long hair. "Wanna talk a walk through the forest together?"
I jump away quickly. "I would love to," I said joyfully, racing to put on my sandals. We had not been able to hang out together for some time, so I was definitely going to make it the best trip together that I could.
When my sandals were on, I raced by mother, who was chuckling lightly. We raced down the steps, my brief head start allowing me to win. After that, we ran out the door and into the forest, side-by-side. I already knew she was purposefully running slower than she possibly could run so we would be sticking together.
Eventually we were both out of breath, out of practice, and we looked around where we were in the forest. It was a small path, little used, and I did not recognize it because I had not been so far into these woods. However, my mother seemed to recognize the area.
"Think you can walk a little longer," she asks teasingly.
"You bet I can," I replied cheerfully back, even though my sides were cramping and my legs felt stiff.
Pretty soon we were emerging from the forest and...there's just no words to explain what I saw. It was a clearing, but it was beautiful. Absolute perfection. The sun was not yet all the way up in the sky, but soon it would be midday. The breeze, which was impossible to feel in the forest, blew through my hair lightly. It was not strong enough to blow my hair everywhere, nor lift a leaf From the ground, though. It felt like it was possible for time to just stand still here. It felt like the clearing was somehow special go r someone or something, or else enchanted for the mysteriously magical beings of the land. I could not tell which, but I was at a loss for words all the same.
As I tried to cross the threshold from the forest to the clearing, I was held back. Something prevented me from entering, as though I was banned from a place I had never been to before in my life. I watched as my mother crossed easily, but I was still restrained from entering.
My mother muttered something under her breath and then spoke softly. "She's my daughter, please let her in. She will do no one no harm. On my word."
I secretly wondered if whoever she was speaking to noticed the double negative in her sentence. At first, I misheard what she had said, but rethinking the phrase told me what she really meant. Did my mother really believe I would hurt someone or something? Maybe not now, but in the future?
It did not take long before I could walk in the amazing clearing freely. I guess whoever it was misheard or overlooked my mother's phrasing. All the better for me, I suppose.
My mother and I set up camp. There was camping gear, such as long sticks and cloth for a tent and blankets to sleep under if it got cold, hiding in the tall, flowing grass. The gentle breeze helped cool me down after the run through the forest as we worked together in silence.
When camp was set up, we both laid down in the grass as the sun peaked at its highest point of the day. Pretty soon, I was fast asleep with my mother laying next to me.
************************************************************
Fear seized my body as I awoke in the foreign environment. It quickly gave way to reason as my memories came rushing back. I rise to my feet slowly, the moon illuminating the clearing and revealing my mother sleeping nearby. Leaving her to rest, I begin to explore the clearing on my own. There was little to be found. The grass seemed wilted under the moonlight and the flowers were gone. In their place, something else was sprouting. The longer I stood and watched, the quicker the plant grew. Within minutes, the plant was in full bloom and flourishing. The plant itself looked like a blood flyx, a red flowering plant that imitated the traits of deadly plants even though it itself was harmless. Blood fltx only grew at night and only on a full moon without clouds to cover the light. That made the plant rather rare. Its soil range was really narrow and only smooth and permeable soils would it grow in. It was fascinating watchingit grow, especially in an unnatural habitat.
I spent only a few minutes more staring at the flower before slowly moving away from it, and mother mother, quietly. I looked around the amazing area, believing it to be a dream. There was no way I could be standing here. I am not perfect, not by a long shot. Yet, I am not completely bad, I allowed myself to think. It was just so confusing as to why I could not enter originally or how we even got here.
I hardly noticed my pacing until I became aware that my mother was awake. And studying me. I stopped pacing to stare back at her.
"Sorry if I woke you up," I say softly to her.
"It's no big deal," she replies smoothly. "You've grown a lot since I last saw you."
I laugh gently as she easily, and gracefully, rises to her feet. My mother always finds a way to change the topic from something apologetic to something kind, especially when I do something wrong or rude. A lovely habit that I never could seem to adopt quite right.
"Are you going to be up for a little longer," she asks me . With my nod of a "yes," she beckoned me over. "Great, I want you to meet someone while we are here together. The reason I brought you here actually," she admits. She turned and walked around the clearing for a minute, walking in circles, before yelling at me. I still had not moved from where I had once been pacing despite her beckoning me over. "Come along now, Adèle." She seemed like she was losing her patience suddenly as the sentence came out slightly snippy.
I walked over to her Abdul froze. She had her hand stretched out towards me and it held a small person. A fairy. My mouth almost dropped before I could compose myself. I spoke quietly, scared to scare the fairy, and, unsure what exactly to tell the fairy, simply said, "Hi."
My mother's smile glowed. She was happy over a fairy? How did she even catch the fairy anyway? "Meet Zoroaster," she introduced. I assumed that was the fairy's name. "Zoroaster, this is Adèle, my daughter." Then my mother took my hand and dropped the fairy on it. "Keep her safe. She can now help you whenever your need is dire."
I looked down briefly at the fairy and when I look up again, my mother is gone and I am officially alone for once. There was no longer a breeze, but something still felt rather off. Wrong. Unnatural.
Lightning illuminated the sudden darkness, thunder rolling out almost immediately after it struck nearby. The ground shook hard as the thunder rolled along it. It hurt my ears as it boomed, making my hair stand on its end.
The storm had covered the moon quickly, covering the sky within moments. I looked around for shelter, but could not find anything through the darkness. Rain pelted my face as searched wildly for a few moments. The Lightning helped a little, but the field was barren. Why would there ever be shelter in the middle of a clearing?
"I wish I was sheltered," I muttered, starting to run through the tall grass as it began to downpour even faster and harder, Zoroaster still covered in my hands. As I ran, I remembered something about bound fairies. They always grant your wish, if they hear. I believed Zoroaster was bound to me now, especially after my mother gave her over to me.
Zoroaster came through. Rain was no longer pounding on my head, though I could not see anything through the blackness. Moments later, it felt like I was falling and so I closed my eyes, my sight not good for anything anyway, and awaited the hard hit when I reached the ground.
