Where the Fairies Live

Carmen was fresh into 3rd grade, with no care in the world. One day she would be learning about how to write in cursive and the next on how to play four square. Everyday after school she would call her grandfather and tell him about everything that happened. He was her best friend. She would mark off the days on calendar to when she got to see him next. When the days would finally hit the big red circle, she would get ready to go see him. Every time she would wear her favorite bow and pink shoes. Her pink shoes were a gift from him, so every time she wore them it was like he was there. Carmen and her parents would leave for the hour car ride. The car would always be bursting at the seams with singing and laughing. When they would get there he was the first one she would run too. Every time Carmen would go to her grandparents house, it would be like she was entering a different world. They would spend the whole visit only hanging out with each other. They would go to the backyard, and try to find where the fairies lived. Carmen would look under rocks and leaves while her grandfather would look in the trees. After they would sneak into where her grandmother hid the candy to get chocolate, even though they weren't allowed too. Sometimes they would get caught and be punished by not being able to sit together at dinner. He would always let Carmen play with his pocket watch. She thought it was the most magical thing ever because when it would hit the sun it would glow. It was some sort of talisman because it would make everyone happy. In it was a picture of them from her birthday last year. He would tell Carmen that when he missed her, he would look at that photo. This would always make Carmen happy because it was the same with her pink shoes. He was her best friend and she was his. Eventually as Carmen got older and it fell colder, the calls between them had faded to only a few times a week. The big red circle days would be farther apart. But when she would go and see him it was like nothing had changed. Just as it was entering spring time, the calls would only happen once a week. Which was odd for both of them. It was mostly just Carmen talking on the calls. Once it was time to call her grandfather, she got her mom's phone and pressed call. It rang once then twice, he never took this long. Finally on the fourth ring, he answered. But it wasn't him, it was her grandmother. He couldn't talk, she said. Carmen just thought he was tired so she brushed it off. The next week when it hit the big red circle day on the calendar, she got dressed with her favorite bow and pink shoes. They took the hour car ride, and she immediately ran inside. She ran all over the house calling his name. She looked in the backyard where the fairies lived, under the rocks and behind the trees, he was nowhere to be found. She ran to his bedroom and found him lying in bed. Carmen ran to hug him. She told him all about her week going through every little detail. He just listened with a small weak smile plastered on his face. Once it was time to leave, she said goodbye and left. Weeks went on without Carmen hearing from him. But, it was fine because the big red circle day was coming up and she would get to see her best friend again. The night before, her mom came into her room and told her the words she thought she would never hear, the words she thought didn't even exist. In the morning she got dressed. No bow but instead a black dress with her pink shoes. The car ride was silent like some sort of gray cloud was following them. Once they arrived she went to look to see if he had left any clues to where he had gone too. She examined under every rock and leaves in their backyard, she even tried jumping to see above the trees. Her last stop was at the candy hiding spot. There she found his pocket watch and a piece of chocolate. She took them both wondering why he would leave his most prized possession behind. Carmen didn't understand what was happening. She didn't know how someone could just be there then disappear like they weren’t ever real. Every night she would wish that he would just call her or that there would be a big red circle day coming up. She would wish she could go look for fairies with him, that they could sneak chocolate, or that they could go back to the day they took the picture together. She just wanted to know where he went and why he left her. She needed someone to talk about her day with. Carmen just wanted her best friend back. She wanted to wear her favorite bow and pink shoes again but it felt wrong without him. She would beg her parents to take her to go see him. She would look at the calendar but never see any red circles. Carmen would fall asleep looking at their pocket watch picture. After the months had all blurred into one, she looked at the calendar. It was her birthday. She only had one thing she wanted to do. She got dressed in her favorite bow and pink shoes. Once again they took the car ride but now to somewhere different. She had chocolates in one hand and her grandfather's watch in the other. She went and sat on the damp grass next to his stone. Telling him about everything he had missed. He was still her best friend and would always be her best friend.