Nobody asked the fairies what they did when the winter settled in, or if they moved to another tree in a warmer climate when it got cold. In the back of his mind, Clayton always worried that the fairies would flee to a new location because their secret was in danger. Now he also worried the fairies would abandon the tree when the dragons woke up.
They were all suffering from fairy separation anxiety. And it was getting worse. There was nothing they could do but wait for the spring thaw, which would move them closer to firefly season. Knowing they had months of waiting ahead made them even more anxious. It was a vicious circle of agony.
To keep occupied during the winter months, they already planned a schedule for keeping a lookout on the upper platform of the tree house and rigged a large bell to ring at first sighting of the fireflies. They were determined to organize their lives so they could visit the fairy tree every night it didn’t rain. They would do whatever it took to spend as much time as they could at the fairy tree, if the fairies were still there.
Clayton thought back to the day they’d found the fairies gone. They awoke to a thin showering of snow and collectively began to fear the worst. But the temperature climbed during the day as they quickly completed their chores. It was a Saturday, and as the afternoon turned sunny and warmer temperatures melted the snow, their hopes began to build. They met at the tree house early, or so they thought. The sun was setting earlier as winter approached, and they hurried along the slippery trail to reach the firefly field as fast as they could.
They had made the trek to the fairy tree, excitement warming their bones. A light frost covered the grass. As they trudged along, he felt a strangeness stirring in his stomach. While everyone chit-chatted about seeing the fairies, he somehow knew that they wouldn’t be there.
And he was right.
The seven of them stood in the frosty field, staring at the dead tree in silence. The field was completely empty of fireflies. The whole field smelled like cow poop, and the grass had been flattened by the herd of cows that were now in their barns for the night.
When the field grew darker and still not a firefly was in sight, the kids crossed to the fairy tree. When they arrived at the tree, there were still no fireflies, and worse, no fairies. No lamps flickered, no booths bustled, no fairies pranced on branches, and no fairy wings glistened in the air.
They called SeeLee’s name, but she didn’t appear. Then they shouted every fairy name they could remember, with the same sad result. Not even a helper came out to help. With sinking hearts, they stepped closer to the tree, then past the spot where they would have gotten smaller. Nothing happened. They stayed the same size. For a long moment, no one moved or spoke, as if being frozen would change what was happening. It didn’t, and their hearts began beating faster with fear.
Phil finally knocked lightly on the branch. No one answered. After another minute of motionless silence, Karl reached to touch the bench they used so often in the summer months. He tried to unfold the little perch, but it crumbled in his fingers and they all backed away.
“SeeLee!” Penny called once more. She stood there with tears in her eyes, shivering in the autumn wind. It had never occurred to her that the fairies wouldn’t be there, or that she might never see them again. This must be how a broken heart feels, she thought, choking off a sob.
Clayton stared at the tree, imagining the fairies bustling about, their colorful wings sparkling. Yes, they had defeated Mike. Yes, they had saved the marshland, but what did it matter now? He couldn’t even tell the fairies of their accomplishments. He dreaded heading home without seeing them, as if that action would be a final acceptance that they were gone.
The defeated group headed back across the field enveloped by total darkness.
They realized then that they wouldn’t be seeing the fairies for a long time, if ever again. A bleak sense of devastation crept into their hearts as they walked silently home. Each was lost in memories of SeeLee, or Kast, or MarJoReAn, or SanDroMonEnLor, or any fairies they knew. Every remembrance brought renewed heartbreak. Finally, he was jarred from his memories as somebody spoke.
“Tell me again about the part where we might get eaten by monsters,” Rose demanded, breaking the silence.
Unknown to the others, Penny had been telling Rose, her best friend at school, all about the fairies ever since her first trip to the tree. None of the new girls in school wanted to venture into the woods, but Penny desperately wanted Rose to join her in this adventure. Of course Rose didn’t believe her.
After days and days of providing extensive details of her trips to the fairy tree, Penny showed up at school broken-hearted about the fairies disappearing. After that, she was sure Rose decided the fairies were real and was determined to see them, too. So, Rose started going with Penny to the tree house. The boys thought it was okay for Penny to share the fairy secret; they had each other to talk with about the fairies, and they knew Penny needed someone to talk with, too.
Everyone gladly shared their memories of fairy tree adventures with Rose, eagerly answering her questions. It was as if telling someone new reinforced the experience for them. Besides that, they needed to be sure they didn’t sound too crazy when talking about the mythical creatures, and they didn’t get too carried away with their descriptions, which could lead to a lot of teasing.
“Don’t worry,” they all said at once, answering Rose’s repeated demands to know what to expect at the fairy tree.
“Why did you even tell her about getting eaten?” Clayton asked Penny.
