The Fairy Guardian

"You know what? I quit," I said.

"What? Why?" Bewee asked me.

"There is something called a baby's innocence. There's a reason why babies believe in Santa Claus and fairies and creatures of the Dark. It's because they have feelings which get triggered when something from the big fat 'fantasy' world comes near them," I said.

"We fairies act as the Santa Claus, and as for the fairies of the Dark, they were created to prep those kids to deal with the dark," Bewee, my fairy best friend said.

"Really?" I challenged her. "So what happens once we stop putting fairy dust on the babies? After growing up they incredule us, turn against each other and forget that we ever existed."

"I would like to continue appearing in those little kids' dreams too," Bewee sighed.

"I can't ever forget Sienna," I said darkly.

"You hovered dangerously close to her when she was awake. You shouldn't have," Bewee said.

"Did you know that the one day I didn't put fairy dust over her while she slept, she cried her eyes out. Her mom kept asking why she was crying... Sienna couldn't say anything, of course, but I knew it was because she didn't get a visit from me," I said.

"What she feels is a projection of you. It'll go away once she grows up anyway," Bewee argued.

I punched a wall.

"That's why. This is why I want to quit. I want to show Sienna we exist. Guardian fairies exist. And once they grow up, we let them face the world without us, knowing they will do good. But what of those children who die after we have left, believing that no one ever loved them? Because it is Us who love them and teach them to love! I don't ever want to leave - ever!"

I inhaled once.

Then I continued, "they need nourishment from the fairy dust to mature emotionally, to learn to love. But after we leave, a lot of babies lose their conviction. They grow up not believing in the existence of unadulterated, pure love. Neither do they believe in Creatures who are responsible for it."

"Jenny, I know," Bewee said, "but there are rules. Parents would treat us as pesky house pets and do whatever they can to get us out. Our lead fairy maiden, Geowee will cast you out and strip off your powers or put you in the Creatures' Jail!"

"Not if I tell the people about fairy dust first," I whispered, conspiratorially.

Bewee appeared shocked. "Are you mad? They might imprison us or worse kill us, you know how the grown ups among mankind are!"

I pouted. She was right. It was too dangerous.

I nodded. "I know that you're right. I just want to do something, in some way - for those kids to know and acknowledge us, so we can stay with them for a lifetime."

"You love Fae?" I said.

"Of course I love Fae," Bewee said, "but I realise I have to let her go live her life some day - without me."

"I am different, Bewee. I want to be Sienna's Fairy Guardian for the rest of her life. I am going to talk to Geowee!" I said and flew toward the Lead Fairy Maiden's office.

Geowee heard everything and said pensively, "We are going to have to remove you from our ranks then. I give you only one chance - you stay with her - but if anything bad happens, promise me you'll make her forget about Creatures like us. And it will also be the time for you to retire."

I screwed my face.

"Promise me," Geowee urged.

"I am lucky I have a leader like you amongst us. I totally thought you were going to say no," I sighed.

Geowee said, "There's no stopping you, is there? I would rather you did something while we are on the watch than risk it to potentially lose fairy lives."

"I promise. Thank you, Geowee," I whispered.

***

Love is food for the soul. The first taste of apprehension and obsession that comes along with it in the beginning of teenage years can be misconstrued as something negative, something that was like... an addiction.

Fairy dust fell onto the sleeping baby.

Each baby was assigned to a fairy who would be around the infant while the baby slept, and nourish her or him emotionally. So that the baby would grow to love.

Not just the love in romance stories, but also in the way bonding through which love between the parents, siblings and friends grew.

Jenny was now free of her official duties. All she looked forward to was to be the first fairy who would spend her entire life on a baby who would grow up to find her Guardian Fairy still with her.

"Look at her!" someone said.

Sienna had just woken up from her sleep and looked at her mother with a smile, as she was rocked in her mother's arms.

"Gah!" She said and giggled, throwing her little arms and legs as she was held firmly.

Her emotional growth was going on fairly well.

Every night I would wait for Sienna to sleep and throw fairy dust on her.

It helped her to sleep as well, and also grow beautifully. In three years, she became a toddler. I hadn't shown myself to her yet.

It was when Sienna was four years old, playing "Kitchen" at home with four other friends, when one kid taunted her saying, "What a stupid game!"

