Storytelling Week 10: Evergreen

"Emily! Where has that child gone off to? Emily get out of that forest right now! It is not safe! Besides, it is time for your play date with Rob."

I laugh to myself while hiding behind a tree. My mom was starting to get really pushy about spending time with Rob. She thinks that we will grow up to be married. I am twelve. I just want to hang out and have fun. Not to mention boys are super gross.

"Fine. Don't come out let the fairies eat you!" My mother hollered. "Dinner will be at seven-thirty if you are still interested Em. Be home before dark."

I cannot believe she is letting me stay out here! I jump for joy and run off to explore the forest. I come across a grove of pine trees and look around. The trees are old and rather large. If me and Rob put our hands around the tree and tried to hold hands, we wouldn't be able to even touch each others fingers. I turn around and see a strange boy. Stranger than most boys I mean. He was dressed in leaves from the forest, he had a headdress made of branches, and his eyes were as green as the pine trees. After a couple moments I realize I have been staring at the boy. I compose myself and say, "Hello. My name is Emily." His green eyes pierce my own as he replies, "My name is Evergreen."

I had to control myself from laughing. Evergreen? What kind of a name is that? However, as I look at him, the name seems to fit him. Definitely doesn't look like a "Craig" or a "Drew." He smiles and says "Wanna see something?" Evergreen takes me to a clearing and tells me to look up. There were so many lights. At first I thought it was the stars, then I realized it was a bunch of fairies. They were lighting up the sky as they flew from place to place. Evergreen had taken me to the home of the fairies. Before I could process everything, he grabs me by the waist and flew to a nearby home. I definitely had not seen any wings when I first saw him. I do not necessarily want to know where they came from either. We spent the rest of the evening in his house playing different games. Fairies play a lot of the same games we do, but they like a lot of nature themed games. For instance, a game of memory was not pictures. They had different bowls covering different types of plants and you had to be able to identify them in order to get a match. Before I knew it, I had to leave for dinner.

Abstract Colorful Universe by TTDesign via Flickr

I arrive at home just in time. My mom says, "Em, are you okay? You were out later than I thought you would be. I was about to send a search party!" I nod my head and assure her that I am fine. Am I though? I feel like I have been in a dream. The home of the fairies was so beautiful. I will have to go back tomorrow to see if it was all real.

Author's Note: This story was based off of the Fairy Bride story from the American Indian Fairytale unit. In the beginning of the story, it says that Neen-i-zu's (my Emily) mother was very concerned that she was spending so much time wandering off by herself. I thought I would take that part and expand upon it. I wanted to know exactly what Neen-i-zu had been doing, so I created a place where she would go spend time with the fairies. I chose for her to meet Evergreen because she marries him at the end of the story. I thought it would be cute if they were childhood friends.

Bibliography: The Fairy Bride from American Indian Fairy Tales by W.T. Larned with illustrations by John Rae (1921).