I Believe

I believe in Love.

The fae laugh. "Love is stupid," they say.

But still I believe.

"Love is weakness." They tease.

But still I believe.

"Love is fleeting." The fae claim.

Yet I believe love endures.

"Would you risk your life on it?" They ask.

"Yes!" I tell them. "I believe in love enough."

They turn me into a human with Faery magic.

But the Fae visit me.

"Do you still believe?" They snicker.

I do even though I am a spinster, well past the marrying age.

The fae cluck at me. "All this human misery for nothing."

But then I meet him. Phillip Ripton proves that I am right to believe.

We marry. The Faeries give us a wedding present, A lovely mirror etched with our initials and the words "Bright love of my heart." For my heart shines, so bright that no fairy would question my belief in love again.

But in the land of humans, food is scarce. I suffer with pangs of hunger and weakness.

The fae visit me again, "Love hurts?"

"Love heals." I tell them.

My darling Phillip worries for my health.

"Love is Anguish." The Fae say.

"But love is Joy." I reply.

One day the unimaginable happens. A man dies by Phillips hand.

"Love is death." The Fae screech.

"Love is light." I tell them.

Phillip and I must move quickly, sailing aboard a dirty ship.

The fae follow on the boat and in the water.

"Love is squalor." They rave.

"Love is brilliance." I claim.

We arrive in a new town and love blooms like a snapdragon on a summer day.

"Love is creation." I sing.

"Love is destruction." They hum.

I die!

"Love is grief." They say watching poor Phillip mourn.

I cry.

"Love is cruelty."

I cry.

"Love is gone."

I cry. Not for myself, but for Phillip and his despair. Yet I still believe, love is kindness.

Phillip sees me in my true form and he knows my eyes.

"Love is recognition."

Phillip must take another sea voyage. He fashions a tiny Faery home so that we never have to be apart.

"Love builds you up."

I stay in the box for three days when Phillip gets sick on the ship. I worry for him more than myself.

"Love is stifling." The Fae whisper to me from the other side.

"Love is unbound." I say.

When Phillip is too sick to care for me, he sends another.

"Love is Grace." For I owe the small child Phillips life.

I go with Phillip and Grace to a wonderful new place.

It may seem silly but this is my story.

My name is Lauren Ripton and I am the Westbury Faery.

I believe in love.

Yet believing is only the beginning.