My Little Butterfly

“Happy Birthday!” Aid screamed in my ear.

“Ahhh!!!!” I screamed. “God, Aid! Don’t scare me like that!”

It was six days since we went shopping and I had yet to take the necklace. For such a delicate looking chain, it was actually pretty sturdy. Grandma had managed to convince Sera’s mom to let her go on the road trip and all that was left to do was decide where we were going.

“Come on, your Grandma has breakfast ready and Sera is already here. I took all of your stuff downstairs already so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Alright, alright. Calm down. Give me ten minutes to get ready.”

“Fine. Hurry.”

I pulled out some dark skinny jeans and a shirt that said “I heart my Grandma” and went to the bathroom to get ready. I then headed downstairs to get breakfast and presents.

“It’s about time!” Sera exclaimed tackling me with hugs. “Happy Birthday, girl!”

“Happy Birthday, Kuwanyauma,” Grandma said, handing me a plate of chocolate chip pancakes with a candle on top. Grandma lit it and they sang the birthday song and I made a wish and blew out the candle.

“What did you wish for?” Aid asked as I dug in.

“If she told you it wouldn’t come true, you idiot,” Sera answered for me, hitting him in the back of the head while he gave her a goofy grin.

“So do I get my presents?”

“Yay! Presents!” Aid yelled.

“Why are you so happy? They aren’t your presents!” Sera asked.

“Shut up!” Aid screamed. “You’re ruining my happy mood!”

“Yay!”

“Both of you stop it and give me my presents!” I yelled at them both.

They laughed and Sera went to the other side of the table to dig in her bag for her present. As soon as she found it, she brought it over to me.

I looked at the Barbie wrapping paper, curiously.

“It was the only kind we had left!”

Everybody laughed and I started to open the present.

“Thank you so much!” I screamed and threw my arms around her neck. I had lost my iPod shuffle a year ago, so I had been eying the new purple iPod Nanos at the mall. I didn’t expect that I would get one. “How did you get it?”

“I put in a couple extra babysitting hours and managed to beg some money out of mom and put that together with all of last months allowance and you get an iPod. I’m glad you like it.”

“Of course I like it! In fact, I love it!”

“Why don’t you go load all of your music on there and it can load while you open your other presents,” Grandma suggested.

“OK. I went upstairs and plugged it into my computer and started to sync my iPod. My laptop was already in the RV with the same music, so there would be no problem with keeping charged on the trip.

I went back downstairs and sat down.

“OK, sweetie, are you ready for my present?” my grandma asked.

“Yeah, Grandma. Where is it?” I asked, looking around.

“It’s right here ,” she said, handing me the most adorable little fur ball.

“Oh My God! He’s adorable!” the black kitten looked up at me with big green eyes. He had one white star in the middle of his forehead. “I’m going to name you Starr.”

Starr purred and lay down in my lap.

“Thank you Grandma.”

“I am very happy that you liked it.”

“My turn!” Aiden yelled, excited. He handed me a small velvet box. I opened it and I was automatically filled with joy. In the box were the earrings that went with the necklace around my neck.

“Oh My God, Aid. Thank you so much. You knew that I wanted them so you went back and got them. Thank you!” I said putting them in, handing Starr to Sera and then Giving Aid the biggest hug I ever gave anyone in my life.

Aiden just smiled and hugged me back.

“Children, we should get going before it gets too dark outside.”

First we went to get mine and Aiden’s driver’s licenses. Sera didn’t pass the driving test so only me and Aid got ours.

We decided to let Grandma drive until she got tired. But before we even left the parking lot we had to decide where we were going first.

“Let’s go to Disney World!” Sera suggested.

“No, we definitely have to go to Paris!” Aid argued.

“Aid, you can’t drive to Paris.”

“Oh well then, how about LA?”

“No, Disney World!”

“LA!”

“Disney World!”

“I have an idea,” Grandma said. We all turned toward her. How about you each choose one place to go. Why don’t we let Aiden choose first since he is the only boy on this trip.”

“To LA!”

“Aiden, I want you to seriously think about this. Are you absolutely sure that’s where you want to go?”

He was quiet for a while.

“No,” he whispered. “I want to go back to Ottoville. It’s in Ohio. That’s where I moved from. I have a house there. My parents left everything to me and Jo and we couldn’t stand to sell the house.”

We were all quiet for a while, then we nodded our heads. We called Jo to get the address to Aid’s old house and we put in our GPS. If we drove non-stop it would take about one day and ten hours to get from Portland, Oregon to Ottoville, Ohio. It would take way longer, though because we would be stopping for meals and to rest and sleep. We started on our boring drive to Ohio. We played games, listened to music and read on our way there. When it started to get dark, we went to a park to stop and eat and sleep. I went for a walk, and Aid decided he would go with me.

“You know the day you showed me your wings, and I had something to tell you?” he asked.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“I’m going to tell you what it was I wanted to say. Here, sit down.”

We stopped at a bench and I sat down.

“Aren’t you going to sit?” I asked.

“No,” he answered.

