The Garden Fairy
“Hale! If you don’t come down for dinner right now, I am giving it to the dog!” yelled my wife.
As much as I had wanted to keep editing, our dog, Heath, was already overweight and did not need my meatloaf. I ran down the stairs, ate the meatloaf, told my wife it was the best meatloaf I’d ever had, and then ran right back to my desk. My beautiful wife, Haven, is very understanding most of the time. She knows it has always been my dream to be a writer and that it is a very time consuming dream. I could never have even begun this book without her. She has always been my most important inspiration.
I had always had a wild imagination. I guess that is why fantasy is my favorite genre. I can write about whatever I want, and it doesn’t have to be real or make any sense. I have written lots of fantasy short stories. I think my passion came from when I was a child. My dad would always come up with the most elaborate bedtime stories. I always wanted to be able to come up with stories on the spot like him. I hope that one day I’ll be able to tell enchanting stories like his to my kids.
When I decided that I wanted to write my first novel, I had severe writer’s block. All of my short story ideas didn’t seem good enough to expand upon. My idea finally came to me when I was flipping through channels. I landed on The Cartoon Channel. The show I saw was about all kinds of magical creatures that lived together in a town. I had always loved the idea that maybe those mystical creatures are real, and we just don’t know. I started my novel with the idea of a town of magical creatures. I didn’t want it to sound like a children’s picture book, so I added in different elements. In the town of Silversummit, the magical creatures were also humans part of the time. The humans were born with one of six eye colors. The eye color they had represented what magical creature was part of them. The catch was that they wouldn’t gain their ability to shapeshift until they completed certain tasks that proved they are responsible enough to handle the shapeshift. Once someone turned 18, they were allowed to begin the task. The eye colors were purple, orange, blue, green, yellow, and red. Purple Eyes were unicorns. Orange Eyes were phoenixes. Blue Eyes were werewolves. Green Eyes were mermaids. Yellow Eyes were hippogriffs. Red Eyes were dragons.
I made Silversummit a colorful place with very little controversy. I knew that this simplicity was unrealistic, but that is why I chose it. When I write, I get sort of trapped in the world of the book. It was nice to pretend I was in Silversummit and know I could do no wrong there.
After I came up with the basic idea, I struggled to get a plot going. I spent many nights crying at my laptop and deleting everything I had just written. Finally, one day, I sat down and just started writing and tried to not hate everything I wrote. I pretty much wrote the whole book that day. I finished my rough draft in a month.
It was a stressful time, but I was really proud of what I had come up with. The part that took me the longest was the dedication. I felt like everything I wrote didn’t amount to how much Haven had impacted my book. My publisher had also limited me to 50 words maximum. I finally decided on the first one I had written. I attached the file to my book and sent it to my publisher before I could change my mind. Then, I just waited. Haven said I should enjoy my time off, but I was just too nervous.
My book was published and hit the shelves in a few book stores. I don’t want you to get the wrong impression when I say “a few book stores,” because I mean four really small bookstores. It was a big deal for me, though. All it would take is one widely read book critic to pick my book up and like it. And guess what? That happened. One of the small bookstores that agreed to sell my book was having an event called “Stories and Scones.” A highly regarded book critic named Doran Webster happened to be a fan of scones and anything free, so he decided to stop by. Webster is known for never leaving a bookstore without buying a book. I guess it was my lucky day, because he picked mine. Webster read it. He liked it. He wrote a good review. After a week, my book was in more than 30 bookstores and on its way to a best seller.
However, there were repercussions to a lot of people reading my book. My readers wanted to know what happened next. I had been reading people’s reviews online, and according to Sir_Reads_Alot57, my book would not be complete without a sequel. I had never considered that I would need a sequel. I thought I had ended my book well, and that would be it. Now people expected me to keep going with the story that had taken me five years to write.
