The Fairy Trail

by Catherine Ras

  When Maggie reached the bottom of the stairs, she ran her hands along the sides of her yellow sundress pretending to smooth it out. She smiled at her mother and aunt and then walked past them out the door.

  ***

  Maggie sat on her bed looking out the window. During and after the funeral, her mother never left her side. It was the first time her mother acted like she was a mother, but that was the point—her mother was only acting. It made her so angry that several times she wanted to shove her mother to the far side of the pew, instead having to settle for moving a few inches away.

  Aunt Agnes left the day after the funeral, but before she left, she found a moment to pull Maggie aside without her mother looking over their shoulder. “You know I’m not leaving because I want to, don’t you?”

  “I’m sorry Aunt Agnes.”

  “Honey, it’s not your fault, but I can’t stay if your mother tells me to leave. Do you understand that?”

  “More than you know.”

  Aunt Agnes took Maggie in her arms, and once again, Maggie felt love, comfort and security, and it immediately turned to anger, frustration and sadness. The one person who showed her something other than abuse was leaving, and it was one more reason why she was filled with so much anger toward her parents.

  “Can’t I go with you?”

  She held Maggie at arm’s length. “You know if I could take you, I would.”

  Maggie smiled weakly. It wasn’t really an answer. The reason why Aunt Agnes couldn’t take her was the answer.

  “Thank you, Aunt Agnes. It was nice of you to come and help us out.”

  The moment her aunt left, Maggie’s mother disappeared.

  A week had passed, and her mother was like a revolving door. Maggie would watch her mother drive away and pull into the driveway an hour or a day later. There were times her mother went directly into the kitchen, and other times, she came upstairs and went to bed. None of those times did she check on Maggie. Not one time did she comfort her daughter, make her a meal, or make sure she was going to school.

  Maggie realized she would have to fend for herself after the second time her mother disappeared for a whole day. So, she did. She made her own meals, got herself to school, did her laundry. She put the mail on the table for her mother to go through whenever she got home, and next to it would leave a list of things they needed. She had no money, so she couldn’t shop for herself.

  At first her mother would buy the requested items, but soon she stopped buying the supplies. One day, she left money on the note. Maggie took it and left the house. Her first stop was the woods.

  When she entered the forest, she looked for the houses in the trees, hoping one would show itself, but knowing deep inside she wouldn’t see one. It didn’t matter. She was going to say what she came to say.

  Surrounded by trees and wildlife sounds, she spoke. “I don’t know where you guys are, but why is it when you say you’re going to help me, it only screws my life up more?” She walked over to the tree where Fairy Blue’s house first appeared. She tilted her head back and gazed at the light filtering through the branches.

  She stood for a moment, waiting for their help for this next stage in her life, but no little house appeared—no tiny persons in shimmering light showed themselves.

  Maggie left the woods and headed toward the small grocery store, one of a handful of businesses located on Main Street. Now, she would also be doing the grocery shopping.

  Chapter Eleven

  Maggie became reclusive. She was mad her father died because he left her with a mother who never cared about her, who was never there. At least they both weren’t getting smacked around anymore. Still, Maggie was alone…all the time, even in school.

  She sat by herself in the front of the classroom. She sat at the empty table in the cafeteria, and she sat in a seat by herself in the middle of the bus. Mark didn’t bother her anymore. He acted as if she didn’t exist. When she got to his driveway, she stood on one side, and he waited near his garage. He never invited her in when it rained, and he never spoke to her.

  One day, Maggie was sitting on her bed reading one of her Nancy Drew mysteries. She loved that the heroine was independent, strong, and happy. Maggie put her book down. She thought about how she was now independent herself and that she must be strong because she was taking care of herself

  Those thoughts only made her cry. She was fourteen and would be going to high school next year. She had no friends, she had no family—none that really mattered in her isolated, arduous life.

