Shimmer this

SHIMMER THIS

Anya’s eyes fluttered open, her heart accelerating as she remembered the embarrassing incident from the previous day. Slowly sitting up she stretched her arms out to the side and wiggled her toes against the yellow stamen of the lotus flower she was curled up inside. The beautiful flower reacted by closing its petals tightly around her playfully, causing her to giggle.

         Once the flower opened up again she jumped out and landed on the dew tipped grass and proceeded to flit around until she regained her normal size. She loved hiding in the flowers where no one could find her. It was so peaceful and cozy. Safe.

         She made her way around to all the flowers; watering them, stroking them, talking to them, and then hurled herself up to the nook of her favorite tree, the Tree of Life. The thick gnarly branches twisted this way and that, stretching upward and outward, topped with lush emerald green leaves.  It truly was her favorite spot to sit and reflect or rest, or hide.

         If she was honest with herself, she knew this time it was all about hiding. She was hiding from all of them. Her friends. Well, she thought they were her friends. Friends don’t laugh at you during the most embarrassing moment of your life, she told herself.

She could feel tears threatening to spill so she jumped back down again and called out to Kaida, her magical dragon and best friend. Sometimes she felt like Kaida was the only creature in her world who understood her. She felt the familiar hot breath on her skin as Kaida lowered his head in front of her face, sniffing her as he often did when he wasn’t sure what she wanted from him. He suspended his head right in front of her face so he was at her eye level and then tilted his head slightly, sensing her stress.

               Anya put her hand up, spread it over one of his nostrils and pushed him back, laughing as she did so. “You need a breath mint, Kaida!” she laughed.

         Kaida sputtered and snorted then moved in to nudge her but his head was bigger than she was and he only succeeded in pushing her over.

               Anya steadied herself then flew up to his back, patting him, “Awww buddy, I missed you too. What mischief have you been up to since I saw you last?”

         Kaida swung his head behind his back to glare at her causing Anya to giggle, “Okay, I know you are as good as gold but what do you do for fun if not getting into mischief?”

         He grunted at her then and sniffed, lowering his head and Anya knew what was next so she hung on as tight as she could to the spikes on his back as he spread his massive wings, spanning some eighty feet wide.

         Kaida rose into the air so fast that Anya actually felt cold from the wind that encompassed her as his wings beat faster and faster, lifting them up higher and higher. She loved the sound the swish of his wings made and the feel of the motion as they soared through the blue sky. It always made her giggle and it made her feel like all of her troubles vanished just like the Tree of Life had.

         Kaida’s skin turned to a blue very similar to the sky they were flying around in and when they darted between trees his skin took on the hue of whatever the color of the leaves were. Anya loved that Kaida was a chameleon and she especially loved that when she was touching Kaida he could make them both disappear.  All she had to do was think it and Kaida obeyed as they could hear each other’s thoughts.

         Anya sighed as Kaida slowed down, lowering them gently back to the ground. She knew it would have to end and she would have to return back to the reality of her situation.

         She bent down and kissed Kaida’s head, whispering, “Thank you,” then jumped down. Kaida turned circles until he found the right sleeping spot, then lied down, curling his tail underneath him just like a cat.

         She could hear whistling in the distance and knew that her dear tree fairy friend, Willow, was making her morning rounds to all the trees. She came out of the forest into the clearing and when she spotted Anya her smile widened to a grin. Fiery red hair twisted on top of her head and bright green wings tucked behind her, she squealed and ran towards her, encircling Anya in a huge hug.

         “Ouch! Willow! Must you harm people when you hug them?”

         With brilliant aquamarine eyes, sparkling bright, Willow twirled around until she was about an inch tall and flew over to the patch of sweet smelling Alyssum. Anya followed her and they met on one of the petals. Sitting across from each other they chatted about this and that until Willow pointed out, “You’re not your usual cheery self. Spill.”

         Swallowing hard, Anya told Willow her embarrassing story. “Well, you know that we are learning how to add sparkle and shimmer to the flowers in fairy school, right? We had our exam yesterday and when it was my turn, I couldn’t make it work. I tried everything.” The tears that had threatened to fall earlier now made their way down her cheek. “It was so embarrassing, Willow. Everyone else got it to work. Jazz and I were the only ones who couldn’t do it. And that’s not all! Everyone laughed at us, even our friends.”

         Willow moved over beside Anya and rubbed her back, “That’s terrible! I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I’ll bet Jazz is pretty bummed too.”

         “Jazz deserves it. She always ridicules everyone and is just plain mean!”

         “Anya! I can’t believe you just said that!”

         “Well, it’s true.”

         “It might be true but you should never wish harm on another. It’s a fairy rule.”

