The Land of Make Believe

by Michael Arnold

  After those soft words, Whisk-pey stepped back and watched as an array of lights shot out of the water and up into the sky. That wasn’t anything unusual. She had seen that before. She didn’t feel different, everything felt the same. May your wishes, every one of them, be granted onto you, my girl! Norvis thought. Whisk-pey with her droopy eyes stared upon Norvis’s broad shoulders. “I made my wish and nothing happens, I feel the same!”

  Norvis shook his head in disappointment but not without a smile. “Be patient, my dear. Wishes sometimes get held up in the request atmosphere. Don’t give up on your wish. In due time, it will come to pass. Make sure what you wished for, you can handle it,” Norvis said.

  It wasn’t until the three of them got in the front of the entrance when the raging waters began to flutter.

  Like a strong wind, the water began to whip up in menacing waves. The sound was heavenly. It was a sound that Whisk-pey never heard before. It sounded pleasant, new, refreshing. She was mature for her age but when the blast of colors engaged her and Ento, she jumped for joy as the excitement rushed through her body, then entered her soul, before finally going back into the water.

  The excitement drew her to the water where she peered into it. She saw herself, then Ento. He was smiling. She admired his large and rare smile as she turned to see him, not in the reflection of the water, but in reality. He was right on her shoulder. “That was so awesome, Norvis. What was going on? Norvis…, Norvis, where did you go?” Whisk-pey uttered out loud.

  Whisk-pey’s first instinct was to go look for him but her second instinct was to stay where she was and look into the water.

  “He will be back, I suppose. Maybe he had to do something!” Ento suggested.

  Then, when they both looked into the water, Whisk-pey caught a small glimpse of something that resembled footprints shooting across the surface but could not believe these were actually footsteps. Then before saying anything, Whisk-pey bent down lower to get a closer look of what could be beneath the water surface.

  “I see something in the water. You see that, Ento?”

  For a moment she thought it was her shadow. She didn’t react until she saw a hand then a second hand that came up out of the clear blue water. Ento screamed, while Whisk-pey pulled away as fast as she could. Her left hand fumbled to get inside of her satchel and on her sling-shot.

  What came up and out of the water was like nothing Whisk-pey had seen in her life. “It” reached out for Whisk-pey with web-like hands, her pretty sky-blue eyes sought Whisk-pey, who looked to take cover when she couldn’t get her trusty sling-shot out of the satchel. She scrambled to one of the stone boulders where she was finally able to retrieve her sling-shot and a rock out of her bag.

  “Oh my, my, Whisk-pey, I think it is time to panic. Did you see the hands on her? What in the world is she?” Ento asked, nearly crying, as he peeped out of Whisk-pey’s satchel. She loaded up her sling-shot quickly then poked her head around the corner of the stone.

  “You made the wish, Whisk-pey, so come on out. Don’t make me look for you and find you. Besides, I don’t have all day. I have other things I have to do. So come on out!” Her two-tone blue and yellow wings kept her afloat.

  Whisk-pey couldn’t see her feet; a long blue gown covered them.

  Her diamond shaped ears moved about at the minutest noise emanating from the stone caves.

  “Quiet, Ento, I have her right where I want her. One shot and I will stop her in her tracks!” Whisk-pey whispered. The gown girl must have heard those murmured words for she flew in the direction of Whisk-pey’s hiding place. With her sling-shot poised, Whisk-pey moved out from behind her rock and let go of the elastic band that released the rock. It connected with the gown girl – right in the chest, sending her backwards, falling senseless against one of the stone boulders beyond the pool of water.

  “Yes, I got her!” Whisk-pey yelled. A round of loud laughter broke from the troll people who lived amongst the secret places all around the water and who were too scared to show themselves for some reason.

  “I don’t know what she had in mind but I stopped it!”

  “Look at the water!” Ento yelled, pointing at it. It was moving wildly as if something else was in it, something alive, and something which didn’t feel good.

  “Come on, Whisk-pey, we have to get out of here! It doesn’t seem right, something seems wrong!”

  Not because she was fearful but because they had spent so much time in that place that anymore time spent there could and would spell more and greater problems.

