FAIRIES

by Erica Sollazzo

Fairies are all around us. But only a lucky few can see them. You don't believe me? Well, do you have any proof that they don't exist? Santa Claus is real, but have you ever seen him? No! It's the same with fairies. We have an invisible world all around us. Fairies dance and play with one another like little children. They make their homes in flowers. The horrible part is, once you pick or cut a flower, the fairies die. But I'm not writing this to tell you how fairies live. I'm writing this to tell you about a little girl named Ann who was no older than eight and who had a special and mysterious power to see the fairies.

It all started one bright spring afternoon in Ann's backyard. She was sitting on a little bench and noticed how pretty the flowers were. She decided to pick them for her family. She jumped off the bench and bent over a beautiful flower. All of a sudden, three fairies zoomed out of the flower. She cried out. She jumped back. Of course, she didn't know they were fairies. She didn't believe in them, and even if she did, they were going so fast no one could see what they were. Ann ran as fast as she could toward the fairies, and as the fairies slowed down, she saw them more clearly. At first, Ann thought she was dreaming. She pinched herself - hard. It hurt a lot, so Ann decided she couldn't be dreaming. She called out to the fairies. "Hello!" The fairies began whispering so fast that Ann only understood a few sentences, like "I thought no human could see us" and "She's talking to us?" Ann was speechless! Finally, one fairy with long orange hair flew about a step forward.

"Hi", she squeaked in her tiny voice, "I'm Blossom. My friend with the blonde hair is Buttercup, and my friend with the red hair is Rose. Did you know we have a kingdom in all of the flowers? That is why we are named after them." Ann was delighted. She answered, "No, I did not. I think you all have lovely names."

Ann was very curious about the fairies, especially since she had never seen fairies before. "When did you get here? What do you like to eat? What materials do you use in your clothes?" Ann had so many questions that she didn't know what to ask first.

Rose spoke up. "Well, we came to this garden in about the year 1790. We are born from a dandelion seed planted under a rose bush. We live a very long time, maybe about five hundred years." Rose paused. "We eat nuts, berries, and tiny fruits. They are absolutely scrumptious. Our clothes are made out of leaves, feathers, nut shells, and grass. We use things from nature."

Then Buttercup piped up. "Please, don't mention us to anyone. We are meant to be a secret, especially from certain humans." At this, Ann looked confused, so Buttercup explained, "Only certain humans, such as little girls of pure heart can see us. You are one of them. We now have to go collect berries. We will see you soon."

Ann was delighted and amazed. She went inside for her supper, but her mind was too preoccupied to eat anything. It was going to be very hard to keep this secret. If you have ever had to keep a very big secret, then you must know how Ann felt.

Ann and the fairies met many times throughout the rest of the spring and summer. They talked and played, and sometimes Ann helped the fairies do their collecting and gathering. Before Ann knew it, October came. As the days grew on and the winds got colder, Ann grew worried about the fairies. She wondered what would happen to Blossom, Rose, and Buttercup now that it was autumn and the flowers were dying. After all, the flowers were their homes.

On one particularly cold morning, Ann worried so much about the fairies that she went to look for them, even though she knew the fairies must have survived winters before. As soon as she went outside, she felt cold wind slice across her cheek like a knife. She searched the garden, and to her horror, Blossom, Rose, and Buttercup were laying on the ground with their eyes shut and their little lips and feet turning blue. Ann quickly scooped up the fairies and rushed them inside. She carefully placed them down by the roaring fire. Almost at once, the fairies began to stir. At last they woke up.

Ann cried out, "What happened? Where did the other fairies go?" Buttercup answered, "We were supposed to fly south where it is warm and the flowers are still blooming. We wanted to see you one last time before spring. The other fairies left already, and the cold came upon us before we could leave. Thank you for saving us. For that we make you an honorary fairy forever."

Ann brought the fairies up to her room and let them live in her potted plant during winter. When springtime came, Ann let the fairies outside and said goodbye. After they left, Ann immediately felt sad. She didn't tell them, but Ann's mother had told her last night that they would be moving away two weeks from Saturday. She ran to her room and cried, thinking she would never see her friends again.

Two and a half weeks later, when Ann had moved and unpacked, she had a very big surprise. She was sitting in her garden, which was very much like her old garden, when she saw four fairies. She ran up to them and very much to her surprise, three of the fairies were Blossom, Rose, and Buttercup, but Rose was holding a baby fairy! Ann talked to her old friends and discovered that Rose had a little baby fairy named Chrysanthemum! The fairies had seen Ann leaving and decided to surprise her at her new house!

Ann lived with the fairies for ten years, and when she moved, they followed. The fairies disappeared when Ann turned 18. Ann didn't know this, but only girls under the age of 18 can see the fairies. Throughout the years, Ann knew the fairies were still there because she always felt the magic of their presence, especially when her young daughter asked, "Mom, do you believe in fairies?" Ann is about seventy-two years old now, but she never forgot the day when she and the fairies first met, never forgot that she was an honorary fairy, and never ever forgot or will forget Blossom, Rose, or Buttercup. I hope you will always remember that things can exist without being seen…that was just what Ann learned from this.

Erica Sollazzo is 10 years old and in the 5th grade. She lives with her mom, dad and brother in Brooklyn, New York. Erica loves to read, write and play sports. Her favorite authors are J.K. Rowling and Lemony Snicket. Her favorite sports are softball, basketball and soccer. Erica loves to travel and also loves just hanging out with her family.

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