Swear Not By The Wings
1 Birthday

Hi, my name is Arrietty Spring and I love chocolate.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart!" My mom sings me awake. She places a cake on my nightstand...at seven in the morning!

"Seriously, mom?" I chuckle, pushing her out of my room. Yes, today is my 16th birthday! I do my dance called the "Spring-supreme" in excellency. Unfortunately, I still have the displeasure of going to school. The thought of doing work today makes me want to throw up! Lucky for me, my mom wouldn't allow me to miss school even if the world was ending! I replace it funny you think that was a joke.

I comb my ruby red hair and twist the locks into springy curls. I'm feeling brave today and decide to apply some makeup around my amber-colored eyes.

Once I finish, I choose my outfit, a white blouse, paired with a light pink overall dress. I pose in front of my mirror and that's when I notice a small jewelry box sitting on my bed. I open the container to replace an ugly silver necklace with a gnome on it! There's only one person I know that would be responsible for this. I run downstairs to confront my mother.

"What is this?" I ask her. She smiles at me.

"It's a protection necklace, isn't it pretty? It's supposed to ward off fairies. Those savages would do anything to take you away from me," she almost chokes up. I roll my eyes at her. My great-grandma was a fairy, supposedly. She was not the nicest woman either, supposedly. You see, fairies are barbarian beings according to legend. Apparently, they're still around and my mother does all types of crazy stuff to keep them away!

Our front yard is littered with herbs that the mythical beings dislike. Every year, on my birthday, my mom buys me a hideous silver jewelry piece to wear for whenever I leave the house. She promised last year that she would stop. Clearly, she didn't take that promise seriously!

When I was younger, I never questioned her antics. I grew up with fear towards the imaginary creatures and never spoke badly against them. My mom used to tell me that if I speak poorly about faeries, they'll come and take me to their world! She told me this at the age of six! Crazy, I know. Now that I am older and not dumb, I understand that all of these stories are just fairy tales.

"Yeah, I'm not wearing this," I say with a straight face and chuck the necklace at her. The madwoman stares at me, startled.

"Arrietty, you have to! At least take a packet of salt. If a fairy approaches you, throw salt on the ground. They'll have to count each and every grain, that'll give you enough time to run to safety!" She informs me. She has officially lost her marbles!

"Mother, enough! I'm not wearing that ugly necklace to school! It's my birthday. I'm tired of the fairy shenanigans!" I exclaim.

"Arrietty, please don't say such things! It's dangerous," my mother warns. I scoff at the ridiculous conversation. If fairies are real, how come no one has ever seen them? And as far as I'm concerned, there's no whimsical world within planet earth! It doesn't make sense!

"What type of mother raises her child to believe in fairy tales! Fairies aren't real, just like unicorns aren't real, just like elves aren't real! It's imaginary! Fake!" My rant is cut off when I look at the time.

If I don't head to school now, I'll be late for sure and this argument is not worth a tardy slip!

My mom looks at me with an expression I cannot describe. Her face shows a mixture of worry and fear. The poor woman probably expects me to get kidnapped by those tiny freaks for what I have just said. I shrug my shoulders and walk out of the door. Hopefully, my day can recover from this disastrous morning!

When I make it to school, I am greeted by all of my close friends. I cringe when they obnoxiously sing me a happy birthday. My friend group consists of four people, including myself.

First, we have Jane. Jane and I are redhead buddies! We met at an art club last summer. This school year, we got put into the same math class. We've been inseparable ever since!

Next, there's Poppy. Poppy has short brown hair and glasses. She is an absolute genius! A little bit shy and she prefers books over people, but we get along well.

Last but not least, there's Linden, she has long honey blonde hair and is the captain of the cheerleading team. I have known Linden since we were babies. Our mothers are best friends since high school. We are just carrying on the tradition!

"Hey Arrietty, Landon is walking over, " Linden whispers into my ear. Landon River is the star athlete of my school and impressively good looking. He has golden blond hair and twinkling green eyes. He never approaches girls because they approach him rather.

Landon and I occasionally exchange glances from across the hallways and in between classes. There is an obvious tension between us and his friends always tease him whenever I'm around. He never bothers to speak to me though, which makes me cancel out the idea of him being interested in me.

