EMERSYN…The Beginning (Part I)

It was a lovely day, indeed, in the Forest of Lang. Sweet birds were chirping and the sun was peeping through the tapestry of branches that formed a canopy of shade throughout the woodland. Squirrels and chipmunks were having a fierce game of Nut Ball and the competition…well, let’s say in that area of the forest, one could only hear squeaks and that funny little clicking they make. It seems that the squirrels were pretty upset because instead of kicking the nuts on the field they made, the chipmunks were stuffing them into their cheeks just as fast as they could! Hummingbirds were flitting back and forth, gathering nectar from the flowers and then flying back through the forest, spreading the progress of this most funny game! All in all, it was a fine afternoon in the forest.

The fairies were busy with their own preparations for a celebration. Deep into the woods, when the fairies live, all fairies of the Forest of Lang had gathered. The very young fairies were in leafy enclosed areas on the ground, while the teenage and young adult fairies, were perched in trees – in groups.  Some groups were sewing wee little clothes, some were weaving dandelion and nettle cloth and the elder fairies, in their homes under the ferns, were creating jewelry made of crystals; special crystals that only exist in fairy caves. Lace from the webs of spiders was being crocheted also. The only sounds heard were those of sewing, weaving, clicking crochet needles and stringing, along with the happy squeals of the young ones.

What was this celebration? Well, gather closely and I’ll tell you. However, I have to go back in time just a little bit. About seven years ago, (Ha! Remember, time is not that important to fairies…so I’m not exactly sure how long ago), the Elder Fairies of the Forest of Lang were hearing rumors that the village folk who lived in the Glen of Lang were saddened by the illnesses of their farm animals and their cats and dogs. The village people not only depended upon their farm animals, but they loved them as much as they loved their pets. They just did not know what to do because there was not a doctor for 200 miles who knew how to take care of animals. It was a very sad situation. The oldest of the Elder Fairies, upon pondering this most dreadful news, called a meeting of the fairies – both young and old. She explained the situation to them and asked if any among them would be willing to change the path they were currently on to become caretakers of the animals owned by the villagers. She knew that this would be most unusual, as fairies – for centuries – had as little to do with humans as possible. However, this Elder Fairy was so wise and loving, that her love extended naturally to animals. In her mind, regardless of where animals are: in the woods or on a farm, they deserve love and care. All the fairies looked at one another with surprise and wide eyes. “Pardon, most honorable Elder Fairy, isn’t this most irregular and strange?”  asked Bumble Briar, a middle-aged fairy who always held to the rules and legends. The Elder Fairy looked at him and said nothing for a few moments. Then, she spoke, “Bumble Briar, do you remember when a mad hawk attacked you and damaged your left wing 600 years ago? I believe you were flying dangerously close to the edge of the forest. The attack caused you to hurdle toward the Earth so fast you landed on your other wing and broke it.”  “Oh,” Bumble Briar muttered, “Yes, I do.”  “Well, my dear, who brought you to us for help?”  “A boy”, he said.  “Yes, a boy.  THAT boy’s great-great-great-great and a few most greats grandson is a farmer in the village and needs our help.  We must help them.  Do you understand now?”  “Yes,” as Bumble Briar bowed to the Elder, “I do.  Sorry.”   “No need to be sorry, but there is a need to continue”, said the Elder Fairy. “Are there any of you willing to help the villagers and their animals?”  Once again, everyone looked at everyone one else and said nothing.   Silence. More silence.

There was a small rustle from the meadow behind the gathering of the fairies. Slowly, the group parted as two young fairies approached toward the Elder Fairy.  There was a girl and a boy – young adult fairies. He was taller than her and they were holding hands. The Elder Fairy looked at them…everything was quiet.  The couple knelt before her and stayed until she gave them leave to arise. Smiling kindly, she said, “Hmmmm.  You are a lovely couple, but I don’t think you have been united. (This means marriage, although there really is not the form of marriage we think of as humans. It is more of a celebration and ritual where the fairies gather in a circle around the couple and a magnificent tree. There the couple says vows that they wish to unite with nature). “No, dear Elder Fairy, we have not…yet. But we plan to in the very near future”, the young male fairy replied.  “Yes,” said the girl fairy.  “We have been working with the animals in the forest.  We both really love animals and those here in our forest are so dear to us. And, she looked downward, “We really haven’t known each very long.  We spend all of our time with the animals.”  The boy fairy spoke again. “We love animals and it would be an honor to look after and care for the animals of the village.” The Elder Fairy took them into her arms and whispered, “Well I think it’s time you are united.”

