by Kiki Thorpe
“I don’t think she meant to let Bingo in,” Rosetta said, fluttering down from the ceiling.
Mia touched her head. It throbbed where she’d run into Gabby. “You don’t know what it’s like to have a little sister,” she told Rosetta. “Gabby’s always getting in the way.”
“Maybe I should go home,” the fairy said. She looked nervous, and Mia realized she was still afraid of Bingo.
“Don’t leave yet!” Mia begged. If Rosetta left now, the whole day would be ruined. “I haven’t even shown you the dresses!”
Mia hurried to her closet and pulled out the two shoe boxes where she kept her doll clothes. She lifted the lids and began laying the dresses out one by one.
Pink, yellow, green, gold. Satin, taffeta, and lace. Some of the dresses were trimmed with ribbon. Others were bursting with petticoats. Still others had matching cloaks and hats.
Rosetta came closer, lured by the lovely clothes. “Look how many there are!”
“Try one on,” Mia urged.
“All right. Just one.” After much consideration, Rosetta selected a ruffled pink dress with a gold sash.
The dress fit perfectly. Rosetta flew back and forth in front of Mia’s dresser mirror, admiring herself. Mia clapped her hands. The dress had never looked this pretty on her dolls. “Try this one next!” she urged, holding up a yellow ball gown.
Rosetta tried on dress after dress. Mia thought each one looked lovelier than the last. She was having so much fun she didn’t notice the time passing.
Bang! Bang! Bang! A pounding sound from outside startled Mia.
“What was that?” asked Rosetta.
“I don’t know.” Suddenly, Mia thought of Gabby. How long had it been since she’d seen her? “I’ll be right back,” she told Rosetta.
Mia went across the hall. But Gabby’s room was empty. Downstairs, the television was still on, but Gabby wasn’t watching. She wasn’t in the kitchen or the bathroom, either.
Mia went back to her room. “I can’t find her,” she told Rosetta.
“Who?” asked the fairy. She had on a green satin dress and was admiring herself in the mirror.
“Gabby!” exclaimed Mia. “She’s not anywhere in the house.”
Rosetta looked at her. “Where else could she be?”
With a sinking feeling, Mia suddenly knew exactly where her sister was. Gabby had gone through the fence into Pixie Hollow.
“Gabby, you’re such a pest,” she grumbled to herself. But she hurried down the stairs. It was one thing for Mia to go to Never Land on her own. But Gabby was just a little girl. Who knew what kind of trouble she could get into?
When she stepped outside, Mia spotted Gabby’s sweatshirt, the one she’d been wearing that morning. It was lying on the ground near the fence. Mia knew then that she was right. Gabby must have taken it off right before she went through the hole.
Mia saw her father standing at the fence. He had a hammer in his hand. But what was he doing?
As Mia watched, her father brought the hammer down on the fence. Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Oh no!” Mia cried. Her father was fixing the hole in the fence—and Gabby was on the other side!
Iridessa, a light-talent fairy, knelt before a pool of sunlight. She reached into the pool and pulled out a sunbeam. Her hands shaped the sunbeam into a ball, like a golden glowing pearl. Then she placed it in her basket.
Iridessa sat back on her heels and eyed the basket of sunbeams. It was almost full. Is that enough? she wondered.
Better get a few more, she decided. In Iridessa’s opinion, it was always better to be safe than sorry. With the bridge builders working through the night, Pixie Hollow would need extra light.
As soon as she was done collecting sunbeams, she needed to round up more fireflies. There was so much to do! Luckily, Iridessa had made a plan for the day. She glanced up at the sun high in the sky and smiled. She was right on schedule.
Iridessa reached into the pool again. But just as her fingers touched it, a shadow fell over her. She turned.
A giant loomed above. Iridessa noticed that it had wings—and a tutu. “Gabby?” she said.
“Hi, Iridessa.” The girl squatted down next to her. “Will you come to my room? I’m having a party.”
“Now?” Iridessa wondered why anyone would have a party at such a busy time.
“Everyone is invited—except Mia,” Gabby told her.
Suddenly, Iridessa understood. “Did you have a fight with your sister?”
