Nestled among the roots of the Pixie Dust Tree was the fairy hospital. There were many patients inside waiting to be seen by healing talents. But some were not so patient.

“Um, how much longer?” a fairy covered in rainbow-colored stripes asked anxiously.

The receptionist at the front desk looked up. “I told you, a rainbow collision is not an emergency,” she said.

The fairy scratched his arm. “But the purple is starting to itch,” he complained.

The receptionist shook her head. “Take a seat.”

Just then, Silvermist, Iridessa, and Rosetta flew in. They had heard the news about Tinker Bell and were very concerned about their friend.

“Hurry, girls!” Rosetta called over her shoulder as she shot through the waiting room.

“Faster!” Silvermist cried.

“What if we’re too late?” Iridessa asked.

“Ahem.” The receptionist cleared her throat as the fairies sailed right by her check-in desk. There was nothing that annoyed the receptionist more than fairies not following proper procedure.

The three friends stopped midflight. They hadn’t even noticed the receptionist.

“Oh, sorry,” Iridessa said. “Do you know where—”

“Patient’s name?” the receptionist interrupted.

“Tinker Bell,” Rosetta and Silvermist said together.

“Oh, yes.” The receptionist nodded. “The border crosser. She’s…”

“Frozen solid?” Iridessa cried.

The receptionist sighed. “Room Two.”

“Thank you,” Silvermist called as she and her friends raced off. The trio zipped up and down the hallways of the fairy hospital, looking for the right room.

“Come on, girls, hurry,” Rosetta said urgently.

A moment later, they all piled into an examining room. Tinker Bell was sitting on a table with a firefly lamp shining down on her wings. A healing-talent fairy was studying her wings closely while Fawn stood off to the side.

“We got here as quick as we could,” Rosetta said.

“We did have to stop at reception,” Silvermist explained.

“Did you really cross?” Iridessa asked.

Tinker Bell was touched that her friends had dropped everything to come see her. She couldn’t wait to tell them how her wings had sparkled!

But she didn’t get the chance to answer, because the healing fairy cut off their chatter. “Shhhh,” the fairy scolded them.

The three friends nodded and grew quiet. Still, Iridessa couldn’t stand not knowing what had happened. She leaned in close to Tinker Bell. “Well, did you?” she whispered loudly.

“Shhh!” the healing fairy snapped. She made the light brighter and moved her magnifying glass over Tinker Bell’s wings.

Just then, Vidia sped into the room. When she saw Tinker Bell’s wings magnified under the glass, she gasped. “Whoa,” she said.

Tink’s other friends shot her a look. “Shhh!” they all hushed Vidia together.

Finally, the healing fairy took a step back. “Okay,” she said to Tinker Bell. “You’re all warmed up. Let’s test your wings.”

Tinker Bell sat up a little straighter.

“Open,” the healing fairy instructed. “Close.”

Tinker Bell did as she was told.

“Try a little flap,” the healing fairy said.

Tinker Bell quickly flapped her wings.

“Can you give me a flitter?”

Tinker Bell took a deep breath and flittered her wings. They felt perfectly normal.

The healing fairy looked pleased. “Well, I don’t see anything unusual. Your wings appear to be fine.”

Tinker Bell’s friends sighed in relief.

“But what about the sparkling?” Tink asked.

“Hmm,” the healing fairy said, gathering her things to see the next patient. “Well, it must have been the light reflecting off the snow.”

“But…” Tinker Bell protested.

The healing fairy gave her a stern look. “You should have never crossed the border,” she scolded her. “Winter is too cold for our warm fairy wings. Now, to be safe, I want you to take two sunflower seeds and come back if there is any problem.”

Together, Tink’s friends led her out of the fairy hospital. They were all relieved that Tinker Bell was okay.

“We were worried,” Silvermist said.

“You are so lucky nothing happened to your wings,” Fawn added.

“Can you imagine?” Rosetta shook her head.

Tinker Bell looked around at her friends. “But something did happen,” she tried to explain. “They sparkled!”

Iridessa patted her on the shoulder. “You heard the healing fairy. It was just the light reflecting off the snow.”

“No, it wasn’t!” Tinker Bell insisted. “They actually lit up! It was brighter than a thousand fireflies.” She turned to Fawn. “You saw it, didn’t you?” she asked.

Fawn looked down at her feet. “No…” she said finally.

Tink’s shoulders slumped. “You don’t believe me?” She sighed when her friends shook their heads. “Look, you guys. It happened. It felt like…like…”

“Like what?” Silvermist asked.

Tinker Bell gazed off into the distance. “Like the Winter Woods was calling me,” she whispered.

Her friends all looked at one another anxiously. Now Tinker Bell was really acting crazy!

“Uh-huh,” Rosetta said slowly. Then she whispered to the others, “Get the doctor!”

Tink sighed. It didn’t matter what the healing fairy had said. She knew her wings had sparkled. She wished her friends believed her. And more than anything, she wanted to know what the sparkling had meant.