So it began. This glorious tale of two young fairies that loved one another and loved animals. They were such a comely pair: he had light hair and eyes, while she had very dark brown hair with dark eyes that matched. OH! I forgot to tell you their names! Silly me!  She was Moon Fall and he was Star Gazer. Isn’t it nice that both of their names had something to do with the heavens above? 

Anyway, it was decided by the Elder Fairy and her council that Moon Fall and Star Gazer would be the caretakers of the animals in the village. They also decided that before they could embark upon this important mission, their union must be sealed. I didn’t tell you before that when the union is sealed at the union ritual…remember the tree in the circle with the couple? Once the two fairies are spiritually and magically united, this special tree delivers to them a baby fairy! Yes! It is true!

And so…

Oak Willowglimmer, Mistress of The Gardens and Queen Mary Gossamer Beamfly

Sun Song kept moving toward Sam and the tension grew amongst everyone. Sam’s eyes were darting everywhere as he tried to not look at Sun Sung in the face; which, by the way, seemed to be changing, and changing rather quickly! Oak noticed the changing also and was wringing her hands, as Sherwood and Henry were passing looks back and forth. The two of them, if anyone was watching and thank goodness no one was, were communicating without words. As Sun Song was slowly approaching Sam, Sherwood and Henry were edging closer to her – from the back. One was moving to the left and the other to the right.  Sun Song’s focus was so fiercely on Sam, she was unaware of anything. Sam was scared…all of his legs were shaking uncontrollably. Then, he was Sherwood behind the furious fairy.  Sherwood was forming a word and Sam recognized it right away.  W E A V E  weave weave.  Yes! He thought!  Weave strands of silk – strong silk, so that when she approaches, he can trip her and they can tie her up with the strands. Before they knew it, Sun Song put her arm out and opened her hand to grab Sam.  Just then, Henry bellowed like a bull and got everyone off guard.  As Sun Song whipped around to see where the bellowing came from, Sam flung the silken strands around her ankles and her arms and then he yanked on the strands, causing her to fall on her side.  She was livid and her face was quickly changing colors – BLUE – RED – YELLOW – ORANGE – BLACK – WHITE – PURPLE and on and on – every color you could possibly imagine! Everyone came running to help Sam.  “Sam, make more cords so we can be sure she’s tied up securely,” said Henry. As quick as a dime twirling on cement, Sam went into action, whirling out cords and cords.  Oak and Sherwood grabbed them and wrapped them wherever they could, tying up this mean, wicked being!

Suddenly, light came into the cave…light so bright and luminous that everyone was temporarily blinded by it.  As they blinked and blinked, trying to get their vision back, it became clear to all where the light came from!  It was Oak’s mother! “Mother, mother,” Oak ran so hard and fast to her mother that she didn’t even notice that her feet were no longer touching the ground.  She was actually flying just a few inches off the ground! Mary held her arms open and tears slid down her cheeks as her daughter flew into her arms. “My darling, my darling little girl.  I love you so dearly.” Oak just fell upon her mother’s lap, laughing and sobbing at the same time.  She was so happy!  “Mother, you cannot possibly imagine what has happened to me!  You just can’t!  It’s so weird, so scary and so wonderful!” Mary took her daughter’s chin in her hand and said gently, “Yes, my dear, I can.  You stumbled into a part of fairy land so absolutely everything has been different for you! I’m just so grateful you are OK. You are the treasure of my life.” Mary leaned down and gently kissed Oak on the forehead.

