The Land Never Lost

Chapter 8

"Holy crap!" Peter was jumping up and down shaking his hands. "Wow! I'm a freaking fairy!" The crazy boy was shutting his eyes tight standing on his tiptoes.

"What are you doing?" Trinkett wondered

"I'm trying to fly." Peter was flapping his arms.

"Will you stop that? You are definitely not a fairy. You are a human without a doubt. I'll admit you are different than any I've seen. But you feel like a human. It's hard to explain, but when I sense a fairy it feels like the calmest parts of nature itself manifested in a being. Humans feel much more complicated. As if their spirits are in a constant battle." Trinkett picked her jacket off the floor.

"Fine." Peter crossed his arms frustrated. "Well, explain the glowing hand part if I'm just a human. The shine or whatever you call it. You did see me use it didn't you."

"Okay I admit that's a part I don't have an answer to. And it's not the shine, it's called nemeral. All beings have an energy that flows through them. Fairies have been able to gather that energy, manifest it, and use it. For us, it manifests as an emerald glow. The darkness created by manifesting negative energy and utilizing it is called gloom, hence the name for the creatures. Our nemerald dispels their gloom." Trinkett was pacing back and forth. Not making eye contact with Peter. The boy was hanging on every word. "Up until today, it was believed by most fairies, no human possessed the ability to utilize nemerald. Now I'm not so sure."

Trinkett walked over to Peter. She took the boy's hands in her own. "Peter, do you know how hard it is to handle the sheer quantity of glooms your world can produce? Negative energy permeates this place. We always assumed that we were alone in our fight against glooms because humans were so pessimistic. Unable to harness the will required to channel nemerald. And the thought of using children to fight glooms was never even considered. But, maybe that's the key. Peter, do you want to learn how to use all that crazy positive energy you have? Do you want to see my world?" The sun was starting to rise as day broke through the woods.

This was Peter's first real chance at an adventure. Not the ones he and James had to cook up on their own. James! Peter had been gone all night. He knew his friend would be worried.

"First I have to check back in with James. I'm sure he's going crazy with worry." Peter started walking out the woods in the directions of the orphanage.

"And second?" Trinkett asked, trailing the boy.

Peter looked back, his blonde shaggy hair even more of a mess after the battle. He flashed a devilish grin. With a wink the boy said, "We go on an adventure".

After walking for twenty minutes, Trinkett could not help but complain. "How much longer do we have to walk? It just seems ridiculous that I can fly and we are walking. Peter? Peter, are you even listening?" Peter was walking down the empty road re-enacting the fight from last night. Trinkett let out a sigh of frustration.

The fairy only visited this world with a singular thought. Glooms. Now walking down this road, she was able to take in more than she ever had. The trees were full of life. Two animals chased each other playfully around its branches. A bird settled high in a nest, chirping in a beautiful ensemble of nearby fowl. This was what glooms threatened. It was a vicious cycle of optimism challenged by pessimism, and saved again by more optimism. This was the battle humans faced. With no way to fight their own battle. So fairies were the obvious answer. This calm road was a snapshot of what life in Trinkett's world was perpetually like. Calm, good, natural.

The answer might have been...

"Tink? Tink? Yo fairy girl!" Peter was standing almost nose to nose with the fairy.

"Ah!" Trinkett exploded in a flash and returned back to her tiny fairy form. Her tiny fist punched Peter in the forehead. She returned back to human size. Peter was laughing, rubbing his head.

"I didn't mean to scare you but you were staring at that tree. When I looked back I noticed you were falling behind. You don't know the way to the orphanage so keep up." he turned to continue their walk.

"Peter?"

"Yeah"

"Why do you call me Tink?"

"I don't know. It's the first nickname that popped into my head."

"And do you normally go with whatever your first thought is?"

"No. Normally I don't even have thoughts. I just... go!" On go, Peter took off down the road at a full sprint. He was laughing hysterically.

Trinkett was unsure if she understood the joke. Or the action. Or the boy for that matter. Trinkett just felt compelled to laugh. So she did, as she broke into a sprint chasing the boy.