Gabby’s forehead furrowed. “She won’t let me play with her and Rosetta. And she yelled at me, even though it wasn’t my fault about Bingo. And she made me leave. She pulled my wings! She’s mean!”
Iridessa didn’t know what to make of all this. But she did know what it was like to be mad at someone. “Perhaps she wasn’t mean on purpose,” she said.
“She was so,” said Gabby. “I never want to see her again.”
“Come now,” said Iridessa. “There must be something you like about your sister.”
Gabby shook her head.
“Think hard,” Iridessa urged. “Just one thing.”
Gabby considered. “Well, sometimes she lets me watch TV.”
“What is that?” asked the fairy.
Gabby looked at her in amazement. “It’s … TV!”
Some quaint Clumsy custom, no doubt, thought Iridessa. “Well, imagine if you didn’t have your sister or TV. Wouldn’t that be sad?”
“I guess so,” said Gabby.
“I’ll bet if you remind Mia how much you like it when you watch TV, it will make her feel happy. And then you two can make up,” Iridessa said.
“Do you really think so?” Gabby asked.
“Yes,” said Iridessa. “People always like to hear good things about themselves. Sometimes the best way to get over an argument is to remember the nice things about each other. You should talk to Mia. Come on, I’ll take you back to the hollow tree.”
Iridessa picked up her basket of sunbeams. This wasn’t part of her day’s plan. But she was glad to help. Iridessa liked to see things sorted out. And it had only taken her—Iridessa glanced at the sun—forty-seven seconds!
She led Gabby across the meadow, back to the tree that held the portal to the girls’ world. Iridessa stopped at the entrance to the hollow.
“Fly safely,” she said, in the fairy manner.
“Okay.” Gabby turned and ducked into the hollow. A second later, she came right back out.
“What’s wrong?” Iridessa asked.
“The hole isn’t there,” said Gabby.
“Of course it is,” Iridessa replied. “You came through it earlier, didn’t you?”
Gabby nodded. “But now it’s gone.”
Iridessa thought Gabby must be mistaken. She set down her basket and flew into the tree. It was dark inside the hollow, but all fairies glow a little and Iridessa’s glow was stronger than most. She could see the inside walls of the hollow, smooth and unbroken.
“It’s gone! The portal’s gone!” Iridessa exclaimed, flying out of the tree.
“I told you,” said Gabby.
“What should I do?” Iridessa asked. This was important news! But whether it was good or bad news, Iridessa wasn’t certain. She fluttered back and forth. She sometimes got flustered when things didn’t work out as planned.
Just then, a messenger-talent fairy flew by. Iridessa zipped over and told her what they’d discovered. Within moments, the messenger spread the news around Pixie Hollow. Fairies and sparrow men all stopped what they were doing. They came to examine the tree.
“So it’s true?” asked Queen Clarion, flying up.
“It is,” said Tinker Bell, who’d been inspecting the tree. “The hollow is still there. But the portal has vanished!”
As the fairies buzzed with the news, Iridessa’s eyes darted to Gabby. The girl stood off to the side, watching the fairies silently. She seemed to be waiting to be told what to do. The other fairies barely noticed her, howev
er. They were all focused on the tree.
Iridessa flew over to Queen Clarion. “What about Gabby?” she murmured. “She can’t get home. Someone will need to look after her.”
The queen rubbed a hand across her forehead. She looked distracted. “Yes, you’re right, of course. That’s very good of you, Iridessa.”
“What? Oh! No.” Iridessa shook her head and tried to explain. “That’s not what I meant….” But the queen was already flying away.
Iridessa sighed. She had sunbeams to collect and fireflies to gather. Looking after a Clumsy was not part of her plan.
She flew back over to Gabby. “Don’t worry,” she said brightly. “I’m sure the hole will open again in no time.” Iridessa wasn’t sure of any such thing. But she didn’t want Gabby to worry.
In the meantime, she had no choice. If she was going to stick to her plan, she’d just have to bring Gabby along with her.
Well, she’s only a young girl, after all, she thought. How hard can it be to look after her?
