Fly Me Away

We broke into a small clearing and I could hear the sound of trickling water.

Upon closer inspection, I realized that there was somebody standing sideways beside a stream. He was short for a man, standing at around my height, and he looked to be in his mid-thirties. He had black hair, tan skin, was quite chubby and was sporting a very boring white t-shirt black pants look. He was a completely average person, who was completely out of place in the middle of the woods. I raised an eyebrow at Jackson, who didn't look back at me.

“This is her...?” the man said. Jackson nodded sternly.

I looked between the two as if I was missing something. Did Jackson know this guy? He seemed grumpy, and I had an immediate dislike for him. Was that my faerie? If it was.... I was very very disappointed.

“He's an angel too,” Jackson answered my unasked question, taking a few steps forward and bringing me with him.

This guy was an angel?!? He looked like an apprentice electrician or something. There was absolutely nothing special about him, compared to Jackson's...well...everything about Jackson. Weren't all angels good-looking and lovely like him? I guess I had just assumed...

Whoa.

“Are you sure about this?” the man asked, not even bothering to look at us.

“Yes.”

Jackson was smiling now, as we stopped beside the plain man and overlooked the slow running stream. I couldn't help but lean around Jackson to get a look at the guy, try and find something that distinguished him as an angel, but I found nothing.

Wait....what was going on? Had Jackson been planing something? When had he been talking with this random man? I was desperate to ask, but I was too afraid. The other angel didn't seem to like me being there very much and I didn't want to upset him. Even if he didn't look like one, Jackson wouldn't make something like that up. I would ask him later about all of this.

“Maggie,” Jackson whispered in my ear, “don't be afraid.”

I shivered at his closeness, but it was what he said that made my heart race. Don't be afraid of what....?

The plain man held his arm out in front of him and waved it from one side to the other, as if he was pushing something out of the way. Suddenly, it seemed like the forest opened up. There was wind and water swooping through the trees, and plants appearing from practically thin air.

Then, they materialized from seemingly nowhere. “Oh my Goodness....” I breathed. I didn't care what Jackson thought of my speaking at that point.

There were perhaps, 10 of them: Tall, beautiful, and kind of translucent white haired women. They were all draped in white chiffon and they glowed like fireflies. My eyes bulged twenty meters off my face and my mouth gaped like a fish.

Was this really happening?

They were gliding around each other slowly, and the wind picked up their clothes, making them look like ghostly white pillars weaving around the trees.

I was scared. I had never seen anything like that. Their faces were expressionless, but they seemed to be pretty caught up in whatever it was they were doing. They were barely interested in me at all.

“They're Nymphs Maggie, they won't hurt you don't worry. They're in the middle of initiating a new nymph.” I had nearly forgotten about Jackson up until that point, that was how mind-boggled I was.

We just stood there for a long time, watching them silently. They were dancing and floating about with each other, sighing quietly and even letting out the odd giggle. I was entranced by them. Fairies smairies, I was watching Nymphs!

I managed to take my eyes off them for a second to glance up at Jackson. He was watching them too, but as soon as I looked at him, he looked down at me, smiling slightly. I was latched onto his arm pretty tight, if he was anymore human I would have been cutting off his circulation.

“They're pretty aren't they? This only happens once every 10 years, so I thought you might like to see,” he explained.

I nodded and twisted my head back to admire them. If one of them was getting 'initiated', I had no idea which one it was. They were all identical, and none of them seemed to be doing anything outstandish to me...

Until one stopped moving and left the group.

She nodded in the direction of the second angel, then stepped towards me gracefully, her pearly eyes never leaving mine. I was dumbstruck; she looked like the wind and the water mixed together, shifting itself towards me. Her delicate hand floated smoothly through the air, then held its position in front of me. My own hand automatically lifted itself and reached out for hers; I hadn't planned to do it, it just happened. She smiled, then took hold of it.

What I felt was unexplainable. Whatever was making me feel miserable before was completely gone. Maybe it was never even there. A feeling of freshness and contentment swept down my arm and through my chest. I closed my eyes. I was elated, and my smile could not have been any bigger. I suddenly had an overwhelming amount of confidence, and I felt like everything was going my way.

“What is this?” I breathed, loosening my grip on Jackson's arm, starting to feel a bit more brave.

He let it happen, which meant I was obviously safe, but he wouldn't let go of me completely, most likely for protection reasons. Jackson leant down and spoke quietly, “A gift from this nymph. She likes you.”

I could hear the smile in his voice, but I couldn't open my eyes for fear that this wonderful feeling might disappear.

“She is very likable, do not you think? I am sure you will make the most of this Margaret Anne McQueen,” the nymph sang in a high-pitched, feminine voice. My eyes snapped open at that, and I tilted my head to the side; she could talk. She smiled sweetly, but winked with a slight hint of playfulness.

