The True Stories of Dream Fairies: Bloom

by Heather Lynne Shida

  Chapter Four: Another Blooming

  Cathy lay awake in bed. She was staring at the sky. She had watched it change from the star-speckled velvety night into the deep blue of dawn. She could see the shots of sunlight creeping over the horizon. In just a few moments more the sun would completely take over the sky and everything would just be the boring shade of daytime blue. But for now, there were these moments of black, and heavy blue and then orange. Cathy loved dawn, but not today. She was watching the colors and the sky but not really taking notice of the changes. Her head was full; full with her thoughts racing around so fast that she didn't even know what she was thinking anymore. Her whole body had gone numb with tiredness. She hadn't slept last night. She had been waiting for morning. At first she was so fidgety with nervousness and excitement for this day that she was going crazy laying still. Cathy found that despite her desperate attempts at telling her heart to stop beating out of her chest, she had been unable to relax. Her nerves had kept her awake past that moment when one naturally falls asleep. After the hours slowly passed by, her body just gave up and lay still in bed. Now the day was here and she wanted to get up and get out of bed, but it took a moment to get her body to move after all those hours of numbness.

  She pulled her legs off her bed and stumbled over to her dresser. A large, round mirror sat on top. She wasn't tall enough to see so she dragged the chair by her desk over and stood on top of it. She could just see her face in the mirror now.

  "Well, this is it," she said to herself. Today was her eighth birthday. Today was the day that her wings would bloom. Cathy didn't really know at what time her wings would bloom. Everyone always said it was on your eighth birthday, but when?

  "Not midnight I guess," mumbled Cathy gloomily. She had talked to her friend, Bea, about this. Bea's birthday was last summer and she had told Cathy all the details. She had said that when it happened it hurt a little and that it had happened in the morning. But what time? Cathy had failed to ask that detail.

  Just then she heard footsteps on the stairs. It was her mother! The last thing she needed today was her mother bugging her about all of this. Her mother was the one who had put all that anxiety in her brain last night. She stumbled off the chair and raced to the door.

  "I wish this stupid thing had a lock on it," she thought to herself. Maybe if she leaned on it just right her mother wouldn't be able to open the door. But then she would know that she was awake and that wouldn't do her any good. Cathy leapt to her bed and crawled under the covers, trying to trap her body tight under the sheets.

  "Calm down, breath slowly." Cathy willed herself to what she thought looked like a peaceful sleeping position. The door flew open and before her mother even set foot in her room Cathy saw it; tons of fairy dust flying through the air, different shades and densities, sparkling now with the morning sun. Cathy's room quickly transformed. The walls melted away into the breeze. Beautiful tall white pillars reached up to the sky. Bright green dust flitted across the floor and wound itself around the pillars like a snake. With a soft bell sound, little leaves finished off the dust as ivy was being formed. The single line of green dust was soon replaced by five more lines of fairy dust. One in particular stood out. It was the most beautiful shade of purple that she had ever seen. The underside of the dust was pink so that it just glittered and danced along in varying hues. The colors were not the only thing making this one line of dust stand out. It had the most blinding sparkle to it. Cathy didn't know how she could even tell what color the dust was when it kept sparkling so. Cathy watched it in wonder. What was it going to make? She had unknowingly pulled herself out of bed and was staring in wonder with her mouth slightly open. The other dust trails had finished off their work leaving behind grand, white chairs with gold etching on the arm rests, small tables with unique flowers in glass bubble vases, and a handful of butterflies that she had never seen before. Just then her mother finally entered the room. That final, beautiful line of fairy dust originated not from her mother's fingertips like usual. This was coming from a slender iridescent bottle. Mrs. Royce shook it gently and rhythmically enticed the dust out of the bottle. The bottle was empty now and the line of dust was moving fast as it went round and round creating a giant circle in the middle of what used to be Cathy's room. With a gentle flash the dust was gone and in its place was the most amazing cake Cathy had ever seen. It was at least as tall as she was, with layer after layer. It was decorated with flowers and butterflies that looked so real, but Cathy had seen a cake like this before and she knew that each of those little decorations was actually a delicate sweet candy that would just melt into deliciousness the minute she popped them into her mouth. She could almost taste them as her stomach growled with hunger.

  Sadly though, that slight pain of hunger was replaced with a giant thump as she felt her stomach become heavy with anxiety. Cathy had been lifted by her mother's fairy dust and gently placed on a small stool near the cake. Her pajamas were gone and she was now wearing a strange robe that was on backwards. The robe was the same color as opals and it caught the morning sunlight and changed colors. It had delicate lace trim and a wide satin ribbon that served as a belt. But she could tell that the back of the robe was open.

