“Ordinary World” Part 3

A million questions raced through the boy’s mind as he watched over the stranger laying asleep in his bed. A stranger. Here! She was so tiny; so completely covered in mud and dirt; totally unrecognizable. It was hard to believe he was looking at a person at all.
Who was she? Why was she here? What happened to her? Maybe she slipped into the river and was drowning? Maybe that’s why she was screaming so? At the memory of her screams, he shuddered. He wished she would wake up, so he could ask her all of his questions. He wished she would wake, so he could see if she was alright.
As if the girl heard his silent pleading, her eyelids fluttered up and the boy found himself staring into the most amazing eyes he had ever seen: Ocean-blue with flecks of emerald-green, which danced and flirted with the light.
“I-I- Don’t be afraid,” the boy stammered.
She gave him a small smile, which barely turned the corners of her mouth and spoke in a soft, confident voice, “I could never be afraid of you.”
He paused and eyed her thoughtfully before continuing, “ Do you remember how you came to be here? I found you struggling out in the storm.”
She nodded. “Yes. It was raining because I was sad.”
The boy frowned. “Well, I suppose some people do feel sad when it rains–”
“No. It rained because I was sad. The weather reflects my emotions. The storm has stopped now and all is calm because I am safe. Safe with you.”
“That’s impossible!”
“Is it?” She grinned at him impishly, and the sun peeked through the clouds, sending light into the room.
The boy stared hard at her, until her smile faded and the light disappeared. She drew in a deep breath and let it out in a sigh.
After a long moment the boy started again, “What’s your name?”
“My name is not important.”
“Of course its important,” the boy replied, stubbornly. “Who are you? Where have you come from?”
“I’m your pixe,” she answered with great assurance. “I came here because you called to me. I’ve been searching for you for quite awhile now. Yes, a long while.” She nodded to herself.
The boy shouted at her, scornfully, “What?!? My— huh? A pixie? But you’re just a– I called to you???? I don’t understand. You’ve been searching for me? That’s crazy! I’m the one who found you! You were screaming so terribly, in so much pain!”
The girls eyes became wet with unshed tears and the clouds suddenly turned threatening. “Yes”, she moaned softly, “I was screaming because you were in pain.” She reached out imploringly, as if yearning to touch him.
Startled by the feelings her presence inflicted upon him, the boy began pacing the room in frustration. “That makes no sense! Why must you speak in riddles? It only confuses me! What’s going on here? I don’t even know you! You were looking for me? Why??? I’ve never seen you before in my life! Me, in pain? Listen, you were the one in trouble, not me! I just can’t believe any of this. It’s so– “
“Yes. That’s the problem. Believing is the key.”
The boy whirled around and looked at the girl on his bed. She was laying there so patiently, so calm. She held herself with such wisdom and tolerance, that all his ranting energy left him and he hung his head, ashamed by his outburst.
“I’m sorry,” he began, “it’s just that–”
She stopped him. “There’s no need for apologies. Just look at me and you’ll know the truth.”
Trying desperately to find what he was missing, the boy looked at the girl. But all he saw was a tiny, helpless figure, covered in thick ugly mud.
Sensing his struggle, the girl flung back her covers and moved off the bed to go to him. As she tried to stand, her legs gave out and she tumbled into his arms unexpectedly, for the second time that night.
He cried out in alarm. “What is it? Are you hurt? Why can’t you walk? What’s wrong?!?”
To the boy’s surprise, she blushed and let out a shy giggle. “I’m not really used to using my legs. Walking looks so simple, yet every time I try it, I end up falling all over you.”
“What do you mean? You’ve never walked before? How do you get around?”
“Why, I fly of course!” She smiled at him sweetly, “My wings aren’t just for show. They’re very useful, as you well know.” She touched his nose with her fingertip and winked at him.
He started down at her a little nervously, “Um… wings? Humans don’t have wings. Are you sure you’re feeling okay? Maybe I should take you to the hospital…”
She took adeep breath and released another sigh. “You’re not really seeing me are you?”
What do you mean? You’re right here.”
She stroked his cheek tenderly, “Yes, I’m here. I’ve always been here. But I’m not human. I’m your pixe.”
“Pixe? What are you talking about? Any rational person knows that pixes only exist in fairy tales. They aren’t real.”
“Shh.” She placed a finger across his lips to quiet him. “Doubt is such an evil thing.”
The boy saw tears trailing through the dirt on her face, and though his heart ached at the sight, he couldn’t find the words to comfort her. He was about to tighten his hold on her, when she smiled at him and eased out of his arms.
