The Diary of Joy

Storytime

9. Peace, the year of the Phoenix

Dear Angel,

Yesterday evening we had a fascinating Storytime.
I even learned a few things about my mom that I didn't know before.
Dad was out with his friends so mom was the one to tell us a bedtime story.

She was feeling a bit melancholic after Linky's visit, thinking about the old times, her friends and the fact that once upon a time most of the fairies were actually her friends.
Anyways, that led to one story from her past that we had never heard before, but I definitely think we should have been told because it's an awesome story.

For the first time, I heard about her friend Ang and all the fun they had together.
I think she hasn't talked about him before because it always made her sad.
When she told everyone about her secret relationship with Van, Ang was one of those who turned their back on her and before they had a chance to talk it through before he could learn to accept mom as she was, he was sent to another part of the land far, far away.

Still, I could see that she still remembers him fondly.
The times they had together weren't completely ruined by his failure to accept who she loved.

So she told us about dancing with him and how fun it was, how they would almost reach the sky and many other stories.
She spoke about him with a kind of brotherly love that I think stemmed from the fact that she didn't have any siblings.

How lucky am I!?

But then she also told us things that she usually wouldn't.
How they broke the rules.

There are some rules that are rooted in fairy tradition and those are almost never broken.
Well, mom did break the one of not marrying a non-fairy, but still...
But there are also those rules that can be seen as strong suggestions.
One of those said that a fairy should never do any moonbathing and swimming in the shimmering lake of pure happiness during the full blue moon.
No one knew why this was a rule. 

Even humans seem to be obsessed with the blue moon.
Once in the blue moon is quite a popular expression, and yet they don't have any prohibitions placed on how to behave during the blue moon.

"Once upon a blue moon, there were two curious little fairies, as curious as can be. Their names were Ang and Lyna, and they decided to break the rules and try something new.
They were, after all, just two curious teenagers who seldom broke the rules, but the appeal of moonbathing and taking a long refreshing swim under the blue moon was too tempting.

So the two of them, with a few of their other friends, went to the lake shore and waited for the blue moon to rise.
Once it was fully visible on the horizon, they used their fairy magic to put waterproof spells on their wings and slowly dived into the lake.

The lake's water was as refreshing as always but there was something different about it, there was something more.
There was a type of gentleness and a certain soothing feeling that started spreading through their bodies.
It was no longer a simple swim in the lake, it was the best swim of their lives.

They had a feeling they could sense the blue moon singing to the lake a song of love, loss, and joy at a final reunion.

It felt like they, mere fairies, were witnessing something much greater than them, a kind of ancient magic or maybe even ancient love between the blue moon and the shimmering lake that had given happiness to so many who had swum in its waters and yet had nothing left for itself.
That is until the blue moon came.
Once it arrived, it showered the lake with all its love and joy by looking into its beautiful eyes which reflect the moon's own image.

It was the strangest feeling for the trespassing fairies because they had never experienced that kind of cosmic love, and they had to quickly get out of the lake's waters because the emotions were simply overwhelming.

Lying on the lake shore they could still feel the loving rays of the moon bathing them in warmth and love, but the amount was much lower since the majority of it was focused on the beautiful queen dressed in blue that was the lake.
The fairies lying on the moonlit shore were speechless, there were no words that could have described the awe and joy they felt.
It was like nothing they had ever experienced, and they were always trying to experience new things.
The power and beauty of the sight before them was the most magical thing they, as magical beings, had ever seen.

No wonder no one was allowed to bear witness to it because it was so vast and difficult to comprehend that they couldn't do anything but feel.
They let the joy of the reunion of two cosmic forces of love carry them on its wings, and they started floating up in the air high enough to reach the clouds.

Suddenly, they felt the need to express their joy in any way possible, and they started playing among the clouds, jumping in and out of clouds in a strange game of hide-and-seek that no one had ever seen before.
The wind ruffled their hair, but they knew that it wasn't the wind, it was just the way they saw it.
It was the blue moon, the moon was showing them with its gentle touch on their skins that it was okay, the moon was glad that they could join him in his celebration of love and beauty that was the lake.

They were dancing and playing, having the time of their lives without being truly aware of what they were doing.
It wasn't their own exhilaration that warmed their hearts, at least not completely.
It was the immense happiness the blue moon felt at being allowed to, at least for a short time, spend time with his beloved.

In the morning, our fairy adventurers woke up to the sight that took their breaths away.
They were surrounded by the most beautiful and colorful flowers that weren't there before.

Raising from their colorful beds they weren't sure if what had happened was just the most wonderful dream they had ever had or if it was a magical reality.
Looking at the lake it looked the same as every other day. They couldn't see anything different about it.
It looked like a just another regular lake but in their hearts, they knew that it was anything but an ordinary lake.

Whether what happened was a dream or not didn't really matter, the important thing was that they knew of magic so deep and hidden that no one could see it.
The only time it could be seen was once a blue moon came on its magical chariot of love." Mom finished her story.

"Is that why you and that got married near a lake? Is it that same lake?" Chatterbox, true to his name asked the moment she finished her story.
"Yes, my dear, and that is also the reason we had it at night although it wasn't the time of the blue moon.
In a way, I felt that the lake would bless our union with a bit of its special magic and I feel like it has done that and so much more.

The moment I explained to your father why I wanted to get married there, he agreed because he thought the story was truly magical and that was what he wanted for our future, the magic of everyday life." Mom explained.

"Have you ever been back at the lake during the blue moon?" I asked.

"No, we haven't. We wanted to, but we didn't actually want to know if it was real or just a dream, that way we could choose to believe whatever we saw fit.
It will forever stay a mystery we will ponder about.

If we were to go back and learn the truth, that would be it.
We would no longer be able to enjoy the mystery of it all.
Besides, we thought that if it was real they deserved privacy, don't you think?" Mom said.
We all agreed and with that, the Storytime was over, and we were tucked in a matter of minutes.

Oh, Peace is calling.
I think he wants to play one of my awesome games. I better hurry.

Love,

Always and forever,

Joy