         “I know. Oh Willow, I feel just awful. Jazz and I are supposed to take the test again and I just don’t know if I can do it!”

         “Of course you can, don’t be so negative. You have to believe in yourself. You will need to practice. A lot.”

         “I will. I just don’t want to fail again. I can’t fail, Willow. I can’t go through that embarrassment again.”

         “Then you’d better get practicing. Listen, would you feel better if I helped you practice? It’s one of my strong skills.”

         “You would do that for me? I didn’t know you knew how to add sparkle and shimmer to flowers. It’s a very difficult thing to do.”

         “Yes, it is. I practiced endlessly until I perfected it and I still practice it often so I don’t lose my touch. There’s only one catch.”

         Anya furrowed her brows, “What do you mean?”

         “I will only help you if you invite Jazz along with us.”

         Anya’s mouth dropped, “What? But she doesn’t deserve this. She is so mean. I don’t want to help her!”

         Willow shrugged her shoulders. “That’s the only way I’ll help you.”

         “But why? I don’t understand.”

         “It’s the right thing to do.”

         Anya folded her arms, scowling.

         “I have to go tend to the rest of the trees. Meet me in the Valley of Flowers, with Jazz, in four hours and I will help you learn to shimmer. If you come alone, the offer will be retracted.” With that Willow fluttered off to the nearest Oak tree.

         She couldn’t believe that her friend gave her such an ultimatum. She wouldn’t help Jazz. She couldn’t. Jazz had been the source of so much teasing and she hated her! 

         She went to the edge of the spring and leaned over the water, big steel blue eyes staring back at her. Honey tendrils of silken hair curled like vines and her iridescent wings loomed behind her as she studied the face that looked up at her.   Why had her friends been so mean to her? She wondered.

         Anya decided to seek out her flowers once again for another round of hiding while she thought about Willow’s offer. This time she chose a beautiful orange rose bush that emitted the most lovely floral scent. She was working away when she spotted three of her friends coming towards her. She ducked into the folds of the flower and hid. 

         The fairies stopped right in front of the rosebush and began whispering to each other. Anya tipped her ear to listen.

         “Did you see how Anya looked like she was going to cry when she couldn’t shimmer the flower?” Diza, the blue flower fairy said.

         “Didn’t she even practice?” Roza, the pink flower fairy wanted to know.

         “She did practice but Anya probably just got really flustered during the test. She hates being on the spot with everyone watching her.” Sunshine, the yellow flower fairy tried to stand up for her friend. This appeased Anya and she would have to thank her later for that.

         “Well, maybe she should have practiced more,” Diza spat.

         “She gets really nervous. I should have told her to sprinkle some fairy dust on herself before she went up. The lavender in it would have soothed her nerves,” Sunshine told them.

         “Well, I didn’t really find it that hard of a thing to do,” Roza said, a hint of arrogance coming off her words.

         “We can’t all be perfect like you, Roza.” Diza retorted.

         “Girls. Let’s just forget this and go find Anya. She must be feeling pretty humiliated right now,” Sunshine tried to convince her friends.

         “You go ahead. I’m going to go find Inka and Charm,” Diza informed her.

         “I’m with you, Diza,” Roza winked at Sunshine and they were off. Sunshine went the opposite direction towards her house in the big Ash tree at the far end of the grove.

         Anya came out of hiding, angry as a bee whose nest had been disturbed. She’d show them, she thought to herself. Off she went, in search of Jazz.

Finally, she came to a patch of yellow pansies, Jazz immersed in the center of them, practicing her shimmering, unsuccessfully.

         Anya waited until Jazz finished, “Ahem.”

         Jazz whirled around, flashing a look of fury at her. “What do you want?”

         Trying hard not to hurl a nasty comment right back at her, Anya replied, “Can we talk for a minute?”

         “No, I’m busy right now, in case you can’t see that!” Jazz turned back to her flowers, dismissing Anya.

         “I know you were as embarrassed as I was yesterday. That was awful that everyone laughed at us. I get really nervous in those types of situations, so I understand how you must feel.” Jazz kept her back to Anya but Anya kept talking anyway.   “Willow has offered to help us learn how to shimmer. She is amazing at it. She says if we meet her at the Valley of Flowers in three hours she will help us. You can think about it. If you show up, great. If not, then I wish you all the luck with the next test. I hope you succeed.”

         Anya left Jazz to her flowers and went off to find her favorite Azalea bush. Curling up in its petals, she had a nap.

         She woke up several hours later and yawned. The azalea plant opened the petals surrounding her so she could make her way to the Valley of Flowers. She hoped that Jazz would show up because she really needed Willow’s help. 

