Believe (5 page)

A hazy smoke began to cloud some of the stars, and the smell of burning wood filled the air. Deliah thought she saw a star sparkle but quickly realized it was an ember.

“The Dark Ones!” they all screamed.

The heat once again began to creep up on them from all directions. Sweat started pouring down their foreheads. Mayweather dabbed a crocheted hankie at her forehead despite the impending doom. The fairies looked at Deliah terrified.

“They're getting close, Deliah! We need the star!” Ostephen yelled.

Deliah looked back at the army of Dark Ones buzzing behind followed by their loyal Kahorgis. The three of them were way outnumbered.

She panicked, then remembered Papa's voice:
You have the power to see the unknown.

She stared at the stars, rubbing the mermaid's bracelet,
searching for the Silver one, but all she could hear was Papa's voice whispering in her ear.

The Dark Ones were well within reach, and Ostephen and Mayweather's wings began wilting from the intense heat. They were beginning to fade, almost too weak even to fly. A Dark One buzzed in front of Deliah, and as she ducked, it circled Mayweather. The tail end of the flame singed her wing, and she began to fall to the ground. Ostephen quickly buzzed under her and caught her, but he couldn't carry her for long.

“Deliah!” he yelled in alarm.

Just as a Kahorgi stomped and was about to lash out at Deliah's left arm, she looked up and saw an unusual sparkle. The Silver Star! Quickly taking hold of Ostephen and Mayweather with her right hand, she leapt forward, their arms and legs spread wide like three starfish flying through the night sky. The Kahorgi gave an enraged snarl; he had missed her by mere inches.

The fairies dance, play, and sing,

For this is how they create the joy they bring.

T
he three unsung heroes fell into a tunnel of blinding silver light before landing hard on their bottoms. Deliah opened her eyes and looked around to take in an etched wooden signpost.

“Luminous Lane,” she uttered as she turned round to see the splendor of the land. “What a cozy, candlelit place indeed!”

The only light came from candles, but they were not your ordinary candles. There were thousands of white-winged candles flying and hovering in the air all around them.

“They're like little angel candles,” Deliah said aloud. Just then, she heard a grunt and turned to see Mayweather's struggle to get up despite her burnt wing. “Oh my goodness!” she cried, “Are you all right?”

Always a trooper, Mayweather tried to shrug it off, but with her singed wing, she was incapable of flying, and a grimace of pain managed to escape her clenched lips. Ostephen tried to help her up but realized she needed more help than he could give.

“Okay. I know a healer here who can help her. She lives at 123 Luminous Lane. Let's go,” he said hurriedly. He helped Mayweather onto Deliah's outstretched palm, and they quickly moved down the lane, searching the well-marked cottages, looking for the one marked
123.

“Here we are,” Ostephen shouted happily. “Mrs. McCullum, the healer, lives here. Her husband is Laflin, the leprechaun.”

Hearing a chipper, hearty laugh inside, Deliah knocked on the door with her free hand, but no one answered. She knocked louder, and suddenly the door swung wide open. As soon as Mrs. McCullum saw Ostephen standing there, she shrieked happily. Then with barely a glance, she spotted Mayweather's wing.

“Hurry in, my dears,” she commanded sweetly, ushering them inside. “Let's mend this poor thing, shall we? Ostephen, it's so wonderful to see you. It's been so long. I still feel badly…,” her voice trailed off in sadness and disappointment.

Ostephen whispered to Deliah, “I thought she might be able to help me help Kristoff, but….” His eyes began to tear up, so he looked sadly at the floor, and Deliah squeezed his little blue hand.

“And you must be Deliah. I knew our paths would be crossin'. The leaves told me as much.”

Mrs. McCullum gave Deliah a hearty hug and turned back to her injured patient. Mayweather, who had started yawning minutes ago as Mrs. McCullum pressed a damp cloth to her forehead, had now fallen fast asleep. While she slept, Mrs. McCullum tenderly patted her burnt wing with loving care and a lotion that smelled of sandalwood. The healer also wrapped Mayweather in a warm tea towel, which she calculated was tiny enough to serve as a blanket. She then gathered Deliah and Ostephen into the kitchen where she began brewing some tea.

