Autumna Lux

Fall is just around the corner, and I can’t wait. In just a few days, I’ll fly around the world and bring a breeze to the air and turn green leaves to reds and yellows and oranges. Fall’s my favorite time of the year.

Of course, being the autumn fairy, it has to be.

There’s something special about bringing fall around; it’s probably the fact that it’s my sole reason for existing. But still, every year, once summer ends and it’s time to transition to fall again, I’m at my happiest.

Every year, after summer, I drift from town to town and bring fall to each one. It often feels like I’m always drifting, just wandering throughout the world. Not that I need to settle down anywhere for my work. After a couple centuries, I’ve gotten used to being alone.

That doesn’t mean I don’t get lonely; I do.

Sometimes I think about what it’d be like to have someone with me. Someone to join me on my travels; someone to call a friend. But after so long of being alone, would I know what to do or say if I had one?
I prefer not to think about that.

For now, I wander through a smaller city, Burgess, I believe it’s called. Something about it called out to me, and I know that this is where I’ll spend most of my time this season. I found the perfect place right by a lake; it has a clear view of the moon, and the area is just...friendly, I guess. Like I’m welcome there.

I stay by one of the many trees as I hear a group of kids running through the area. The leader is a brunette boy with his friends following close behind. At the tail end is a younger girl with long blonde hair and bright eyes. All of them are smiling and laughing and the sound carries throughout the area.
“Hurry up, Soph!” The brunette boy calls to the younger girl. As I get a better look, I realize that the boy and his friends are teenagers, more around my age—or rather, my physical age—and the girl is about nine years old.

The girl catches up to the others and they gather at the edge of the lake. I stay close and watch them, making sure that they stay safe. Not that they would notice; anytime I approach someone, they just walk right through me. Like I’m not even there.

It’s not like I’m Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny; the kids would definitely notice if they were to appear. But I’m just a fairy, one that no one believes in.

“Do you think Jack will bring an early frost this year?” One of the friends asks, a boy with glasses. The brunette boy shrugs.

“I hope so.”

The kids started skipping rocks across the lake as they talk about their friend. Some boy named “Jack.” I stay near the trees and look for any leaves ready to fall. Summer’s still around for a few more days, but turning just one leaf won’t hurt.

The teens continue with their conversation and mess around, but I’ve stopped paying attention to them. There’s one leaf within my grasp, and as I reach my hand out to it, I watch as it goes from a light green to yellow, then orange, and all the way to a bright red.

“Beautiful,” I whisper, smiling as I grab the leaf.

I look back at the group as I create a small breeze and swirl the leaf around in the wind. The blonde girl stands at the far side of the group and watches as the older kids generally have a good time. She has a smile on her face, and I can see that she’s enjoying that she’s with them. But there’s a look in her eyes that resonates with me, like even though she’s with her friends, she’s lonely.

I walk to her side of the lake, some of the kids walking through me to find more stones to skip, and I stop when I’m at her side.

What’s her name? The brunette boy called her “Soph,” so her name must be Sophie or Sophia
At this moment, all I want to do is reach out and let her know that she isn’t alone. I let the leaf fly freely in the wind, and it flies by her head. She looks at it and her smile widens. She reaches for the leaf, and as I’m about to make it fly to her hand, the wind flies it into the water. It’s too far out for her to reach it without having to get in the water, and a look of disappointment crosses her face.

I look out at the leaf and without thinking, I fly over the water and grab the leaf. It’s too wet and heavy for me to make it fly in the breeze. I fly back to the shore and drop the leaf, then go back to the tree. I turn another green leaf red, and place it in the breeze.

This time I’ve learned my lesson and I make sure the breeze delivers it to Soph. A smile breaks out across her face and she grabs the leaf again. Seeing her happy over something so simple makes me happy, and before I know it, I’m smiling from ear to ear.

Then something sparkles in her eyes, and I think I’m seeing something. And then as soon as it appears it’s gone.

Soph looks at the group and gets their attention. She’s clearly excited and pitches them an idea, and soon they’re all running back to their houses. I step onto the ground and expect the clearing to be empty.

It isn’t. Soph is still around, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say she’s looking at me.

“Thank you, for the leaf.”

I look at her in surprise and look around to see who she’s talking to. There’s no one else around.
“I’m talking to you,” she giggles and I know she’s talking to me.

“You can see me?”

She nods, and I feel happy, and a little excited.

“You can see me!”

I’m so excited my wings start fluttering faster and my feet leave the ground.

“Oh, uh, you’re welcome for the leaf. I kind of have a lot to spare.”

She smiles at me and I smile back.

“What are you the guardian of?”

I feel confused, and my wings stop fluttering long enough for me to step back onto the ground again.
“I don’t...I’m the autumn fairy. Every year, I bring the season of fall,” I explain, unfolding my wings so she could see them better.

She nods a little and there’s a look in her eyes like she knows something I don’t.

“My name’s Sophie.”

“I’m Autumn.”

Before she can say anything else, one of the boys calls her name.

“Sophie! Are you coming?”

“Yeah!”

She waves to me and I wave back, watching her run off to join the others.

* * *

Moonlight shines over the lake and I look at my reflection. My short sunset orange hair frames my face and makes my yellow eyes pop. The soft light shines on my butterfly-esque wings, the yellows and soft reds becoming prominent. I would never look at my reflection; I know what I look like, and no one else could see me, so I didn’t need to worry about what I looked like.

But then Sophie saw me, and for the moment, I can’t get over that. Someone can actually see me.

I don’t know why that’s such a big deal to me; it just is. I look up at the moon, and I can kind of...sense, I guess, that it means something important. Whatever it is, I want to figure it out.

“Why can she see me?” I ask it.

There’s no answer.

I don’t know what I expected; any question I’ve had, I’ve never gotten an answer from it. Maybe I just have to wait. It’s just difficult to do after a couple of centuries.

I sit down at the edge of the lake and pull my knees up to my chest. For now, I sit and enjoy the silence and take in the beauty of the area around me.

* * *

The north pole, as always, is bustling with activity within. North is in his office, carving new toy ideas out of ice. He hears a knock at the door and he pauses, setting his work aside. Phil had learned not to just barge in when he was busy. The yeti speaks to him in its language and North follows him out to the center of the workshop.

The moon shines through the roof and the crystal it shines on is out. North makes his way down to it and strokes his beard as the moon delivers a message.

“What do you need to tell us, Manny?” He asks.

Then the message arrives, and a sinking feeling sets in North’s stomach.

“Summon the guardians!”