Mia ran toward her father, crying, “Papi, wait!”
Mr. Vasquez looked up. “Mia?”
When she reached the fence, Mia ran her fingers along it. None of the boards budged. “There was a loose board!”
“I know, I fixed it,” her father replied. “I’ve been meaning to repair this old fence for ages. You don’t know what might get through a hole like that. Stray dogs or cats or— Mia, honey, what’s the matter?”
“Gabby is…” Mia trailed off, her mind racing.
What if she told her father about Never Land? What would happen? Would he tell other grown-ups about the fairy world? Would he leave the hole sealed up for good? Would he even believe her?
Mia didn’t know. But one thing was certain—if her parents found out she’d lost track of Gabby, she was going to be in big trouble.
Her father frowned. “Gabby is what?”
“Sleeping,” Mia said quickly, making a decision. “She’s taking a nap. I was afraid the hammering would wake her up.”
“Well, I’m done here.” Her father picked up his tools. “I’ve got some work to do in the garage. Quiet work,” he added with a wink. Then he patted Mia’s cheek. “You’re a good big sister.”
A guilty lump rose in Mia’s throat. She swallowed hard, forcing it down. It’s not my fault, Mia told herself. If Gabby hadn’t left without telling me, this wouldn’t have happened!
When her father was gone, Mia turned back to the fence. She tried wiggling the wooden boards. She tried kicking them. Not one of them budged.
“Stupid fence!” Mia exclaimed, giving it an extra kick.
“Mia?” said a voice behind her.
Mia turned and saw Rosetta hovering. She was still wearing the green satin doll dress. “What’s going on?” the fairy asked.
Gabby wasn’t the only one who was trapped in the wrong world, Mia realized. Rosetta was stuck, too!
But unlike Gabby, Rosetta had magic. Maybe she could help. “Papi fixed the fence. But Gabby is in Never Land, and now she can’t get home!” Mia explained. “Can you do something?”
“You mean, the way back to Never Land is gone?” Rosetta’s face turned pale. Her eyelids fluttered. Mia stuck out her hand just in time to catch her as she fainted.
Inside the house, Mia ran a washrag under the kitchen tap. Carefully, she squeezed a drop of water onto Rosetta’s forehead.
The fairy spluttered and sat up. When she saw Mia’s giant face hovering over her, she screamed.
“Sorry!” Mia backed away quickly. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Rosetta put a hand to her cheek. “What happened?”
“You fainted when I told you we can’t get back to Never Land,” Mia said.
Rosetta looked like she might faint again, so Mia made her comfortable on a dry kitchen sponge.
“That’s better. A cup of tea would be nice, too,” Rosetta said.
Mia didn’t know how to make tea. But she wanted Rosetta to feel better. She fetched a doll’s teacup from her room and put a drop of soda in it, then handed it to the fairy.
Rosetta took one sip and yelped. “It burns! But it’s cold!”
“It’s root beer,” said Mia.
Rosetta drained her cup and smacked her lips. “Have you got a little something to go with it? A poppy-seed thimblecake, perhaps? With a dollop of fresh cream and a sprinkle of pollen?”
Mia studied the cupboard. “We have crackers.”
As she handed one to Rosetta, the doorbell rang. Mia ran to answer it. Her best friend, Kate McCrady, was standing on the doorstep. Mia had called Kate and Lainey for help. She remembered what her mother had said about not having her friends over. But this was an emergency.
“You said to come over. Then you said not to come over. Then you said, ‘Come over—and hurry!’ Make up your mind, Mia!” Kate joked.
Mia didn’t feel like laughing. She led Kate into the kitchen. Rosetta was still sitting on the counter, making her way through an oyster cracker.
“What are you doing here?” Kate cried when she saw Rosetta. “Aren’t we going to Never Land today?”
“Well, that’s the thing….” Mia started to explain how Rosetta had ended up on the mainland. But right away Kate interrupted.
“Wait a minute. You mean, you went to Never Land without me?” Kate looked both annoyed and envious.
“Don’t be mad, Kate,” Mia pleaded. “I’ve got a big problem. Gabby is stuck in Never Land!”
