Two Lonely Girls

Prilla sat on her favorite mushroom with her legs drawn to her chest. Her gossamer white .dress hanging over the edge of her seat . Her long blonde hair glistened even in the dusky forest. Her forehead was bare of the fairy light  most of her family displayed. She was told hers would begin to display its light when she was a few years older. Her wings were now large enough to allow her to fly but they were just protrusions from her back. She missed her friend, Donella. They used to chase and play all through the woods but it had been weeks since her friend appeared. She wished there was someone to chat and chase with. All the other fairies said they do not have time for foolish games yet they sit on their mushrooms doing nothing all day just as she does now. The call for fairy magic had greatly diminished since children no longer believed in them. Their parents had long forgotten how helpful fairies could be and stories about fairies were seldom heard. It was if humans no longer believed in any magic at all.

Hearing a branch snap under someone’s boot caused Prilla to jump up into the tallest tree and hide behind a thick display of multi-colored autumn leaves. Carefully peeking between the leaves, she saw a young girl just entering her teens. Her expression was sad, arousing the old desire to make the girl happy again. No young girl should walk with her head bowed and her shoulders slumped as if her world was nothing but sadness. She should be smiling, skipping and happy to be alive. This one plodded in her green forest boots. Her matching shawl looked shabby. She could see the hem of a brown skirt almost dragging the ground and a faded yellow tunic peeked through the shawl. Her hair was auburn with coppery red highlights where it had escaped from under her bonnet. Prilla had to find out what was troubling the young girl so.

She cast a safety spell preventing any harm to come to her from the human then flew down to the lowest branch of the tree. “Why are thou so sad my little one?”

The girl looked all around but saw no one so continued her trudging gait. 

“Little girl, look up! I am here on the lowest branch of the tree in front of you.” 

“I see you now but what are you?”

“I am Prilla, one of the woodland fairies. You looked so sad I had to see if I could do anything to make you happier.”

“Thank you, Prilla. I am Rhoswen. I doubt there is anything you could do to make me happier. Me mum and me da were both slain by knights serving the wicked king. I have no family now and no place to live. The knights cast me out when they claimed our farm for the king and without relatives; there is no place for me to go. I have not eaten in days except for the nuts and berries in the forest. At least the brook gave me water. What could a wee fairy like you do to make me happier?”

“I could give you almost anything you want. I could share my family with you if you declare you want to be a fairy. I could give you a cottage here in the woods to call home and have a man to plant and tend crops for you from the village at the edge of the forest. I could give you fine clothes and comfortable furniture for your cottage. Your wish and friendship would be all that are necessary.”

“Why would a fairy need my friendship? If you truly have all that magic you could make your own friend. Until today I did not believe fairies even existed. No one in the outside world does anymore.”

“I had a friend. We had lots of fun playing in the woods and chasing each other but she suddenly disappeared. I have sat on my mushroom for weeks waiting for her to return but she has not. I am a young fairy just as you are a young girl. The other fairies are all grown up so I have no friends my own age and I am lonely.”

“What is it like being a fairy? Do the king’s men ever come here and destroy any of your lives? Do you have tasks you must do every day? What do you eat?”

Prilla giggled then answered the questions. “Fairies used to be very busy granting wishes to humans until times changed. As you verified when you said no one believes in us anymore, humans have decided we are just stories and do not really exist so we have little to do.  If you carefully look around at the mushrooms you will see my family sitting, waiting for even one wish to grant a human. In another generation we will gradually die from loneliness and boredom. The king’s men cannot come in our forest. We have cast a spell so they cannot enter. Only those who we believe will do us no harm are allowed to walk through the path from the village. Our tasks have always been to grant wishes to humans and keep our forest sacred to us. We get nourishment from the nectar of flowers. Some nourish our bodies while others nourish our minds. We drink of the dew each morning. Not one of us in all of memory has ever known real hunger or thirst. Do you have any more questions?”

“No, not that I can think of. Give me some time to think over all you have told me before I make a decision.  Can I sit on that large fallen tree to rest for now?”

“Of course! I can see the tiredness in your face as well as your soul.”

 Rhoswen climbed onto the tree trunk and thought about what Prilla had offered. She could be a sister fairy to Prilla or stay human and live securely here in her very own cottage with everything she could wish for. Being a fairy meant she would never have to worry any of the king’s men would ever find her but she would have nothing to do day after day. Staying human she would have chores to do everyday, plenty to eat and a well furnished cottage with fine clothes to wear. She was so weary her eyes began to close. She stretched out on the log to rest better and soon was asleep.

Dreams quickly began. She dreamt she was a fairy with nothing to do. She had no magic and the only fairy who associated with her was Prilla. The other fairies totally ignored she even existed. Suddenly the dream changed to living in a cozy cottage here in the forest. Food was delivered to her every day and all she had to do was keep the house clean and run and play with Prilla. In her dream both became boring so she stopped playing causing all her wishes to no longer be granted. The cottage and all the furnishings remained but she outgrew her clothes and there was no way to replace them. No food came to her every day and her larder was soon empty. She was back to gathering nuts and berries. She had no source of water so thirst began driving her mad. She never fit in with the fairies whether she became a fairy or stayed human. She decided she would never fit in no matter which choice she made. As she woke up she realized she was alone. Where was Prilla? She looked at mushrooms on the ground and up into the branches of the trees but she saw no one. Perhaps Prilla sensed her decision to leave and ran away or it had all been just a dream because she was so tired.  She would never know except she knew she could never fit into a life with the fairies that did not exist.