“Fairies have to be one thing or the other, because being so small they, unfortunately, have room for one feeling only at a time.”
-J.M. Barrie
He had wandered far away from his designated ‘stay put spot’, his father was sure to be angry with him. The young boy pulled a face, mentally blaming the pixies that had lured him into the foggy forest in the first place.
They had acted playful and nice in the beginning; however, he should’ve heeded his father’s warnings that they were mischievous menaces that took pleasure preying on unknowing fools. He dug his shoe in the dirt, looking this way and that way in an attempt to try and gain his bearings. It was useless for the five-year-old, for he had chased those devilish pixies deep into the woods after they had stolen his favorite hat, and at this point, he had no clue where he was.
It had only been an hour or so, and his father would be looking for him as soon as he got out of his meeting with the goblins, smelly and had too many attitude problems if you asked for the boy’s opinion.
Dropping down to the ground with his legs crossed, he begins to draw absentmindedly in the dirt with a stick that was close to his hand. He twirled random shapes, deciding it would be better if he simply just waited for his father to find him then getting even more lost.
A scream, harsh and high-pitched, screeched across the forest, causing the boy to jump a foot in the air. Wide, apricot eyes looked into the now looming forest with fear. He had never heard something so terrible or sorrowful. He scooted back until he hit the trunk of a gnarly, old-looking tree, and was quick to huddle himself into its shadows and nooks, his own heartbeat echoing in his ears.
Similar screeches broke out all around him, a horrible sound that scratched at his eardrums. He tried to cover his ears, yet the unrelenting wailing seemed to shake him to his bones. He scrunched his eyes close, trying to become as close to nothing as possible, just so he would go unnoticed by whatever creatures were making that noise.
All seemed to fall silent again, and he noticed his breathing was very labored from the anxiety that welled up in him. Hesitantly, he brought his hands down and his eyes peeked open again, looking at the foggy woods with a new sense of caution. He wished his father would hurry up and find him.
He was struck frozen once again when he heard movement, and it was from behind him. The boy did not dare to turn and look, else he would give his hiding place away. Once again he was scrunching his eyes closed, wishing for whatever was behind him would just leave. He was a good boy, he brushed his teeth three times a day, sometimes four, and flossed! How many five-year-olds were that responsible?
Mentally he was making up a plead-bargain on why he shouldn’t be eaten by some screeching beast in some run-down, murky forest, not even noticing when the footsteps stopped. He didn’t notice the figure that was in front of him, their hand only hovering a scant few centimeters from his shoulder as if to signal they were there. Until it decided maybe that wasn’t the best idea and drew their hand back.
“Excuse me,” a soft, whispering voice broke out. Now, the boy would never admit how he jumped out of his skin and screamed as if he was a newborn infant, but he, in fact, screamed like a newborn infant.
His breathing was rapid as his dilated eyes took in the ghostly figure in front of him. A young woman, who he thought old at first because the silver hair that fell in tangled heaps across her shoulders, eyes glinted maroon off the little light the moon shone through the forest. Her dress was no more than rags, and strangely, her feet did not touch the ground, they hovered a good foot above it.
The boy slowly let his guard on, for the girl in front of him did not seem like a child-eating monster. What she did seem like was a very sad, sad girl. It made him frown a bit, but he straightened up in his sitting position.
“W-Who-What are you?”
He asked because his father told him not to talk to strangers, so he would have to un-stranger her to get her help. She tilted her head, mouth opening slightly to say something, before her hands came out from behind her back, revealing the hat the pixie’s had stolen.
“Is this yours?”
She asked, and the boy lit up like a light-bulb at the familiar looking hat. He snatched it from her hands, which made her flinch in return. He made no notice of that, however.
“My hat! Where did you find it? Did you have to fight those stupid pixies to get it?”
He asked in a rush, wondering if there was a tale of adventure to be found. Standing up, he didn’t see the way the girl backed up when he was suddenly in her personal space. She looked down, sheepishly in a way.
“They dropped it on my head while I was… while I was resting.” The boy, dampened by the dullness of the story, shrugged it off and smiled. He placed the hat back on his hand, standing up straight with a proud grin.
“I was afraid I lost it,” he said, thinking a bit before letting out a pout. “I am afraid I have lost myself though.”
The girl looked as if she was ready to disappear into the forest again, make her escape as quickly as she had made her appearance, but she paused at the boy's comment.
