Shine

“F-Fairies?” I laughed, a shaky sound. “That’s… You’re… No… Impossible!” I spluttered, trying to get a hold of myself. “Fairies don’t exist!”

The blue fairy floated toward me. The knots in my stomach loosened, and it seemed as if my insides were burbling with warmth. “Dear, I know this is hard to comprehend… Just think of it this way: What you always thought were myths… They aren’t. They’re real. Our world consists of creatures from Japan, Turkey, Scandinavia, Arabia, China, Iceland, Ireland, Finland, Egypt, Greece, Africa, Germany, more than I can name.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, and pressed my fingers to my temples. Is this a dream? Am I in a mental hospital? Maybe something happened at school? Is this a prank?

The green fairy spoke again. “Honey, we understand that this is very difficult to take in. We’ll be happy to answer any questions.” She tilted her head slightly, and smiled at me. It was a warm, welcoming smile.

“Why am I here?”

“Very few humans are sent to us,” spoke the blue fairy. “Our world is concealed from humans ninety-nine percent of the time, because if humans knew, wars would break out almost immediately. Hundreds, thousands, millions would die, dear Kenesy. The only humans that are sent here are trusted humans, who are in need of us.”

Before I could speak again, the green fairy spoke. “Dearest Kenesy, we know everything there is to know about you. We’ve been watching you since the moment you were conceived. Kenesy, you were meant to be apart of our world.” She smiled at me again, showing her brilliant, tiny white teeth.

“Am I the only human?” I hated being alone. Even though I was so used to it, I hated it.

The blue one smiled in excitement. “Kenesy, you must understand: this is not the only part of our world. Our world is spread out across the earth. This is only a piece of us, although it seems so large. When we said very few humans are sent to us, we mean VERY FEW. But,” she smiled in anticipation. “So far, we have another human in our world. She’s about your age, and her name is Rae. She’s been here for three years now, and she seems to love it here. We love her as well.”

The green one smiled again. “Rae is a darling person; you’ll love her. Rae grew up similar to the way you did. Only she had abusive parents. Rae was beaten, hurt, bullied, and unloved. When Rae ran away, she ran to us, as planned for her to do. Rae is in her place now. She’s very happy here, but EVERYONE here knows that she longs for company, longs for a friend. Kenesy, you are seventeen, are you not?”

“Yes, I’m seventeen.” Even though I was still skeptical about… well, about EVERYTHING, I had to admit I was actually excited. I had never fit in right in the world, but maybe now I could BE there. I could be and exist in a place where I’m supposed to be. And not alone; with someone JUST LIKE ME.

The blue fairy clapped. “Oh, how wonderful! Would you like to go and meet our Rae?”

Before I spoke, the green fairy cut in. “Now, now, of course we can go and meet Rae… But we seemed to have forgotten to introduce ourselves!”

The blue one looked almost ashamed. “My, my dear. I am ever so sorry! I am Chanter Willowglow. You can just call me Chanter.”

The green one smiled, and spoke yet again. “I am Nettle Goblinfly; just call me Nettle, dear. Willowglow and Goblinfly are apart of our formal, full names.”

“Can we go meet Rae now?” I asked, not bothering to conceal my excitement. I felt that I could be myself around Chanter and Nettle; it felt as if we were long lost sisters.

“Of course! Rae will be so excited; we never told her of the new human coming. Come, Kenesy, darling.” Chanter motioned for me to follow her and Nettle.

We walked farther into the forest. The forest still looked the same, but seemed to get lighter as we roamed on. I saw creatures I had either never seen before, or have only read about in books. I gasped every time I saw one.

Nettle giggled, her chiming laugh lightened the already happy mood. “We can go on a ‘master tour,’” she gave little air quotes, “later. We can tell you’re excited to meet Rae.” She smiled at me, and fluttered her wings a little faster.

We finally stopped as we came to a large patch of pale green grass that looked extremely soft. Trees formed an oval around it. Sitting there was what looked like a Unicorn, being brushed by what must have been Rae.

Rae had long, reddish brown hair, with more red than brown in it. She wore a thin headband, the rest of her hair cascading down to the small of her back. Her face was pale, in a beautiful way, and spotted with freckles. She had big, brown eyes, in which she was wearing ‘nerd glasses’ over. She wore a red flannel shirt, blue skinny jeans, and hiking boots. She brushed the Unicorn lovingly, until she looked up and noticed us standing there.

“Hello Nettle, Chanter! Wha--?” She stopped speaking, her eyes landing on me. Her eyes widened, and she looked almost afraid.

Chanter fluttered her wings, so she moved forward. “Rae, this is Kenesy…” Chanter explained everything about me to her. My life at home, our conversation after I fell, me being bullied, stereotyped, and basically everything there is to know about me.

Rae looked at me, and smiled apologetically. “Sorry about that… Its just not everyday that I see an actual HUMAN around here. I’m glad I won’t be alone here anymore. I hate being alone.”

I beamed. “Me, too!”

The Unicorn whinnied, apparently hurt that it wasn’t being brushed anymore. “Cassiopeia, please. We have someone NEW to meet! This is Kenesy. Hey, do you want to pet her?”

Cassiopeia looked down, shy. I tentatively walked toward her, and kneeled down. I hesitated.

“Go on, she loves people. She’s just a little shy.” Rae encouraged me.

I leaned forward, and set my hand on the top of Cassiopeia’s head.

Her head was softer than any silk I’ve ever felt in my life. I gasped.

Rae laughed. “Yeah, they’re pretty soft, aren’t they?”

I nodded my head, in awe. As I petted the Unicorn’s soft head, I felt a warm vibration shoot up my arm. It was as if the Unicorn was sending light from its body, into mine.

Before I could question anyone, Chanter spoke. “Don’t worry, Kenesy. That’s how a Unicorn remembers and recognizes you. It’s a really nice feeling, once you get used to it. That means it likes you,” Chanter marveled.

I smiled, as I petted Cassiopeia. I looked up at Rae, who was brushing his stomach.

She smiled back at me. “I just know we’re going to be great friends.”