  Maggie left the house and went to the only place she thought she might get help. When she entered the forest, she walked by the first tree where she saw Fairy Blue’s house, then the next tree where she saw Viridian standing on the porch of her establishment.

  Maggie took a tentative step toward the next tree. She closed her eyes and waited, wished, and prayed.

  “Mags?”

  She opened her eyes and looked at the tree. There was nothing there.

  “Mags?”

  Scared that someone was in the woods with here, Maggie spun around looking for the source of the voice. She should have never come to the forest alone.

  “Over here, Mags.”

  Maggie looked past the third tree and saw a small house sitting atop a stump. The steps that led to the front door looked as if they were slices cut from a small log. The house was tall and narrow but appeared to be only one story as the door was almost as tall as the house. It was a bright and cheery shade of magenta adorned with abstract designs drawn in black for contrast. There was a tiny, round clock above the door.

  As Maggie walked toward the stump, she noticed a fairy, larger than the first two, but still tiny in human terms, walked out of the door onto the first step. She wore a long, dark pink dress that

  flowed around her as if a fan was blowing in her direction. Purple and pink light circled her body and mixed with the material of her outfit.

  “Which one are you?”

  The fairy put her hands on her hips. “Now, that’s no way to greet someone.”

  Maggie lowered her eyes and dug in the dirt with her foot. “I’m sorry. I’m just so miserable.” Maggie looked up again. “You already know who I am, so please, what is your name?”

  “My name is Fuchsia.”

  “Isn’t that the name of a color?”

  The fairy’s smile brightened, and she picked up her skirt waving it about herself. “It is a beautiful color, isn’t it?”

  Maggie plopped on the ground, knees bent, arms crossed, and her head resting on her arms. “It is,” she sighed, the words barely audible from her hidden face.

  The fairy dropped her dress and leaned forward. “Why Mags, what has you so down? Didn’t your parents stop hitting you? And didn’t your father stop drinking?”

  Maggie looked up. “Really? My parents only got more pissed off when they couldn’t find me and restricted me to my room. Oh yeah, and the drinking thing? I’m pretty sure my dad went on a major binge because he didn’t know he wasn’t drinking…killed himself. He left the house to go drinking.” Then she added angrily, “You didn’t say I had to go to stores or bars and touch all their stuff.”

  Fuchsia stood up straight. “Oh, my.”

  “Oh, my? That’s all you’ve got to say?”

  “Mags, dear, we try to help. We can’t control how you use the gifts or what happens when you do.”

  Maggie glared at the fairy as she stood up. “I don’t even know why I’m here.”

  “Well…to have someone to talk to, of course.”

  Maggie’s face softened. “It would be nice, but I can’t keep coming here to talk to you. Besides, you fairies disappear all the time. What good will that do me?”

  “Tsch, tsch. What if I can fix that for you?”

  Maggie’s head tilted. “How?” she asked, a bit of doubt sounding in her one word question.

  “I will give you a companion. You can talk to her anytime you want.”

  “And how
is that going to work?”

  “Well, she will only be your companion, no one else’s. You won’t have to share.”

  Maggie liked the sound of that. If she didn’t have to share her, then she could tell her anything about how she felt, what she wanted—anything. “Okay, but where is she? Is it someone you know?”

  “Of course, dear.” Fuchsia peered around her house. “Nymph, come here. I have someone for you to meet.”

  From behind the stump, a tiny figure appeared. She was the same size as the fairies, but…different. She was younger and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt that had “Fairies are Friends” printed on the front.

  Maggie stifled a giggle.

  “Nymph, this is Maggie. Maggie, this is Nymph.” Neither made a move. “Maggie, hold out your hand, palm up.”

  Maggie stared at Fuchsia.

  Fuchsia waved her hands. “Go ahead do it.”

  Maggie did as she was instructed.

  Fuchsia nodded to Nymph, who flapped her tiny wings and flew up to stand on Maggie’s palm.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Nymph said. Her voice was small, but soothing.