Now I would have to write a new book and didn’t know what it would be about. I didn’t want to lose all my writer’s cred. It might take me a while, but I knew it was something I had to do. Last night, before going to bed, I was telling Haven how stressed I was because I had no idea what was supposed to happen next in my story. I had intended for the story to be over. Haven, being her positive self, told me to just sleep on it and that I was sure that I would wake up refreshed and know the perfect way to continue the story.
That brings us to this morning. Unfortunately, I wake up and still have no idea how to continue the story.
Haven and Heath aren’t down stairs when I come down. They must be on their morning walk. I want to be proactive with my writing journey instead of waiting until inspiration finds me. I decide to go write in my favorite place. Lovell Park is a park right down the road from me. After school, it is crowded with children playing, but in the morning, it is quiet and peaceful. I have a favorite bench I always sit on.
I open my front door and immediately slam it shut. I open it slower next time and carefully peek around the door. I open the door wider and just stare. My jaw has passed the floor at this point. What I see out the door is not my driveway, not my street, and, I’m fairly certain, not even my city. I see trees of every color. The sky is a light purple, and animals of all kinds are running around. My mind is definitely playing tricks on me, because I swear a unicorn just ran by. I squeeze my eyes shut and slowly open them again. Yep, I’m still here. I start to study my surroundings. It takes me a minute, but I recognize where I am.
I’m in Silversummit.
I know this because I described this place down to every small detail. I’m in Silversummit. I’m in my book.
“Ok. I’m fine. This is totally normal. I’m just dreaming,” I say, voice shaking.
I step out the door and am greeted with a scent of vanilla and lavender. I am glad to know the scent combination turned out well. I was hoping by making the air smell like that here, everyone would be happy and calm. It does calm me a little bit, but not much. Even though I know everything about this place, I feel lost. I continue down the street. It’s the time of year where the blue and purple leaves are falling and the pink and yellow leaves are growing. Kids are playing with jump ropes and frisbees.
A child with terrible aim launches a frisbee in my direction. I reach up and grab it. I can feel it. I examine the frisbee in my hand until the kids start yelling at me to throw it back. It feels so real. If I am dreaming, why does it feel so real? I reach up and grab a pink leaf off of one of the trees. It feels smooth and smells sweet. I am not sure what is happening and am in a bit of a haze. I just keep walking and looking all around me. I am strolling through my book in real-life form. This is crazy.
I look back where I came from, and my house is not there. Where I had walked out of the door is now just trees. I guess there is no going back.
After walking for a little bit, I find myself in what I recognize to be the town square. Walking in front of the City Hall, I see Blossom.
“Holy snickerdoodle,” I gasp.
Those are the only words I can get out of my mouth. Blossom is one of my main characters. I spent so much time dreaming her up. Her long, white hair, tan skin, freckles, and glowing purple eyes are exactly how I imagined she would look. I feel a tear roll down my face before I even realize I am crying. I can’t help it. To see the place I wrote about is one thing, but to see the people whom I spent so much time creating is astonishing. Meeting their characters is something every author dreams about.
I want to call out her name, but, for obvious reasons, I know she won’t recognize me.
Blossom is the head of the purple group. She is known for being the most patient and understanding of all the leaders. Blossom is walking with a member of the Orange Council. They both look awfully concerned and are talking in hushed voices. I realize I am at the beginning of my book. This is where my story begins. I know they just received the news of baby Talia.
I follow Blossom and the other council member into the City Hall. They are quite enthralled in their conversation, so they never glance up at me. They walk into the council meeting room. I slip through the door behind them and take a seat at the back, completely unnoticed. I have to bite my tongue to keep from audibly gasping again. I look down into a room filled with my characters. I feel like I could throw up or pass out, both from confusion and excitement. If this is a dream, it is a pretty vivid one.
The meeting room has a big, stained-glass ceiling that includes all six eye colors into a design. There is a large wooden table in the center of the room. Two benches in the shapes of semicircles surround the table. The middle table is meant for the heads of each group and that group’s secretary. Remaining members of the council fill in the benches. Only five of the eye colors are represented at the meeting because red eyed people no longer live in Silversummit. When writing, I knew that not all of the creatures could be sunshines and rainbows, so I created the red eyed dragons. The dragons were voted out of Silversummit because they used their abilities, like fire breath, for destruction and not good. The dragons were totally fine with it, though, because it meant they did not have to live by the council’s rules anymore.
