A Fairy Told Me

I have what some would call a "vivid imagination." This has come in handy on multiple occasions when parenting Peppy. As a child, I could create fanciful daydreams that would keep me occupied for hours. As an adult, that same imagination gave me the ability to answer questions far too deep for my child's understanding at the time he asked the questions, ease his fears, distract him from the misery of illnesses or pain, and escort him on his journey to the Land of Nod on more nights than I care to remember. Although Peppy and I are very much alike, we differ in our need to understand. Sometimes I can content myself that there are some things that cannot be explained or understood. My son, so much like his step-father it's almost eerie, needs to see and comprehend the reason behind everything. So there were many times that I would spin a yarn, only to have my serious-minded only child fix me with his soft brown eyes and say, "Mom, is that true?" The first time I encountered this question I debated telling him, "No, Mommy makes things up because you're too young to know how babies are made, too scared to spend the night away from home, not mature enough to understand the workings of a virus, and too darn stubborn to fall asleep without a different story every night" or coming up with something cryptic that would allow his own developing mind to determine truth from fantasy. I went with the road less travelled and said, "I don't know if it's true or not...a fairy told me." One dark eyebrow quirked up and he waited patiently while I told him the following story:

When I was a little girl I would play alone behind the azalea bushes next to our house. One day I saw a tabby cat twitching it's tail back and forth and stalking something in the bushes. I watched as wiggled it's haunches and then pounced on it's prey. Then I heard a little voice calling for help. I peeped under the bushes next to the cat's body and saw in it's paws a tiny little woman with wings so shimmery they reminded me of a bubble. She was not much bigger than one of my dolls and I thought for a moment she was a doll, but I knew she was alive and very afraid. Although I could tell she was beautiful, her face was terrified as she turned it to me not knowing which was a bigger danger...me or the cat. She promised me that if I would free her from the cat, she would grant me a wish. I told her I would help her, even if she disappeared as soon as she was free. Not knowing the best way to get the cat to leave her alone, I decided the best thing to do was frighten the cat into letting her go. So I barked. I barked like the most ferocious dog in the world and the cat took off like her tail was on fire. The little woman then said, "I'm a fairy and you just saved my life. I was here in this bush gathering petals to make a pillow for my bed when the cat attacked. I will keep my promise and you will have your one wish. What do you want most in the world little human girl?" The first thing that popped into my head was that I wanted a friend. I wanted a friend to talk to and play with. One that could stay up late and whisper to me in the dark when I couldn't sleep, or join me in my pretend games and not think I was silly. So I told the fairy, "I want you to be my friend." She laughed and said, "No wish for more wishes? No wish to be rich? No candy? No toys?" I told her that wishes were nothing without some one to share, money didn't stop the scary things in the night and I was certain candy and toys were better when shared with a friend. Then she promised that although she might not always appear to me in her fairy form and we couldn't play every day, she would love me and be my friend forever. For many years my fairy would appear and tell me wonderful stories about her magical home. She would answer questions that the adults around me were too busy to answer and she would keep me company when I was frightened, sad, or hurt. She was my most treasured friend and I love her still to this day.

Then I told Peppy that the stories I told him, and the explanations I gave, were hand me downs from my wonderful fairy friend. I told him that while I didn't know if things I was told were true, I knew they came straight from my fairy. My fairy named Vivid Maggie Nassion.