There once was a sad little girl. She had long, dark hair, as long as the night stretches through the sky, and a heart that loved to listen to the Earth and everything around her.
One day she walked. She walked as far as her little body could take. She walked way past the banana trees that her father grew. She walked way past where the yellow snakes loved to lounge by the ravine's waterside. She walked until her breath puffed with a lot of effort. She was tired. She was sweating. And now here she was, by this lovely pond, a brilliant, diamond pond that glittered with all the opal tears of the moon.
She sat by the pond and spoke out into the quiet night.
Oh wishing Faerie, will you appear and grant me a small wish?
She sat there for a while. It seemed that, at first, nothing happened. The crickets chirped. The mosquitoes bit. The moon yawned up high in the dark, evening sky. It seemed there was no magic here. This was just some ordinary pond way up in the mountains where no one wanted to be. Except her. Just her.
So the little girl held her legs up to her bosom and cried. There was no magic in life, she thought. Life was merely a series of Hard Word. Play hard. Work hard, and then some more. It was merely a life full of being tired and yearning for rest. It was a life full of wanting Gold and Diamonds. Bring me that bucket full of Wealth so that I may rest in bed and be happy.
The little girl cried. A little tear fell into the pond, and from the pond sprung forth a small Faerie. It glittered. It laughed. It did all the things that would make one wonder and fantasize and cry out with joy. The little Faerie had a golden ring of leaves around its curly, dark hair. It fluttered her way and tilted the sad girl's face to its own.
"My dear," it whispered, "what do you wish for?"
"I simply wish to be happy. Will you make me happy, Faerie?"
"My dear," she said. "I cannot make you happy, but I can grant you many other things. I can pull gold and diamonds and riches from thin air, if that is what you desire. I can magic up a luxurious home for you. Now... what do you wish for?"
At that, the little girl was stumped. "I don't know," she stammered. "I wish... I wish..."
The Faerie was not patient. "My dear," she said, "you must know what you want most. I cannot waste my time here, waiting to grant you what your heart wishes. I have a hundred wishes to grant in this world. I do not have Time to wait for someone who does not know what they want."
"Then will you at least wish away the sadness?"
"That I cannot do. Come back when you have learned how to listen to your own heart. You are sad because you cannot hear what you need the most. One day, you'll understand. I cannot make you happy. Only you yourself can do that."
And then she was gone. Stung by the rejection and confused by the advice, the girl pulled herself to her feet and did not return to the pond for many, many years.
She learned how to stand high even though life threw some heavy burdens on her shoulders.
She learned how to look at herself in the mirror with kindness, even though others tried to bring her self-esteem down.
But most importantly, the little girl learned how to Talk. She learned how to say how she Felt. She learned how to say what she Wanted. She learned how to ask for Help. And the sadness that had once followed her for so, so long, slowly went away.
And so, it seemed dream-like when she returned to the pond, for it had been so long ago. The woman peered into the enchanted waters and reflected on who she was and were she was now. She recalled the girl who once sat were she was, and a small tear fell into the pond.
The Faerie appeared, unchanged and lovely. "My Dear, you have been gone for years and years. Now, tell me, what do you wish for?"
To which the woman, who was little no more, said, "I wish for nothing. Instead I say, thank you for allowing me to grant for myself the one wish I've always wanted. Happiness. The time I've spent on my own allowed me to learn who I was. I found my Voice. I learned how to say how I felt and hear what makes my own heart happy. And I listened to that."
The Faerie smiled. She went up to the girl who was not a girl anymore and lifted her chin up.
"My dear," she said. "I have wanted nothing but your Happiness all my life. But I knew that I could not teach you that. Only you alone can find the sun in your heart. I could give you all the riches in the world, but if your heart is dark, nothing would really make you happy inside. That all comes from you. And I am so glad you learned how to find that on your own."
The Faerie kissed her on the forehead and winked away into the night like a shooting star.
*****
Copyrighted © Isis Rideout, October 10, 2020