“Silly boy,” she whispered. “Don’t you see? Look.”
And standing there before him, her skin began to glow. A soft, warm silver light flowed out from within her soul. Suddenly, all the mud and corruption faded magically away, leaving her clean, shinning, perfect.
The boy gasped in shocked amazement, as he realized that he was seeing her true form for the first time. Her bright red hair, her flawless pale skin, the sparkle of her jeweled eyes…. finally it made sense.
But it was only one feature which kept him rooted to the spot and stole his very breath away. Her magnificent wings. They flared out of her back with a flourish of unending color. They stretched outward and rippled like waves on a windy shore. The boy found himself encompassed in a beauty which would have shamed the most exotic butterfly.
When the transformation was complete, she looked at him expectantly and laughed out loud at his stunned expression. “Can’t think of anything to say?”
“You’re a– you’re–”
“Uh huh,” she nodded, encouragingly.
“You’re a pixe!” He shouted.
“Very observant,” she teased. Giggling, she said, “I told you! The way you’re acting…. you’d think that you’ve never seen me before.”
“I’ve never seen anything like you in my entire life!”
“Of course you have!” She reached over and took his hand. “I belong to you.”
The boy couldn’t think of a proper response to that, so he remained silent.
She stretched; playfully tickling him with her wings.
“Whoa,” he exclaimed. “They’re soft!”
“Yeah. Were you expecting them to be stiff and brittle? Translucent maybe?” She put her hands on her hips and pretended to take offense. “I’m not an insect!” She stuck her tongue out at him and lifted off the ground, twirling in the air above the boy’s head.
All the while, he watched her with growing amazement. “I can’t believe this is happening,” he told her. “All my life I’ve searched for magic and beauty, and here you are! Just as I had given up all hope… If you have truly been here all along, why did you wait so long to show yourself? I’ve been so miserable!”
The next thing the boy knew, the pixe girl was clinging to him and speaking in an urgent, broken voice. “I know all about your struggles and inner pain. I feel your growing desperation and fear, as you search for magic that you think you have lost. But you don’t understand. I’ve been with you every step of the way. The air you breathe is my own breath. Everything that you have ever searched for, has been right in front of you all this time. All you have to do is reach for it.”
“I don’t see–”
“Do you remember when we used to fly together?”
He stared at her in helpless confusion.
“Close your eyes.”
As he did what he was told, he felt her wings enfold him in their softness. All of a sudden, memories came flooding into his mind. He was soaring weightlessly through a world of music, color and light. Laughter and joy surrounded him and he felt as free and as happy as a kid on Christmas morning.
He opened his eyes and found his pixe smiling at him. “My dreams,” he breathed. “I had forgotten them. You were there with me and we were flying! It was so wonderful!”
“Yes,” she agreed. “It was.”
“If only life could be like my dreams,” he sighed, wistfully. “Then you and I could just fly away from here. Oh, how I wish–”
The pixe choked on a sob.
“What’s wrong?”
When she finally spoke, her voice was filled with despair. “It wasn’t a dream.” She gripped his arms with a strength which surprised him. “Do you think this is a dream right now? Me? Here with you? This is real! I’m real!”
“It’s okay, calm down.”
“No! I won’t calm down! Everything was so right. You would call to me and I would come to you. We belonged to each other, happy and free. Together for always.”
She sighed, defeatedly. “But then, you convinced yourself that it was all just an impossible dream. The more you began to doubt yourself, the more the magic began to fade. When will you finally see? The more you doubt, the more blind you become to the truth. Once you stop believing in yourself, that’s the moment you begin dying inside. I can’t bare the thought of you in so much pain. When I think of how close you came to throwing your life away…. how close I came to losing you….” She sobbed into his chest.
He stroked her hair gently and whispered, “Why do you care so much about me?”
“I love you.”
The boy made an ugly sound. “How could you possibly love me? I’m just an ordinary boy, trapped in this ordinary world. I’m just like everyone else. I’m nothing special. Unlike you.”
She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him softly, on the lips. “You are beautiful. Just believe in yourself, as I believe in you.”
In that moment, the boy knew the truth as she spoke it. And things would never be the same.

~~~~~~~

The next day, the boy woke up at his usual time. But instead of going to the mirror to search for a change he knew he would not see, he packed his things and left his ordinary house, on the ordinary street, in the ordinary town, far behind. The boy did not know where he was going… only that he would never be alone again. For the first time in his life, he did not know what the future held for him. And he had never been more happy.

~The End~
 
~M~