The Little Fairy

Sarah was a small woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and pink highlights. Don told me before that she looks a lot like her mother, but I see a lot of Don in her, at least in her temperament. Axel, Don’s son, was the spitting image of his father, except with dark blond hair and a little bit of a skinnier nose. Both were in what I assume would be formal attire, Axel was in what Don called a suit and Sarah was in a floor-length navy dress that clung to her torso, but lay gracefully at her feet.

Don’s eyes were glossy like I’d never seen them before, I’m sure it was in excitement and happiness, maybe a hint of sadness as well. “Sarah, Axel, this is Kreya.” He didn’t say much other than that.

Sarah came up to me and embraced me in a hug, the plastic sequins on her dress scratching at my face. “It’s so nice to finally meet you!” She had a higher-pitched voice, but maybe it was the excitement of meeting an actual fairy. “My dad has told us so much about you.” She wore a large grin that showed almost all of her straight white teeth.

Axel stayed sitting on the bar stool against the kitchen island. He didn’t look up from his lunch, moving the vegetables around with his fork. “Now don’t be rude, Axe. I raised you to be better than that around a lady.” His dad smacked him over the head, snapping Axel out of his thoughts.

“I just find it hard to believe that there’s a literal mythical creature in our house. I mean, look at her! If she were a fairy, where are her wings? Why hasn’t she done any magic? Huh?” Axel looked in my direction angrily, his eye bearing a hint of guilt from his tone.

I felt my eyes well up with tears and I rushed out of the room out of shock. I knew there were going to be people who didn’t believe me, I didn’t think it would come so suddenly and right in my face in a place where I felt safe other than my home.

I could hear Don and Axel arguing as I slammed the bedroom door behind me, fear and sadness washed over me and I looked around the mess that I had made last night. There were papers and articles pinned to the walls, files, and folders full of information and flyer prototypes.

I heard a gentle knock at the door, followed by Sarah as she gently slid through the small opening she made in the door. “Hey sweetie, you okay?” I could hear the southern accent coming out as she spoke although I knew she was trying to hide it.

“I’ll be fine,” I admitted, although I’m not so sure it was the complete truth.

“Axel isn’t as open as papa and I, he’s kind of a stickler when it comes to things he’s not so sure of, even if the proof is staring him in the face.” She let out a little chuckle to herself, trying to ease the tension in the room. “He’ll come around, he’s just going to be a little pensive for a little while.”

I nodded, trying to make sense of everything that just happened. “Your dad said that you would take me shopping?”

“Can you take a rain check on that for today? Papa said you didn’t sleep at all last night and it was such a long flight for me, I think it'd be best if we do it tomorrow since the closest good store is about an hour away.” She put her hand over mine, the warmth of it eased my stress. She left the room, closing the door gently behind her leaving me to the overbearing pound of thoughts coursing through my head.

Don came and got me for lunch, he made garlic potatoes and some sort of pasta to go alongside it. I scarfed it down, barely had eaten at all that day. Axel looked at me quizzically, the same way his dad looked at me when he gave me the first meal when he brought me in.

"Does she always eat like that?" He peered over at Don, pointing his polished fork in my direction.

"Boy, did city life really take away all the manners I taught you." That wasn't a question, he slammed his napkin down on the table, leaning back in his chair while he folded his arms across his chest. "You have been nothing but disrespectful to my guest since you stepped in that door. While I love having you here, I will not be having you act like this." Don stood, his chair making the worst imaginable screeching noise against the worn hardware floor. "You can apologize or you can leave until you've come to your senses."

I looked in between Don's stern face and Axel's angry one. "It's not that big of a deal, sir. I promise I'm not offended." My voice came out shakier than I thought it would.

"No, Kreya, it is. I raised him to be a better man than this. I sure hope he doesn't treat his partner the way he treats you."

This time Axel shot up out of his seat, sending it flying across the room. "Do NOT bring Stef into this." I could feel the heat emanating from his body. "Unlike this," he paused shoving his finger in my face, "Stefany isn't delusional mooching off the kindness of a lonely farmer." He stormed out of the room, slamming the front door after him.

"I'm not done with you!" Don stormed after him, the door making the entire house shake as he slammed it.

The room was quiet other than the muted screams from outside. "I'm sorry about Axel... Again." Sarah looked at me with forlorn eyes and clasped my hands in hers yet again. "Maybe it's best he goes back to Massachusetts."

"I need some air." I gingerly moved my chair, making sure to make as little noise as possible, and slipped out the back door and headed in the direction of the old oak I used to call home.

I weaved and bobbed in between the trees which looked very different than what I was used to. The dandelions looked so amazing from the top. I picked a few and shoved them into my pocket.

The tree didn't look as big now that I was human-sized, but it still loomed high into the sky. I placed a gentle hand on the bark, reminiscing on the roughness and scent, and fell to my knees, a tear finally escaped my eyes, and a noise that didn't quite sound human escaped my lips. "I'm so sorry," I managed to say, pulling the crumpled flowers out of my pocket and placed them at the base of the tree.

I stayed there for a while, hoping my parents or my brother would come out, but after a few hours I decided it was never going to happen and got up to leave, planting a kiss on the knot that was eye level to me.