Blossom calls everyone to attention. She runs the meetings.
“I want to get straight to the point of why you all have been called here.” She addresses the group in a very serious tone.
“If I could interject, Blossom,” says Elwin, the leader of the Blue Eye. He begins to stand up.
“No, you may not, Eliwin,” Blossom says strictly. Elwin sits back down.
I smile to myself. I wrote Blossom to be a badass.
“Something has happened in Silversummit that has never happened before. I have called us all together to discuss what to do about it. A baby was born yesterday, and the doctors immediately noticed something strange. The baby was not born with one of the six eye colors. This baby was born with pink eyes,” Blossom explains.
“Oh, my!” gasps Gembelle. Gembelle is green eyed and, thanks to my characterization skills, is known for being very dramatic.
“There is no need to panic right now. At first, the doctors thought the baby’s eyes would develop into purple, but they have only gotten more pink as time has gone on.”
“Can we assume that their eye color represents a creature we are unfamiliar with?” Gembelle asks.
“Yes. I don’t think anyone knows what to expect,” Blossom says. She sits down.
“We have 18 years to figure it out, so can I get back to my muffin baking?” Elwin asks.
“Elwin, this is something we need to be aware of and come up with a game plan for. We don’t know if this could be dangerous for us. We don’t want another red eye situation on our hands,” Blossom says.
“Call me in 18 years when we actually have a problem to deal with. In the meantime, my blueberry muffins are burning,” Elwin says while walking out of the room.
He walks directly past me without looking in my direction.
“Elwin has somewhat of a point. I just want to make everyone aware of the current events, but we should have a good amount of time before anything significant happens. All we can hope for is that we gain some kind of insight in the next few years,” Blossom says. “We have employed a team to keep a close eye on her and study her behavior. They will be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary.” A couple of the council members start to chat amongst themselves. “That’s all for today. Everyone is dismissed.”
I decide to leave the room before anyone starts to head for the exit. I know that nothing interesting happens next anyway.
I walk outside and notice something is different. The ground is covered with pink and yellow leaves, and the trees are covered with blue and purple. I have a bad memory, but I know it wasn’t like this when I walked into the building. Elwin is on the sidewalk ahead of me selling muffins. I want to try one of these blueberry muffins that are so important to him. I walk up to his stand and am surprised to see he is selling lemon muffins and chocolate chip muffins instead.
“How much are they?” I ask.
I am trying to act normal, but actually speaking to one of my characters has to be the best thing that has ever happened to me (don’t tell me wife).
“How much? They are always free,” Elwin responds. He hands me a warm, chocolate chip muffin.
“Of course. I forgot how generous I made people here,” I say as I walk away with my muffin.
I mean to say it to myself, but apparently Elwin hears me. “Uhh. What is that supposed to mean?” Elwin asks me.
I can’t think of a response that will get me out of this situation, so I act like I didn’t hear him and pick up my pace.
As I am walking away, I hear someone behind me. I turn around to see Sterling running up to Elwin’s stand. Again, I am in awe at seeing one of my characters. Sterling is another favorite of mine.
“Elwin! What are you doing selling muffins? Today is the day! Blossom wants all of us in the meeting room at once!” Sterling yells at Elwin.
Sterling has blue eyes. She is known by everyone in Silversummit for being stunningly beautiful and incredibly smart. She rarely uses her powers to become a wolf because she knows people like her better in her human form rather than as a hairy animal.
“Ugh! You have to be kidding me!” Elwin yells back. “I’m getting too old for this.” Why would they be having another meeting minutes after they had one? I think to myself. I follow Elwin as he reluctantly strolls into the building. I take my place in the back of the room. I look around at the group, and the only people who are here that were at the last meeting are Blossom and Elwin. There is no Gembelle, Zasfa, or Axil.