At this, the rest of the nymphs came gliding towards us in a white and blue flurry. They acknowledged the plain man with a nod, before putting all their attention on Jackson and I. They circled in the air, scanning us with their eyes and running their fingers along our shoulders. I looked to Jackson, but he just smiled and nodded.

“You're all right,” he confirmed, jutting his head back as a nymph put a finger on his nose.

“He is exceedingly handsome for an angel,” she cooed.

“Yes....this is very interesting. His aura is so...” another one was circling him, squinting her eyes at his shoulder. What was it about them and shoulders? I didn't feel jealous for some reason, maybe I was in too much of a good mood, or maybe it was because I could tell that they were all just curious.

... Jackson really was something to behold.

“Almost as if...” the first one trailed off.

The second one nodded, “...yes I think you are right.”

“How very interesting.”

“Very interesting.”

“I would like to see how this turns out.”

“Indeed.”

The Nymph that was holding my hand had edged herself closer to me...in fact, she was now clinging to my other arm.

“Come and dance with me Margaret Anne McQueen,” she said cheerfully, attempting to get between Jackson and myself.

Oddly enough, I felt so brave that I held my ground. I thought for sure that I would do anything the Nymphs asked, simply because they looked like they could take me out....but that was obviously not the case. My grip on Jackson's arm tightened – I was not letting go.

“Ah...!” the Nymphs all sighed and giggled, eyes fixated on my arm around Jackson's. The Nymph that was holding onto my arm pouted, then vanished, leaving nothing but a cool breeze to fill the air beside me.

The rest of them giggled and sang again.

“Oooh...!”

“She will be most disappointed.”

“Most disappointed.”

“Hmm...you are different from the other angels are you not?” One said to Jackson, suddenly serious. He furrowed his eyebrows, but didn't answer.

What were these Nymphs doing? I wasn't sure what exactly made a Nymph a Nymph.... were they reading his mind or something?

“Neil the angel...can you see what he is thinking?” the same Nymph hovered over to the plain man and circled around him excitedly, “I would very much like to know.”

I guess they couldn't read minds. Neil... so that was the other angels name. How boring. Wait, could Neil read minds? Jackson tensed, then turned to the other man.

“My thoughts are for me only,” he stated, eyeing Neil wearily.

So that was it! This Neil fellow could get into Jackson's head....oh that was interesting, very angel like. I would kill to know what Jackson was thinking sometimes.

A few of the Nymphs stopped in front of me, grinning like excited school girls.

“You see Margaret the human,” the first one said, “an angel's mind is vacant.....usually.”

“Like this one,” a different Nymph waved at Neil, who did nothing in response.

Did she just insult him and he did nothing? Jackson would have definitely argued that one.

She continued, “they only think of their mission. Like protecting the woods, in Neil the angel's case.”

“Jackson the angel however...” the last one danced over to Jackson and began circling.

“...yes, what does he think of?” Another one followed her.

“what indeed...?”

Jackson was...different? If he was anything to go by, angels definitely had thoughts running though their heads. All Jackson did sometimes was stand there and think. The other guy though.... I looked over at him again, and now that I thought about it, saw nothing but vacancy. No expression whatsoever....that's what they meant. The whole time all of this was happening, he did nothing. At least Jackson acknowledged them...and me....Did I really get the dysfunctional one? I liked this dysfunction. Imagine hanging out with Neil all day and night....

They began swirling around Jackson quickly, bubbling with excitement now. Jackson shook his head, avoiding my gaze.

“Does he think of himself?” One cooed, “is he selfish?”

No, I immediately wanted to answer, but I held my tongue.

The rest of them jumped in with more ideas,“Life?”

Life?I thought, Like his life, or my life....? I'm his mission right?

“....Jealousy?”

Yes I knew the answer to that one: Bronco.

“Hate?”

Demons.

“...Love?"

Did he think about love? Falling in love....with....somebody.....

If I wasn't feeling so amazing, this conversation would have brought me down. What did Jackson think about? Were the Nymphs just playing mind games with him?....us? Did they know how I felt about him? Were they super human enough to be able to hear my thoughts, but not his?

Jackson was starting to look annoyed. His hands were clenched together and I couldn't believe how tense his arm was under mine.

Then, completely out of place, 'Baby Elephant Walk', abruptly started playing. I immediately recognized this as a cellphone ring-tone.

There was an eerie crying sound, and I didn't get the chance to see them again before all the Nymphs vanished. They were gone; there wasn't a trace of them. It was as if nothing had happened at all. The only give away, was the extra person beside the stream in the middle of the forest, but it wasn't long before he quickly disappeared too.

It was just me, Jackson, some trees and the hook from Baby Elephant Walk playing on repeat.