“She went, too? So much for sticking with your friends,” Kate grumbled.
To Mia’s relief, the doorbell rang again. This time it was Lainey Winters. Her blond hair was uncombed and her glasses were slightly crooked on her face. “I came as fast as I could,” she said breathlessly.
The girls listened as Mia explained how Gabby had come to be trapped in Never Land, and Rosetta stuck in their world.
“Can’t you do anything?” Lainey asked Rosetta. “I mean, with fairy magic?”
“Nope, I already asked,” Mia told her.
Rosetta lifted her chin. “I’m a garden fairy,” she said proudly. “Holes aren’t one of my talents. Our magic is different. I can make any flower bloom. I can hear the secrets inside a seed.”
Kate rolled her eyes. “A lot of good that will do us.”
“You said your dad nailed the board shut,” Lainey said, thinking. “So really all we need to do is loosen it again.”
“It’s nailed down tight,” Mia said. “But we can try.”
The group hurried outside to study the fence. “Which board was it?” Rosetta asked.
“It was somewhere in the middle,” said Mia.
“I thought it was closer to the right,” said Kate.
“How can you tell?” asked Lainey. “They all look the same!”
Kate folded her arms across her chest. “Mia should know. She was the last one through it,” she said, giving Mia a meaningful look.
“Kate, I said I was sorry!” Mia wailed.
“Actually, you didn’t,” Kate replied.
Mia sighed. “I’m sorry I went to Never Land without you. Will you please stop being mad now?”
“Maybe,” Kate said with a smile. She kicked at a few fence boards. “Well, since we can’t remember which board it is, I guess we’re just going to have to try them all.”
“You mean, loosen every board?” Mia was horrified. “What are my parents going to think?”
“What are they going to think when you tell them Gabby sneaked off to the magical island of Never Land while you were supposed to be watching her?” Kate asked pointedly. “Mia, it’s the only way.”
“Fine.” Mia scowled. “I can’t wait to get Gabby back … so I can yell at her.”
Kate knelt down and began to wiggle a board. “It’s really nailed tight. Ow!” She jerked back her hand. “I got a splinter.”
Rosetta fluttered over to her. “Let me see it.”
“Do you have healing magic?” Kate asked, holding out he
r thumb.
“No, but I have tiny hands.” Rosetta landed on Kate’s palm and began to gently work out the splinter.
That gave Mia an idea. “I know! We need something to pull the nails out.” She ran into the house and returned a few moments later with a hammer.
Using the claw end of the hammer, Mia began to wiggle the nail from the wood. “Just a little more … there!” Mia pulled out the nail, then pushed the board to one side, just enough so she could peek through. “I see flowers. And I can hear water running.”
“That must be Havendish Stream!” Rosetta cried joyously. “Oh, I’ll be back in time for tea!” She zipped right past Mia and through the gap in the fence.
At that moment, a large shape crossed in front of the gap, blocking Mia’s view. She heard someone grumbling. But it didn’t sound like a fairy’s voice. It sounded like a grown-up.
That’s not Pixie Hollow! Mia realized with a gasp. It was her neighbor Mrs. Peavy’s yard—and that large shape blocking her view was Mrs. Peavy herself. Rosetta had flown right into the old woman’s garden!
“What’s wrong, Mia?” Kate asked behind her.
“We got the wrong board.” Mia put her eye back to the crack, but she couldn’t see the fairy. “Rosetta, come back!” she whispered.
There was no reply.
Mia watched through the crack. She could see Mrs. Peavy’s feet. The old woman stood still for a long time. She seemed to be looking at something.
Mia’s heart beat faster. Had Mrs. Peavy found Rosetta?
The old woman turned and walked back toward her house.
As soon as she was gone, Mia whispered louder, “Rosetta, are you okay?”
Silence.
Mia felt panic rising in her chest. “We have to go in there!” she cried. “Something happened to Rosetta!”
“What do you know about spotting fireflies?” Iridessa asked Gabby.
The two were making their way through the forest just outside Pixie Hollow. Iridessa flew in front of Gabby, leading the way through the moss-covered trees.
