Jack
When I came to consciousness, the first thing I was aware of were the embers still glowing in last night’s campfire. No one else would have noticed them, but being a fire faerie, I was ultra-sensitive. I smelled the morning dew on the grass and heard the bugs buzzing around me. It was cold, wet, and foggy. What a perfect day to be a water faerie, I mused. Naturally, I wasn’t a huge fan of anything that involved moisture; my idea of a perfect climate was a dry, hot desert, or maybe a grassland. This was just miserable.
I had never liked camping. I had always been more of a nerdy guy and never an outdoorsman. The only way I had been able to survive this last year was through my ability to keep myself warm even on the wettest of days. But even though I could prevent myself from becoming physically cold, the wet weather certainly did not help improve my mood.
It had been a year since I had seen her, a year since the last time I would ever see her. I could still picture her perfectly; not one detail of her porcelain skin or emerald eyes had left my mind. Her voice still rang through the air around me, and even a chorus of angels could not have been as enchanting. I would never forget her. Every time I imagined her face or remembered her voice, my heart felt as though it might bleed out of my chest. But I was glad for it. As long as the pain was there, I would never really lose her. She was embedded into every fiber of who I was. That would never change.
I heard a twig snap behind me. It was nothing more than a small sound like an animal waking after a peaceful night’s rest, but I was a suspicious person. Not that I wanted to be—it was just the way I was.
I rose silently from the ground, pulling my sweatshirt over my head at the same time. My hair fell lazily against my shoulders as I ran my hands through it. I hadn’t cut it since I’d left Oak Valley. Its length had stopped bothering me a couple months ago, but I was sure that if I looked in a mirror, I would probably be terrified.
As I heard a sharp intake of breath, I spun around and met a pair of stunning mahogany eyes. The girl was Latina, with dark, golden skin. Her thick, spiral curls surrounded her head like a halo. Her lips were pursed together in a frown. It was only a few seconds between when I met her eyes to when she spoke; it felt like an eternity. For a moment, I considered the possibility that I had died and gone to Heaven.
Her huge eyes stared into mine. “Who are you?” she asked.
I wished I knew the answer to that question. If I had, I would have told her every bit of it. All I knew was that I was lost in every single way.
I struggled to speak. “I’m Jack White,” I answered.
“You’re a faerie?” she asked.
I was only a bit surprised. At least this was a question I knew the answer to.
I allowed a small flame to blossom in my palm and extended my hand out to show her. “Yes.”
Another girl, similar in looks to the first but taller and more curvy, ran toward us. She stopped and placed herself between the other girl and me. My chest grew tighter; somehow, her actions upset me. I didn’t know why, but I didn’t want anything placed between myself and the girl with chocolate orbs for eyes.
“Maggie,” the first girl whispered. “It’s all right. He’s safe.”
Maggie’s posture relaxed. She eyed me suspiciously but didn’t move to confront me either. Although they greatly resembled each other, there was something almost erratic about Maggie, while the other girl seemed orderly and calm. Maggie’s eyes were sharp, and her features were arched and tight. The other girl had soft, almost homely features, but certainly not in an ugly way. Her smile was just incredibly comforting, and her eyes were warm. She seemed safe.
“I’m LeAnne,” the first girl said. “This is my sister, Maggie.”
LeAnne. It was a unique name. It was very attractive sounding, though. I imagined the sensation of it rolling off my lips.
“Big sister,” Maggie added.
Ah, protective, I gathered.
“Why were you sleeping on the ground in the middle of the woods?” Maggie asked in clear confusion.
I couldn’t blame her. I would have been confused too. My camp didn’t look like much: a bed of pine needles underneath a rickety structure made from sticks, a small fire pit surrounded by rocks, a large boulder where my spare clothes were drying, and my backpack of belongings that rested beside my bed. It was rather pitiful, actually.
“Um, this is where I live, “ I replied, without even trying to sound proud.
Maggie raised her eyebrows, her eyes growing wide, and her mouth formed into a tight frown. LeAnne only smiled. She met my eyes, then looked down at the ground, digging the heel of her boots into the dirt.
LeAnne whispered something into Maggie’s ear. In response, Maggie only shrugged, seemingly uninterested.
“Would you like to come back home with us? We don’t have much, but even where we sleep is better than the ground.” LeAnne spoke kindly and softly, almost as if she were talking to a skittish animal.
LeAnne extended her hand toward me, stepping in front of Maggie to do so. Looking around at my meager camp, I did not see much that I had to lose. There was something about her that made me want to follow her to the ends of the earth. Over the past year, I hadn’t had anything to fight for. But LeAnne, she was something that sparked interest in me. I had not been fascinated with anything for so long—I had been numb to happiness for over a year. But looking at her, I was starting to feel something other than hopelessness. It was refreshing and energizing.
“Okay, I’ll come.” I quickly threw my things together before following them away from my past and into my future.
I could only gain when I had nothing left to lose.