As the gentle breeze rustled the leaves on Steeple Hill,
Lily’s heart raced with worry for the injured bluebird nestled in her delicate
hands. Its vibrant feathers, now dulled by pain, reminded her of the shimmering
sapphire skies. She knew time was of the essence. Welcome to Steeple Hill, my
name is Lily, she said as she helped the little bluebird inside.
What can I do for you, little bird? And do you have a name? Where is your family?
Little Bird did not answer but simply stared at Lily.
Sweet girl, are you hurt?
And that is when Lily saw the tiny tear trickling down her new friend's
face.
Oh, my goodness, what can be the problem here? Do not be
afraid. Let me see if I can help you.
Lily bent down and lifted the little bird onto the soft,
gentle palm of her hand. She raised one tiny blue wing and then the other. The little bird gave out a quiet peep, and that
was all. Lily continued checking and
talking while she tenderly sat Bluebirdie on her best pink velveteen pillow on
her fluffy green bed of soft lavender petunias. Then Lily sat down on her floor
made from scrap carpet pieces and quietly stroked the little one’s delicate
feathers as she sang and then rose to flutter around and around as though she
were dancing a healing ballerina waltz in rhythmic form. Almost hypnotic. Bluebirdie’s eyes followed
Lily’s dance until she fell fast asleep.
Lily decided to do some investigating on her own, considering
Bluebirdie wasn’t coming forth with any intelligible conversation. Lily flew out and up the steep incline where
her house had been built, to the top where she could see forever. But she
didn’t see any other families that might belong to her new guest. Lily flew higher to the treetops, thinking
maybe the little one fell from its home nest. But nothing. That’s it, Lily thought. I must call upon the forest
fairies for assistance. Lily fluttered
back to her home to open the locked golden box she kept hidden behind a loose
rock in the side of her safe haven, also hidden securely among the deep leaves
and trees on the side of Steeple Hill.
She had built it with her fairy friend Lucien when they
arrived in the forest long ago. A fire had destroyed their previous homes high
above the city among the homes of the rich and famous. After moving, Lucien and
his friends had carried rocks and wood pieces for the walls and flooring. They
found scraps of material behind the local stores in the trash bins for counters
and cupboards. Tiny dishes were gathered from the dollhouse remains found in
the trash behind Toyland, the local toy store. They had to be very careful not
to be seen because the humans have deadly sprays and big sticks that will kill them. So, trips to town were rare, if
ever, now that the homes on Steeple Hill were completed. Trips were made only for repairs, which weren’t
needed often.
Lily knew it was time to ring the Fairy Bells because this
was an emergency. It had been eons since there had been any emergency where
she had to remove the golden box and call forth the Forest Fairies.
She tugged and twisted the groaning rock. She thought possibly some of the mud Lucien had
used to seal the outer walls had seeped in near the hiding area of the
emergency glass case. After several attempts, she stopped to regain her strength.
That is when she recalled the mantra necessary for entrance to the box . How could she have forgotten? she thought. With
a whisper of hope, she called upon the Sacred Ramden, known or his wisdom and
powerful magic.
Ramden Ramden, enter thou.
Ramden Ramden, enter thou. Come forth Ramden, we need your help. There is
a lost one on the hill, and only you can do her will. Ramden Ramden, enter thou.
The wall began to tremble. Lily pushed and pulled when suddenly the glass box began to glow as it slid
out of its encrusted grave and opened gracefully. And the luminous, glowing Ramden
swirled out in a grand entrance of diamond dust and glory. His gracefully adorned,
jeweled, glass-like wings shimmered in the afternoon sun, reflecting his power
through his magical garments. He stepped out of his golden chamber, gently
placing one silver slipper onto the carpet and then another. Ramden swirled around, taking in every moment
of space in Lily’s home. He then took himself a seat on her best box chair
covered in velvet with flowers that tied the purple fabric to the box beneath. Ramden spoke.
“Dear Lily,” Ramden
spoke softly, his voice as soothing as a babbling brook. “Fear not, for we
shall find the bluebird’s family. We are all connected by the threads of the
forest.”
Ramden, Bluebirdie came to my door in distress but has not spoken. I have searched as far as I
could to find her family with no results. She is an orphan, and we must find her
family Ramden. Please call upon the
Forest Fairies, for only they have the powers of flight and invisibility to walk
between worlds and to communicate with and manipulate the forces of nature and the
four elements.