  Like the Canine girl she was, Whisk-pey thought it to be more productive and faster to get to the entrance and out of that place forever if she ran out of there on fours instead of on two legs. It took her more than ten second to load up her sling-shot when out of the water not hands but a body came straight up out of it.

  “How many times do I have to tell you before dealing with people who are not like us you have to come prepared, Sapphire!” The voice was young but strong in Whisk-pey’s ear. Out of curiosity she looked back to see where that new voice came from. She caught a glimpse of bright, golden footsteps moving forward in the air as if the person was walking on it.

  She wanted to see more because she knew that there was more, but Ento’s body and screams: “It is another her and it is after us, Whisk-pey!” told her all she needed to know. They were in trouble again. She thought she may have been in the clear and out of sight when she heard ‘her’ voice.

  “You can’t escape me. I won’t be so easy to deter as my careless sister Sapphire was. Stop your running. All you will do is tire yourself and you won’t have eyes for the trip!” the voice said from behind them.

  “Leave us alone! We just came here for the lights. We want to leave now. Go away!” Whisk-pey yelled. She didn’t hear anything for the longest time, but what she saw in front of her, moving toward the entranceway with her were golden brown and dark orange butterflies.

  Mesmerized by their bright colors and perfumed smell, Whisk-pey stopped to admire these creatures and to inhale the delightful perfume coming off their beautiful bodies. Ento was drawn in by the smell too. When Whisk-pey reached out to touch one of the wings on the butterfly, the ten or so of them ‘poofed’ into a space of golden brown smoke. That was just as impressive to Whisk-pey as the butterflies themselves.

  Whisk-pey’s admiration for the butterflies would only be temporary, for out of the smoke, came a woman just like the one Whisk-pey had seen minutes ago. She had fired her sling shot at her. But this one was different. Her clothing, look and voice were similar to that of the woman who was now an imprint on the stone fixture. By the look that crossed the orange part of her eyes, this girl, whatever she was planning to do with Whisk-pey and Ento, wasn’t leaving until it was done.

  “Please just leave us alone,” Ento blurted, scared half to death by now. “We just want to go home. If nothing else, could we work out something like a trade or something? I have a lot of snacks in this bag; just let us go home and all of it is yours!” But glaring eyes, gritting teeth and two rows of dark brown and orange arching eyebrows was the only response Ento got. That woman-like elf appeared to Whisk-pey as evil and scary as she would in a nightmare.

  “I don’t make deals. I grant wishes. That is what I was created to do. So, you made your wish and I must grant it!” the woman said.

  “Ugh, my head feels really, really dizzy!”

  “Snap out of it Sapphire and snap out of it quick. We have work to do, you let this Canine-girl get the best of you, I need you to do much better!”

  “I’m sorry, Golden, she caught me off guard, but she will never catch me off guard again!” Sapphire said, getting out of the stone imprint and flying her way to where Golden, Whisk-pey and Ento were. Whisk-pey kept backing up slowly away from the two winged girls.

  This has turned bad if I don’t get out of here now, they are going to do something bad. This isn’t what I wished for. I didn’t want it to be like this. Whisk-pey was
desperate, desperate to be out of here, desperate to be free, desperate to be back at home behind her bedroom door and in the comfort of her bed.

  “Hey, what on Troll’s green land have the two of you fairies done?”

  “We are granted her the wish that she wished and we want to make sure it happens. Stay out of this, Troll!” Golden yelled.

  “She doesn’t need an escort she needs a wish!” Norvis yelled.

  “This isn’t your wishing well nor do you have any say over it. You have hovered over the wishes as if they were your own! But wishes belong to the wisher not the one who watches over the well in which the wishes are thrown,” Sapphire said.

  Norvis, instead of having the grand smile that made Whisk-pey feel so welcome and at home, was now suddenly displaying an upturned scowl.

  “Why, you pesky fairies, you all have been a hindrance to us trolls for as long as we been in existence. Now I am going to put a stop to it. At least to the two of you. Trolls seize them!”

