Untouchable

I walked down the long, winding road that led to nowhere and smiled. My senses were telling me that I was close to what I was looking for. Picking up my pace, I heard a car driving down the dirt road.

I dashed into the trees and waited for the car to pass by. With a splash of water, it was gone, racing down the road to nowhere.

I groaned. The car had splashed a puddle all over me. Now I was wet and cold. It would be night soon, drowning out any chances to get dry.

I continued to walk down the dirt road silently, hoping that the remaining minutes of golden sunlight would dry me off a bit.

A rustle in the bushes caught my attention. I approached it carefully, knowing it was probably just an animal.

Pulling back the branches on the small shrub, I gasped at the thing I saw. Two small Faeries, like I will be soon.

When I was twelve, I had found out that I was part Faerie. I was told that I would need to go to my mother's kingdom, hidden by brush and weeds, to fully transform when I was eighteen.

My mother owned a small Faerie kingdom in North Carolina that was on the side of a road that led to nowhere.

Looks like I had found that kingdom.

"Who are you?" One of the Faeries asked me. I knew that they could tell I was part Faerie, but they didn't say anything.

"My mother owns a Faerie kingdom around here somewhere. Mind showing me where?" I asked innocently, but it was hard to keep the smirk off my face when their mouths dropped open.

"Y..You are the Queen's d...daughter?" The other one asked. I nodded my head and they fluttered their wings and took off into the brush and weeds. I followed, being whipped by low tree branches.

The Faeries eventually stopped by a tall oak tree.

"If you can pass through the portal unharmed, you are a true Faerie and we will know that you are not lying."

With that, they passed under an arched root and disappeared. Great. How was I meant to pass through a portal that was only five inches tall?

I sat down cross legged and thought about my situation. I was the normal height for my age, I had not transformed yet so was unable to shrink to Faerie size, and I was going to freeze to death right in front of the portal to my mother's kingdom.

I stood up and climbed the nearest tree. I knew that I would have a better chance of surviving the night if I was above ground.

My dad had taught me basic survival skills for the time when I would become a Faerie; he knew that Faeries are easy pickings for any animal that might be a bit hungry out in the forest.

I settled on the tree branch I picked and winced. My leg had gotten a bad scratch from a tree branch earlier. I sighed. It would get terribly infected if I didn't treat it.

I jumped down from the tree and picked up some moss from nearby. Applying it to my long, deep scratch, I gritted my teeth from the pain. I had never had to do this; I had always had actual medical supplies.

I returned to my tree and just sat there, thinking. How would I transform if I couldn't even enter the kingdom?

I had exactly five days to transform or I would be a normal human for the rest of my life.

I didn't want to be a human. They were so oblivious to us, the Faeries, and every other fantasy creature in this world. We are the fantasy creatures that they joke and tell stories about; they have no idea we actually exist.

I looked to the sky. It was dark and sprinkled with stars. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.

After sleep finally pulled me under, I dreamed of Faeries and other creatures.

I was awoken from a loud noise coming from the direction of the portal. I opened my eyes to see the portal glowing and a small Faerie emerging from the glow.

She was really pretty. She had golden blonde hair that matched my own and the green-blue eyes that I saw every morning in the mirror. She looked like an older version of me. Except she dressed fancier. Her gold dress reflected in her eyes and her high heels matched the silver bracelets she wore on her arms. This was my mother.

She spied me hiding in the tree and fluttered over.

"Hello, Katania, I've missed you." She said in a sweet voice.

"Katania? That isn't my name, It's just Kat." I told her. She smiled at me. I managed a small smile back and she waved for me to come over to the portal.

"Now, you are only half Faerie, and will not be able to shrink in the human world." She began. "If I am correct, you can place a finger into the portal and shrink, since you will be part in my kingdom."

Relief washed over me. I wouldn't be damned to be a human all my life after all. I would transform, and it would be ok. I just had to focus.

Placing a finger in the portal, I concentrated on shrinking and soon felt myself shrink, down, down, down, until I was only five inches tall. I gasped, looking down at myself.

I was exactly the same as before, just I was only a few inches tall now.

Holding my mothers hand like a scared little child, I slowly walked into the open portal and into what lies beyond.