  "What are you doing mother?" Cathy's voice broke the silence that had taken over her room as the last bits of fairy dust finished up their tasks.

  But Cathy soon realized that her mother was not alone. Her aunt, her mother's sister, and her grandmother had joined them in what was now an elaborate gazebo of sorts. Sheepishly her father followed behind them as he tried to share a small smile with Cathy from across the room. Lastly, her twin brother, Curtis, appeared. He did not look happy. His eyes jetted from object to object in the new space and landed on the beautiful cake, where they stayed and turned green with envy.

  "Happy Blooming, Catherine!" her mother said.

  "Why is everyone here?" Cathy asked as she tried to smile at her grandmother. Not one of them was making eye contact with her and instead were staring at her exposed back. Cathy suddenly felt very self-conscious and the weight in her stomach had been replaced with a thousand butterflies.

  "You must have your family with you when you bloom, dear. I wouldn't think of leaving you all alone when it happens. This is the single most important moment of your life and we all want to share it with you."

  Cathy had known all along that this was going to happen. Her mother always liked to make everything into some giant production. Cathy didn't mind that her mother had gone a little crazy with the fairy dust this morning. She liked the attention and was happy to see that it was directed only at her, and not her brother, whose eighth birthday was also today. Boy fairies don't bloom and have wings and even though Curtis was turning eight today, and that was cause for some celebration, it was certainly not worthy of the kind of celebration from a blooming. Being twins they had always celebrated their birthday together. Right now was just about Cathy and she loved feeling special. But that excitement was nothing compared to her fear and embarrassment. Cathy was so worried about her wings blooming and she was pretty sure that she did not want to share this moment with anyone, not even her mother. Her fear seemed justified as she looked at her aunt and grandmother again, who were staring at her like some strange animal in the zoos that she had heard about below.

  Cathy sat frozen on the stool. Her aunt and grandmother stared. Her mother flitted around the room tossing bits of fairy dust here and there, trying to make everything just right. Cathy also knew that her mother needed something to keep her occupied because she might have been even more nervous about Cathy's blooming than Cathy was.

  "How do you feel sweetie?" Mr. Royce finally broke the silence.

  "OK. Didn't sleep much last night though. "

  "Don't worry about things . . ." but Mr. Royce was interrupted by Curtis.

  "I hope it hurts! I hope it hurts real bad!" Curtis screamed. He seemed surprised by his own outburst and hid behind his father, red in the face. Curtis a
lmost never got angry like that. He and Cathy got along insanely well. Cathy felt a little hurt. She imagined that this was all making him jealous, but she figured he would still be happy for her. Besides, it wasn't all fun and games sitting on this puffy stool waiting.

  And wait they did. It felt like hours as everyone in the room sat quiet and stared around at the gazebo. It had probably only been about twenty minutes though when Cathy suddenly felt like she had been bit square between her shoulders by something and had left her back tingling with an itching sensation. Was this it? Her face must have given her away in an instant because her mother rushed over and pried open the back of the robe.

  "I want to see too, mother," Cathy's voice cracked in anticipation. She was excited, this was the moment. She would finally have wings. She would be able to enjoy all these beautiful decorations and that cake! Despite all of those happy thoughts rushing around in Cathy's mind, one dark thought kept growing stronger and stronger. What if her wings were small? She had thought about this a lot in the months and days approaching her birthday. She knew that wing size had nothing to do with your family's wing sizes. But that hadn't stopped her from staring at her mother's wings or gazing at the photos that lined the walls of all of her relatives past and present. Her mother's wings were, as her mother would say, slightly smaller than average. They were beautiful, the Yellow Common Butterfly, but apparently they weren't big enough for her mother to fly in missions. This seemed fine to Cathy since she couldn't really see her mother doing that kind of work anyway. Cathy thought about her friends at school. None of the girls in her class had bloomed yet though. Well, except for Cathy's best friend, Bea. Bea's wings were huge! They were almost too big for her body. Cathy knew looking at some of the top fliers that Bea could easily join them on missions when she grew up. But what would Cathy's wings be like? The anxiety was eating away at her and became all she could think about. Even that delicious looking cake had disappeared from her mind completely.

  Mrs. Royce jumped back and laughed. "Of, course you want to see dear. What was I thinking?"

  A little fairy dust sparkled from her fingertips and soon revealed a small hand mirror. Cathy had her own mirror on her dresser, but this never stopped her mother from using fairy dust to make something else, or something better. Besides, her dresser was nowhere to be seen as it had disappeared when the walls came down to make the gazebo.