  Seemingly, out of nowhere trolls came out of hiding, running in the direction of the four, five, if you include Ento. Whisk-pey was having second thoughts.

  Maybe these fairies, whatever they are, are not so bad after all, she thought. Golden grabbed Whisk-pey in a precise, swooping movement. Ento found the safest and securest place in Whisk-pey’s satchel of course and believed, this time, he wasn’t going to come out unless he was separated from Whisk-pey.

  Whisk-pey heard the whooshing sound of objects being thrown at them from the ground as she felt herself take flight with Golden holding her by the back of her shirt. They went out through the opening between the two stone boulders. Whisk-pey was fine until their flight got higher and higher than a little higher. Mesmerized by all that had taken place, she was still a kid. She covered her eyes when fear set in. She hoped that everything would go away just as fast as it happened.

  But it didn’t. Things were just the same as they were moments ago. She put her long, narrow hands over her hairy little face and turned away as the trolls continued to throw objects at her and at the two fairies. The sky was different from the blatant darkness it held just seconds ago. It was now a bold blue while the scattered clouds, were stainless white, lit up with the brightness of the same color as Golden.

  Whisk-pey couldn’t see where the brightness was coming from. It didn’t matter to her. All she knew it was that she wasn’t in the Land of Make Believe anymore. Like wings she held out her arms away from her body.

  “Wee, this is so much fun; you should come out and see this, Ento!” Whisk-pey yelled. Sapphire, who flew beside them, looked at Whisk-pey, her short blue and white wings flapping only every so often.

  “I don’t like what you did to me in the trolls’ caves, you know!” Sapphire spoke out in a low voice.

  Whisk-pey acted as if she didn’t hear her. “Hey, Canine-girl, I’m talking to you!”

  “Oh, were you? I didn’t know that,” Whisk-pey said, turning her head away from Sapphire and flapping her arms in a flying motion.

  “Yes, I was talking to you! Who else out here would be a Canine-girl but you?” Sapphire yelled, flying in closer as if she wanted to grab Whisk-pey with her long, slender blue hands.

  “No, no, Sapphire, we are working, nothing personal when we’re working. We’re almost done, so can you please just relax a little? Maybe the job is getting to you and if so then…”

  “I’m fine, sister!” Sapphire interrupted, pulling away from her attempt to grab Whisk-pey.

  “Must you always belittle my input? She…, her, right there…, that mean little Canine-girl hit me with a nasty and smelly rock. It was so horrible, I couldn’t believe it. I was temporally stopped by a Canine-girl!” she yelled.

  Then there was a brief pause. Sapphire looked hard at Whisk-pey and Whisk-pey returned the glare.

  She saw the girlish face, a smile that was reaching out through a half frown and green eyes that spelled innocence when ever they made contact with someone. Whisk-pey saw a figure in this beautiful fairy. She saw herself. She couldn’t help the feeling that moved throughout her body rapidly, so she gave into the tingling sensation and spoke of it.

  “I don’t know if this will help, Sapphire, but at least it’s worth a try. So I’m trying.”

  Sapphire looked surprise and confused when Whisk-pey stuck out her hand to her. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to do what I did in the trolls’ caves by shooting my rock at you. Would you forgive me?” There was a moment of hesitation, only because Sapphire didn’t feel she could trust Whisk-pey’s offer. Yet, through her eyes, she saw her sincerity and she embraced Whisk-pey’s outstretched arms.

  As they continued through the air, Whisk-pey forgot about the Land of Make Believe, her family, and Gilma. Her focus indulged in the present, Golden, Sapphire, and the smiling gesture that she saw when she peered into the smiling face that was engraved in the patches of clouds in the sky.

  Ento finally came out of hiding, only revealing a face of curiosity and a voice that inquired of his whereabouts. “You are definitely not at home and where you are going isn’t home either, but I’m sure with a little adjusting, you will get use to your new place I believe,” Golden said as they moved farther out of the cloud.

  For Ento things were moving way too fast, wherever this place, was it didn’t seem fair. It felt absolutely wrong to have to do so. The Land of Make Believe was his home. Adapting to this so call new place brought immediate fear in him. But the rational part of Ento’s mind insisted that things had to be okay wherever he and Whisk-pey were going. Things will work out for us, I hope. Maybe there we can finally live a life of peace and comfort without always living dangerously.

