Becoming Peter

Chapter 16

I huffed, blowing my hair out of my eyes. Going inside with him didn't seem like the best option at the moment. I glanced around to only see trees and bushes. I stood there for several minutes. The dark settled into my bones. Frigid air seeped through my skin. It hit me just how cold it had gotten since the sun's goodbye. I had space to think.

My arms wrapped around myself as tears dripped out of my eyes. Chest heaving, I burst into uncontrollable sobs. My legs gave out. I didn't remember falling.

Has anyone realized I'm gone? It's been about a day since I got here. It takes a day to travel back home from the Mainland. I would have been back about now. It's only a matter of time before they notice.

Bitterly I thought, they must notice how quiet and... peaceful it is without me. Scraping dirt off my palms, I rose to my feet and walked. The stupid crying ceased. I walked straighter, trying to seem like I had a destination that I needed to reach.

I wished it was home. I wanted to go home. But there was no one to go home to. No family. No friends who would stay by my side for that long. One taste of my temper, my too-high dreams and they were out the door. All the while mumbling some incoherent excuse.

Sick of everything, I blurred out my thoughts till they were a muddled pile of meaninglessness. Sadness was an emotion I wanted to avoid forever. I tilted too far towards anger, I'll admit. But they are linked in more ways than one.

I wasn't sure how long I'd been walking. My eyes begged for rest. Only after my shoulder smacked into a tree, did I start to look for some place to sit down and get some shut eye.

With half-shut eyes, I stumbled upon a large, almost out-of-place tree. It was a different kind than the rest and much wider with more branches. It was oddly familiar. I couldn't place it. With many small knots that would be good for climbing, I approached it while scanning for good crannies to snuggle into. The wood felt smooth under my hands as I made my way up to the first thick branch.

It was wide enough that I could barely wrap my arms around it. About two feet from the trunk, it split suddenly. Nestling in the "V", it was somewhat comfy. Enough to last the night.

To avoid thinking while I waited for sleep, I let my gaze wander to the stars. Millions and millions of tiny sparkles littered the boundless space. It made me feel small.

A twig punctured my back. Thinking of the irony, I shrunk down to fairy-size. My bones ached afterward. It had been too long since I altered my size.

I broke a dark green leaf off that was taller and wider than me. I got down on my side, leaf wrapped around me and arms tucked under my head like a pillow. The stars was the last thing I saw before I drifted off into welcoming sleep.

***

My back ached. My shoulders were stiff. My knees down were pins and needles. I suddenly missed Peter's soft mattress. While comfy at first, the stiff wood was not the best option for a good night's rest.

The sun hit my eyes. It was half-way over the horizon. The view was breathtaking. The ocean was cast in an orange light, hiding any blue hues. The sand was pale in comparison. But above the sunrise, the sky was a stunning sapphire. I tasted salt on my tongue from the midnight wind. I didn't want to move, even though my joints begged.

Finally giving in, I kicked off the leaf and stood up. After having a nice long stretch, I grew to human-size and scurried to the ground. My eyes traveled back to the tree. An odd deja-vu feeling wouldn't go away. Then it hit me like a sack of flour to the head.

It was a Pixie Dust tree.

Formally known as a Fay Vol Tree, it was a source of power among faires. Beneath its smooth bark was thousands of veins filtering Pixie Dust. The shimmery substance was easy to harvest without damaging the tree. They lived for thousands of years, partially due to their natural creation. They grew alone, usually hundreds miles from the next one. The method of how they spread their seeds remains in loosely believable conspiracy theories. Same goes for how they grow in such vastly different climates.

I slammed a palm onto my forehead. A hysterical laugh broke through my lips. I could escape this solitary island. My wings fluttered in anticipation.

A plan came to me just as hard as the realization of the tree's true identity.

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Sorry for such short chapters. I'm a bit behind on writing so I've had to cut them shorter than I would like. 

Click that star button and then comment your favorite... flower? Yeah, flower! I am in love with sunflowers, personally. I love it when they grow on the side of long highways in giant bushels.