Another bout of uproarious laughter bellowed through the house, startling the lot of them.

“Laflin!” Mrs. McCullum shouted. “Keep it down! We have guests, and you're about to wake one from a much-needed slumber. Now, my dears, how are you two?”

Mrs. McCullum was a robust woman, though she was quite short as Laflin was. Indeed, she, too, resembled a leprechaun. She had a warm, freckled face; red hair; and sincere, light blue eyes. They were about to fill her in on their latest adventure when Laflin entered the kitchen.

“Take your hat off,” Mrs. McCullum said. “'Tis rude otherwise.”

Laflin put his right hand to his belly over the top of his black belt and green coat and laughed. Then he received a warning glance from the missus and promptly removed his green top hat. They'd been together for years, and Laflin knew just how
far he could push her, as she did him. This was what made their relationship work; they kept each other on their toes.

After Ostephen introduced Deliah to Laflin, they all settled in for a nice pot of tea, complete with tea leaves, which Mrs. McCullum informed them she would be reading at the end of each cup.

“'Tis an ancient art, tea leaf reading,” Ostephen whispered to Deliah.

Deliah took her last sip with both hands wrapped around the cup before sliding the cup across the table to Mrs. McCullum, who turned the cup around and over and then looked intently into Deliah's face. Suddenly, Mrs. McCullum looked stricken.

“Well, goodness!” she took a deep breath, then fell silent. “In all my years….”

“Nice work, kid. You managed to make her speechless. I've been trying to accomplish that for years!” Laflin snorted.

Just then, the cup rose out of Mrs. McCullum's hands and hovered in the air amid the candles. It began to shake and rattle before it shattered and turned into confetti. The colorful confetti slowly fell to the center of the table, forming a few odd wavy lines that only Mrs. McCullum seemed to understand.

She studied them for a moment then said, “Color. Color and celebration, child. There's going to be some kind of a celebration in Greenland!”

After spending the night in Mrs. McCullum's warm and welcoming home, they awoke refreshed and ready to continue on their journey. Because Mayweather was still weak and needed to heal, Mrs. McCullum insisted that she stay behind. After a plentiful breakfast and more laughs, Laflin sneakily tucked a few gold coins into Deliah's hand when the missus wasn't looking.

“It will serve ya down the road,” he said with a wink.

With that, Deliah and Ostephen wished Mayweather well and headed down Luminous Lane toward Greenland.

“It's hard to tell what time it is with only candlelight to follow,” Deliah said to Ostephen.

In unison, they echoed, “It's beautiful!”

The candles seemed to sense their presence and followed them down Luminous Lane, happy to provide extra light. As they approached the end of the lane and the beginning of the Irish countryside, they turned around to say goodbye. The candle flames all flickered at once as if to reply and wish them well. Looking out at the never-ending trees and clear blue sky, they began to hum and whistle their way onward to Greenland, praying that encounters with Kahorgis would be far off or nonexistent.

• • •

About half a mile up, Ostephen stopped abruptly, gripping Deliah's right arm tightly. She could tell something was wrong and followed his gaze to a little yellow fairy surrounded by two Dark Ones. The fairy was stealing an abundance of berries from a nearby bush, kicking pinecones, and throwing rocks at the trees. He was being very unkind toward the forest. Ostephen's blue lips started to quiver as he looked Deliah in the eye.

“No,” Deliah said, “it can't be.…”

“Kristoff!” Ostephen whispered ashamed.

Kristoff flew across the path, a small trail of flames behind him. He laughed as he set fire to a pile of leaves. Deliah grabbed Ostephen and hid behind a bush so that they would not be spotted. She patted Ostephen's leg, knowing how hard it must be to see his brother be so unkind. She silently wished she could do something to stop them, but she and Ostephen were outnumbered, so all they could do was hide. As the three vandals made their way through the forest, they continued to burn various bushes, leaving a horrid burnt smell behind them.

Still crouched behind the bush, she saw the two Dark Ones get knocked by a few large pinecones and put her hand to her mouth to stifle a gasp. The pinecones hit the ground and caught fire. The Dark Ones buzzed even louder, trying to intimidate the unseen enemy, but a cascade of pinecones continued to rain down upon them. With a flash of flame, Kristoff and the Dark Ones retreated, knowing they were momentarily outnumbered.

