Oak Willowglimmer – Mistress of The Gardens (Chapter Four)

She was so relaxed, as she leaned back and went back and forth and back and forth and back and…wait!  There was no forth!  Oak went back on the swing and stayed there! Since she was in a “laid back” position anyway on the swing, she looked up and there was Sam…all 23 eyes of him…looking back at her!  “Hi, Oak! Good to see ya again! Don’t be afraid, but you’re stuck in my web.”  Sam kinda hung there, sheepishly looking back and forth, as Oak tried to get her bearings, as she wriggled around on the swing (which wasn’t easy, being hung up in the air like that).  “Sam!  What?”  “Shhhhh,” Sam suddenly grabbed her hands and pulled her off the swing, onto a giant strand of web, which went from one end of the area (she still wasn’t sure what it was) to the other.  Somehow, he literally put her on his back and wrapped a quick silk rope around her so she wouldn’t fall. and off they went, scurrying across the strand and then Sam threw (really) webs out of his hands so they could catch hold of each one and swing from one to the other, until they were up and over the gate.  Oak could barely catch her breath because Sam flew so quickly.  It really was like flying…from silken strand to the next.

Oak must have fallen asleep, because she suddenly found herself in a cave; a cave filled with webs of all colors…gold, silver, red, orange, white, black and on and on.  Rather than spiders, there were fairies!  Real fairies who were spinning the webs and placing them throughout the cave. Putting her little fists to her eyes to wipe the sleep away, Oak’s eyes opened as big as she could make them.  Yes, the webs and the fairies were still there.  “Oak!”  “Thank goodness, Sam. You’re still with me,” she said as she went to hug him.  His hugs were pretty snug because he had so many legs/arms with which to hug.  “Of course, Oak, of course I’m with you!”  With that, Sam swept her up again and they glided up on a golden strand of silk; the most beautiful golden she had ever seen.  Up up up they went until they reached what appeared to be the upper floor of the cave, which really looked like a castle.  Sam helped her down off the silken strand, and they walked toward a bright light that was shining from in front of them.  The light was glowing and bright, yet not so bright one couldn’t look into it.  It was amazing.  As they approached the light, Oak could make out the form of a woman.  There was something about this woman that seemed sweetly familiar.  But, she had a silk veil of butterflies over most of her face and Oak could only see her eyes.

The woman stepped out from the light and just stood still and gazed about her surroundings. Oak noticed that everything was quiet and that the lady was looking over Oak’s head, so Oak turned around and almost gasped with awe, for the cave was now a soft gold and white.  The little ledges up and down the walls of the cave had lovely fairies kneeling and facing this woman.  Candles and torches were lit and lined the walls and pathways; stars that looked like they came down from the heavens were hanging from above and inside the frame of each star was a fairy playing a harp.  The music from these harps was mesmerizing and dreamy.  Oak could not stop looking around for in every direction she looked was a new surprise, a new delight.  Tree frogs and lizards were dressed in light cotton robes and each had a special hat on that had tiny fireflies circling the brims of the hats.  The frogs and lizards were bringing goblets of freshly mined golden grape juice.  She knew this because she heard a baby girl fairy telling her friends.

Turning back to the woman, there was now a nest on the ground; or should I say on the “cloud”?  First, it was a nest, but a big nest – big enough for a grown up fairy.  The nest was made of beautiful twigs of cedar, birch, oak, and pine.  Blended into the twigs were stems and leaves from herbs and flowers: lavender, roses petals, sage, rosemary and some marigold.  The nest was lined with gardenia and plumeria blossoms. Now, although she thought it was on the floor, it was actually sitting upon a lavender colored cloud that had drifted down from the opening at the top of the cave.  When the woman turned to walk toward the nest, that is when Oak saw the woman had wings!  She had fairy wings! Not only did she have beautiful fairy wings, she also had hair just like Oak’s mother!  It was long and wavy and reddish yellow…such a beautiful color. The woman still had her face veil on, as she went to step into the nest. But then butterflies flew from her veil to lift her long skirt so she would not trip.  After she stepped into the nest and sat down, the butterflies then flew into the woman’s hair and became still, like beautiful hair pins.

Everyone in the cave knelt and then slowly rose.  As they rose to their feet, the woman began speaking in a soft melodic voice (Oak was thinking it sounded like her mother).  Now that she was facing everyone, it could be seen that her eyes were emerald green and soft, as soft as her voice.  “My loved ones,” she began.  Without warning, a fiery red smoke descended from the opening in the cave (at the top) and began circling the room, almost in the shape of pointing fingers; each poking at a fairy, or a lizard or a frog.  The stench was horrific!  The smoke seemed to take on the odor of a dead ogre. (Of course, Oak had never seen an ogre, much less smelled a live or dead one, but the smoke smelled like what she thought one would smell like).  The ground began to shake and the little ledges that fairies were sitting on began breaking and falling to the earth like shards of glass, trying to stab and cut as they hit the ground.  Thunder filled the chamber and was so loud that the fairies had to put their hands over their ears.  But the thunder could not disguise or extinguish what Oak heard.  It was her mother again, calling, “Oak, Oak, come home.  You’re in danger.  Come home.”

