When she was here, taking care of home and puppy for me while I was out walking El Camino, she was diligent about taking Sylvester for his walks. As she circled the block with him, she noticed one of the neighbors had a small door propped against the base of a tree.
Rose being Rose, she decided a fairy was living in the tree, and one day she made a small note to hang on the door.
"Open Me," it invited.
If you leaned down to open the door, you found a small toy - yours to take if you so desired.
It took a week or so, but one day the toy disappeared, so she replaced it.
The next time the toy disappeared, there was a note from a 4 year-old neighbor (and their mom), thanking the fairy for the gifts.
Rose responded in kind, and this is long about when I returned home from my walk.
She told me what she'd done, handed over a bag of toys to be given away as needed, and told me I was now a tree fairy. There are worse callings in life, so I continued the game.
Late last fall, the neighbor, after taking the gift, put a glitter potion behind the door - it turned the fairy into a unicorn! The fairy took the potion, and after thanking the child, spent several charmed weeks as. a unicorn before turning back into a fairy as winter arrived.
And that's where I dropped it. I, I mean, the fairy, put another gift under the tree, but after it sat for a couple of weeks, I retrieved it, along with the sign, and tucked it away. Out of sight, out of mind.
As spring arrived, I'd see the door on my daily walk, and thought about starting the game again, but didn't actually get out the goods.
Then, last week, I noticed something behind the door - it was another note from my young neighbor, wrapped around another magic glitter potion.
The note said: "Our last potion turned you into a unicorn. This one will turn you back to a fairy. We miss you! I love you - your 4 year-old neighbor"
I might be grieving, but I don't have it in me to take magic away from 4 year-olds.
I mulled things over for a day or so. Decided if I was to be a tree fairy, I needed a proper fairy name. I came up with a list of options, then let Lexi choose her favorite - she opted for Wren. I wrote a note explaining the unicorn potion had worn off after a couple of weeks, but then I'd caught a ride south for the winter with one of my robin friends. I told them I was back - and it did my heart good to know I'd been missed. (this part is true.) I even went all out and drew a picture of my fairy self riding on the back of the robin.
My young friend hasn't yet retrieved the note - though someone else picked it up, read it, and returned it to its hiding place. I almost hate to admit how much I'm enjoying my part in this story, anticipating the joy on the child's face once they discover their fairy didn't permanently disappear after all.
Good Is.
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