         The Valley of Flowers was magnificent. Rows and rows of colorful flowers populated the lush green land with hues of pink, purple, yellow, orange, red and white intricate and delicate flowers. Here the flowers all communicated with each other animatedly, chitter chatter filling the ears of all the fairies in the land. It was a busy place, fairies flitting from flower to flower, tending to their needs, practicing their skills. The great Tree of Life was standing at the far side, silently governing all that went on.

         Anya scanned all the faces, looking for Jazz and Willow. If she knew Willow she would be near an Oak tree or a forsythia bush which were her favorites. 

         She was just about to give up when she spotted Willow who was talking enthusiastically to the purple flower fairy, Maeve. She flew over to them and waited her turn. They both welcomed her but continued talking. 

         While she waited to talk to Willow, Anya skimmed through all the fairies and magical beings, searching for Jazz who was nowhere to be found. She turned back to her friends in time to say goodbye to Maeve, who flew off to visit the Tree of Life for her afternoon “personal development” session.

         “I guess we won’t be taking you up on your offer for help,” Anya told Willow, hanging her head miserably.

         “That is not true because there is someone hovering right behind you.”

         Turning around to face Jazz, Anya’s face lit up with happiness. “You came! I’m so delighted that you are here!”

         “Really? I thought you might be hoping that I would decide not to come.” Jazz tilted her head, a confused look on her dainty face.

         “Of course not. We have never got along in the past but I think today we need to stick together and learn shimmering so we can pass the test.”

         Jazz’s sour expression changed to one of delight. Anya never realized how beautiful she was. Her heart softened. Maybe this won’t be so bad, she thought.

         “Ok. The two of you can follow me over here by the daffodils.” For the next few hours Willow repeatedly showed them in detail how to cast shimmer on the flowers. Jazz got the hang of it a little quicker than Anya, but Anya did not give up. Finally, she was able to do it three times in a row. 

         “You got it, Anya!” Jazz praised her. Anya was a little surprised how encouraging she was. This was a different side to Jazz that she had never witnessed before. Perhaps she had misjudged her after all.

         “I think you are both ready for your test. I just received word that it will take place the day after next so you have some more time to keep practicing. A job well done, girls!” Willow clasped her delicate hands together and beamed at them.

         Jazz hugged Anya, warming her heart even further.

         “I will leave you two now to discuss when you will practice together tomorrow. Please come and find me after your test, to tell me the good news!”

         “Thank you so much for all of your help, Willow,” the girls exclaimed in unison.

         “Do you want to come to the tulip patch tomorrow morning to practice?” Jazz asked Anya timidly.

         “Yes, I would love that. Thank you for showing up today and I will see you tomorrow.”

         Anya hurried as fast as she could to find Kaida. She couldn’t wait to tell him what had happened with Jazz.

         The next day Anya found Jazz in the tulip patch as promised. They worked together for several hours before taking a rest.

         “Jazz, can I ask you a question?”

         “Sure, what?”

         “Why were you always so mean to everyone?”

         Frowning, Jazz answered her slowly, “Because everyone always ignored me. I always felt like an outsider because I moved here from another flower patch far away from here. You all knew each other and were friends for a long time before I showed up. When I came here it seemed none of you were interested in playing with me.”

         “Oh no! That’s not true. You seemed so shy and we all thought we weren’t good enough in your books, because you came from that fancy flower patch, Crocus Valley.”

         “I thought I wasn’t good enough to be your friends because you all never talked to me or invited me to play.”

         “I’m so sorry you felt that way, Jazz. That’s our fault. We should have invited you to play with us instead of waiting for you to ask to join in.”

         Jazz’s face lit up with a big smile. “Would you be my friend, Anya?”

         “Of course I will! I’m so happy now. I can’t wait to get our Shimmer badge tomorrow. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

         The fairies hugged and went their separate ways until the next day when they met their instructor by the Bluebell patch for their exam.”

         Both very nervous, they wished each other luck and went on to complete their exams. When they were finished, Bella, the famous Blue Fairy, came over to them and congratulated them on a job well done. They turned around to see all their fairy friends watching them, smiles on all their faces.

         “Come with me, Jazz.” Anya motioned her to join her as she walked over to Sunshine, Rozy and Diza. Anya introduced Jazz to them and told them how wonderful she was. Her friends accepted the fairy just based on the fact that Anya was friends with her. 

         Anya caught a glimpse of Willow over by the Hawthorn tree. She was winking at her and giving her the thumbs up sign with her hands. Anya felt her heart fill with warmth and love as she watched her friends who were enthralled with the stories that Jazz was telling them about her previous home in Crocus Valley.

         Together the five fairies flew over to the stream and played with the lily pads and dragonflies, laughing and giggling as though they had all been friends forever …