Turning to ask the fairy lady for help to get to her mother, Oak discovered she was gone!  In her place, where the nest was, sat a giant dragon, who was looking straight at Oak, as smoked poured out of his nose.  (to be continued)

Oak Willowglimmer – The Mistress of The Gardens (Chapter One)

Just by reading the title of this story, you obviously know that Oak Willowglimmer is the Mistress of the Fairies of The Earth’s gardens.  This fact by itself is certainly not very interesting. However, Oak’s history is…interesting.  Before we go there, let me share what is said of her. The creatures of the forest and streams say she casts weird dreams and that she lives in forests of oak and ash trees. The elders of the villages say she can only be seen when the sun sets on the day of a completed harvest.  Small children say she wears pretty autumnal leaf colors and has delicate green colored wings like a cicada. Maybe this is all true and maybe it is not.  I’ll let you be the judge.

Oak was born a human.  Yes, she was a human baby girl.  A pretty little girl with auburn hair, which leaned much more on the reddish side.  Her eyes were green (still are) and she had freckles all over!  Her mother used to tell her the freckles were angel kisses; she has since learned that fairy kisses can leave freckles, as well!  She was the only child of Mary and…the truth is that she never knew her father.  Her mother never mentioned him.  Actually, Oak, after spending some time in the park and observing the grass blades that bent under the mushrooms and figuring that fairies played there, she decided her mother was a fairy and so was she!  Now mind you, she never told her mother that she figured out they were fairies.  Why, she didn’t need to have a father!  She was perfectly happy with just her and her mother.  She quickly figured that a family is a family regardless of who is in it.  Some have a mother and father, while some have only the father.  

Mary, Oak’s mother, had a green thumb.  Sometimes it would glow emerald green, while other times it glowed grass green.  Wherever Mary went, she found plants, twigs, leaves and orphaned seeds that she brought home and planted.  It seemed like overnight they would start thriving and growing!  Oak was even more certain that her mother was a fairy; even a Queen fairy!  Their backyard was a tropical jungle, with every type of tree and plant one could imagine. Fruit was happily hanging from the branches and fragrant flowers seemed to always be in bloom.  The perfume of the flowers hung heavy in the air of the neighborhood and it seemed that all the women on the block would purposely stroll by the house, just to catch a whiff of the lovely aroma.  

There was a particular corner of the yard that had a garden, but you could not easily see it, for there was a canopy of magnolia vines that covered it, leaving walking space of about three feet, which was quite comfortable if you were three feet or less.  Only Oak knew of this garden, for she created it. Although she didn’t realize it, she had inherited her mother’s green thumb.  The garden had miniature roses, marigolds, gardenias, daffodils, lavender, heather, every wild flower you could possibly imagine, and even herbs…every herb known to man.  Oak didn’t quite know how she came about having all of these wonderful plants, but she didn’t question it.  Every morning before she went to school, she would walk into her garden and find a new plant growing in a spot where she had placed a seed the night before.  You see, the birds were her friends and they would always bring her seeds from their travels.  The orioles and the buntings would travel south to escape the winter and bring wonderful seeds from the forests of the north!   She even had Fiddleheads growing.  

Well, one night it was hot…too hot to sleep.  They did not have air conditioning in their house.  Oak opened her bedroom windows and felt that the outside air was cooler than the inside.  She quietly tiptoed out the back door and just slowly wandered through the gardens, letting her fingers lightly touch the leaves, wet with dew.  It was so refreshing.  All of a sudden, she saw a wee light in her garden!  Squinting through the branches, she looked harder (can you look harder?) and saw this wee little light moving – here, there and everywhere!  “Oh!  It’s a fairy!  It has to be a fairy!”  She slipped into her garden and although she was not three feet tall, she lowered her head upon entering.  It was pitch black!  No light anywhere!  Oak sat on one of her palm frond mats she had made the other day and put her chin on her fists.  Oak just sat and sat and…sat.  

A tinkling of a wind chime filled the air, but very gently and softly.  As the chime played (she didn’t know where it was) the little garden began to glow.

(to be continued)

A Story About a Fairy Who Loved Daisies

Once upon a time, not so long ago; maybe yesterday?  There was a wee little fairy, who was only 103 years old.  Now for those of you who think that’s old, let me assure you it is not.  In fact, this wee little fairy was only 10 years old in human years.  Ah, but don’t ask me how to figure those years!  That is an age old secret!  Back to the wee little fairy…her name was Daisy Delight.  Her elders told her that she was named after a flower…the daisy. Unfortunately, it was the last daisy in their land, for all the daisies had been picked by a mean, mean old lady.  Not only did she pick them, she then dug up their roots so that they could not grow and make more beautiful flowers!  Oh, the elders were really in a stir about this.  These fairies loved not only flowers and the soil and animals, but they cared for humans, as well.  However, their caring for this old lady seemed to be weakening.

