Leia measured the sun’s position as it pertained to the
height of the trees, then turned back to glance at the mountains, and then back
to the sun again.
“We’re
lost, aren’t we?” said Natalia, sounding unsurprised.
“No
we’re not,” assured Leia. She blew a strand of brown hair out of her face. Her
wings drooped a little, betraying her uncertainty. “The cove is just… this
way.” She pointed to a gap in the trees that looked somewhat familiar, and she
and Talia flew towards it, the hedgerow a cool, dark, luscious green. The fairy
sisters zipped through the leaves and for a moment Leia was confident they were
going the right way… until they came to the river. For the third time.
“Great!”
said Talia, exasperated. “We’re lost.”
“We are not lost.” Leia flew high above the
trees and shielded her eyes from the sun’s glare.
Talia’s voice appeared beside
her. “I thought a graduated fairy was supposed to be a highly intelligent
keeper of nature. You don’t even know where north is!”
Leia brushed away her comment.
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s that way. And besides,” she added, flying toward a
maple tree she thought she recognized. “I am
an intelligent keeper of nature. We’ve been trained to pinpoint locations
instantly.”
“Instantly, huh? Well, we’ve
been flying around for fifteen minutes. How is that instant?”
Leia rounded on her little
sister sharply. “Oh, will you stop it? I could find my way out of this forest
blindfolded.”
Talia crossed her arms, her blue
eyes narrowing under platinum blonde bangs. “Then maybe we should blindfold
you. It would probably get us home a lot faster. We weren’t even supposed to go
this far. Mother said to stay by Make-A-Wish Falls.”
Leia was about to respond when
she spotted a dark figure over Talia’s shoulder. Eyes widening, she grabbed
Natalia and dove just as the hawk’s claws missed them. “Hurry!” she yelled as
they dashed away from the hungry bird. Leia heard the bird’s angry cries and
could feel its wings beat against the wind as it gained on them. Sparing a
glance at Natalia, she saw her sister’s wide blue eyes frozen in panic even as
her wings pushed her faster and faster. “To the river!” Leia called over the
wind.
Talia nodded stiffly and they
both straightened their arms against their sides, piercing the air like
bullets.
They were close now, the river a
mere stone skip away, when suddenly the hawk swooped in front of them,
spreading his wings like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Leia spread her wings
wide to stop, but Talia soared straight into the hawk’s embrace. Grabbing her
by the wings with his beak, the hawk gave a gargled squawk and started to rise.
“Put me down!” Talia cried,
thrashing in the hawk’s mouth. But the hawk shook her once her cries reduced to
a whimper. Pulling wings was like pulling hair.
Leia watched in silent horror as
her sister shrunk from view, helpless in the predator’s clutches. Looking
around, she only saw a few pinecones, some pebbles, and a cluster of mushrooms.
She needed something to help Talia. She needed something to fend off the hawk.
She needed something now! And then,
out of the bushes toddled a brown and grey porcupine, its pointed face nuzzled
to the ground, searching for food. Suddenly inspired, Leia raced to the
porcupine and hovered carefully above it. She reached for one of the spines,
but the animal wouldn’t stop moving. Talia screamed again.
“Sorry, mister,” Leia said. “But
this is gonna hurt.” Grabbing a handful of spines, Leia yanked with all her
might until they came loose in her hand. The porcupine yelped but Leia didn’t
wait for his scolding. She sped toward the hawk brandishing her spines.
The hawk only realized what was
happening an instant before it came to be.
Leia jabbed him sharply with all
three of the spines and the hawk gave a pained cry. Talia dropped from his
mouth. Seizing her hand, Leia and Talia flew toward the hedgerow and waited
until the hawk disappeared from view before braving the skies again.
Leia stuffed the porcupine
spines into the back of her belt. She was sure she could find another use for
them. Turning to Talia, she saw her sister’s cheeks had grown a tender pink,
her bangs hiding her dark blue eyes.
“Thanks,” said Talia,
sheepishly.
Leia smiled and blew another
strand of brown hair out of her face. “You’re welcome.”
“I’m sorry I was mean to you
before.”
“It’s okay.”
There was silence for a few
moments before Talia spoke again.
“So… how do we get home now?”
Leia pondered, her gaze drifting
to the laughing river. “Maybe if we follow this,” she said with a gesture to
it, “it will lead us to Make-A-Wish Falls. Then we can find our way home from
there.”
Together the two sisters drifted
above the water, enjoying its’ sound and the peace it brought. Leia spared
another glance to Natalia. She had been very close to losing her today. The
thought made her want to hug her sister. But instead, she dipped a foot into
the water and splashed Natalia in the face. By the time they reached
Make-A-Wish Falls, both of them were laughing and soaked. Thankfully the air
was warm as evening came, the summer sky turning shades of pink and lavender.
Before the sun had set, the cove came into view with its’ bustling populace of
fairies. Leia and Talia made their way to their hovel, which had once been a
mole’s home before the family converted it to a fairy home after the mole’s
departure. Mother only looked slightly taken aback at the state of the sisters’
frizzy hair. Leia produced the porcupine spines and set them in the corner by
the coat rack, which had been fashioned out of two paperclips twisted together.
“Where did those come from?”
asked Mother with a knowing look.
Leia and Talia glanced to one
another. Leia cleared her throat. “We found them… while we were… looking for
algae. For the tadpoles.”
Mother smiled. “I see,” she
said. “What else happened today?”
Talia looked down, but Leia only
smiled and leaned casually against the compass which served as the dinner
table. “Oh, nothing. Played in the river. Raced each other.”
“Uh-huh.” Mother turned stirred
some kind of bluish mixture in an acorn bowl. “What a day. Why don’t you two
set the plates for dinner,” she suggested. “You father will be home soon.”
Lei and Talia nodded and began
the nightly ritual. Occasionally they would catch each other’s eye and smile or
wink. And to think, all that adventure had come from a few minutes of playing a
little too long.
What a day indeed.
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