| Sapphire's Fairy by Elen |
| Scotland, 1991 "I'm bored!" twelve-year-old Sapphire Miller complained. "All it ever does around here is rain! And there's never anything good on TV; Why did we have to come to Scotland?" Her mother sighed. "We're on holiday, Sapphy. Why don't you stop moaning and go shopping?" "But it's," Sapphire began. "It's stopped raining. And there are a few shops in the main street. Go; Maybe you'll meet somebody." "I doubt it," Sapphire said under her breath, but she picked up her coat and went anyway. Mrs. Miller was right. There were shops on the main street. A Spar, a bookshop, a second-hand clothes shop and an antiques shop. After buying some sweets, Sapphire went into the bookshop and the clothes shop, but found nothing of interest. Finally, she went into the antiques shop. At first she thought it was closed, as nobody was inside and no lights were on. But she pushed the door and it opened, so she went in. The first thing she noticed was the maps. There was something that was presumably a counter, because of the till, but every inch of it was covered in maps. Old maps, new maps, road maps, atlases. Sapphire had never seen so many maps. Then she saw the books. Piles upon piles of dusty old books, sitting on and around bookshelves. It was the messiest place Sapphire had ever been in. Then she noticed a shelf by the window. On it were several ornaments, mostly Scottish men in kilts. But among them, Sapphire noticed two things. One was a small wooden box, only a few inches high, and only slightly wider. She could see traces of paint under all the dust, but she couldn't make out the picture. The other was even smaller, a tiny plastic cube, holding a kneeling fairy, only about the size of Sapphire's little finger. The fairy had red hair, bronze wings and a red and cream dress. Sapphire picked the two things up and took them to the map-covered counter, wondering how much they would cost. She knocked on the counter, but nobody came. "Hello?" she called, her voice sounding strange in the silence. Somebody shuffled out from the back room. It was an old man, who looked at the fairy and the box closely. "Hmm. Yes. Let me see. That will be fifty pence please. Be glad to get rid of something for once. Nobody ever wants to buy anything. They bring me books, they want nothing in return. Books, books, books," he mumbled, putting Sapphire's money in the till and going back into the back room, talking to himself. Trying not to laugh, Sapphire put the fairy and the box in her coat pocket and went back outside. It took a minute for her to realise that it was raining, and she dashed back to the hotel. "Sapphy, honey, we're going to the restaurant in five minutes! Are you read yet?" Mrs. Miller called. "Yeah!" Sapphire shouted back, examining the wooden box. She had managed to clear the dust and grime from it, and had even polished it a little. The paint she had been able to see through the dust turned out to be a red-headed fairy. Sapphire was amazed. She took the fairy out of the plastic cube and put it into the wooden box. The fairy fitted perfectly. It was almost as if the box was made for the fairy. But that was silly. It was just coincidence, right? Sapphire didn't know. But she slipped the box into her coat pocket before going to the restaurant with her parents. "Sapphy, don't pick at your food!" Mr. Miller said crossly. "Yes, Dad," Sapphire mumbled. She continued to pick at her lasagne. Mr. Miller started to say something but his wife interrupted. "Leave her. She's in one of her dream worlds. Just be thankful she's stopped moaning." Suddenly Sapphire looked up. "Please may I be excused, Mum?" she asked. "Okay, honey. Take your coat if you're going to the toilet, they're outside." "I know," Sapphire said, taking her coat and going outside. When she got to the toilets, she went into a cubicle, put the lid down and sat on it. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out the box. For a moment, she simply looked at the picture on the lid, but then she opened it. To her surprise, the fairy was not kneeling, like she had been before. Instead, she was curled up with her eyes closed, as if she was asleep. But when Sapphire reached in to pick her up, the fairy's eyes flew open and she flew out of the box. "What are you doing?" the fairy snapped. "S...s...sorry," Sapphire said, shocked. "Who are you? Did you buy me and the box from that awful antique shop?" the fairy said, without taking a breath. "I'm Sapphire Miller. Yes," Sapphire whispered. "He's awful, he was always talking to himself and looking at old maps, but he never went anywhere. Oh, sorry. I haven't introduced myself. I'm Bryony Ross." "You're alive!" Sapphire said. "How? Fairies don't exist, right?" "What do you think? What do I look like to you?" "A fairy. But if you're alive, why were you an ornament in that shop?" Sapphire asked. "I was caught by humans about five years ago. I conjured that box and made myself small enough to fit in it, and then I froze myself. I could only be freed by being shut in the box. I could've escaped if my magic was stronger, but I'm not very good at magic." "How big are you normally?" "Seventy-six centimetres. I would turn myself back to my normal size, but I can't remember the spell. Do you have any food?" "Food! Damn! Dinner! I'll slip you some lasagne, ok?" "Yes." Sapphire rushed back to the restaurant, and spent the rest of the meal slipping lasagne to Bryony. A week later, Bryony gave Sapphire some news. "I have to go back home. I need to be back with my people, and I need to be my normal size. I'm sorry Sapphy." Sapphire nodded, biting back tears. "That's okay. I'll just find your box." "Keep it, to remember me by. It's the only way I can be healed now, so I can always come back to you. I can't carry it when I'm this size, anyway." Sapphire smiled and nodded. "Let me just do one thing first," Bryony said. "Amisanto Lokione Magoite!" The clouds swiftly disappeared from the sky, and the sun shone brightly. "Thank you!" Sapphire whispered. "It's the least I can do. You did save my life, after all. Enjoy the rest of your holiday," Byrony said. "I will," Sapphire promised. Bryony took one last look at her friend, then flew away into the skies. Sapphire's eyes followed the tiny figure until it disappeared, then she went back into the hotel to get some money. She would keep her promise and start enjoying her holiday. Starting with shopping in the next town. LIKE THIS STORY? WRITE A REVIEW TO TELL OTHER READERS HOW GREAT IT IS! Click here to go back |
| Date up: November 30, 2003 |