Nanna's Reunion

It was midsummer's day in a quiet town on the coast of Ireland. The lazy summer breeze bent the tall grass in the meadow near Elsie’s grandmother’s house. They were having their annual midsummer's day party, their equivalent of a family reunion. 

“Do I have to go mommy?” Elsie groaned as they approached the old house. Her grandmother was sitting contentedly on the porch, greeting guests as they arrived.

“Yes.” She knelt down to face 7 year old Elsie. “It’ll be fun,” She said cheerfully. Elsie pouted as they walked up the rickety stairs and onto the porch where they greeted her grandmother. 

“Hello nanna,” she said dejectedly. Nanna didn’t seem to notice, and they went inside to see other friends and family who had come from miles around for the party. 

After dinner, Elsie grabbed her slice of cake and went out to the porch. Her nanna was still there. 

“Tired of the party?” She said, giving her a warm smile. “Do you want to hear a story?” Elsie nodded, still munching on some cake. Her grandmother patted her lap, signaling for Elsie to climb up. She did, and her nanna began to tell the story.

“I was walking through this very meadow on a midsummer's day, when I was very young, but a little bit older than you. I noticed something shining silver in the grass, so I went over to investigate.” 

“It was a fairy!” Elsie gasped and her eyes widened, “She was covered in morning dew, and her wings were shining iridescent silver in the sunlight. That was what I had seen in the grass. Her hair was pastel purple, and her dress was made of white flower petals. She seemed to be crying. But I wasn't thinking about that. I was thinking about capturing her.”

“I had a jar with me, for little bugs or curious things I found outside. I already had a ladybug and a bottle cap inside. I took those out, promising I would come back for them later. I crouched down behind the tiny creature - It was a bit larger than my pointer finger - and set up the jar. I waited until just the right moment, slowly shifting forward and forward, until I caught her, bringing my jar down over her head. I heard a little squeal from inside as I screwed the top on quickly.”

“”Let me out!!! Let me out!!!” She shrieked, banging her tiny fists against the hard glass. I didn’t listen though, I was much too excited about catching the fairy. What would my father say! He had never believed in fairies, but now He would have to!” 

“As I was skipping back to our house very cheerfully, I tripped, and the glass jar slipped out of my hands, and the top flew off. The fairy, still miserable from whatever she had been crying about, flew up in front of my face. She spoke in a shrill, but furious voice.”

“”I curse you with the wrath and anger of fairy-kind!” She turned her back on me, and flew away. I thought that would be the last I would see the fairies, but it was not. My father didn’t believe me at all, though without proof, he had no reason to.” 

“Exactly one year later, I was in that same meadow looking for interesting bugs or trinkets. You see, I had forgotten all about the fairy I had seen, and was now looking for a rare sort of beetle that I liked.” 

“Only a few minutes into my search, I spotted what I thought was the bronze beetle. I tried to pick it up, but the ground vanished from under me, and I fell into a dark dirt tunnel far underground.” 

“I was a little dirty and bumped up, but I was alright. I dusted myself off, and tried to find a way out. It was dark, and I didn’t have a light, so I fumbled around in the dark for a while. Suddenly, a light appeared in front of me. I couldn’t make out the source, so I peered at it for a while. Remember how enchanting fairy lights can be, child, I stood there for hours just looking at it.” 

“When I finally shook myself out of it, I realized there was a big tunnel staring me right in the face. I couldn’t see a way out above me, so my only choice was to go forward.”

“I walked hunched over, for what seemed like hours. The top of the tunnel was scraping my back, and my feet were aching with each step. Suddenly, the cramped tunnel opened up into a huge cavern sparkling with lights and tiny structures studded with precious gems and other shiny things. I had stumbled into a fairy den. My mother had told me all about fairy dens. They were vast caverns interconnected by tunnels that could sprawl over hundreds of miles. I gasped in amazement. There were hundreds and hundreds of fairies flying around in crowds, and individually. Their wings sparkled gold and silver, and their dresses and clothing glimmered in the dim light reflecting off the ceiling.”

