by Liz Kessler
Daisy tapped her nose. “You’ll see,” she replied. “Let’s just say, time sometimes leaves its mark.”
And with that she headed for the center of the circle and called us all over. “This is it. We’ve got ten minutes. Everyone ready?”
Tommy and Amber nodded.
Daisy turned to me. “You know what’s going to happen now?”
“We go back to the normal world?”
Daisy nodded. “As soon as we go through the hole in time, we each come out in our own place. You and Tommy on Earth, I’ll be back at ATC, and Amber will be back in place here.”
I nodded. “Got it.”
Daisy swallowed. “So we should say good-bye,” she said quietly.
I laughed. “Well, yes. For now — but I’ll see you soon.”
Daisy swallowed again. Her eyes were shiny. And then I noticed something else — a tear rolling down her cheek.
“Daisy?”
She shook her head. Then she threw her arms around me and hugged me so tightly I couldn’t breathe. “Just take really good care of yourself,” she said hoarsely.
“Of course I will!” I replied. “But why the tears? You’re acting like we’re never going to see each other again!” I laughed. “Daisy?”
She wouldn’t meet my eyes. I turned cold as stone inside.
“Daisy — we are going to see each other again, aren’t we?”
She didn’t look up.
“Daisy, tell me!”
“It was all I could think of!” she cried, tears streaking down both of her cheeks now. “I didn’t have any choice. I asked ATC if there was any way she’d be able to do her job but still travel around. At first they said no. In order to let the portal create a bridge to allow fairies to travel between the human and fairy worlds, it needs a fairy to give up her power to do the same. But I pushed them. I said there had to be another way; it was our only hope. And eventually they said perhaps there could be. They weren’t sure it would work, but they agreed it was the only possibility.”
I suddenly realized what Daisy had done. “The stone fairy can fulfill her assignment, but the portal will take its power from you, instead of from her, so she can look for her friend.”
Daisy nodded.
“So once we’re back, and you get to ATC, that’s it — you’ll have lost your power to travel between the worlds?”
“That’s right.”
I stared at Daisy, trying to believe her but not wanting to. “So this really is good-bye?”
Daisy nodded. I swallowed hard. I wouldn’t let myself cry. If Daisy could make a sacrifice as big as this, I would do everything I could to support her. I wasn’t going to make it harder.
Amber spoke for the first time since we’d arrived at the stone circle. “You’re a very special fairy,” she said. “I don’t believe there are many who would have made that decision.”
Daisy tried to smile. She didn’t get very far. I gave her the biggest hug I could without squeezing the life out of her. “It’ll be OK,” I said, hoping she believed me more than I did.
Daisy held her hands out, reaching down so that Amber could take one. Tommy took the other. Then they both held my hands, so we formed a circle of our own, with the rest of the stones forming a larger one around us.
Daisy met my eyes. “Ready?” she asked.
I smiled at her, hoping that with just a smile I could convey all that I wanted. That my smile could say good-bye and good luck, and thank you and I’ll miss you and I’ll never forget you, all at the same time.
She smiled back, and I could tell she understood — and that she was saying the same things to me.
Then Amber spoke. “Daisy, I can never thank you enough for what you’ve done,” she said, “but I hope you know I will always, always be grateful.”
Daisy smiled at Amber. “I know,” she said softly. Then she looked at the rest of us. “OK, let’s do it,” she said.
And then together we recited the poem from ATC. Tommy and Amber had memorized it on the way up.
“Circle in and circle out,
Take us home tonight.
Put us back where we belong,
And make all wrong things right.”
I held tightly on to Amber’s and Tommy’s hands and held Daisy’s eyes all the way. We spun together, through the darkness, through the circle of rainbow colors, and finally through a white light that was so blinding I had to let go and shield my eyes.
I opened my eyes. I was in the middle of the stone circle — in the pitch darkness of the night.