Deliah looked up, wondering where the pinecones had come from.

“Oh my!” she exclaimed as she saw what appeared to be small green creatures about a foot and a half in height with flat noses, squishy faces, and live grass for hair.

Their arms and legs were stout and stumpy but adorably round. They moved quite methodically, their grassy hair flowing with the breeze. She noticed that they made a squishy sound
when they moved and that they jumped from tree to tree. She followed the squishy sound and saw one land on the path in front of her followed by a few others.

“We're bush people, friends of the forest,” he announced, “and friends of yours.”

Ostephen came out from behind the bush, shoulders hung sadly, looking to the earth.

“We're sorry, Ostephen,” the bush people said. “We're watching Kristoff for you; we know it's not really him. He knows not what he does. He's always been a dear friend of the forest. You both have.”

“Thanks,” Ostephen mumbled. He was grateful that they had gone out of their way to miss Kristoff in their defense of the forest.

“We're everywhere,” they said, “and we'll always keep an eye out for ya. The sun is beginning to set. Let us provide you with a lantern or a compass of sorts.”

Suddenly, a little dragonfly buzzed over. It was encased in a rectangle of twigs, which formed a triangle roof. He hovered happily in the middle above a single lily. The bush people explained that all Deliah needed to do was request light, and it would be provided. The dragonfly seemed to smile back at her, happy to help. She looked at the bush people and wondered how it worked as a compass.

“See the lily? Well, the closer you get to your destination, the more the flower blooms; the farther you get, the closer to doom.”

“Wow! That's extraordinary!” Deliah exclaimed. “Thanks!”

The bush people jumped back up into the trees and waved goodbye with their squat, stubby arms. Deliah was very grateful for their loyalty and their protection on the journey. She waved back, picked up Ostephen, and set him on her shoulder. Then she picked up the dragonfly lantern and eagerly continued down the path.

Deliah looked down at the lily and saw it slowly blooming beneath the dragonfly's golden light. Ostephen hadn't spoken much at all; his sadness over seeing Kristoff with the Dark Ones was really taking its toll. He hadn't moved from Deliah's shoulder. He just remained glum with his head hung low. Deliah had tried to make the odd joke or point out something funny to distract
him, but he had yet to crack a smile. Struggling to find her way with her silent companion, she had decided to keep steady on the same path. She began to grow sleepy from all the walking and yawned. The sun had set, and she was grateful for the lantern.

Ostephen had fallen asleep, and Deliah had considered stopping and waiting for him to wake up, but she wanted to reach Greenland as soon as possible if for no other reason than to get Ostephen back to his usual self. He'd mentioned Greenland to her before. The gnomes lived there, including his good friend Herbie. His face had lit up every time he mentioned it.

An hour or so had passed, and Deliah paused to catch her breath. Leaning on a tree trunk, she searched her surroundings for some kind of sign to help her on her way. The lily had stopped blooming, and Deliah knew she should wake Ostephen, but her stubborn, independent side wanted to prove she could find her way alone. She spotted a wooden sign post that read
Greenland – this way
with an arrow. It seemed odd to her that she hadn't noticed a sign like that before, but she reasoned it was probably a fairy or forest friend helping her out. She had been receiving guidance and help from several forest friends, so she reasoned that the sign must be okay and marched onward following the sign.

A mile or so later, the dragonfly continued to try to get Deliah's attention, hovering lower above the lily which was now closing, but Deliah was lost in her own world, practically sleepwalking. She felt sticky beads of sweat dripping down her forehead and wiped them away with her sleeve. She thought to herself that she'd made good progress, having followed three more signs with arrows. Deliah now felt so weak and tired from the increasing heat that she gave in to a final yawn and settled under a sugar tree that sparkled with white twinkling lights made even more beautiful by the moonlight. Like cherry and orange trees, sugar trees had been around forever in Faye. If you found a sugar tree, you could pick your favorite fresh sweet: cupcakes, cookies, tarts, and candies galore.