Faery Academy of QuillSnap

“Mimi! Mimi, are you in the enchanted forest?” A tiny girl’s voice startled me.

“Yes, my favorite granddaughter. Over here,” I called, smoothing my jeweled hot-pink caftan as I stood up.

Rose, tall, blonde, and all knees and elbows, came running to me for a hug, carrying a colorful feather. The purest of loving hugs sent tingles down my spine to the silver rhinestones on my ballet slippers.

“Mimi, this is so fancy.” She caught her breath, scratching Stewart between his ears as he purred appreciatively. “Look what I found by your Enchanted Forest sign. A rainbow feather!”

“That is a sign of good luck!” I exclaimed.

The big brown eyes that mirrored my own lit up as she sat beside me on the matching rose-themed chair. I handed her a fluted glass of the swirling, glittery concoction. She knew to hold it gingerly. Her eyes widened as she watched the swirling tornado in her glass continue to spin without her stirring it, and the yellow color separated into a layer of red and then orange and yellow. She looked at me and tentatively took a sip.

I raised an eyebrow questioningly to her.

“Mimi, this is delicious and the best recipe yet! I’m drinking a sunset potion!” she exclaimed with a playful smile.

In the enchanted forest, we referred to our tea as a potion and always looked forward to sampling new and unique beverage combinations.

“I visited Miss Ruby’s Variety Shop this morning. She had a new vendor there who would have fascinated you. She was exotic, wearing a gold turban and a matching flowing skirt you would have loved, and she had the most captivating green eyes that seemed to look directly into your soul,” I said.

“I love Ruby’s shop. She has such interesting items!” Rose exclaimed. “Were the vendor’s eyes like Magic Kitty’s?” she asked teasingly, scanning the trees for our tuxedo kitty, who rarely blinked and seemed to analyze our minds.

“Yes, like that.” I smiled.

I took the glass cover off the perfectly square little cakes. “Ta-da.” I held the dish out in front of her.

She clapped her hands in delight, trying to decide which color to choose.

“Miss Ruby’s vendor said it takes seven years to make these rainbow cakes. Can you imagine? That is about as old as you. I think only special people can make these.” I winked.

“Faeries?” she asked excitedly. She chose a pink cake and set it on her plate daintily.

I smiled knowingly at her. “At Ruby’s, the vendor served a sparkling beverage with a subtle hint of glitter, which was quite an experience! I thought it would be fun for us to try,” I said brightly.

My brain was still foggy from the experience and how the drink had gotten there.

“Interestingly, your drink now has a distinct red layer at the bottom, an orange layer in the middle, and a yellow layer on top. Meanwhile, my drink is evenly yellow but still swirling like yours, and I haven’t stirred it at all!”

We watched the tornadoes swirl in our crystal flutes. Rose’s glass transformed from sunset hues to deep purple, while mine stayed a glittering yellow. Strange.

“I am rather upset today, Mimi. My teacher—you know, the one with the crooked smile?” Her eyes welled up.

I nodded.

“Today she told my class that faeries are not real. They are in our imagination, and we should concentrate on math and spelling only.” Tears rolled down her cheeks.

I took a sip before setting my glass gently down. “Honey, your teacher is a silly woman and, I guess, rather unhappy. Did she have proof there are no faeries?”

Rose shook her head.

“Just because she hasn’t seen one doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Have you seen a germ?” I asked as she bit into her pink rainbow square.

Again, she shook her head.

“We know they exist, because sometimes we get a cold or a stomach bug, right? They start from a germ. Isn’t that what the doctor tells us?”

She nodded.

“I think your teacher should come out here sometime. She may change her mind, as magical and unexplained things have happened in my enchanted forest.”

“You may be right about her being unhappy. She always wears black,” Rose said thoughtfully.

“That is interesting,” I said as I sipped. “The vendor’s collection of trinkets was unique and had a magical ability to put a smile on anyone’s face—even your teacher’s, I bet. It’s always nice to have something that can brighten up our day. It’s a great reminder that even the smallest things in life can bring joy and happiness. As you can see, I couldn’t resist buying a few things.”

My hands gestured to include everything on the table as the afternoon sun shot a ray through the branches. The light reflected off the chandelier chimes and the red ring on my finger, casting a red laser beam onto Rose’s glass.

“The chandelier chime is the prettiest one yet. Mimi, your ring! Is it new?”

“Yes, I suppose it is.” I gazed at it, wondering where it had come from. The vendor had worn a similar one, I remembered. “Do you like it?”

“I love it. Can I try it on?”

“Of course you may,” I said as I took it off my finger. “It looks like I have a bit of the special glitter from our tea sticking to it.”

I handed it to her, and she slipped it onto her finger. She huffed on it before polishing the gold flecks on her sleeveless shirt, making the ring shine brilliantly, admiring it as it flashed red light beams in the sun.

I noticed a turquoise dragonfly perched on the colorful fruit display and briefly turned to wave it away.

When I turned back, Rose had vanished!

Her chair was gone, her drink was empty, and the ruby ring lay on the ground by a few blueberries and the gold sachet the vendor had handed me, which was folded like a tiny satchel.

“Rose!” I called sharply, scanning the trees.

I heard the chimes playing their musical symphony. It was not calming and uplifting; there was a deeper, darker baritone undertone.

There was no wind.