“Now, everyone! Please step forward and let me see you!” Mary stood and as she did, the most beautiful wings ever seen unfurled from behind her back.  Why, they were pink, with hints of turquoise and green and yellow.  They sparkled as if diamonds lined the edges of the wings. Oak’s eyes grew so bid and she whispered, “It’s true, it’s true!”  “Yes, my dear,” Mary said, “It is true.  I am the Queen of the Fairies and it is time for me to take my rightful place.  It is also time for you, Oak Willowglimmer, to stand and take yours’ – as Mistress of the Gardens”.  Oak rose slowly to her feet, as Sherwood, Henry and Sam stepped forward and bowed to the Queen and to the Princess.  Mary held her hand out and the three moved forward.  Each knelt and kissed the Queen’s hand. The Queen curtsied back to each one and gave them special names.  Sherwood was renamed as “Cat Sherwood, Feline of the Colony”.  Henry became “Henry, Hunter of the Forest” and Sam…well, Sam became “Sam, Special Spider of the Kingdom”.  “Now, my lovies,” the Queen said to all of them as she took Oak’s hand tightly in hers’, “when we get to our destination, I shall tell you everything!”

So Mary…oh! Her name is “Queen Mary Gossamer Beamfly”.  So, Queen Mary Gossamer Beamfly sprinkled fairy dust on all of them and off they flew! Off they flew to the Forest of Fairies.

As for Sun Song?  She disappeared!  No one saw her leave or heard her leave.  Just gone…

 

Oak Williowglimmer – Mistress of The Gardens (Chapter Three)

“Oak, Oak, come home; please come home!” Oak heard her mother’s frantic cry for her, but she was falling so quickly it was all she could do to breathe. For that matter, it was all she could do to really hear her mother’s words, for the chimes, mixed with the thunder were sounding like a giant was stomping and with every stomp, the Earth shook and at the same time it sounded like massive windows of heavy glass were being blown out into a million pieces by an iron ball being directed by a madman driving a crane. Rather than trying to listen to everything, Oak open her eyes in an effort to see if there was something she could grab onto as she was falling. She kept trying to concentrate on not being afraid and to try to figure out what was going on and where she was falling.  She thought it was a good thing that she had her pajamas on, rather than a nightgown; but then…maybe not.  Perhaps the nightgown would actually have been like a parachute and slow the fall down a little; just a little. Oak started looking at her whereabouts, to try to identify landmarks, like you learn in Brownies.  She remembered her leader saying, “When you’re on a trail, always look for things that will stick in your mind so if you get lost, you can maybe backtrack and find your way out”.  She was doing that.  A birdhouse was on the right.  It was painted purple, pink, yellow and white.  “I have to remember this birdhouse,” Oak said to herself.  “I can do this.”  But before she knew it, she passed the same birdhouse again.  Or was it?  All of a sudden, there were so many birdhouses of all different colors that she became confused.  Shutting her eyes tightly, then reopening them did not help.

Then, Oak seemed to feel like she was no longer falling, but was jumping!  This was so strange. She could not stop jumping, but as she was, Oak realized something.  All this time, she had not been falling down; she was falling up!  Up?  Can you fall up? “Oh my,” was all Oak could say as she was jumping.  Every jump seemed higher than the other or the one before it.  Oak was really good at jumping rope; she never ever missed a beat.  But now, Oak felt sick to her stomach…really sick.  That’s when it happened.

A breeze seemed to be lifting her gingerly up and out of whatever it was that she had been in. It wasn’t a hole; it wasn’t a cup and it sure wasn’t a river, for she wasn’t wet!  This breeze made her feel better.  Oak was able to get her wits gathered.  I mean, for a ten year old girl, the gathering of wits was a feat, but then Oak never backed down from achieving a goal or completing a task.  Now I know this all sounds a bit odd.  Well, of course it does.   Here this little girl encountered a fairy, tons of wild wind chimes, thunder out of nowhere, falling down or falling up and now riding on a breeze. There are more odd things in this world than that.

Oops!  Oak fell!  Not far, but enough to shake her up a little.  Looking up, she saw the breeze had been distracted by a pretty little blue cloud and it decided to head over that way.  “This is so strange,” Oak muttered to herself, as she stood up and brushed off her pajamas and set them straight.  “What’s strange?” Oak stopped and looked around for the person who said that. There was no one.  “Yikes, I must be so tired.  I’m hungry too and now I’m hearing things” Oak thought.  “Hello?  What’s wrong with you?  Why don’t you answer?” Oak quickly scanned where she was.  It was only now that she realized the breeze had brought her to a sweet little garden; not too big and not too little.  It had a cedar tree in the back, pretty purple flowers, and all sorts of plants and such.