  Mrs. Royce positioned the mirror so that Cathy had a perfect view of her back. That spot that had itched before now burned and was turning red. Suddenly a small sharp pain seared down her spine. It only lasted an instant and then she saw them. It was like watching tiny crocuses coming out from under the snow. Something bright was poking, sticking its way through her skin. Her aunt and her grandmother gasped together as they peered even closer. Cathy looked away from the mirror just a moment to see her father holding Curtis up in his arms for a better look. Curtis looked at Cathy and they shared a smile that made Cathy feel just a tiny bit braver than she did before. The sensation was strange. It didn't hurt at all now. She just felt as though something more had grown from her body. She could sense the wings now. They had completely broken through the skin and were increasing in size. Without thinking she shook them and little droplets of dew and fairy dust scattered around her. Curtis laughed. It was so natural to have wings. They were a part of her just as much as her own two feet. Cathy first noticed that her wings were a little unique in that they were different colors on the inside than they were on the outside. The outside, that was visible when one looked at Cathy straight on was a creamy, pale brown. It reminded her of her father's coffee. Fairy food is always sweet because it is made with fairy dust. Not really knowing what coffee tasted like, the fairies had instead focused on making it look the same as below. So choices of adding sugar and cream to change the color of the drink were very popular. This pale brown color was far prettier than Cathy thought brown could be. It had a subtle gold-like glitter to it and the faintest traces of lines of blue here and there. Those hints of blue seemed to lead towards the center of her wings where the brown disappeared and only the most beautiful shade of blue congregated near her body. There were also spots that ran along the edge of the forewings. These spots were more like small drops of iridescent dew. There were also a couple more a little closer to her body. These spots could be found on the hindwings, two rows; one of four spots, the other three. Cathy could also see in the reflection of the mirror the back side of her wings. She wanted to see more but her mother kept moving the mirror. The blue, that mesmerizing blue was all over the back of her wings. The blue was still hazy and misty, but brilliant just the same. It mixed so subtly with a fading lavender and gray. Cathy was sure she hadn't seen this kind of wing color before. She couldn't wait until later, when she was alone and could spend more time staring at her wings, getting to know every inch of this new part of her being.

  Cathy had let out a huge sigh of relief to know that the pain was nothing to worry about at all. But that relief was gone sooner than she wanted as she was reminded of the other thing that had been weighing so heavily on her mind. The wings were growing. They had started out so small. But it was clear that the rate of expansion had slowed considerably.

  "Do you think that's it?" asked Cathy's aunt.

  Cathy's grandmother looked closer." Yup, I think so. They might get a bit bigger, but not much. "

  "Oh dear," signed her aunt.

  Cathy could tell that everyone's gaze had now turned to her mother. Cathy was nervous too, wondering what her mother's reaction was going to be. Her wings had grown until they were just about the same height as she was and the lower parts of the wings stuck out from her waist and hips. She reached her arms behind her and softly touched the tips to just prove that they were real. She looked in the mirror again and saw her mother's face reflected back at her. Her mother looked sad; just for a moment, but when her eyes looked up and met Cathy's in the mirror's reflection her expression changed immediately. Mrs. Royce turned her daughter around to face her and she smiled the most loving, sweetest smile and gave Cathy the biggest hug as she whispered in her ear," They are beautiful dear."

  The world exploded with that hug. The darkness that had been taking over her heart all morning disappeared in an instant. Her aunt and grandmother seemed to give up on their disappointment and softly smiled at Cathy. Mr. Royce scooped her up into his arms and said in a loud voice, "Happy Birthday Cathy!"

  Curtis was doing a strange dance of joy around his father's feet as he shouted out, "My sister has wings!"

  "Well, let's enjoy our party," declared Mrs. Royce.

  "Cake! Cake! Cake!" screamed Curtis. His father held him back in a lock hold and told Cathy to move forward to get the first piece. Now that Cathy could look at the cake without any worries she remembered the one she had seen before. It had been on display in one of the windows of the shops in town. The display had been a magic display of the creation of the cake she had just witnessed. The magic used to show the cake had not really done it justice now that Cathy had the real thing sitting before her.

  "This cake is beautiful mother."

  "We should hurry and enjoy it. I have heard that the butterflies get restless and start to fly away if you wait too long to cut the cake," advised Mr. Royce.