I rubbed my eyes and looked around. Beyond the stones, crowds of people were gathered, eating hot chestnuts and warming their hands in front of a roaring fire that lit the dark night, everyone smiling and laughing. Nearby, church bells were chiming. The people were counting down with the chimes.
“Three!” the crowd roared. “Two! One — Happy New Year!”
A blaze of fireworks shot noisily into the sky. I watched them and began to laugh. We’d done it! We’d really, truly done it!
I turned around to find Daisy. And then I remembered.
I looked at the fireworks soaring up into the sky and wondered if she was looking at them too, from her side of all this, if she could see me, if she had a great big hole inside her the same shape as the one inside me.
I glanced up to the stone in the middle of the circle, hoping that Amber had gotten back safely, and reminding myself that she must have, or else none of this would have worked.
That was when I noticed Tommy. He was sitting on top of the stone, a group of kids standing on the ground around him.
I wandered over to see what was going on.
“I don’t really know how I got up here,” he was saying to them. “I guess I just climbed.”
“That’s so amazing,” one of the girls said, looking up at him with big, admiring eyes. “You’re so cool!”
Tommy smiled shyly at the girl. Then one of the boys held a hand up to him. “Come on, man, I’ll give you a hand down if you like. You’ll be in massive trouble if they catch you up there.”
“Thanks,” Tommy said awkwardly. I smiled to myself as I watched.
Just then, he glanced over toward me. For a moment, he looked as if he was going to wave. Then he screwed his eyes up as though he was trying to figure out who I was.
“Do I know you?” he asked. “You look familiar.”
I smiled back. It had worked just like Daisy had said it would. He didn’t remember a thing — just a vague, hazy sense of something. I didn’t think he’d believe me if I told him the truth, so I didn’t bother trying. “I think I’ve seen you around,” I said.
I turned to go and almost bumped into a boy running over toward Tommy and his new friends. “Look over there!” he said. Another group of kids the same age was gathered around in a huddle. They all had hands over their mouths and were bent double laughing hysterically and pointing at someone. I followed the line of their hands to see who they were pointing at.
There was a stocky boy kicking up dirt and waving his arms in the air. “What?” he snarled. “Don’t you dare laugh at me! What’s so funny?”
No one answered him. They were too busy laughing. He certainly wasn’t scaring anyone with his threats. I looked at his face, and all at once I got the joke. His face was covered in spots, with a huge, thick pair of horn-rimmed glasses painted around his eyes. And he didn’t even know it.
Let’s just say that time sometimes leaves its mark.
I looked up at the sky and smiled. “Nice one, Daisy,” I said out loud, and then I walked away and left Tommy to join his friends, laughing at the loser who used to be a bully.
As I watched the colors bursting into life in the sky, I wished so much that Daisy could have been sharing this. That we could have just a bit more time together.
But I knew that at some point I would have to accept the truth. There wasn’t going to be any more time together — ever.
The thought hurt so much, it was as though
one of the fireworks was shooting through me.
“Philippa!” Someone was calling me. I looked up.
“Robyn!” I yelled. Of course — I was supposed to be here with her tonight. We were meeting up with my parents together! We ran over to each other and jumped up and down in a huge, happy hug.
“You’re back!” Robyn cried. “You are back, aren’t you? Back for good?”
“Yes,” I said. “I’m back for good.”
“Hey, what are you two kids so happy about?”
I spun around. Dad! I threw my arms around him. Mom was behind him. I grabbed her too and hugged both of them as hard as I could. I never wanted to let them go.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Dad said, prising my arms from around his neck and holding me out to look at me. “This is a nice welcome. And we missed you too, chicken — even if you have only been out for the day!”
“Silly old fool,” Mom said, smiling as she nudged him in the ribs. “I mean, it’s not as if you’ve been to the other side of the world and back!”
I looked at Robyn and then back at my parents — and burst out laughing. Robyn looked at me. Soon, she started laughing as well.