Do you ever get the feeling that someone is looking at you?  Well, as Oak was looking around this garden, she suddenly felt someone’s eyes on her.  Oh, it was strange.  She slowly turned around, but no one was there!  There was only a little spider hanging from a branch of the cedar tree.  Oak generally didn’t care for spiders, but this one was different.  It had clothes on or at least it looked like that.  She got a little closer and then the spider yelled, “Are you deaf?” Startled, Oak jumped back.  She said nothing, just stared and stared.  The spider was a creature of action.  It sort of pulled itself up by its belt – yes, that’s right, its belt.  It then jumped on a silver strand of its web and the strand began swinging.  It went back and forth and on one of its forths, the spider leapt onto a leaf very close to Oak.  It was pretty obvious the spider was a boy because of his belt, his jeans and his boots.  He also had a shirt on with the buttons on the side of the shirt, you know, like boys.  I have to add that jeans for spiders are, well, multi-legged.  Oak just stared at him and he stared right back at her with 23 eyes!  In the background, Oak heard her mother calling for her again.  This time it sounded like her mother was crying.  Oak felt so sad and the spider could see this.

“Who is that calling” Is it your mother?”  By this time, reality set in and Oak realized that she was far far away from home and her mother; she was so lonely and scared.  Nodding, Oak began to cry.  This made the spider feel badly and he sat down on the leaf.  “I’m Sam Spider, Jr.” Sam put out two of his arms to shake her hand, but then decided against it, knowing she was already distraught.  She looked up and Sam winked at her.  Although Sam had 23 eyes, he was very coordinated and winked with 17 of them.  “Oh”, said Oak.  “That’s really neat!”  “Aw.” Sam said as he bashfully looked down – well, 12 of his eyes looked down, the others crossed. “Sam, I miss my mother.  I miss her so much.  I worry about her too.  She must think something horrible happened to me.”  Sam cocked his head and said, “No, Oak.  Believe me, she has a good idea where you are.  That’s not to say she’s not worried, for she knows what a strange land this place is.”  Just as he finished is, a giant mushroom suddenly appeared right next to Oak.  It was giant, as I said, and was brown and purple.  It smiled too!  Actually it grinned at both Sam and Oak.  This was all so odd; so very odd for Oak.  She began to feel lightheaded and woozy again.  Oak thought she might fall against the Mushroom because the garden began moving – not spinning, just moving.  The flowers were walking, the trees were swaying and the grass began moving, much like a river.

Within a moment of a dream, it was dark!  Oak found herself in a swing in the garden and Sam and the Mushroom were nowhere to be found.  She began to feel sad and scared and went to slow the swing down, but it kept lazily swinging – back and forth and back and forth.  Actually the swinging made her feel better.  The moon was so big!  It was huge and the clouds were almost dancing in the sky.  Lightning bugs were darting here and there and she could hear tree frogs chirping.  Oh, she loved tree frogs.  So did her mother.  From the time Oak was a little girl, her mother taught her that frogs, especially tree frogs, could be her best friends.  She would say, “Oak, if it storms really badly and you’re frightened by the thunder, just listen for the tree frogs to start singing; for they sing a lullaby to the thunder, which helps to calm and quiet it down.  Also, if there should be a flood, tree frogs are famous for helping little girls and boys climb trees to get away from the flood waters.”  Oak would listen to her mother for hours and hours talk about nature and all the wonderful things that most people don’t even know about or see.