  “You, too,” Maggie said at a loss for words.

  Fuchsia waved them both on. “Well, now. You two go on.”

  Maggie was studying Nymph. This is stupid she thought. This isn’t a friend; it’s a fairy. Then she thought, I have my own fairy. This might work. “Okay, thanks Fuchsia.”

  “Nymph is a gift I bestow upon you, and you must not misuse it. The gift will be yours until your next birthday. But…if at any time before that you abuse my gift, you alone will reap the consequences, and the gift will come back to me.”

  Maggie had heard this before. This time she let it go in one ear and out the other. Instead, she kept her concentration on Nymph who was gazing up at her and smiling. “Thank you Fu….” Maggie saw that Fuchsia, and her house was gone. She quickly turned her head back to Nymph, afraid that she too had disappeared. Nymph was still on her palm, beaming up at Maggie as if she was the only one that mattered in her fairy life.

  “I got a fairy.” She said happily to no one. Then she said to Nymph, “I should get home. Are you coming with me?”

  “I have nowhere else to go; you will take care of me, yes?”

  Maggie hesitated. Nowhere in this deal was she told she had to take care of a fairy. She could barely take care of herself sometimes. “I thought you were just going to be my friend—you know, listen to me, comfort me, and be with me. I don’t even know how to take care of a fairy.”

  “Whatever you need, Maggie.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “Hey, baggie Maggie,” Mark taunted her.

  “Ignore him,” Nymph chuckled. “He’s just shading you.”

  “I know, but I get really sick of it after a while, and it gets lonely.” Maggie stood at the end of Mark’s driveway waiting for the bus. Her arms were folded. Nymph sat on her shoulder.

  “You have me. You need no one else.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, I really appreciate your company, it’s just….”

  “Talking to yourself again you wierdo?”

  Maggie jumped. Mark was standing behind her.

  “Leave me alone.” Maggie moved away from him. “For once, I wished they put the bus stop in my driveway,” she muttered.

  “They wouldn’t do that. You’re too nutty. My mom would call the school and make sure I didn’t have to stand in your driveway.”

  Nymph laughed. “What’s the difference if you two stand together in his driveway or yours?”

  “Then at least I could stay in the house and wait for the bus.”

  “He’d still be on the bus and in your classes. You have to stand up for yourself,” Nymph declared.

  “That’s kinda hard when everyone is out to get you.”

  The bus appeared down the road. Mark passed by her almost knocking her down.

  “There you go again. They put people like you in looney bins. You can talk to yourself all you want there,” Mark badgered.

  “Yeah, well they should arrest you for being a bully!” she shouted after him. Maggie stared at the yellow flashing lights turning to red when the bus came to a stop. She heard the whoosh of air that opened the door then counted to four--the number she settled on months ago to give Mark time to get on the bus so she could avoid him.

  It didn’t matter, though. When she got on the bus, she noticed all the other kids staring at her or talking quietly amongst themselves, forcing her to sit alone. Except, this time she wasn’t alone. She had Nymph.

  “Margaret, your counselor would like to see you.” Mrs. Jones, one of the two elderly lunch monitors, towered over her.

  “My name is Maggie.” She wished she’d had a dollar for every time she had to say that. She’d probably be a millionaire. She could hire someone to take care of her.

  She slammed her book shut. “Come on, we’ve got to go,” she said to Nymph who was leaning against her milk carton.

  “Are you being smart? I just said we need to go,” Mrs. Jones glared down at her.

  “Never mind.” Maggie put her book in her book bag and grabbed her lunch tray. On the way out of the cafeteria, she tossed the whole thing in a garbage can. If Mrs. Jones had seen her do it, she would have dragged her to the principal’s office for throwing the tray out with the trash. She smiled. They could garbage dive for the tray; she didn’t care.

  As they walked down the hall, she could hear words shouted after her. “Loser. Freak. Psycho,” followed by laughter.