“What’s so funny?” Mom asked, but then she started giggling too. A minute later, all four of us were laughing so hard, we all had tears rolling down our cheeks. None of the others really knew what the joke was — and none of them knew that only half of my tears were from laughing.
Robyn’s dad and Annie came to join us and we all stood warming ourselves by the fire, huddled in a group, sharing a bag of hot chestnuts and looking up at the sky.
Dad squeezed in between me and Robyn and slung an arm around us both. “So, what sort of no good have you girls been up to today, then?” he asked.
How was I going to answer that? “Oh, you know, just hanging out,” I said eventually.
Just then a firework whizzed up into the blackness and exploded into a giant bouquet that reached across the sky.
“Wow, look at that!” my dad said.
“I tell you what — I think this is the most spectacular New Year’s Eve ever,” Mom said, coming up behind me. “It’s different from anything we’ve ever had before, isn’t it?”
I smiled at Mom and wondered if she would ever say anything so true again. “Yes, Mom,” I replied. “It certainly is.”
I sat at my desk, staring into space. Any minute now, they’d be here to take me to High Command. They were going to hold a big ceremony for me, tell the whole of ATC how I’d saved us all from disaster. I’d be praised by everyone for my sacrifice. I couldn’t travel between the two worlds anymore, but I’d probably get a huge promotion at ATC. If not a promotion, then some kind of reward. I’d be a heroine.
So why wasn’t I happy?
Why was I scratching around in my brain for something that mattered to me about all of that?
Why did I feel as though I’d had a hole dug out of the middle of me?
I knew the answer. Because none of it meant as much to me as the thought that I was never going to see Philippa again. Ever.
I picked things up off my desk and put them down again, trying to make some sort of order, tidy up a bit, get back to normal.
Normal — what was that, anyway? One assignment after another? A world that didn’t mean anything to me anymore?
I pulled my drawer open and angrily shoved some paperwork inside it.
And that was when I saw it.
I checked around to make sure no one was watching me, and then I reached inside my drawer. I stared at it for ages. The box that Philippa had been given, with the one-trip-only portal code inside: the code that anyone could use, even if they didn’t have the power to move between the two worlds.
I could use it now! I could see Philippa again!
I pressed a finger to my mouth and bit into my nail. Could I? It was a one-way trip. If I did it, I’d be leaving ATC forever. And probably giving up all the rest of my fairy powers too.
Could I?
I had to think quickly because any minute now they’d be here to pick me up — and once everyone heard about what I’d done, I’d probably never get another moment to myself. They might even remember and take the voucher away, now that the job was done. Then I’d definitely be stuck here for good.
I looked around at the office. Being part of ATC meant being part of something incredibly magical.
But then I remembered the night I’d had at Philippa’s house when her parents thought I was her, when I’d felt for a moment what it was like to be part of a real family. That was magical, too.
Friendship was magical.
Should I?
The wall at the far end of the office was turning into a door. This was it. They were coming. They’d be in the office any second now. I glanced behind me. If I ran, I could get out the back way before they reached my desk.
Think! Decide!
I gripped the box in my hands. What should I do? What should I do?
And then they came through the door. They looked around the office. Two more seconds and they’d see me. I imagined the ceremony they would hold for me. The congratulations, the praise, the promotion, all of it — and I felt sick and trapped.
It wasn’t what I wanted.
I knew what I had to do. I shoved the box in my pocket, ducked low — and ran as fast as I could to the exit at the back of the office.
The fireworks were over. People had started drifting away. Our little group still stood staring into the glowing remains of the bonfire, watching orange slithers chase each other up and down the sticks and twigs on the ground.
I wished Daisy were here to share it with us.
“Looks like the party’s over,” Dad said. “Shall we head home?”
We started to walk away, the adults up ahead, Robyn and me following behind. It was the first time we’d had a chance to talk.
