My Little Faerie Girl

A Bullying Wind

 On the day after Anabella's fourth birthday, Anabella and her family were expecting nothing new to happen. They expected that day to be like any other, for Anabella to go to school and endure the teasing of others - like she had been doing for a year - and come home to the love and support of her parents. They were, by no means expecting what really happened that day.

Anabella woke up to the sound of her father's soothing voice saying, "Anabella, Angel, it is time to wake up," as he slowly rubbed his little girl's back trying to slowly coax her awake. When he saw that her eyes were opened and he could see her startling dark blue – almost black – eyes he said to her, "You can pick your own clothes today and when you are all dressed your mommy has pancakes ready downstairs... with chocolate chips."

This information woke little Anabella right up as there was nothing she loved more than her mother's perfectly fluffy pancakes (except maybe her daddy and mommy) – especially when they have chocolate chips in them. She hopped right out of bed in her pretty little yellow pyjamas, skipping over to her drawers, humming a tune and wiggling her little hips; completely content.

Zedrich watched this scene unfold with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye, thinking, Even though she is so different from the others and she gets teased by her peers she still wakes up every morning with a smile; happy to face the day and looking like nothing could ever bother her. At that moment Zedrich did not think he could smile any wider or be any prouder of his daughter, and thought that he would not trade that little smiling girl for a faerie with wings and a mark ever in his life.

"Dad? Daddy? DADDY!!" little Anabella screamed at her father, trying to get his attention to ask him if they could go eat pancakes now.

Zedrich, startled by Anabella's loud voice, realized that he began to wander off into his mind while observing his little faerie girl. He turned towards her, as she had moved closer to him, and noticed that she was wearing a bright yellow shirt and black pants with little yellow and black polka-dotted shoes – making her look like a little bumblebee without wings. His little wingless bumblebee. He took her small pale, porcelain hand and said, "Let's go eat some pancakes!" in the cheeriest voice he had.

Anabella all but dragged her father out of her room, down the hall then down the stairs and straight into the kitchen where she could smell her most favouritest breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes with a hint of lavender.

After eating her pancakes and drinking her milk, Anabella went to the door, got on her jacket and backpack, and screamed to her mom and dad, "Hurry up mommy and daddy, I don't wanna be late."

Mae and Zedrich walked over and huffed out a laugh at their daughter's eagerness to get to school. They both put on their jackets and shoes and grabbed one of their daughter's hands as together, all three of them linked, they walked out of their house carved into the trunk of a tree. The moment they have a foot out the door they get blown back by a gust of harsh wind. Mae, being a faerie with control over air, did her best to protect her child from the powerful wind and direct it away from them. Wind was not something they were unaccustomed to in the forest, as there were air faeries and other beings with powers over air and wind around them at all times, so they continued their walk to school thinking nothing of it. But, this wind seemed persistent, like it was trying to get close to something, call upon something, yet Mae continued to hold it at bay as they walked not wanting it to knock over Anabella; not letting it get anywhere close. Finally, they reached Anabella's school and it seemed that the wind had died down and was not as intent on getting somewhere – to someone – so they said their goodbyes to Anabella, again reluctant to let her go to face another day of teasing. Anabella hugs them both goodbye with the most dazzling smile on her pale rose pink lips; ready to face whatever the day throws at her.

Anabella walked into her class, put her jacket and backpack in her little cubby, said a cheery good morning to her teacher, Ms. Whitethorn, and sat down at her table with four other students. Immediately the taunting and teasing began, with the kids saying things like, "Hey Anabella where are your wings? Oh, right, you don't have any" or, "Anabella you shouldn't be allowed here, you're not a faerie" and things like, "Eeew, get away from us, we don't want to catch what you have." Yet, Anabella's little smile never faltered once with all of their teasing, not even for a second, and she said to the little faeries who had been making fun of her since day one, "Wings and a mark don't make the faerie, the heart and soul does," as always was her response to them.

Anabella chose to never take what the mean kids said to heart, she instead chose to believe in what her dad had always told her; never allowing the hateful words to dampen her spirit. At least that was until one little boy - the meanest of the group - said, "Hey, Anabella, what's wrong with your parents? What did they do to get a messed up kid like you? They must have something wrong with them."

And Anabella, sweet, gentle, kind Anabella that can take people being rude to her with a bright smile always on her lips, turns towards the boy – no smile on her face, her eyes darkening to black – and cracks. She looks the mean, terrible boy in his eyes and screams, "There is nothing wrong with my parents!! They are perfect!!"

As if to punctuate what she had said the windows of the classroom blew open with a great gust of wind. All the little faeries screamed as Ms. Whitethorn tried to get them to stay calm and get to safety.

But, Anabella, standing as tall as a little four year old can, keeps her eyes locked on the little boy in front of her, not intimidated by the wind and she begins to feel a tug in her stomach and a searing pain along her left shoulder blade. She screams at the little boy again saying, "My parents did nothing wrong, they are perfect it is me that is wrong, not them!" as the last word falls from Anabella's lips a guttural, painful and terrible scream is torn from her throat as the pain finally becomes too much for a little girl to bear. The wind rushes around Anabella as she screams and tears begin to stream down her tiny moon-white cheeks until it finally slams into her shoulder blade and she falls to the cold tile of the school's floor beneath her feet. Her screams finally dying down until they are no longer heard and in their place are tiny whimpers as the little faerie quietly calls out for her father. Just as her screams die down s,o too does the ferocious wind almost as if it was following her demand and strong will all along.

From Anabella's place it was a dark, painful and terrifying experience that made her want her daddy very much, but it was also an empowering, energizing and wonderful experience that just felt so right; that made her feel that that was where she was supposed to be, surrounded by the wind, controlling the wind.

From the standpoint of the little faeries in the classroom and the one grown faerie the experience was terrifying and fascinating to watch. To them it seemed as if the wind was trying to become one with Anabella, not as if it wanted to consume her but be part of her and they watched as she screamed and the air moved around her in circles until finally hitting into one shoulder and seemingly being absorbed into the little girl's skin.

Anabella lay on the tile ground, her tiny four year old frame shaking with the force of her silent tears, and she quietly calls out for her father, pleading with the people around her to get her daddy.

Ms. Whitethorn, broken out of her state of shock by the small girl's pleas, quickly rushes over to the girl and orders one of her students to get another teacher. She kneels down next to Anabella and asks her, "Anabella, darling, can you hear me? Does anything hurt?"

Anabella looked at her teacher and responded saying only, "I want my daddy." She then proceeded to close her eyes and any attempt to get her to open them again was futile, the darkness had fallen upon her mind, lulling her into a deep sleep.