“Because it was mysterious and dangerous,” Penny shot back.
“Hey! I just thought of something,” Karl proclaimed. “We never asked SeeLee if she was kidding when she told us about being eaten.”
“You’re right,” Brian agreed.
“Kidding?” Rose questioned.
“She’s always messing with us or trying to scare us,” Paul explained.
“Not always,” Phil argued.
“We’re just not sure when she is or isn’t teasing,” Penny added quickly to cut off further argument.
“Well, don’t let it bother you,” Clayton advised. “The fairies would never let anything bad happen to us.”
“It is kind of odd though,” Brian said. “Safety this, beauty that, love one another other. And, oh yeah, watch out here, you might get eaten. Makes you wonder what else we don’t know about that might be dangerous.”
“The bugs are certainly big enough to eat us,” Karl offered as a possible danger.
“I don’t even like bugs when they’re little!” Rose cringed.
“The bugs are so cute when they’re bigger,” Penny said in their defense. “They’re all big eyed and furry, and they kind of waddle when they walk. I love petting the caterpillars. Only friendly, helpful bugs are allowed on the tree anyway,” she added, reassuringly.
“I’m still not going to like the bug part,” Rose decided.
“There’s so much to look at, you won’t even notice the bugs,” Ron said dismissively.
“I can’t not notice a bug as big as a dog or horse,” she assured him.
“There is something else that might be dangerous,” Paul warned. “I overheard some archers talking about creatures and dark ones. Then I heard an archer say that if the creatures escaped, the dark ones would hunt them down and the dragons would help.”
“You’re just telling us this now?” Clayton complained, covering up his own secret knowledge.
“Well, I didn’t want anyone wimping out and refusing to go to the tree,” Paul defended. “We’ll have to ask them what’s going on when we see them again.”
“If we want to see them again,” Phil said with doubt creeping over his face.
“See? You’re already wimping out!” Paul accused.
“Am not!”
“Am too!”
“Either way you should have told us as soon as you heard this,” Clayton admonished, glad the dragons were now out in the open.
“Whatever is g
oing on, the fairies will keep us safe,” Penny proclaimed.
“I can’t wait to see the carved panels on the stairway,” Rose said quickly changing the subject. “And I really can’t wait to see a churla,” she giggled.
“I love when you’re holding a churla and it purggles when you pet it,” Penny sighed.
“Purggles?”
“Yes. When you pet them, they vibrate, but instead of cat purring noises, the churlas make water gurgling noises. So, purggle.”
Clayton’s thoughts wandered again. He would definitely have to visit the island at the bottom of the fairy tree next summer. And he wanted to spend time with the archers and knife throwers, too. And he definitely wanted to ride a squirrel. And he wanted to make furniture. And he wanted to make balloon kites. And he wanted to explore deep inside the fairy tree. And he wanted to sneak up on the sleeping dragons, being careful not to drop his glimmer frond. He soon realized there was a long list of things he wanted to do once he got back to fairyland.
A creaking noise at the tree house door brought Clayton back to reality.
As he got up to find out what it was, he heard Brian say to Rose, “Well, you’ll just have to wait until the next time we go.”
Clayton went to the door and yanked it open.
Dillon and Wayne fell into the room, but quickly regained their footing. For a moment, Clayton felt embarassed. Surely his older brother would make fun of him if he’d overheard their conversation.
“We want to go with you next time, too,” Dillon said, as Wayne nodded in agreement. Everyone just stared at them, not knowing what to do about two more kids knowing the secret.
“How long have you been out there?” Clayton asked.
“Long enough to know you really were with fairies, or at least think you were. Did you eat any mushrooms or strange flowers before you saw them?” Dillon asked as an afterthought.
“It was lame how you told us you saw fairies that first night, knowing we wouldn’t believe you,” Wayne interjected with resentment in his voice.
“Well, no matter how I said what we saw, you wouldn’t have believed me,” Clayton countered. “Believing in fairies would be ridiculous. You have to see them for yourself to believe what you’re seeing, and even then, you’re really not sure if you’re nuts. Besides, you guys were more interested in cars and girls.
“We’ll take you with us the next time we go to see them. Then you’re just going to have to figure out how to not go crazy after you see them.”
Clayton smiled and looked around the tree house. As much as he wished he could see the fairies again, he wouldn’t trade this moment for the world. All of his friends, his sister, and now his older brother Dillon were sitting in the tree house. They were all close before, but the fairies had bonded them together— wrapping them up in their fairy world. Clayton could only hope that next summer their adventure would continue inside the fairy tree.
Upcoming Books in The Last Elfarian Series
By R. E. Munzing
Inside the Fairy Tree
Beneath the Fairy Tree
Beyond the Fairy Tree
Beyond the Firefly Field Page 24