“What was it that you wanted to tell me?”

“Ara. Arabella, I have known you since we were five. You were the only person who wanted to talk to me. You were the only person I wasn’t afraid of. You defended me against others and did the same for you in time. I should have done this a long time ago, but I just couldn’t find the courage I needed. Ara, I love you.”

I was speechless. I tried to talk, but the words caught in my throat. Tears streamed down my cheeks.

“Don’t cry!” he exclaimed.

I laughed through my tears. I found my voice.

“I’m not crying because I’m sad or upset. I’m crying because I’m happy and relieved. I love you, too. I always have.” A relieved look crossed his face and then he leaned in and kissed me. I kissed back. I loved him so much.

I was still crying when we broke apart. He kissed my tears away and I laughed. He held out his hand and I gratefully accepted it, walking back to the RV with his hand in mine.

When we got there, the food was ready and we automatically started to eat. I smiled at Sera and she looked at my hand entwined with Aiden’s. She gave me a huge grin and gave me a thumbs up. I laughed at that.

“Kuwanyauma, you have one more present,” Grandma said from behind me. I turned around.

“From who?”

“It’s from your mother.”

I jolted at that. “From who?” I whispered.

“Your mother said to give you this on your 16th birthday.

I merely nodded and took the envelope from my Grandma’s hands.

My Dearest Arabella,

I know you are upset at me for leaving you at such a young age. I am sorry I never got the chance to meet you, although I am sure you enjoy living with your Grandma. I hope you can forgive me. I had no choice other than to leave you. You see, your father is King of the Fairies. I know many people think fairies are cute little creatures made for good, however, this is not the truth. Fairies are malicious and malevolent creatures. They are very beautiful, but they use their beauty for evil deeds and to seduce humans. You see, if a fairy finds an evil human, they will do their hardest to get them pregnant. If an evil human and a fairy have a baby, it is twice as evil as the parents. However, sometimes fairies make mistakes and seduce an extremely good human. The baby of these two has the choice to be either good or evil. This is you, my darling. You will go through many tests and experiences, and in the end, depending on your choices, will end up either the worst or best fairy in the fairy world.
I know this is all very confusing, but there is more. Your father did not seduce me by mistake. He knew that the child of me and him could end up good. Let me explain. If you decide to become good, you have the power to make those fairies that are willing into good fairies, and to destroy those that are not so willing. However, if you decide to be evil, you will be the most powerful evil being on the planet. That is why your father did this. He wants to turn you into a weapon and use you to destroy the good in the world. It seems easy, right? You just decide to be good or evil. It is not as easy as it sounds. The final day to choose will be a month after your 16th birthday. The fairies will be using all of their powers to turn you evil. You must choose the right way and try not to act recklessly. I wish I could tell you more.
I am sorry I could not stay with you but I had to stay with your father. I made a bad choice that night and it bound me to him forever. I only just managed to get a day out with you and I was lucky enough to get you safely to your Grandma. She has Fairy guards round her house and I am certain she put some on you when she first saw your wings. I will most likely be killed for my deed, and if not I will be severely punished. Please do not look for me Arabella. It will just make things worse. If you manage to destroy or change all of the fairies and I am still alive, you can find me then.
In this envelope there is a charm bracelet. I was your Grandma’s before it was mine and now it is yours. It has ten charms on it. Each charm has a different spell on it. The first charm is a boot. This is for speed. To activate it, rub it and say “speed”. The second charm is a pair of sunglasses. To activate it, rub it and say “disguise”. The third charm is a brain. To activate it, rub it and say “smarts”. The forth charm is a smiley face. To activate it, rub it and say “laugh”. The fifth charm is a cloud. To activate it, rub it and say “cry”. The sixth charm is a lightning bolt. To activate it, rub it and say “anger”. The seventh charm is a sword. To activate it rub it and say “strength”. The eighth charm is a rose. To activate this, rub it and say “delicacy” The ninth charm is the letter bff. To activate it, rub it and say “friendship”. The tenth charm is the most important. It is of a heart. To activate this charm, rub it and say “love”. Please use this gift wisely. If you have questions, ask Grandma. Whatever you do, remember that I love you, listen to your Grandma, and do not let them get into your mind and heart.

Your very loving mother,
Marina

I reached inside and grabbed the pretty gold charm bracelet. This was one of the best birthday presents. I gave grandma the letter to read and went and lay down in one of the beds. Starr jumped up and I cuddled with him as tears rolled down my cheeks and I took in everything my mother had just told me. I felt someone sit down on the bed and turned around.

“Hey,” Aiden said. “Grandma let us read the letter. We’re going to help you through this, and we know you’ll make the right decisions.”

“Thank you, Aid.”

“No problem. Now go to sleep. I’m going to my bunk.” I grabbed on to his shirt.

“No please don’t leave me.”

He turned around and wiped my tears away. “OK, I won’t leave you.”

He climbed under the blankets and I snuggled up too him. I kissed him and closed my eyes.

“I love you, Ara.”

“I love you, too Aid.”