The gorgeous football player strolls up to me, dreamily.

"Hey, birthday girl, " he smiles an awkward million-dollar smile. I blush while greeting him and scream internally. I watch, love-struck, as the boy walks away from me. The bell rudely interrupts my moment by ringing. Jane then pulls me along with her to class.

"See you guys later," I say to Linden and Poppy who wave at me.

"So, did your mom give you another fairy speech this morning?" Jane snickers.

"Hey, it's not funny! Guess what she gave me as a birthday present?"

"A wizard's staff?" Jane and I burst into fits of laughter at her comical response.

"A necklace with a gnome on it!" I barely manage out. At this point, Jane and I are at the brink of tears. Our humorous conversation is cut short when we reach the geometry classroom. We immediately begin telling jokes and making silly faces at each other during the lecture. These are the perks of sharing a class with your BFF.

Before I know it, I'm packing up my textbooks and off to my last class. I take a seat at my usual spot and become shocked when Landon sits down next to me. The handsome boy nudges me with his elbow and gestures for me to lean in closer to him. I comply and suppress a girly squeal when he asks,

"Are you busy tonight?"

"Not really, why?" I reply. We are really close, I hope my breath doesn't stink!

"Well, would you like to see a movie with me? I totally understand if you can't, it's an important day for you," Landon rambles nervously. I smile at him and quickly respond with,

"I'd love that!" The boy blushes as the art teacher enters the classroom. I carry on with my work and Landon pokes me again. This time, he slips a paper onto my desk. I read the note that says,

"Be ready by seven." I scribble out a response and slide the note back to him. A short while later, our instructor dismisses the students. Landon bids me a farewell before journeying off to replace his bus. I have a hot glow on my cheeks as I exit the abstract room. I am joyfully strolling to my house when unexpectedly, the clouds become dark.

"Stupid weather predictions, " I mumble to myself.

Today was supposed to be sunny! I even tuned into the weather channel before I left for school this morning. I really hope it doesn't rain on my date with Landon.

The dark clouds swirl around the sky and grumble about. I pick up the pace when I realize that I might get caught up in a storm really soon.

About five minutes into my walk, a fog begins to cloud my vision. It never really fogs where I live so I am very confused by the strange occurrence. I maneuver carefully when I hear footsteps sneak up from behind me. I twirl around only to be met with more fog. I slowly turn forward and continue walking. The haze gets worse and soon I can't see anything!

"What's going on?" I wonder aloud.

My rhetorical question is met with a chilling giggle.

What on earth is that? The sinister laugh has me running in a random direction. I soon hear feet galloping behind me, multiple feet. Adrenaline rushes through my veins as I dash through the mist. I break out into a cold sweat due to panic. Is this some kind of joke?

My scramble is put to a halt when I run head-on into a tree. I fall to the ground and observe my surroundings. I'm in the forest. This part of the town is notorious for being responsible for mysterious disappearances. An uneasy feeling builds up in the pit of my stomach.

I shakily pick up my phone, preparing to call my mother. Without an explanation, the device vanishes from my possession. Yes, it disappears from thin air! Terror is the only emotion I feel when I hear hushed whispers sounding from all around me.

"Who's there?" I call out, clearly shaken.

"Who's there?" A high pitched voice mocks me.

I feel as though a cat has grabbed my tongue. I slowly stand up and strive to search for a getaway.

"Going somewhere?" A velvety voice speaks slowly into my ear. I would've found the sound attractive if I wasn't in this particular situation. I swing my hands to shove whoever is behind me but miss, terribly.

"Over here, " the voice sounds again. This time, it is coming from beside me. How can one move so fast?

"Look, I only have a couple of dollars! You can take it all! I don't even know what you look like so, it's not like I can report you to the police!" I practically cry out.

Okay, maybe I've told a small fib. Yes, I do only have a couple of dollars, but I also have a chocolate stash in my bookbag. I just can't bring myself to reveal this information! I love chocolate too much.

I only get laughter as a response. I even hear people mimicking my distress. I listen to a whistle from above and before I can do anything, I'm hit over the head with an unknown object. After that, everything goes black.

I really hope they don't replace the chocolate.