  The candy butterflies would actually start flying? Now that was something that Cathy really wanted to see, but she had a feeling that her mother wouldn't allow them to wait that long and risk losing them to morning air in the gazebo. Her mother gently shook her wrist and the cake separated into perfect sized pieces of cake, each on its own delicate plate. Cathy's had extra butterflies and flowers. Cathy thought Curtis would show his jealousy once again, but saw instead that he had jammed a fairly large butterfly into his mouth and was laughing as their father tried to control him from eating more.

  "Go on and take a bite before Curtis takes my hand off," Mr. Royce pleaded.

  Cathy took a small lilac that sat to the side of her cake slice and
put it on her tongue. She closed her mouth and shut her eyes and was amazed at how quickly the candy flower had melted away into sweet deliciousness. The cake was sweet, like other fairy food, but it had an extra richness to the flavor and a way of dancing around one's mouth. Without thinking she popped two more into her mouth and savored each candy explosion. Everyone was silent as they enjoyed the cake in the morning sun. Cathy tried eating one of the beautiful butterflies. They were so gorgeous and real looking that Cathy felt like she would rather keep them in a box under her bed. But she changed her mind the minute one was in her mouth. The butterfly seemed to come to life when it touched her tongue and it flitted around inside her mouth in a funny way. It felt like it was gently sparkling, sending little zaps to the sides of her mouth. It was the most delicious thing she had ever eaten. Cathy's stomach had gone through so many summersaults that morning that she stopped herself with just one slice of the amazing cake. Curtis, on the other hand, had three helpings and was now bouncing around like crazy.

  "So, can you fly?" Curtis asked as he started dancing around his sister again.

  This thought had actually failed to enter her mind until now. She had been so worried about the blooming, and if it would hurt, and how big her wings would be, that she had seriously not thought for a moment about being able to fly. She looked at her mother anxiously.

  "Yes, dear, you can fly now. Just be careful and don't fly above our heads." Mrs. Royce's words of approval set her running. Curtis was right by her side when she suddenly stopped in the middle of the floor.

  "What do I do?" Cathy asked sheepishly.

  Mr. Royce came over and took her by the hand. "Just give a little jump and your wings will know what to do."

  Was it really going to be that easy? Cathy squeezed her father's hand trying to get courage from him grasp. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Then she jumped softly with her toes barely leaving the floor. But she didn't come back down to the floor. It was like that moment had frozen in time, leaving her suspended in the middle of the gazebo. Cathy could feel her wings beating gently and rhythmically. Then she willed her wings to beat with just the slightest bit of force and she jumped forward. It took very little effort to shoot across the room. Cathy glanced at her mother and her aunt and her grandmother as she started to circle the gazebo. She was careful to stay low and not to go too fast. Curtis ran alongside her cheering her on.

  The rest of the morning was spent playing in what used to be Cathy's room. Cathy and Curtis had fun playing games with their father. Cathy tried not to fly too many times because she could see the look of jealousy in Curtis' eyes. After the morning hours had dwindled away, Mr. Royce suggested that they all wrap things up so that they could head off to the Hall to see the Ancients.

  The Ancients! Cathy had completely forgotten about this part to the blooming celebration. She needed to go and see the Ancients just as Bea had done.

  "But aren't we going to celebrate Curtis' birthday too today?" Cathy asked.

  "Of course! Later, this evening, when we are done with the Ancients we will come home for our . . ." but Mr. Royce was interrupted by Curtis.

  "So, I have to wait until this evening for presents? That's not fair. Why do I have to wait all day long?"

  "Don't worry Curtis. The day will go faster than you think. It will be present time in no time," Mr. Royce tried his best to reassure his son. He leaned in further to speak only to Curtis as he said," I know today is hard for you buddy. You are doing great, really. It is just this year you know, since Cathy bloomed, just this year that is special and different. And besides, when you turn twelve the tables will be turned you know."

  Curtis smiled at these words. He couldn't wait for that day. He didn't so much want the chance to get back at Cathy for today. He didn't really mind that she was getting all this attention. He actually thought she deserved it a little. But the fact that he didn't get wings today was hard to deal with. He wanted nothing more in the world than to have wings and he knew he would spend the next four years waiting to turn twelve and be able to use his magic to see what he might do to fill the emptiness of not having them.

  Suddenly the gazebo around them started to melt and sparkle as it morphed back into Cathy's room. Mrs. Royce was straightening things up with her fairy dust as she gently tried to push Cathy's grandmother and aunt out the door.