They were all just here. I think.
Blossom stands up at the head of the table. I notice that she has lines on her face I didn’t see before.
“Today is the day we have all been anticipating and maybe even dreading for a long time now. Today is Talia’s 18th birthday,” Blossom says in a solemn tone.
What? That’s not possible. Talia was just born yesterday. I think back to the leaves changing colors and Elwin not selling the blueberry muffins.
Oh my gosh! When I walked out of this building, I walked into Silversummit 18 years later. I think. Great! First, I find myself in my own fictional world, and now I’m time traveling in it.
“Watching Talia grow up, we have had no indication of what she might unlock after completing the tasks. I want to propose an idea. It may be that we can not allow Talia to complete the tasks. While it is possible that she may be harmless to this town, it is also possible that she could be a danger. I would like to put it to a vote. The majority wins. If anyone has any opinions on this, please share now,” Blossom says.
Elwin speaks up first, “We absolutely should not let her complete the trials. If it could put the entire town in danger it shouldn’t even be a question.”
Zorrion, a Yellow Eye, speaks up next.
“We have no reason to believe that she could become anything dangerous. Just because pink is a color we are unfamiliar with doesn’t mean it’s not natural and she won’t turn out just like us,” he says.
No one else wants to speak.
“Thank you to both of you for sharing your views. The top priority in this situation is that everyone in Silversummit feels safe and that their opinion matters. Now, I have a piece of paper here, and I want everyone to come up and place your name under either yes or no. ‘No’ is to not let her complete the trials. ‘Yes’ is to let her complete the trials,” Blossom says.
Elwin immediately stands up, takes the pen from her, and, in an aggressive manner, signs his name in large letters under “no.” After that, everyone, one at a time, gets up and signs their names. Since Blossom is not voting, there is an odd number of voters. When the last person stands up to sign, the vote is tied. The last person is Sterling. She is the youngest member of the council, and the other members tend to intimidate her. She doesn’t want to get on anyone’s bad side, but she also has made up her mind and knows what to vote for. She signs her name under the “yes” side.
The room erupts. The council members who signed “no” are all collectively yelling at Sterling.
“Why would you put everyone in danger like that? If Talia hurts anyone, it’s going to be on you, Sterling,” Elwin yells at her.
Sterling starts to tear up. “Everyone deserves to know who they are,” she manages to mumble.
Sterling runs out of the room, and Zorrion follows her. He finds her crying on the floor outside of the room. She looks up at him with her bright blue eyes. “Did I make the wrong choice?” she asks softly.
“No. You made the right choice. Everyone who voted ‘no’ was being selfish. We have to think about how scared that girl must be and how many questions she would have if she was never given the opportunity to explore her potential. Everyone is worried she is dangerous, but, for all we know, she could become a magical frog,” Zorrion says. Sterling laughs. The two walk back into the meeting room.
Everyone has calmed down and is seated again. Blossom is speaking. “We will allow Talia to complete the trials. If at any point we notice behavior from her that could be dangerous to herself or other people, we will stop the trials,” Blossom says.
It is dark outside when the meeting is over. I have enjoyed seeing my characters, but now I feel a little scared and alone. Even though I know everyone here, no one here knows me. It is the perfect temperature outside, so I go to find a nice bench to sleep on. I have never slept under the stars, and this is the perfect opportunity without having to worry about a bird pooping on me (pigeons don’t exist here). I find a perfect bench and am asleep in no time.
The sun wakes me up, but I don’t mind. I feel well rested. I walk into town and grab a free muffin from Elwin for breakfast. I know that today is the day Talia starts her trials. I, of course, want to watch them. It is one thing to write about something and envision it in your head, but to actually watch it and be a part of it is something special.
The first trial is to retrieve a plant called a Nightwind. The plant lives in a certain part of the forest that has thick brush and is difficult to get through. Completing this task shows perseverance and determination. Everyone is gathering in the town square. Most trials do not get this much attention, but everyone is curious to see what will happen with Talia. I join everyone in town square. I know they are all looking at Talia, who is standing by the big fountain. All of the council members are there explaining the first trial to her. Talia looks scared. She keeps fidgeting with her shirt and not making eye contact with the people around her.