Just thinking about her mother’s stories made her feel so much better.  Oak leaned back on the swing to look straight up at that full moon.  It’s here that Oak’s story begins to reveal a secret. (to be continued)

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Oak Willowglimmer – Mistress of The Gardens (Chapter Two)

If you remember, Oak was sitting in her little garden at the back of her yard; drawn there by a faint flickering light that could have been a fairy! So she slipped into the garden and sat and was silent; as silent could be!  Oak’s head didn’t even move when her eyes would look to the right, then to the left, above and down.  Why, if you were a fly in the garden, you would not be able to hear her breathe.  Then almost, as if it was always there, just barely, Oak heard “tinkling”…the tinkling of crystal or sea glass or…well, she wasn’t sure.  Listening, Oak decided it was crystal AND sea glass tinkling – together, as if on a wind chime that maybe fluttered down from Heaven or fluttered up from the sea.  Now Oak was well-versed in grammar and English and everything that goes with it; she knew fluttered up from the sea maybe wouldn’t make sense to everyone, but to those who mattered – it did!  Anyway, the tinkling kept up and began to sound closer and a wee bit stronger – not loud (for fairies or wind chimes would never be loud), just stronger.

She went to brush a wisp of hair from her right cheek and as she did, Oak felt something and winced, thinking it might be a bug.  Whatever it was, it wouldn’t really go away; it just darted from her fingers and found a different place on her cheek to make its presence known. As Oak went to swat at the bug, she suddenly thought that maybe it wasn’t a bug; it could be a fairy. “Oh my gosh”, she thought.  “A fairy!  A fairy,” she screamed in her head.  Ah, so excited, Oak could barely sit still.  But still…she sat.  Listening intently, she thought she heard some faint rustling…like the rustle you hear when you open a present and it’s wrapped lightly in tissue paper.  sshshhhshshew Say it quietly…shshhshshew….and as you come to the end, the shew ends almost silently.  Her eyes were slowing swiveling in her head as she scanned the room.  Light brush on her cheek, shshhshshew…and flickers of light, or perhaps the thought of lights; whatever, she felt, she heard and she saw everything she needed to know in her young smart mind that there was a fairy in the room.  “Tap tap tappity tap tap tap,” at her shoe; she felt that on her shoe.  Looking down, Oak saw the most beautiful little fairy that one could ever possibly imagine in this world or in any other world, for that matter. Taken by the magic and, oh just the magic of it all, Oak just stared at the fairy.

The fairy picked up a beautiful wind chime that looked exactly like what Oak imagined.  The little thing just shook and shook that wind chime, causing the delicate crystals and sea glass to literally come alive and each crystal and each sea glass rose up, off the bark (handle) and then, as if a wizard had flipped his wand, each piece then created its own wind chime.  Before Oak knew it, the garden was filled with little itsy bitsy wind chimes; not so many that you couldn’t move, but let’s say that if you were there, you would have to watch, very carefully, where you were walking, sitting, stooping or being or even standing!  But what was amazing was the sound.  It was the sound of crystal chandeliers and sea glass harps, all playing in tune with one another; being directed by an unseen maestro of mystical magical music.  The melody seemed as if it was straight from Heaven or Fairyland and seemed so familiar, Oak was sure she knew the song, but couldn’t, for the life of her, remember it.  “That’s right,” she thought, “it’s a memory, I know it is.  I just can’t remember this song.”

Having traveled in her mind to the room of memories, Oak almost forgot about the wind chimes…until the room grew silent…again.  She looked around and saw that the chimes had floated down to the floor of the garden…gently, like a very light snow; landing quietly and sitting still.  The little fairy then flew slowly up to Oak and beat her little wings while she hovered in the air in front of Oak’s face.  “Greetings, Oak Willowglimmer.”  “You know my name?” Oak’s heart really began to flutter.  “Of course I do.  I’ve known you all your life,” the fairy said.  “My name is Gossamer Beamfly and you are Oak Willowglimmer.“  At this point, let me describe the fairy.  She was only four inches high and had beautiful pink hair; so pink that you would think you were looking at cotton candy. Gossamer had beautiful blue eyes with green little sparkly glitter spots in them.  Her skin was a pale pale green…really just a hint of green…very light.  She was indeed lovely.