“You’re lost?” She hesitated a bit, looking around as if an audience was to be found, “I… I can help you find your way out. It’s not safe in the woods right now.”
Apricot eyes blinked in surprise, wondering if this girl was not a ghost but a guardian sent to help him along in life. She was pretty enough, under all the cold and depressing demeanor. He smiled excitedly, wonder what all the kids back home when he brought his new friend/guardian home. They would all be so jealous, who else had a phantom guardian protecting them? Maybe it wouldn’t be so lonely- he could finally have the siblings that he had been told about!
“That would be healthy!” She blinked at his words, tilting her head slightly.
“Uh, healthy?” She wondered, she wasn’t too informed of the mortal phrases. He nodded, serious again.
“Lots of kids these days say ‘that would be sweet’,” he said with a disgusted tone, sniffing his nose hotly. “But sweets kill ya teeth, why would you want to be excited about something that kills your teeth!”
His passion on the subject caused her to raise an eyebrow, the boy was sure… odd. The boy was fast to grab her hand, making her jump at the contact.
“Wow you’re really cold,” he stated in a matter-of-fact tone, continuing to lead her through the forest. “Don’t worry, when we find my dad, he’ll get you some blankets to warm you up.”
“I’m Frank by the way.” He greeted, and she looked over at him with a frown.
“Well Frank, I’m afraid to inform you, you’re heading in the wrong direction. The closest occupied area is west.” He stopped abruptly, looking at her, before shinning her a bright, pointy smile.
“Well, that’s why you’re here, to guide me right?”
The girl tried to hide the small smile that came onto her passive face, but the boy, Frank, was proving too naïve and cute for even her sadness to overcome. However, looking over, Frank was leaning forward and smiling at the smile he had caught.
“You should smile more,” he said with a glowing face. The girl looked away, touching her fingers to her lips. Without her permission, a smile formed on its own.
They walked through the woods, Frank non-stop talking about why he wore a pink-dress and how he was going to be the best tooth fairy in the world someday. The girl only talked when he asked her why the woods weren’t safe at this time, and she talked of the banshee’s, how some were very unforgiving creatures, mourning death as well as creating death. She made them sound downright horrible to Frank, and he was glad to have her at his side while they traveled through the foggy forest.
Frank suddenly stopped, dropping down on a nearby tree stump.
“I’m so tired,” he complained, stretching his legs out as if she could see the damage done by walking so far. “You seem strong, can’t you carry me like my dad does?”
Before she could question what he meant, he flapped his small wings as hard as he could to fly to her front, wrapping around her like a little monkey. The boy was sure entitled at times.
“And then you wrap your hands around me, so I don’t fall,” he explained, resting his head on the girl's shoulder. The girl stayed frozen for a moment, her hands raised in the air, unsure of what exactly she should do. Letting out a stressed sigh, she wrapped her hands around him, and he was quick to snuggle her. It was odd, the girl had never had this much human contact in the century she had been alive. It was oddly warming.
She continued to walk, as Frank spoke sleepy gibberish to her, before finally succumbing to sleep. It wasn’t long when they finally reached the thinning of the forest, and a large meadow appeared. She could hear in the distance, not very far, someone calling for Frank.
Looking around, she propped him on a stump, staring at her new-found friend. He murmured things in his sleep but did not awake.
“My name,” she spoke quietly, brushing his unruly hair out of his face, “Is Morgan.”
Frank’s eyes opened wide, frantically trying to remember where he was. Then it all came back to him, he smiled wide at the meadow before him, recognizing where he was, the girl had successfully unlost him! He looked around to thank her, but the girl was not to be seen. A frown tugged his lips, but his line of thought was interrupted by his father who flew in front of him. A stern, but relieved look was on the older man’s face, reprimanding the young boy on the consequences of wandering away. Frank pouted, darn, no veggie shakes for a week.
Frank continued his young life thinking the girl he had met in the forest was all a dream. He could not lie and say he wasn’t disappointed to not have a new friend to show off, but he would survive. Soon as he grew older, he would go on to practically forget all about this dream girl who had helped him find his hat and unlost him. The whole incident disappeared deep into the crevices of his mind.
For Morgan, well, a few hours spent with a boy didn’t seem more than a few seconds for a century-old being. She continued in her life, her banshee life, barely remembering the boy she bumped into, only that she had begun to smile more and be think about life outside her herd.
Although their small meeting would be forgotten, they were not done with each other yet, for not even ten years later, they would meet again. An adventure would ensue, one that would not be so easily forgotten.