  His mind would soon drift from that thought just like Whisk-pey’s mind drifted from her overbearing father and Gilma, who, she believed, was still waiting in front of the trolls’ caves. In the sky, just like the Land of Make Believe, there was a city, not just a city but a working city with its usual hustle and bustle and thousands of people who looked like Golden and Sapphire, who moved about swiftly, apparently without a care in the world.

  From the tall, rectangular buildings whose foundations were white clouds, pink waters moved calmly about. There were stone steps that went upward then disappeared into the deeper part of the clouds way off in front of Whisk-pey. It was all a blur in her mind. Her smile suddenly became a permanent fixture on her face.

  “We are here, Whisk-pey. This is our home. This is where Sapphire and I and all my wonderful family of fairies live,” Golden said, releasing her grip, as they gently landed on a stone staircase.

  “So this is the place where my wish has brought me to? I like it. I believe I can adapt pretty well here,” Whisk-pey said, looking at Sapphire then at Golden, both standing on each side of her.

  “No, not here. This is the Fairy World. Nothing against you or your people, but this is a place for fairies only. Besides if I attempted to place a Canine-girl here and tell my family that you will be living here with us, I don’t think it would go over well with the Board of Directors. They are a bunch of fairies with hyperactive testosterones.”

  That was the first time in a long time that Whisk-pey felt like she would start crying at any second. Sapphire was a little more sympathetic. Smaller in stature and skinnier, she was the same height as Whisk-pey. She grabbed her hand. “Things are going to be perfectly fine where you headed, Whis-pey. And just remember we are only a wish away!”

  Golden reached in a pouch that was attached to her pocket belt, and pulled out a coin that looked the same as the coins Norvis had shown her earlier. Her eyes and smile were just as bright and gleeful as the hidden lights that brightened the world of fairies.

  “Yes, it’s called a wish-me coin. Everyone, except fairies and trolls can make wishes. The troll wants to acquire all the wish-me coins that he can for himself, so that he could hold the power and the key to the wishes of people like you. With no power from the wishes, he and all his band of trolls are held at bay!” Golden said.r />
  “But what about his hand? He made the scars on it disappear and he promised me that with my wish, I could make it come true just like he made his hand better,” Whisk-pey explained.

  “Huh!” Sapphire blurted. “It’s nothing more than a trick he learned. Nothing has changed about him, but what he was right about is your wish. That’s why we are here. So since your wish has been granted, no need for this wish-me coin anymore,” Sapphire said.

  Golden tossed it up in the air, and then forming a cloud, it engulfed Whisk-pey in a gray cloud. “We are not permitted to go any farther, Whisk-pey. You will have a safe and successful journey,” Golden said.

  Whisk-pey didn’t question Golden’s words; instead she welcomed the thought of a new place, new people, and new possibilities.

  Ento must have finally gotten used to the living dangerously lifestyle; he didn’t hid away in Whisk-pey’s satchel this time. She didn’t feel anything that gave her any indication that they would make it to their destination or that they would get there safely other than Golden’s words. She didn’t know if she could really trust her or if she was signing and sealing her doom.

  Before these thoughts could find a resting place in the confines of her mind, she saw Golden and Sapphire disappear. Then there was two drops in Whisk-pey’s heart, dropping to the floor of her stomach, and then she, herself, fell thousands of feet into the light.

  Chapter 7

  There wasn’t a sound that was heard or a picture to see in the room, the bedroom. His bedroom was the color of black. The color of black reminded the young boy, by the name of Olen Stephens – he hated his name – that he could get away from it all, hide from the reality of his life in this blackness before preparing for school in the next couple of hours. Now I am alone, it feels better this way, he thought, sitting up in his bed, seeing the flashes of car lights go past behind his bedroom curtains.

  Instead of getting up, as he had done for the last three days waking up three hours before school time to seal his curtains shut, he didn’t, not because he was lazy and didn’t want to get up to do it, but because he was deep in thought again.