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"When all else fails, just sprinkle a little magic and pray." Noreen placed the bird on the ground, sprinkling glitter all over it. "Ta-da, good as new." She watched with a broad smile as the little creature stretched its rainbow-colored wings and took flight. Watching it vanish beyond the tree line, a gleeful laugh escaped her. And she turned to look at her mother as if waiting for validation.
"You are an expert." Her mother laughed. Crouching to her level, she took Noreen's face between her hands and kissed her forehead. "You're going to be an amazing fairy when you grow up."
"Mama," she said innocently. "Do you think I can leave Fairy Woods one day? I want to see other worlds and meet all kinds of folks. What else is out there?"
"You don't need to worry your pretty little head about that," her mother said, ruffling her short hair and making her laugh. "Fairies don't leave the Fairy Woods until the day it is time for them to go to Beyond. And for you, that's a long, long time away. Right now, you should focus on learning magic and playing with other fairies your age."
"But I don't like them." Noreen pouted. "Rather they don't like me," she said under her breath. She had always been different than her peers and struggled to get along with them.
They were too young to have magic, but Noreen liked to pretend she had it and used her glitter to make every problem go away. Only her parents believed in her. Everyone else thought she was a weirdo. What fairy at her age wanted to leave their realm and go exploring the universe? She knew she was the only one, but she couldn't help it. She had a curious mind. Knowing about other realms wasn't enough for her. She wanted to explore them and see for herself. Maybe somewhere beyond these skies was a place where she would fit right at home.
Bringing her attention back to her mother, she said, "I had a dream last night." She twirled her white frock and watched it glow in the sunlight, thanks to all the glitter she had sprinkled on herself. The wind running through her shoulder-length hair felt soothing, and for a moment, she closed her eyes, willing herself to be back into the dream world where everyone understood her.
Her mother walked back to the front porch of their house and sat down on the steps. She could feel her mother's eyes on her. Then she heard her say, "Oh yeah? Was it any good?"
"Oh, yes!" She opened her eyes and ran towards her mother, who opened her arms and hugged her daughter close. "It was perfect, Mama. I was in the most beautiful place, and others were there too. Nice people who didn't treat me like fairies do." She winced after the last sentence.
"Sweetheart, you know that everyone here loves you," her mother said, smoothing her silky hair. "They just don't understand you as well as we do."
"But you and Papa are the only ones I have. I don't have any friends. I hate it here."
"You are too young. Don't worry. When you turn thirteen and come into your magic, things will start making sense to you. After that, you will never want to leave the Fairy Woods."
"Why is this place so special? You know fairy Adna told me about Aboveworld and the humans who live there. Oh, and you know, Mama, she has this huge book. It is so big, and it has so many wonderful stories. Adna said she would let me borrow it when I was fifteen. I wanted it now, but she said I wouldn't understand it if I read it now. I can't wait to be fifteen."
"That's so nice of her. Don't worry you'll be fifteen in a blink of an eye." Her mother smiled indulgently.
"Hey, what are my favorite girls doing sitting on the porch?" her father said, peeking through the slightly opened front door.
"I'm playing in the sun," Noreen said as she ran towards the swings in the garden. "It's a beautiful day!"
"Be careful." Her father joined his wife on the steps.
Noreen watched her parents sitting there smiling. Life was beautiful, and everything was perfect. As she ran across the garden, soaking up the sunlight while the afternoon breeze played with her hair and clothes, she realized she didn't need anyone else. As long as she had her parents, she had everything.
Adna was nice to her. And once she turned thirteen and got her magic, all would be okay. It wasn't like she didn't know glitter was fake magic. She wasn't stupid. She knew she couldn't sprinkle magic on things, and prayers weren't always heard. That wasn't how things worked, but she liked to pretend.
"I will be the most powerful fairy in the world. My magic will be magical!" she shouted, laughing at her own lame joke. She heard her parents laugh, which made her happier than ever before. Jumping up and down, she started running in circles.
"Don't run like that. You'll feel dizzy," her mother said as she and her father watched her play.
"No, I won't. I have my magic glitter. It'll save me," she said, moving further away from them.
That's when she saw a small puddle near her feet. She hadn't noticed it before. The water was clear, and she could see the grass beneath it. If she jumped in it, the water would come to her ankles. She bent down to observe it, and that's when she saw a face staring right back at her, but it wasn't her face.
Noreen waved her little hands to the face watching her from the puddle. "Hello, I'm Noreen. Who are you?" she asked, hoping the boy would answer. Maybe they could be friends.
Before the boy could respond, her mother called her. "Noreen, come on, dear. Let's go inside. It's almost lunchtime."
"Come on, love," her father also said, as they stood up to leave.
"I'm coming," she said, glancing at them from her hunched-over position.
As she looked back to the puddle, she saw the boy was gone, and her face was looking back at her now. Had she imagined him all along, or was he there? With that thought in her mind, she jumped to her feet and ran to follow her parents indoors.
∞
And thus, the little fairy grew up and came into her powers. She found out the truth behind her parent's words. Fairies never left the Fairy Woods because they didn't want to. Noreen almost forgot about her childhood dream of exploring the worlds and was happy living in the smallest, but the happiest, realm of all. Until her parents died, and once again, things began to change for her.
The seed of unrest that the cruelty and unkindness of her peers had planted many years ago, would soon grow into a tree. And she would have to leave her world, willing or not.
