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Chapter 3

Erith and Flireys encounter

The leaf carrying Flirey lands in the middle of a pond and sinks slowly to the sunken moist and green branches at the bottom dissolving slowly as its short journey comes to an end fulfilling its destiny, as a miraculously formed current carries Flirey to the edge. At the same moment, the horse Erith is riding leaps a tremendous leap over the pond, Erith feels safe to unhook his ankle and a gust of wind combined with the force of the horse’s jump knocks him off the horse and Erith lands in the pond.

Flirey was still unconscious and miraculously already at the edge of the water by the current of the pond created by some unknown force. And Erith had just landed in the pond and was quickly swimming to the other side. Flirey soon came to consciousness and began to wonder where she was. “The only way to find out where I am is to get up to higher ground, but I can’t fly and for some reason my wings are soaked,” pondered Flirey. And then she heard a sound of splashing coming from the pond and started to run. “I need to find higher ground and not get seen by, that, thing.” Flirey whispered, panting as she climbed up a steep hill. Erith by now had exited the pond and realized that he needed higher ground to see his surroundings as well. He quickly found a tree and circled it for lower branches, but found none. He decided to circle it again, this time he finished at the top of the tree. “I don’t know what just happened but when I went around the tree the earth rose to form a dirt ramp beneath me.” Erith was confused. Flirey seeing this tall but slender boy begin to climb a ramp to the elevation she also needed had ran with all her might and grace clinging to his shoe lace began to ascend up Erith’s clothing. Erith was looking out over hills and into the distance. “Oh no, that was what I was afraid of, I’m way out here on my own,” Erith sighs. “I feel the same way,” Flirey sadly says now sitting on Erith’s shoulder. Erith flips his head around and reflexively flicks the frightened fairy the size of a butterfly off of his shoulder. Then with faint realization runs after the falling object. Startled, Flirey is saved by another leaf, unknowingly by the will of Erith who by this time is chasing down this leaf.

The Hungry travelers

Flirey, riding on the fiery orange and red maple leaf, turns to watch this giant creature she had heard so much about, racing after. He begins to gain on the stunned fairy that by now was crouched down and clinging for her life to the edges of the torn and ripping leaf.

Flirey’s leaf finally landed after a six-minute flight bumping into a couple of branches, knocking her from the edge of the leaf snapping it into smaller and smaller pieces. She landed in the center of a ring of a small wild fire.

She looked nervously around, frightened by this strange light. Then she saw a small stream winding down through the trees, and wished she had some water right about now! Suddenly the storm that had been coming broke out right over her and had a mini flashflood on top of the fire, without raining on the tiny fairy herself.

By now, Erith had caught up to the little leaf and was stunned at the awkward sight he had just witnessed. He slowly started to bend down and kneeled on his knees, inching closer to Flirey, smelling this beautiful aroma. He began to feel oddly hungry.

“Please don’t hurt me,” Flirey pleaded. “Don’t be frightened,” whispered Erith reassuringly.

“I won’t hurt you,” Erith said as he lifted the tiny and fragile creature out of the middle of the burnt circle. “Are you a human,” asked Flirey fearfully. “Yes but what are you,” inquired Erith. “I’m a fairy, from Clipnema,” said Flirey, and Flirey began to explain all.

The explanation

“So if you live at that address then that means you live under my flower garden, and the meadow you visit is my lawn and the brick path is the border of the flower garden!” Erith explained. “So everything you did I was doing in bigger form at the exact moment, but we never met! How odd,” Erith was confused as he said this. “If you live in an underground fairy world, then what is it like down there and why do you live under ground?” Erith asked.

“Well, it’s just beautiful! The walls are always glistening as if made of silver. The faces of all the fairies are always shinning with a bright speck on their cheeks and beautiful smiles. All the girls have waves of golden hair and they never have a bad hair day. Food always appeared cooked at our doors ever since I was born and we never worry about running low on water. As far as I know the fairies were run underground a long time ago by humans like you. We never came back because all the younger fairies feared humans when we heard the stories from the past, and life was so beautiful and plentiful that there was no need to risk the dangers of the giants above again. All was lit and great. We never felt like we lived underground so it did not matter. Except for me, my family said I was important, and that I would soon find out, but I just wished to be higher so I always went above and then I failed them and they banished me and next I knew I was here.” Flirey told him.

“But if all was so great and beautiful then how come you don’t fit the description, you don’t even have wings?” Erith asked. “Hey, I’ve been through a lot, I just need to clean up, and yes I do have wings, I just can’t fly yet and besides they’re soaked down and heavy right now” Flirey protested. “Well come on I’ll clean you up then, I know just the place!” Erith called grabbing Flirey and running into the forest farther from home.

Erith brought Flirey to a tree stump and set her inside where there was a small puddle. Running off to go and find food, remembering the aroma from the forest fire earlier. When Erith arrived at the same spot he saw a small patch of perfectly cooked mushrooms and berries. Flirey bathed and made a brand new golden silver and fiery red and orange outfit out of the leaves around her. Then brushed her cascade of silky brown locks with a couple of thorns connected to a stem as a comb and, finally spun around and began to air out her beautiful and rare display of wings.

Erith returned with the food and spotted Flirey, shocked and amazed he dropped the food and stood admiring her small slender figure and golden skin with tiny freckles delicately decorating her face. Then he saw her brilliant wings waving like a flag in the gentle breeze, and her beautiful smooth creamy chocolate colored curls outlining the golden lit face and sparkling sapphire blue eyes that bore into him with understanding and confusion. Her velvet rose colored lips began to move and then his hearing and senses came back as he heard his name being called. “Erith, Erith are you okay?” “Yeah Flirey, I’m fine… I just dropped our food. I’ll be right over.” Erith gathered the food again and rinsed the dirt off and laid the display out for Flirey to choose. “I just have one more question Flirey you said all the girls had golden hair yet you have brown.” “I know, but I’m not sure why.” Flirey answered, as she picked up a slice of golden mushroom and bit down. Erith decided to eat some berries but was still hungry and thought to try a mushroom. “Wow, this mushroom kind of tastes like a muffin!” Erith exclaimed. “Where do we go from here?” Flirey asked sadly.

The Decision

“Well, actually I have a family and a home to return to and it is going to take more than a week if I decide to eat and sleep to make up all the ground I lost. Somehow I ended up way out here,” Erith said.

“Oh, well I don’t have anywhere to go. So I guess maybe, I mean if you don’t mind, yyou could let me travel with you, not for any reason or anything but you’re a GIANT and I feel safe with one so large.” Flirey responded shyly.

“Wow, I guess, I don’t know if you just insulted me, complimented me, opened up to me or used me.” Erith said shocked.

“I did not!” shouted Flirey angrily.

“Well gosh don’t get all fluttered over it, I didn’t mean anything from it.” Erith snapped back.

“Well.”

“Well what?”

“May I travel with you or not!!?”

“Fine but don’t slow me down.”

“Slow you down, I’ll be going at your pace?”

“Oh, right you can fly.”

“No, I can’t, I’ll be riding on you.”

“So you are using me!”

“No but, you could help, please” Flirey pleaded.

“Okay.” Erith responded stunned but flattered.