After getting over my initial fright, I patted down my pockets to try and find the source of the mysterious ring-tone. Jackson unhooked his arm and reached into his jacket, revealing my 'back from the dead' cellphone.

I didn't have time to ask how it got fixed, I snatched it out of Jackson's hand and answer it.

“Hello?” I asked hurriedly.

“Hey yo, it's Kelly.....are you okay? You sound....tired?”

“No no I'm fine, just....I'm fine. Is something wrong?”

“Umm, I was just ringing to say hi..."

I crinkled my eyebrows at Jackson, who was walking away.

“Hi,” I said distractedly. He didn't get very far before he perched himself on a rock. I pointed to the phone I was talking into, then tried to mouth the words 'where did this come from?' He shrugged, folding his arms on his knees. There was a long silence on the phone as I continued pointlessly mouthing words to Jackson.

“...You sure you're alright?”

I rolled my eyes and turned away from him, “Yeah I'm fine.”

“Okay, if you're sure....so, I was wondering if you'd changed your mind about Danielle's party tonight? We have one seat left in our car...”

I shook my head, and rubbed my eyes with my hand, not really taking in what she said, “I'm sorry, what? Danielle's party?”

“Yeah... one more seat and I'm saving it for you! Come on please? I promise to protect you if Pip's there.”

“Oh right....okay I'll go,” I said surprisingly cheerfully, suddenly feeling the need to do something fun. Was that what the Nymph did talking? “Only one seat though..?” I looked over to Jackson who raised a eyebrow.

“You wanted to bring your boy toy? Sorry! No boys tonight love. We're all getting ready at my place anyway, and my Dad would freak if a guy showed up.”

I turned to glance at Jackson over my shoulder again. He was smiling, and he shrugged casually – I took that as a good sign. It wasn't like he wasn't going to be there at all, and maybe getting out with the girls would be good for me.... I felt great anyway, I might have been the life of the party for once.

“No problem, he's fine with it. Girls night it is!”

“Is he there with you?” Kelly quickly asked.

I hesitated, realizing my mistake, and answered, “Yeah he's here.”

“Aahh! So that's why you sound so distracted!” she giggled girlishly through the phone, “Well tell him to go and hang with his guy friends okay? Come to my place at five, I have a new dress that you would love!”

“Sound's great. I'll see you then.”

“Yup yup!”

I hung up and took a moment to soak in everything that had just happened. I shut my eyes and ran my hands through my hair. I met beautiful Nymphs, I got high from touching a Nymph, I met another angel, I discovered that my angel was, in fact, dysfunctional, and I realized that I really did have friends. Oh life was sweet.

Jackson hadn't moved an inch in the last five minutes. I held the phone away from me with my arm outstretched, then I looked at him incredulously. There was a question that needed to be answered.

“Where did this come from?” I wiggled the phone around in my hand.

“Well, it's been sitting broken on your desk for weeks so....I fixed it. I was going to give it to you earlier, but I completely forgot about it.... I took it off silent too. What's the point of it being on silent?”

I wanted to be angry at him, but I wasn't feeling it. I thought it was all very funny for some reason.... so I laughed. I laughed so hard that I keeled over and held my stomach. Jackson raised his eyebrows, he was obviously just as confused as I was.

“Baby Elephant Walk....” I croaked out in between laughs, “You're great Jackson, you really are.”

“I didn't mean to scare them away...” he sounded bewildered.

I couldn't control myself. I ran straight over to Jackson and hugged him, still laughing my ring out. “I don't care!” I yelled, trying my hardest to tackle him off his rock and to the ground.

He sat there like a concrete statue under my hold, not returning it in the slightest. Usually this would bother me, but I was positive nothing could bring me down in the state I was in. I gave up on trying to push him over, but held on persistently and started burying my face in his shirt, muffling my ragged laughter. After a few seconds, I got what I wanted: he put his arm around my back and pulled me closer.

Was this what the Nymph was talking about? Making the most of it?

“I think that Nymph made you crazy...” he chuckled.

“I'm not crazy!”

“You're crazy.... I better get you home...”

I abruptly stopped laughing and threw myself away from him dramatically, “I have so many questions though!"

"You can still ask them, just later on."

"There is no way I'm walking back all that way, no matter how incredibly happy I am!” I folded my arms across my chest and stuck my bottom lip out like a child not getting her way, then struggled to keep the smile off my face.

“You leave me no choice then,” he warned, grinning like a mad man.

I frowned and opened my mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of tearing fabric, and a strong gust of wind.

Jackson's wings erupted from his back and fanned out across the clearing. His shirt was still intact, but I imagined the back was pretty much ruined now. He held his arms open to me for a moment, and I readied myself to complain, but never got the chance. Next thing I knew, we were flying top speed through the forest.