Chapter 6 - Fairies

Arsac stepped on tiptoe into the room with the sleeping fairies. Leaving the door open behind him he kept the wall to his back and began to shuffle sideways around the edge of the room. He kept his eyes on the fairies heaped in the middle of the room and moved as silently as he could. The floor was uneven and slanted in places, which made it hard for him to place his feet without making noise.

He was halfway around the room, feeling exposed and easy to see in the bright light, when the fairies began to stir. He stopped and held his breath, willing himself to be as small and invisible as possible. With tangled limbs and sputtering breath, a few of the fairies turned over in their sleep. This movement caused one of the fairies at the edge of the pile to be pushed onto the floor with a light thud. The fairy’s eyes fluttered and a few sleep-words came out of his mouth, “Orange cat, let go. I want it. Don’t go under…” and then he fell back into a deep sleep. Arsac exhaled a slow, trembling breath and when he was sure that all was still again he continued his careful movement around the room.

After what seemed like many minutes, Arsac stood before his stick, pouch and cloak. He turned his back to the fairies and reached down to take the stick. As soon as he had touched it, the room exploded into a mix of light and the sound of fluttering wings. “What have we here?” he heard a hundred tiny voices ask. He spun around to see all of the fairies aloft, their wings beating quickly to keep them in the air. Like hummingbirds they darted from the center of the room, peered in his face and then out to the opposite edges. They flew directly at him, only to veer away at the last minute, delighting in his startled reaction. Scared and unsure of what would happen, Arsac sank to his knees and covered his head with his hands.

After a few minutes he felt tiny hands on his fingers pulling him up to stand. A few of the fairies hovered before him, the rest darted around chasing the lights above. “Are you here for your wood thing?” one of them asked in a piping little voice. “We don’t like the wood things, they are much too serious, they will never play with us”, the fairy said, “we are glad you have come to take it back.” Another fairy darted forward, her face small and round, “Will you play with us now, we love to play!” The third fairy flew up and pulled on Arsac’s nose, “Yes play with us, you will see what fun games we have,” and flew away again to join the others. The two remaining fairies urged Arsac into the center of the room where they grabbed his hands and spun him around laughing. The fairies were small but their magic made them strong, Arsac could not resist their wishes. As he was spun, more of the fairies came down to join the laughter and fun.

Arsac collapsed on the floor dizzy from spinning and the fairies laughed and clapped their little hands. They grabbed him and pulled him up again, forming a ring around him. The fairies each danced, showing off their flight, their colors, and their beautiful little clothes. They sprinkled dust that flashed and sparkled in the air. They did loops and spins, each competing for his favor. When he looked at one of the fairies others would swoop in jealous and try to steal his attention with ever more flamboyant flying and magical displays. This game continued so long that Arsac became very tired and wanted nothing more than to lay his head down and sleep. Any time his eyes began to close a fairy would fly in, pinch him awake and begin to show off again.

Eventually the fairies became tired of their antics and flew off in groups to find something new to entertain them. Some of the fairies flew straight up into the water above, lighting it up and then passing out into the night. Three fairies remained behind; they lay on their stomachs with tiny heads propped in little hands. The girl fairy with the round face asked, “How did you find us here?” Arsac was scared to tell them the truth but knew of nothing else to say, “The tree-man helped me find your house so I could retrieve my things. He said that if I woke you up you would be angry. Will you be angry with me?” One of the other fairies answered, “Do we look angry? We never get angry we only love to play and have fun!” The fairy laughed, “Life is for fun, what else in the world matters?” Arsac though about this and then asked, “If you only play and have fun, then why did you put me to sleep, take my things and leave me alone and cold?” The three fairies laughed, “Because it was fun! You should have seen your face, we had so much fun taking your things while you were asleep.” One of the fairies jumped onto his knees and continued, “You see, we are not like those serious wood people, we have fun and love every minute of our life. We have so much fun every night and we never stop moving until it is time for us to sleep and then we wake up and start all over again. If you want to love life you should be lighthearted and laugh whenever you can. I am telling you this so you understand that if you are serious all the time you will never have any fun at all!” Arsac thought about this and said, “I have seen the old people who are so serious that they no longer enjoy their lives. They are always waiting for something that never comes. If being lighthearted means enjoying life like a child and never forgetting the beauty around you, then I am happy to be lighthearted.”

After speaking with him, the fairies seemed to lose interest in Arsac. They flew in groups into the water above and then out of sight. Arsac was left alone in the room, lit by the colorful, moving lights overhead. He thought about what the tree-man had said, that he could take three things in return for what was stolen from him. He looked around and saw fairy things spread on the floor where they had been left behind. He realized he didn’t want to take anything, he was happy to have his things back and wanted to leave before anything more could happen to him. Still weary from the dancing and play, he gathered his belongings, walked through the door and back up the stairs to the world above. When he emerged, blinking in the light, he saw the mushroom girl standing in the meadow waiting for him. She looked older than before and almost pretty in a mushroomy kind of way. She smiled at him and motioned for him to come near.