“Talia, are you ready to begin?” Blossom asks her.
“I guess,” Talia says nervously.
“To prove you have determination, you are to collect a flower off of a Nightwind plant. You have until sunset tonight to bring the flower back to us here. If you successfully complete the task, you will be given your next one,” Blossom says.
Talia nods her head and walks away.
No one is allowed to accompany her, so no one besides us two knows how she gets the flower. She does not enjoy all the attention she has been getting from the trials. She just wants to get them over with. She reaches the edge of the woods and realizes they are a lot thicker than she remembers. She isn’t afraid of the woods, but she doesn’t know how she is supposed to get through them. She takes one step farther, and she hears the trees start to rustle. If she didn’t see it herself, she would have never believed it. The trees begin to stand up and walk to the side. They clear a path for her to walk right into the woods and take the flower. She walks cautiously through the path the trees have created for her. She reaches the area where the Nightwind plant grows. She picks a flower and returns through the clear path.
Talia has only been gone for an hour when she returns to town square with the flower.
The crowd is shocked.
“How did she get it so fast?”
“I didn’t think she would be able to do it,” mumble various people in the crowd. Talia walks up to Blossom and hands her the flower.
“Wow! That was quick, and you don’t even have a scratch on you,” Blossom says. She doesn’t try to hide her shock.
“Yeah, I guess. It wasn’t hard,” Talia says nonchalantly.
“Well, normally the trials take three days, but since you finished the first one in such a timely manner, I suppose we begin the second trial. Sterling will explain what the second trial is,” Blossom says.
Sterling steps up and gives the instructions.“The second trial is one that many people have completed in the past, but many have also failed. It sounds like an easy task at first, but it requires extreme concentration and perseverance. The trial will take place at Crystal Lake. You will be tasked with skipping a rock of your choosing on the water. The waters of Crystal Lake are not smooth, and the rock has to skip exactly five times. You will be given three opportunities to complete the test. If you pass, you will move onto the final trial.”
“To the lake we go!” Blossom says with excitement in her voice. She genuinely loves watching the trials.
At the lake, people surround Talia. This is one of the trials people are actually allowed to be there for, so everyone comes to watch. Talia is searching through the rocks to find three good ones.
“You can begin whenever you are ready,” Sterling tells Talia.
Talia picks up the rock she wants to use first. She steps up to the edge of the water and looks at what she is up against. This task is very difficult because parts of the lake are very rough and choppy. Talia gets a good grip on the rock, takes a deep breath, and just goes for it. The rock skips one, two, three, four, five times! Everyone starts to cheer. The entire council stands there dumbfounded. They have never seen anybody successful complete this task on the first try.
“Well, you are just setting records left and right!” exclaimes Sterling.
Sterling had not been able to sleep the night before out of fear that she had made the wrong decision. Watching Talia dominate these trials reassures her that she deserved this chance. “Yet again, you have finished in almost no time. I say we move onto trial number three.
Elwin will explain the next task,” Blossom announces.
“Every year, Silversummit delivers a package to the new area that the Red Eyes have inhabited. It is somewhat of a yearly peace offering and to make sure the Red Eyes still have no hard feelings. The next task is for Talia to be the one to deliver the package. Most kids in Silversummit grow up afraid of the Red Eyes and the dragons they can become. Completing this task will show that she is brave and can put her fear behind her when necessary,” Elwin explains.
There are gasps from the crowd. “That’s too dangerous! She has no way to defend herself! She’s just a girl!”
Talia does not appreciate being called “just a girl.” She turns to the crowd and says, “I can handle myself just fine.” She turns back to Elwin and asks, “Where’s my package?”