One day, the head of the elders, Elderberry Blue, rang the bluebells of the village, as a new fairy was just born…a wee little girl.  The fairies flew and danced and sang with pure joy, for this was to be the last fairy girl born for 500 years.  (No, I don’t know why)  So she was very special indeed.  Her mother, Lavender Lace, declared that the wee one would be named Daisy Delight, after the last daisy that had just been picked.  Delight, because she knew that her baby would grow into a lovely fairy who would delight fairies all over the realm, with her kindness and smile.  And, so it was.

As Daisy Delight grew, she always wondered and would ask everyone she met what a daisy looked like.  The older fairies would draw pictures for her, but they just could not capture the beauty of the flower.  Daisy Delight would sigh with disappointment.  At night, she would have the same dream:  she was playing in a field filled with amazing white and yellow flowers. She would run and run, for miles it seemed, and the daisies never stopped.  All of a sudden, the daisies began dancing with her.  She would twirl and twirl with the flowers for hours.  Then she awoke and knew that when she went outside, there would be no daisies.

Daisy Delight loved to wander through the little forest near her village.  The fairies never worried about their little ones wandering there because the creatures of the forest were their friends and would watch over all the little ones.  So, as she was flitting about, she spied an old woman sitting on a rock, crying.  Daisy Delight was so tender of heart that she began weeping herself for the old woman.  Gently, Daisy Delight landed on the woman’s shoulder. The old lady wasn’t even startled by the sight of a fairy!  This surprised Daisy Delight.  “Oh, little one, I’m so sad.”  “Why”, asked the fairy. “I have a dream that I have a granddaughter who I have never seen.  Her mother left home one day and I haven’t seen her since.  But word came to me that she had a little girl.”  “My, that’s so sad.  What was your daughter’s name?”  “Lavender. Lavender Lace.”  My goodness, Daisy Delight almost fell off the woman’s shoulder.  “I’ve been so upset that I tore up all the flowers that she had planted when she was little,” the old lady said.  “Were they daisies,” Daisy Delight asked.  The woman looked at her and just kept looking at her as Daisy Delight flew slowly in front of her face.  Daisy Delight asked her if she was a fairy.  “Yes, I am. But my sadness has caused my wings to fall off.”  In Daisy Delight’s heart, she knew; she just KNEW this was her grandmother.  She also knew she was not a mean old lady like the elders had said.  There had just been a terrible misunderstanding and Daisy Delight was going to fix it!  She told the old woman that she would come back the next day at the same time.  They agreed to meet.

The next morning, Daisy Delight, who barely slept all night because she was so excited, woke up and cleaned up the whole seed pod (their house) before her mother awoke.  Lavender Lace was so pleased upon waking that she asked Daisy Delight what she would like to do.  “Oh Mother!  Let’s wander through the forest!  I saw some berries I would love to pick.”  Lavender Lace looked lovingly at her daughter and smiled.  “Yes, let’s do!  I used to do that with my own mother when I was little.”  Then Lavender Lace looked so sad.  “What’s wrong, Mother?”  “Oh honey, sometimes I just miss my mother so much.  I wish she was still alive.”  Daisy Delight tilted her head and looked at her mother, but decided not to say anything.

So, they packed a picnic lunch and flew out the door!  They had a great time in the forest and found the berries.  Her mother wanted to have lunch in a special place, but Daisy Delight said, “No Mother!  I found a wonderful place in a clearing yesterday.  Let’s go there!”  Lavender Lace laughed and on they flew.

They flew for just a small distance when Lavender Lace spotted the old woman sitting on the log.  She stopped and slowly lowered to the ground.  As she did, the old woman looked at her and stood.  “Lavender?”  “Mother?” Lavender Lace flew to the old woman, who was now weeping with joy, for now she knew her daughter was alive.  Lavender Lace flew and kissed her mother all over her face.  In the meantime, Daisy Delight was flying up and down with pure happiness and giggling the whole time!

Well, to make a long story short.  Years before, the young Lavender Lace fell in love with a young male fairy, who wooed her away one night. They were going to return, but a wind grew up so fierce that it blew them off course and they lost their way.  For all they knew, they were countries away from Lavender Lace’s home.  In the meantime, the old woman (who was not so old at the time) heard about the fierce wind and how many fairies never returned home because of how it blew them so far away.  She just assumed that something dreadful had happened to her Lavender Lace.  “Mother, here is your granddaughter, Daisy Delight.”  Daisy Delight flew into the arms of her grandmother and both were so happy!!

Thereafter and even to tomorrow, Daisy Delight tells people to never give up and never lose hope; for the world is good and delightful!  Oh!  The grandmother’s wings grew back.