The Little Fairy
Chapter 11

I spent the rest of the day researching what I should say in my first rally and where I could have it. There was a soft knock at my door followed by a husk voice. "Kreya, can I come in?" Don splintered the door open a crack, barely letting his eyes peer inside.

"Yeah, go ahead."I turned my chair around, meeting his gaze as he came through the door.

"Did you and Sarah get into an argument?" He sat on the edge of my bed, picking at some lint on the quilt.

"More of a disagreement." I shrugged, turning myself back around to the computer and my notes.

"She seems pretty upset."

"What would you like me to do about it? It's not like can force her to see my point of view." If only he knew.

"I think you should talk to her again." He rubbed his palms on his knees, his jeans making an aggravating scratching noise.

"I don't even know what I could say to her to make it any better." I turned back to him, meeting his eyes.

"I'm sure you could think of something." He finally got up, patted me on the shoulder, and left my room, closing the door lightly behind him.

I took a deep breath, looking back at my work. I guess I could use a break. I pursed my lips and went next door to Sarah's room.

"Sarah?" I knocked on her door softly, hoping she wouldn't hear me.

"Come in." I could hear her TV turn off as she answered me.

I took another breath and entered her room, the smell of lavender and bergamot filled my nostrils. "Can we talk?" I stood in her doorway.

She patted the spot in bed next to her. "What would you like to talk about?"

"I'm sorry if I upset you." I couldn't keep her gaze.

"What makes you think you upset me?"

"Your dad."

She laughed loudly, "My dad always thinks I'm upset if I have a disagreement with someone." She shook her head. "He thinks I'm some precious flower that needs to be protected from the hostility of the world." She placed her hand over mine. "If I were upset with you, I would come to you directly, okay?"

I felt the heat rise into my cheeks, the sizzles returned where her hand was sitting on mine. I nodded, unable to get a noise to escape my throat.

"You okay?" She studied my face closer, my eyes widen as she gets closer.

"Mhm!" I jumped off her bed and quickly went to her door. "Th-thank you for reassuring me that you are, in fact, not upset with me, and I will see you in the morning." I exited her room quickly, speed walking down the stairs and out the back door, and started running as my feet hit the dirt, heading straight into the forest.

I found myself at a familiar tree, breathing in its musky scent, and tears began to form in my eyes. I didn't think I was going to be able to come back here after that Elder of Magic forced his way into my unconscious mind. I traced my finger along the roughness of its bark, trying to memorize every single hill and valley.

"I really wish you were here with me, mom," I whispered, leaning my forehead against a knot in the trunk.

When there was no response, I leaned my back against the tree and slid my way to the ground; ignoring the scratches that I most definitely gained in the process. I spent the next 40 minutes talking to the open air, hoping that maybe they could hear me on the other side. I knew they couldn't, but there was always hope.

I felt a drop of water land on my forehead as I leaned my head back, trying to brush the intrusive thoughts out of my head. Great, I thought. I could smell the rain coming, but I decided I was going to stay put.

I had to think of what else I could put in my speech. We haven't set a date yet, but I knew it had to be soon. Winter was coming in the next couple of months and I had to get a lead on my project before the spring when I could start setting up gatherings and protests.

"Kreya?" I heard Sarah's voice coming from a distance, maybe about an acre away, but the dense trees and looming darkness made it difficult to see.

"Sarah? What are you doing out here?" I jogged over to where I heard her voice coming from and accidentally bumped into her.

"You've been gone for a while, I wanted to make sure you didn't get eaten by a bear." She rubbed her hands over my arms, trying to comfort me. "Plus it looks like it's starting to rain."

"I'm fine." I knew there weren't any bears out here. it was a small parcel of forest and there was nowhere for a bear to sleep.

"Why do you come out here so often?" She walked past me, heading in the direction of my Oak.

"Can I show you something?" I took her hand and led her over to my tree, placing my palm on it. "This is my tree... my home."

"This is where you came from?"

I nodded, unable to speak as I held back tears.

She looked up at the wide branches and colored leaves, I'm assuming studying it. "Is there a certain space where you guys go in and out or is it kind of like Harry Potter where you just pass through it to the other side?"

I looked at her confused. "What? No. You see this small hole here?" I crouched down to a barely 2 inch hole in between two folds of bark. "This is the portal to my village."

"Oh yeah!" She crouched down next to me, peering at it closely. "What would happen if I were to stick my finger in it?"

I recoiled, disgusted at the question. "Why would you want to do that?!"

"I wanna see if it would enter the portal!" She moved away from the Oak, looking me in the eye.

"Well since you're not a fairy, you would probably just bother whatever creature made its home in that hole."

"What would happen if you did."

"The same. I may have magic still, but I'm not a fairy anymore." I looked up towards the sky, feeling the rain fall harder through the thin veil of leaves that were left.

"We really should head back home." She plucked her pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and lit one that she pulled out.

"Yeah, probably." I huffed and stood, helping her up with me, and led her back.