  "Well, I think we have had quite an exciting morning. You two have a safe trip home. Get mother home safely, OK?" Mrs. Royce's voice rang in the hallway as she used her most polite voice to usher the ladies out the door. Cathy's grandmother and her aunt all lived on other islands. When a dream fairy had reached the age of 60 he/she is asked to move to a series of special islands that were specifically for the elderly. There the fairies work to gather information about humans and to donate dust as frequently as possible. These islands were all part of the organized and balanced life of the dream fairies. Cathy's grandfather had already reached the age of 88 and had passed on as was to be expected of all dream fairies, with the exception of the Ancients, who were immortal. Cathy's grandmother lived in a community on the island for older fairies. Cathy's aunt had not yet chosen to marry and lived on the island where she worked.

  Cathy's grandmother spoke as she reached the door, "We are all going to the same place anyway, we should leave together."

  "But you know the Ancients only wish to have immediate family come to the meeting with Cathy," explained Mrs. Royce patiently.

  Cathy's grandmother smiled as she suggested, "That's all right. We all can wait at the park by the Main Hall until you are finished. We would love to hear what they have to say about our dear Catherine."

  Mrs. Royce gave in and directed the entire family together to get ready to head to the Hall. She opened a large jar on the counter and started counting out the small bubbles used to make the pods to take them to the Hall. "Now, let's see here. Sis, you and Mother can take this one. You can take Curtis, dear. And I will take Catherine. Let's be off then. Don't want to make the Ancients wait."

  The Royce's home was in the northern section of island. It was in the last row of houses along the outermost ring and these homes tended to be a bit bigger and more elaborate than those closer to the center of the island. They were close to the edge of the island. The Edge was hard to discern. The dome surrounding the island was designed to appear as though it went on forever, creating the image of a forever horizon just like below. But Cathy knew that you could actually walk up the Edge and touch it, if you were brave enough. Some of the older kids had all taken adventures to the Edge and Cathy had heard crazy tales about what it was like. Some had said that when you touched the Edge your hand would turn into ice. Others said that a strange sucking sensation would take over you like you were going to be pulled into the darkness on the other side. Some had even said that if you pressed your face against the surface and opened your eyes you could see through the filmy dome and to the endless sky. Curtis had constantly begged Cathy to go the Edge with him since they started basic school when they were five. Cathy never really wanted to go. She liked the idea that it was an unknown and she was scared. But she had reluctantly made a deal with her brother to go and see the Edge after she had bloomed. She wondered if Curtis was thinking about finally getting to see the Edge with his sister now that they had reached their eighth birthday.

  The Royces had finally made it out the front door and moved together towards the pod stop nearest their home. They were heading towards NW4 which was the stop right in front of the prep school. Each pairing of fairies tossed their pod bubbles into the air and entered their respective pods. One by one the pods floated up to the silver-line. Mrs. Royce pressed the button on the panel inside for the Hall. The trip would only take them four minutes but still that seemed like a long time to be alone with her mother. Mrs. Royce was always so proper and seemed to be examining and judging Cathy with each glance. She wasn't sure who she was more nervous about discussing the subject of her wings with, her mother or the
Ancients. She couldn't erase that brief moment when Cathy caught her mother's eye after her wings had finished blooming. That look was, without a doubt, a look of disappointment. She gave her wings another little shake and felt a trickle of excitement run down her spine. At the moment she didn't care if her wings were perhaps just a little smaller than some others, she was just so happy to have them.

  "Catherine, what are you thinking about?" Mrs. Royce asked her suddenly.

  Cathy looked at her mother. Behind the usual strict facade was a faint smile of a loving mother and Cathy felt a warmth in her heart that she hadn't felt before. It seemed as though her mother was looking at her for the first time.

  Mrs. Royce looked down at her hands as she said quietly, "Are you nervous about seeing the Ancients?"

  "Yes," Cathy answered quickly.

  "Don't worry. They aren't scary; not so personable, but not scary or bad in any way. The examination won't hurt at all. The sensation, as I remember it, is quite strange. They pour a sort of cold liquefied dust down your wings and that is how they get their information. They will tell you what kind of butterfly wings you have. I'm afraid I don't recognize your wings. They look similar to some I have seen before, but they are different and rare. You should be proud," Mrs. Royce reached out and gently stroked the tips of the wings as she said this. Cathy didn't realize it at the time, but on this day, the day of Cathy's blooming, her mother felt such a strong connection to her daughter. That day when Cathy's wings bloomed reminded her mother of her own eighth birthday and how she had felt and had made her see her daughter in a way she hadn't seen her before. She had always loved Cathy, of course, but she had often found it hard to relate to her two children, until that day.

  Cathy was smiling ear to ear when her and her mother finally got out of the pod that had slowly floated to the ground in front of the Hall. Without even thinking Cathy found her hand in her mother's as the two of them walked towards the Hall and the stones that would take them to see the Ancients.