  Mr. Faulkner, her counselor, was sitting at his desk reading papers in a folder. At the sound of the door opening, he closed the file, looked up and smiled.

  Mrs. Jones stepped aside to let Maggie enter.

  “You don’t seem very happy about this meeting,” Nymph said.

  Maggie said nothing, because she knew it was best to be silent in the counselor’s office.

  “Come in, Margaret; have a seat.”

  That ended her silence. “My name is Maggie.”

  “Well, actually, it says Margaret on your records….”

  Maggie started to protest.

  “But if you like to be called Maggie, then Maggie it is.” He smiled again

  His smile was slightly crooked, not in an evil kind of way, but in having a facial drop on the left side of his mouth kind of way.

  “Maggie,” he leaned forward and clasped his hands together resting them on his very large, wooden desk. “Your teachers are concerned about you. Are you doing okay?”

  Maggie didn’t like where this was going. “I’m fine. Can I go now?”

  “Maggie, I know it’s been difficult for you since your father died….”

  Nymph jumped off of Maggie’s shoulder onto the desk. “He has no idea, does he?”

  Maggie glared at the little fairy.

  “Maggie? Are you okay?”

  Slowly her eyes drifted back to the counselor.

  “Like I said, I’m fine Mr. Faulkner. Now, please, can I go?”

  “Not yet. Your mother will be here in a few minutes.”

  Nymph shook her finger at Mr. Faulkner. “Now you did it,” Nymph said angrily. “He called your mother. That’s unacceptable. Let’s go. We’ve had enough of this.”

  “Why did you call my mother?” she asked afraid of where this was going.

  “As I said, your teachers are worried about you.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you I’m okay? Can’t you all just leave me alone?”

  Maggie’s mother bolted into the room. As soon as Maggie saw that weird, contorted torturous smile on her face, she sank back into her chair.

  Why couldn’t they leave her alone? Everything was okay. She had Nymph to keep her company. She was taking care of herself. Her bastard of a father was dead, and her nasty mother was gone ninety percent of the time which had made her life the most pain free it had been since she could remember.

  Her mother’s smile told her it was all about to change.
>
  “Ah, Mrs. Smith. Thank you for coming. Please have a seat.” Mr. Faulkner pointed to the chair next to Maggie’s.

  In a huff, she plopped into the chair and deposited her purse in her lap. “What can I do for you, Mr. Faulkner? I don’t appreciate being summoned to Margaret’s school. I work two jobs and can’t afford to take time off every time you people think there’s a problem with my daughter.” She nervously picked up her purse, and then put it back down.

  “I’m sorry, Mrs. Wilson. Maggie’s….”

  “Margaret. Her name is Margaret.”

  Maggie folded her arms and slouched farther down in her chair. She noticed the counselor take a quick sideways glance toward her.

  “Yes, of course. Margaret’s teachers have noticed some…odd behavior these past few weeks. Mostly, she is talking to herself…a lot.”

  “Are you sure her teachers aren’t hearing things?’

  “What a stupid question,” Nymph said. “Of course they’re not hearing things. They can’t hear me.”

  Maggie closed her eyes. Why did the fairy’s gifts always turn out worse than they were supposed to?”

  “Margaret, would you please wait for us in the secretary’s office?” Mr. Faulkner asked.

  Nymph jumped on her shoulder. “Finally. I bet you’ll be just as happy to get out of here as I am.”

  Maggie stood up. “I’m sorry, mother, but I kept telling him I’m fine.”

  “Do as your counselor said. Now.”

  Maggie left the office. She sat on one of two chairs placed against the wall opposite the secretary’s desk. Thankfully, the secretary was not there.

  Nymph jumped down onto the other chair. “You know what would be great?” She peered at Maggie who didn’t respond. “Anyway, wouldn’t it be great if your mom and that Mr. Faulkner got together? He wasn’t wearing a ring. Your mom would definitely leave you alone if she had another man in her life.”