Gossamer said, “I know your mother too.  I know her really well.”  “How do you know us?” Oak asked.  “I can’t really say; just know that I do. Please don’t ask questions for my answers would only confuse you.  Plus, I’m your elder.”  “My elder?”  Oak tilted her head and looked at Gossamer.  “You can’t be older than me.  You’re so tiny and young.”  “Well, my dear, we fairies are like that.  We appear to be young or old or whatever, but we’re really the opposite!  I’m 125 years old.  Just had my birthday last week.”  “Oh my gosh,” exclaimed Oak.  “I can hardly believe this, but wait!  I do believe you, it’s just…well.  It’s like I’m in the middle of a fairy tale!  Really! My friends would never ever believe me.”  Gossamer fluttered closer to Oak’s face and looked right in her eyes and said, “There is no reason to even tell them.  The more people that know about us, the less…uh, how do I explain this.  For every human that hears about a fairy, but doesn’t believe, two fairies are frozen in time, way down deep in the Honeycrooked Tree right in the middle of Greenwood Forest.”  Gossamer looked sad now.  Oak thought she saw a tear slip down her cheek, but it was a tiny diamond or a tear that turned into a tiny diamond that fell upon the toe of Oak’s shoe.  “Oh my”, said Oak.  “I’m so sorry to hear this.  It just seems like everyone would believe in you and other fairies!”  Right at that moment, a clap of thunder sounded and shook the canopy over the garden.  Oak jumped and Gossamer began flying a circle as fast as she could – over and over and round and round, until Oak became dizzy. “Stop”, Oak whispered.  She tried to yell, but her words only came out as a whisper. “It’s only thunder.  Thunder cannot hurt you.”  Gossamer kept flying in a circle and the tiny wind chimes were rising in the air; their crystals and sea glass clattering and chattering…nothing like earlier when they sounded like angelic harp music.  The pieces of glass and crystal were flying and swinging and Gossamer was flying like a dragonfly that had lost its way and the thunder kept pounding the ground and Oak got more and more dizzy.  In the background of all the clamoring, Oak could hear her mother, Mary, calling for her.  Only this time, rather than the usual mother call, it sounded a little frantic.  Oak called back, “Mommy, I’m here, I’m here.” “Oak, Oak, please answer Mommy!  Please!  Oak, Oak, come home, come home.”

Oak was feeling faint.  The tinkling, the banging,  the fluttering, the manic wings, circles round and round, Mommy calling…all these things were rushing through Oak’s head and then she fell – and fell and fell.

(to be continued)

Fairies of The Rosemary Garden

The full moon interfered with the smooth flow I usually feel while creating fairy gardens.  It’s finally done, except for the moss, which will go in tomorrow.  But I didn’t want you to think I was off running around a fairy ring!  Hope you enjoy the photos.  ♥

This garden has four fairies, three in the Rosemary Tree and one sitting on a tree stump.  There is a raccoon who just picked a red apple, a bird’s nest with two birds, a bird cage with a fairy key, a fairy path ring, a potted succulent, a chair, a rake and a dormouse…oh, and a ladybug! Hope you enjoy the photos!  ♥

The Full Moon and Fairy Rings

    

I’ve mentioned mushrooms before; how the blades of grass seem to bend down into “seats” under the “umbrella” of a mushroom.  It seems that mushrooms play an important role in the fairy world.  Not only do they provide bench and protection from the elements of weather, but they also provide a special area in which fairies gather and dance.  These are called fairy rings. Have you ever seen one while walking in a forest or the woods? I’ve only seen one and I checked under the mushrooms, and sure enough – the blades were bent.

Now it’s said that fairies dance within the boundaries of the ring.  This usually occurs when there’s a full moon (We have a full moon tonight). Fairies don’t look kindly upon intruders while they’re dancing under a full moon.  There is only one way to inspect a fairy ring and this is how:  you must run around the ring (outside of it) exactly nine times.  Of course, the fairies have now gone underground since their ring has been discovered.  After the ninth lap is complete, one can actually hear the fairies dancing…underground.

Have you heard how the full moon affects humans, as well?  They do.  I can usually tell when a full moon is on the way!  Although it tends to make me feel a little unsettled, I’ve found that my fairy gardens, when left outside to bathe in the light of the full moon, seem to grow well and thrive.  I have fewer problems with these particular gardens.  Could it be that each of them has their own little fairy ring?  Perhaps it’s the fairies dancing in the rings and leaving some fairy dust behind to show their appreciation.

Remember when you create a garden in your yard to make room for a fairy ring and calendar the full moons, so you don’t miss out on the enchantment.