“But suddenly, I saw a larger fairy, maybe the size of my hand, and I froze. He was looking right at me. He had a huge hat, maybe a crown, and huge golden wings studded with emeralds. His shirt and trousers were the same emerald green that shimmered with gold thread. He shouted something I could not hear, and all the fairies gathered in the cavern raced towards me with tremendous speed. I tried to flee in the opposite direction, but the tunnel behind me had mysteriously vanished. All at once I remembered the curse. I could not help thinking that this was their payback. They sprinkled me with a kind of fairy-dust, and I instantly fell asleep.” 

“I woke up in a cell. The walls were lined with smooth river stones, all different shades of grey and tan. There were large metal bars separating me from the rest of the cavern, which was the same city I had stumbled upon moments ago. I sat there for a while, trying to figure out how I could escape.”

“Unexpectedly, I felt a few pebbles bounce off my head and ricochet off the metal bars into the chamber below. Then I realized the whole cave was shaking and things were falling from the ceilings like expensive hail. Then, a huge section of the wall burst out to reveal an army of fairies with cruel black wings. They were dressed in black furs and metal armor. Their faces were hidden, but their skin was stark white against the black of their clothing. There were screams and shouting as the leader took his pointed staff and charged the defending army.”

“I watched the battle unfold around me, but I didn’t pay much attention to anything. I didn’t care about the lives of the fairies, so I didn’t care about their silly battle. About halfway through, a little fairy child came up to my cell. It was a little boy. His wings were silver, and his skin was bronzy-gold. He came right up to my ear and said, in a quivering voice,”

““Please help,” That was all he said. I saw him flutter away, and glance back just once. He returned to his previous activity, he was trying to free his family from under a collapsed building. It looked like his mother, father, and baby sister. I had a baby sister, and I loved my mother and father dearly. I felt sorry for the boy, but there was nothing I could do to help, and after all, they had locked me in this cage on purpose.”

“A few minutes later, I had another visitor. It was one of the black cloaked fairies.”

“”Help us and you shall win your freedom.” it said. I pondered it for a moment. I desperately wanted to escape.”

“”I will fight for you” I said. I had always been good at lying. As soon as the metal bars were pried off, I went to lift the small brick off of the boy’s family. He looked up at me in gratitude and awe, and he introduced himself as Birch. He tipped his little acorn hat, which had a little carved birch feather in it, and fluttered off.”

“I was in the thick of the battle, and as I waded through the huge armies and destroyed buildings, I saw many soldiers fall on both sides. We were losing. I say ‘we’ because I had started to believe in them. I had believed in their existence before, and now I believed in their cause.” 

“I built barricades of broken buildings just as easily as stacking wooden blocks, and their small spears bounced off my skin (they were meant for delicate fairy skin). I was indestructible. Suddenly, I noticed that all the black-armored soldiers were leaving, except one. The most grandly dressed had his finger over a red switch in his hand. I traced the wire coming from the switch, to a small, circular piece of wood that was pulsing red, like magic. A squeaky voice in my ear yelled,”

“”Bomb!”  I immediately tried to find a switch to disable it. But it was too late. The pulsing sped up, and I knew there was no time left. I tried to cover it with as much debris as possible to stop the explosion, but I tripped, and landed on top of the device as It exploded. I felt it burn right through my dress and the impact felt like being punched in the stomach.”

“I was hailed as a hero for my actions in the battle. Fairies can keep grudges, but the invaders from the north (the black-winged fairies) are their greatest foes. The burns from the explosion healed, and by the time I returned to my mother, there was nothing left to show of my great adventure. Some still shunned me, but I was accepted by the greater public, on the condition that I would never tell any about the fairies, save young children like yourself.” She smiled. “Birch visits me all the time, we are friends and we keep each other up-to-date with information from both our worlds. Maybe you will meet the fairies someday too.” 

With that, nanna finished her story, and turned back to face the flowering meadow.

“C’mon Elsie, time to go,” her mother said, opening the front door and coming out onto the porch. Elsie moaned, but took her mother’s hand as her mother led her to the car. “What absurd stories has she been telling you this time?” She said, shaking her head in annoyance.

Elsie glanced back at her grandmother, who was waving from her old wooden rocking chair. The sky was already getting dark, and the midsummer moon rose high in the sky, mingled among the summer stars and constellations. 

“Until next time,” The old woman whispered, but the warm night breeze snatched the words from her lips. She heard a creaking noise from behind her, and turned around to see a little acorn hat sticking out between the boards of the porch. She chuckled, and went to say hello to an old friend.