Sienna was about to cry.

The boy laughed and said, "I can't believe you still think monsters and fairies are real!"

Sienna started crying and left, running.

She curled herself in a ball in her room and fell asleep.

I flew near her and whispered, "I exist."

I know what she saw. Probably.

"What are you, Thumbelina?" she croaked, half asleep.

"Thumbelina is our cousin, she had no wings," I said.

Sienna giggled and squinted. "What are you? You're as tiny as a fly! I can't see you in the dark!"

"I am a fairy," I said sombrely.

"May I hold you?" Sienna asked.

I hovered over her, out of reach. I loved this child, but my instincts kicked in.

"Not yet."

"Why are you here?" Sienna asked.

"When you find no one, I find you so you can find me if you so need."

"Are you talking in riddles?"

"Not at all. Just don't tell anyone about me," I smiled.

For the first time in my life, I sprinkled fairy dust on the girl I was taking care of while she was awake.

Sienna fell asleep, happily, saying, "I don't know how, but I know you're real."

That's the whole point, I thought.

***

Over the next five years, a total of three times, I protected and empowered her by proving she could believe me.

The first time was when a boy bullied her by hiding her water bottle. I told her exactly where she'd find it and also gave her proof as to who was the culprit.

The second time was when Sienna sang and her voice broke in front of the crowd. She felt extremely embarrassed. I told her it was okay. She was hiding under a tree in the school playground and I urged her to find her way back to her class. It was, at the end of the day, not the end of the world.

The third time was when Sienna's mother saw her talking to me. Except she couldn't see ME. She told Sienna that fairies don't exist. When Sienna was grounded, it was me who said it was okay. I would be there always, just let it be "our" little secret.

So when Sienna was nine years old, she had her first crush.

She was in a situation where she deeply felt about someone.

Sienna talked to me about how much she wanted to be near him.

I tracked down the fairy who was responsible for his (Wikham's) childhood.

It turned out, Wickham's fairy had completed her job three years ago.

He was in the phase where children wanted to believe in otherworldly Creatures but couldn't - because all proof was against the such.

So when a class bully saw Sienna talking to me at recess, he spread the word.

The teacher looked on in concern.

In front of the whole class, she asked, "Who were you talking to, Sienna?"

As Sienna told me later on, she had written in her diary, "I stared at the crowd and told the biggest lie of my life. I was thinking aloud, talking to myself."

She wrote:

"I was staring at them, wondering what I could say. I wanted to say the truth, but having said the truth and not being believed would have hurt worse. It is Because I love my Fairy Guardian that I didn't utter a word about her."

Trust me, I was touched.

Two years later, in the garden of her home, Sienna was laughing aloud with me.

When she caught Wickham listening, Wickham charged her with having a secret even he did not know about.

So Sienna told him about me, with my blessing.

But he still couldn't see me.

So I sprinkled a little bit of fairy dust on him.

His chest swelled a little, and he was about to cry. "This was how it felt when I came to know fairies did not exist!" He blurted out.

I sprinkled a little bit of fairy dust on him so he could see me.

Now when I remember the situation, I realise that he must have been jealous- more jealous than surprised because the next thing he did was close his eyes and slap his cheeks with both his hands.

And then, he looked between us once more and said, "It's either her or me..."

Sienna laughed.

"It's always going to be...her."

Wickham shook his head and said wistfully "I think I would have said the same, I think."

***

You KNOW when your kid grows up, and when you need to give in. So once they bonded, I knew it was time for me to go. Leave and look for new kids who needed me. I would always love Sienna, but she was in the time when she didn't need me anymore, in a good way.

At the intersection I could go right and head home - but turning left would take me toward Bewee's new baby. Yes, Bewee ended up marrying another Fairy and this Fairy and she had a baby fairy.

When I reached her place she welcomed me with open arms.

Baby fairies know their thing, but this one appeared confused. The baby fairy looked as if it were trying to say - "It took a few seconds to realize I was utterly and completely lost."

But when it saw me, it flew all around me and guzzled the fairy dust I carried.

Its small eyes were open.

"SI-ENN-A," it said.

Bewee did not know what the baby fairy meant, but I did. Fairies were born when someone from the human world wished a fairy, all fairies, all the best, in a world beyond and unknown.

***