Faelynn

                The first time I saw her I was 7. It was a warm spring day and I had taken a trip to the pond. The water was calm and there was no wind to push or pull the clear water, only stillness. Baby birds chirped happily from their nests in the pudgy trees that surrounded the area, and bright flowers dotted the green grass, filling the air with a sweet floral scent.

                I had left my shoes in the shade of a great oak tree and gone to dip my toes into the cool water, feeling the mud squish between my toes. Across the pond was a small family of ducks, and as I watched them something caught my eye; a shimmering light reflecting off the lily pads slightly to the left of the ducklings. Being the curious child I was I leaned in closer to the lily pads, careful not to get the rolled up legs of my overalls wet.

                Suddenly, the light moved! It shot off the lily pads and into the oak tree behind me. I hurried out of the water, frightening the ducks so they scurried off into a nearby bush. I could see the mysterious light shining from an abandoned squirrel home about halfway up the massive trunk. The branch closest to the ground was just out of my reach. Driven by my determination to see what was causing the light I climbed upon some small boulders positioned next to the tree, grabbed the thick branch and hauled myself up. I climbed up the oak until I was finally face to face with the source of the odd reflections.

                It was a fairy.

                 She was beautiful, with long unkept hair the colour of fallen leaves in early autumn, and skin a breath taking shade of ebony. The girl was about the length of a fresh pencil and her figure quite slim. Clothes were substituted by a large leaf that was rolled around her tiny body, carefully tied in place with yarn she must have scavenged.

                Her wings though were truly magnificent. 2 long, transparent wings decorated with elegant designs. Swirls curving this way and that, some longer than others. The wings reached past her small head and down just ending near the back of her knees. I could not take my eyes off the brilliant sight of her wings. I remember wishing I could have such glorious wings that could take me up as high into the morning sky as I pleased.

                The fairy looked up at me and I saw my own curiosity reflected in her stunning green eyes. She came closer to the opening in the tree and stopped when she was directly in front of my nose, making us as close to eye to eye as a human and a fairy could be without the use of her wings.

                “A human?” she asked curiously, reaching a small hand to gently touch my nose. “How are you able to see me?”

                Her voice sounded almost like a small bell, a sweet sound that you wouldn’t notice unless you were listening carefully.

                “I noticed you by the lily pads with the ducklings,” I told her. “My mom always taught me fairies weren’t real.”

                “Well,” she said putting her dainty hands to her hips. “That doesn’t seem true, now does it dear?” I shook my head in agreement.

                “My names Daisy,” I said. “Do you have a name?”

                “My names Faelynn, but you can call me Fae,” she said holding out a hand. I cautiously poked my finger into the hole and we shook hands.

                I visited that pond every day that spring, and the summer that followed and we would watched the animals grow and she would tell me stories of her fairy friends. Fae was my best friend. One day when I was 10, my mother told me that we would soon be moving away from my secret pond.

                One day I hope to return to Fae with my own daughter, and share my secret with her. But for now she sleeps serenely in my arms, dreaming about her own isolated paradise.