He hands her a package and tells her where to go. She walks away with a very determined look on her face. Talia reaches the place that Elwin told her to go. She has been so determined to get here that she hasn’t looked at her surroundings much on the way. She does a full 360 to take in where she is. There are little cottages all around. All of the trees around her are dead, and she realizes why when she sees one in the distance on fire. Now, she has started to feel scared, but she refuses to let it show on her face. Dragons are flying around overhead, and she is wondering when one will finally notice her.
She is observing that the sky is darker here, when she sees a dragon start to come right towards her. Seconds before it seems about to kill her, the dragon transforms into a person. The person walks up to her.
“Can I help you?” he asks.
“I was sent to deliver this package from Silversummit,” she says as confidently as she can.
“You were? They normally just leave it somewhere for us to get,” he says.
“Well, this time they sent me,” Talia says and adds a smile.
“Ok. Whatever,” he says.
The man takes the package, turns back into a dragon, and flies away.
Talia returns to the spot at the lake where everyone was still waiting.
“How did it go?” Elwin asks.
“It was fine. The man I gave the package to was very nice,” Talia responds.
“That’s odd. Normally, we just leave the package because no one will ever approach us,” Elwin says with a confused look on his face.
“Clearly, there is something special about Talia,” Sterling says with a big smile.
By the end of the trials, the council has no doubt Talia can handle whatever she is up against. Normally, there is a revealing ceremony where the person changes for the first time. The council is too afraid to have it in front of a lot of people though. They limit the guests to her friends, family and the council members. All Talia needs is to be blessed by the heads of all of the groups, and she will be allowed to make her first transformation.
Talia is standing in the middle of a beautiful garden with all the group heads surrounding her. One at a time, they all come up and give her their blessing. As the last blessing is given, there is a bright light, and Talia disappears.
“Oh, no! Talia! Talia! Where did you go?” Talia’s mother yells frantically.
Then they see her. Talia looks just the same, except she is smaller and has wings. Tilia is a beautiful pink and white fairy.
And that’s the end of my story. Now that I am watching it happen in person, I agree with all my fans. I am dying to know what happens next. I kind of expect to wake up now and realize this was all a crazy dream.
I don’t have much time to think about it, though, because I hear a scream.
I look over, and one of the members of the council, Blissia, has a giant vine wrapped around their waist. The vine has picked them up, and they are dangling. Everyone’s attention is focused on Blissia, so no one notices that the entire garden has come alive. Flowers are spraying petals everywhere, vines are trying to grab people, and bushes have gotten up and started walking. Everyone begins to panic. The entire council is running around yelling. Council members are beginning to change into their other forms. Elwin, in his werewolf form, is using his teeth to tear apart any plant that is near him.
All of a sudden, the garden becomes still. All the plants that had come to life are normal again. Everyone seems to have forgotten about Talia until they notice that she is standing in the middle of everyone in her human form again.
She appears very upset. Everyone is still on high alert, and most of the people look terrified about what just happened. I have to admit, I am pretty shaken up too.
“I think I did that,” Talia says, voice shaking.
Blossom is attempting to comfort her. “What do you mean you think you did that?” Blossom asks in a kind voice.
“I’m not sure. When I changed into a fairy, I suddenly felt some surge of power, and everything I looked at in the garden came to life,” Talia cries out.
“It’s okay. We don’t know for sure if…” Blossom starts to say.
“Well, it wasn’t any of us, so it was clearly her,” Elwin says.
“Be kind, Elwin. Being able to control nature could be part of her powers, and she just doesn’t know how to use them yet. I’m sure you remember when you kept almost biting your brother’s head off before you could control your wolf self,” Sterling says.
Elwin’s face turns bright red.
“That’s right, sweetie. Everyone has a hard time learning to handle their new abilities.
Your specific abilities are new to all of us, so we’ll just have to learn as we go,” Blossom says as she takes Talia’s hand.
Everyone has new knowledge today, including me. The people of Silversummit have found out that Talia is not a danger to them. She just has to learn about her new abilities. And I know what I am going to write my next book about: Talia the Garden Fairy and all of her adventures.