By the way, Ramden, “Where is your crown?”
“Oh, my fiddlesticks, I must have dropped it when I slid out
of that stuck hole in the wall. Dear Lily, that needs to be attended to. I may have others call upon my royal status
and authority. I would be stuck in that
stucco your friend Lucien messed up. By
the way, where is that chap of a fellow? Without my circlet crown, my powers are more limited. Now where is this little orphan you speak
of?”
Lily escorted Ramden to her bedroom, where Bluebirdie lay
asleep on Lily’s pink velveteen pillow.
Ramden fluttered back and forth and around the little
bluebird for a millisecond, and then with a wave of his magical hand, Ramden
summoned the other fairies of the forest. They appeared in a flurry of light,
their laughter mingling with the rustle of leaves. Each fairy took to the
skies, fanning out across the treetops, calling out for the little bluebird’s
kin.
Together, they searched high and low, through the shadows of
ancient oaks and the shimmering glades of wildflowers. As twilight approached,
the fairies’ determination hoped it would bring them closer to finding the
bluebird’s family as they wove a tapestry of hope and unity among the forest’s
magical inhabitants. Lily felt a spark of optimism.
Magnolia and June lived in the big house at the base of
Steeple Hill. Lily’s friends and human sisters with hair like spun gold and
eyes like summer skies often conversed with Lily, who was no bigger than their thumb and who resided in a small fairy cabin on Steeple Hill outside the girls’
large picture window that looked up Steeple Hill. They were the only humans
that could see Lily and the other fairies. That was only because they believed. Lily, with wings the color of amethyst,
confided in them that her royal cousin, Ramden, who possessed powerful magic,
had come to help in the search to locate the injured bluebird’s family.
Ramden, after meeting Magnolia and June, decided to allow the
girls to help locate the bird's frantic family. The girls, ever eager for an
adventure, readily agreed. After all, the human girls had ways of searching fairies
didn’t, and fairies had ways of searching Magnolia and June didn’t.
Using a magnifying glass and a map drawn by Lily on a fallen
oak leaf, they searched the sprawling garden surrounding Steeple Hill,
considering the hill was too steep for humans.
Ramden's magic guided the other fairies of the forest
towards Steeple Hill. The hill, a steep climb even for human legs, proved treacherous for everyone.
June and Magnolia, their hearts pounding with excitement and
a growing sense of urgency, continued carefully searching so as not to step on
any of the other search parties.
Suddenly there was a cluster of activity at the summit of
Steeple Hill. The fairies of the forest, along with Ramden’s magical powers, had
spotted a cluster of anxious bluebirds, chirping incessantly. Their distress was palpable. Ramden and Lily led the family of bluebirds back down Steeple Hill to her tiny cabin outside June and Magnolia’s human house. Little Bluebird was still sitting on Lily’s
pink velveteen pillow in her warm bedroom.
Ramden instructed Lily to bring Bluebird outside, where he spread
his magic all about the human girls, circling them as he called upon the other fairies
to do the same. With each circle, Ramden’s
magical golden dust was shrinking Magnolia and June into tiny human fairies. June and Magnolia kept looking down at
themselves and then up at the huge trees as they continued shrinking until they
fit inside Lily’s precious log house at the base of Steeple Hill. Ramden instructed the girls what to do.
Carefully, Magnolia and June placed the injured bird amongst
its family. A collective chirp, a symphony of relief, filled the air as the
family reunited. Ramden's magical lights pulsed brightly, a wave of healing
energy washing over the small creature. As the sun dipped below the horizon,
casting long shadows across the garden, Lily, with a grateful flutter of her
wings, whispered her thanks. The sisters, hearts full, were whirled back into
their human-sized bodies and returned home, the memory of their magical rescue a
treasure to be cherished.
And Ramden, exhausted, first blessed all the forest fairies
before their journeys back to their homes. He gently hugged Lily, and before he backed
into his golden home, he firmly instructed Lily to get ahold of Lucien to make
sure his next arrival when summoned would be a bit of an easier ride out than
the last one. And with that he was magically placed back into his emergency
golden glass secure magical space.
By Julianna Rowe
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