Of Fairies and Noontime

Hadley

It was a quiet town with peculiar children.

The most peculiar of all went by the name of Hadley Marble.

Her curiosity and unladylike attitude got her in more trouble than anything else. She was the type who would rather play in the dirt than admire the flowers.

Her parents didn't like this attribute of hers. They wanted her to be straight laced and perfect when she was clearly anything but.

Hadley Marble was a sight to behold—a sweet looking 12 year old on the outside, but a childlike mischievousness and curiosity within.

Her curly, chestnut brown hair matched the bark of the huge oak tree in her backyard, and her eyes were as green as the leaves that swirled in the breeze. Her nose was smaller and button-like, her hair longer than average, and her cheeks a rosy pink color. She also had two tiny moles on the back of her right hand.

She was a beautiful young lady, but, unfortunately, got into more trouble than she bargained for.

Hadley saw herself as a brave adventurer or a curious explorer, traveling through the wilds of the jungle or the depths of the ocean. Sadly, her parents didn't see these qualities in her. They saw a stubborn, hard to control little girl who they wanted to put on medicine, just to keep her calm.

Hadley's house was a very pretty house. To her, it looked like a house that a cute old witch would live in. The outside was pale yellow in color with a white-shingled roof and white bordered windows. The windows held up teal shutters, the same color as the front and back doors. The inside of the house was far less flattering, but what was lacking on the inside of the house was made up for by the backyard.

Oh, the backyard—that was Hadley's most favorite place of all time. The grass was the brightest shade of green, brighter than emeralds, and there was a giant oak tree with long, low and high hanging branches stretching off of it. Hadley's mother also had a large garden full of flowers; tulips and daisies and petunias. They also had a large wooden fence surrounding all of their property.

Hadley loved her house, but she hated the people that lived in it with her.

Minus her pet frog, of course. His name was Bartholomew. Bart for short. Hadley adored him. She took him everywhere she went. She talked to him even though he couldn't talk back to her. She'd always thought that he was the only one who actually listened to her in that house.

There was another person that listened to her, too. Dask Ashton. He was her next-door neighbor. He'd always lived right on the other side of their fence. Hadley often got in trouble for jumping the fence in order to be with him more.

Dask and Hadley had practically been friends since birth. They were born in the same year, they learned how to walk and talk together, and they both shared similar interests. But the main factor that helped them remain friends for so long was the fact that they were both fairly odd; and they didn't care.

The two were practically like brother and sister. And since they were both an only child, it worked out quite nicely.

Hadley enjoyed being outside more than anything else in the world, but she also loved reading. She had her nose inside a book 90% of the time she was awake. Reading books gave her a place of escape, somewhere where she didn't have to be perfect and where all of her troubles melted away.

Not saying that everything in her life was bad. She loved Bart, she loved Dask, she loved her backyard and her house. These were all good things. She even loved her parents; she just wasn't sure if they loved her.

This was the basis of the life of Hadley Marble; the great adventurer, the wild explorer, the curious wonder. She had no idea just how fast her life would change; just in an instant.