“So when are you going to tell me what this was all about?” Robyn asked. “Or are you still not allowed?”
I thought about Daisy up at ATC, us down here, never meeting up again. What harm could it do?
“I think I can probably tell you now,” I said.
I was about to begin when Robyn looked over my shoulder, back toward the stone circle. “Or I guess Daisy could tell me, if you prefer?” she said.
I stopped walking. “Robyn, there’s something I need to tell you about Daisy,” I said.
Robyn laughed. “Er, there’s something I need to tell you about Daisy!” she said.
“What?”
Robyn pointed behind me, a wide grin on her face. “She’s right behind you!”
I spun around. She was right! Daisy was here! I stared at her for a moment. Then I grabbed her arm and squeezed it.
“Ouch!” Daisy said.
“You’re real!”
“Of course she’s real!” Robyn said.
I grabbed Daisy and hugged her tight, spinning around in a circle and laughing.
“You’re acting as though you thought you were never going to see her again!” Robyn said.
“I did think that!” I said. “How did you — how come — are you —”
Daisy laughed. “I’m here to stay,” she said. “If that’s OK with you.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “That’s very, very, very OK with me!”
Just then Mom turned around to see what the commotion was. “Oh, I didn’t realize you had another friend here.” She waited for us to catch up.
“Mom, this is Daisy,” I said.
Mom squinted at her. “Wait a minute, I think I recognize you. Aren’t you from Philippa’s school? We met once, didn’t we?”
“That’s right,” Daisy said. “I’m — um —”
“Daisy’s here with her parents,” I said quickly. “But they said she can stay with us tonight if it’s OK with you. And maybe tomorrow night, too?”
Mom smiled. “I didn’t realize you were such good friends.”
Daisy, Robyn, and I just looked at one another and burst out la
ughing.
“Can she?” I asked again. “Please.”
“You’re sure it’s all right with your parents, Daisy?”
“Positive. Honestly,” Daisy replied with a big innocent smile.
Mom sighed. “Go on, then, as long as you’re sure.”
I threw my arms around her. “Thanks, Mom,” I said. “You’re the best.”
My dad and Robyn’s dad had stopped to wait for us. “Hey, look at that,” Dad said, pointing at the ground just behind us. In the darkness, I could see the bright orange eyes of a kitten. It seemed to have come out of nowhere.
“Ohh, it’s so sweet! A little tabby kitten,” Robyn cried, bending down to stroke it, but it slunk away from her and rubbed itself against Daisy’s leg.
Daisy bent down to stroke the kitten. Purring, it leaped up and huddled instantly into a ball in her arms.
“Well, it likes you!” Dad said. “I think you might have to keep it.”
“Can it come back with Daisy tonight?” I asked.
“Good grief — anything else you want?” Dad said with a wink. Then he looked again at the kitten in Daisy’s arms and laughed. “If we can’t find its owner then I suppose we’ll have to,” he said. “We can’t leave a tiny thing like that out here on its own.”
Daisy smiled. “Thanks, Mr. Fisher,” she said. “I’ll be really careful with it.”
Dad turned back and continued walking. “Come on, guys,” he called back to us. “Let’s go home.”
I looked at Daisy. She was smiling a broad, happy smile. I had never seen her smile like that before.
“What?” I asked.
“Home,” she said. “That sounds nice.”
We walked back across the woods, and into the village, back to our cottage. We begged Mom and Dad to let Robyn stay over too, and we made up extra beds for them both.
The three of us sat up talking until it was light, with Daisy’s new kitten curled up in her lap the whole time. We talked about everything that had happened and tried to figure out what was going to happen next.
We’d have to think of a story for Daisy, and find her somewhere to stay. Maybe she’d be able to move in with Annie — at least Annie already knew who Daisy was, so we wouldn’t have to pretend. Or maybe one day we’d even tell my parents everything, and she could live with us. If there were any parents in the world likely to believe who Daisy really was, surely it was mine!
