The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry

Night was quickly closing in around me and the path leading down to the little town of Willowmeer was becoming harder to see. If it weren’t for the kindness of the monk I met on the road I would have been lost for sure. I rubbed my eyes and glanced quickly around me. The deepening shadows must have been playing tricks because it seemed as if he materialized out of thin air.

With a humble nod, he greeted me silently,  palms pressed together in front of the Celtic cross that hung  around his neck. His tunic and cowl were dark gray. He wore the hood up, covering his head and obscuring his face.

“Brother, thank goodness you’re here. I had to park on the side of the road a ways back.”  I turned to point back the way I had come and continued. “There was sign posted saying that Willowmeer was a kilometer down this path. I had no idea a kilometer was so far or I would have waited until morning to make the hike. Could you tell me how much farther it is to the town?”

This mysterious friar moved closer, sending a chill breeze before him. It looked more like he glided than walked, then he stopped suddenly, close enough that I could hear his rasping breath. He gestured down the path, indicating with his fingers that it was only a short distance around the curve. I found it curious that he he wouldn’t speak, then remembered that certain monks take a vow of silence.  That must be it. I felt a little embarrassed that it took me so long to understand and said, “Please excuse me for my ignorance Brother, I understand, you’ve taken a vow of silence.”

He smiled. It was a sad smile. I could see his face a little better since he moved closer and there were deep lines of sorrow etched around his hazel eyes. With his hands stuck inside the large cuffs of his robes, he bowed, then started up the path that I had just come down. I held up my hand to stop him and touched the sleeve of his tunic. When he turned, it felt like my hand passed through his arm and  a shiver ran down my spine. I shook off the chill that had come over me, telling myself that there was nothing to fear from this mild monk. “It’s getting very dark, will I be into town before I lose my light completely?” He nodded and reached into a pouch that swung from the rope tied around his waist. When his hand emerged, he was holding a small lantern with a white candle. He brought the lantern close to his mouth and blew on the candle. I am not joking when I say that every hair on my head stood out as I watched the candle burst into flame.

I stood, frozen, looking at the monk for what seemed to be a eternity, then hesitantly took a step forward to take the glowing beacon he offered. He nodded at me and smiled that same sad smile, then turned again to make his way up the path. When I looked up from the light, he was gone, it was like he turned to smoke and vanished into the murkey forest.

The sun was low on the top of the hills that surrounded the little valley and the deepening shadows seemed to slither through the pines like ghostly wraiths.  A grassy meadow sloped down from the path and opened into a wide stretch of farmland dotted with small houses that had thatched roofs. As the shadows grew longer, a mist reached up from the ground with thin curling fingers and crawled through the glen, swallowing barns and fields, creeping closer to where I stood. I was startled from my thoughts by the quick, sharp hooting of an owl.

Holding the lantern out in front of me, I hurried down the path and around the bend. Looking back I thought I saw the form of the monk , hood up, arms tucked inside the sleeves of his robes, wavering on the edge of the trees.

© Tami Ruesch, The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry, 2009.

With the fire faeries doing such a wonderful job of heating up the season, the only time I can enjoy my backyard is in the cool of early morning. The sky is a cloudless light blue and the air is calm, as if the world is holding its breath, waiting for the sun to melt away the last of the predawn shadows.

I love to lay on the chase lounge and watch my faeries coming and going through the ivy hedge. Ever since the celebration of Midsummer I have had a hard time concentrating, I feel the faeries whispering to me, inviting me to join them and leave the mortal world behind. “Come away with us, come, and leave your cares behind. Feel the soft breeze of the realm; hear the stream as it trickles over cool, mossy stones. Come away, come away…if it weren’t for Arial, Odette and I would still be there.

Arial has been trying to get me to write down my experiences, she tells me that it is the only way to break the spell cast over me when I entered the faerie circle; it seems that having faerie blood running through my veins makes it a little harder to resist the pull of the Fae. “Kind One, please, write down your thoughts on your computer machine, I will help if you like.” I had to smile. “Arial, I didn’t know you could type.”

Arial flew in low over my laptop, skimming her tiny feet across the keyboard. “I don’t mean helping you to spell the words, I mean helping you remember.” She flew up and landed lightly on my shoulder then began to braid my hair. I felt it again, that hazy euphoric feeling. The trees started to sway back and forth and I heard pipe music playing in the distance. It could have been my imagination but I could swear that the energy field around the portal wavered.

“Thanks, I think I can handle it.” I saw a look of disappointment wash across her face and felt ashamed that I had been so short and hurriedly added, “Why don’t you sit  and keep me company, I might need some clarification, I do still feel a little light headed.”  She jumped up and buzzed around my head, adding to my already disconnected feeling.

A slight breeze blew through the trees, carrying with it the sweet scent of honeysuckle. It lifted my hair and made the wind chimes sway. The pipe music I was hearing grew louder as the backyard seem to fade into a fine mist. My thoughts took me back to the path at the bottom of the hill. The dragonflies and faeries had escorted us  from the Elvenwood and were landing in groups of two and three at the edge of the forest. The sun balanced on the top of the hill sending blazing fingers of orange and pink reaching out toward high, thin clouds, and in the east, the early evening hues of violet and indigo signaled the coming twilight.

Arial suddenly materialized on the path in front Odette and I. Her sparkling bright orange and pink appearance took us by surprise and we had to shield our eyes from the intensity of her glow. “I’m so glad you are back! I trust that Elendain treated you well. Don’t you love the elvenwood? I knew she was nervous because she was talking fast as she whipped around us in an excited frenzy. “We must hurry to the meadow, the celebration is about to begin.”

I grabbed Odette and carried her as we made our way up the hill. By the time we reached the top, the purple and blue of the evening sky was blending with the sunset and the shadows on the forest floor were quickly deepening to black, blotting out the definition of the tall deep green pine trees. I expected to see a flurry of activity in the meadow but it was empty. “Arial, where is everyone?” Arial had flown ahead of us toward the center of the clearing and was hovering just inside what looked like a ring of soft white mushrooms that were nestled among the tall grasses, their large caps tilted in every direction.

Arial’s glittering wings reflected the last of suns fading rays. She beckoned us forward.  “Come, come and join the dance. Step inside the fairy ring, come.” I had never seen Arial act like this; she was swaying back and forth as if listening to soft music, and she had a dreamy look on her face. Odette and I exchanged puzzled glances. “Missus, why is she acting like that?” she pointed at Arial. “All befuddled and the like.” I had been wondering the same thing. “I don’t know, maybe its part of the celebration?” Odette nodded. “Aye, I’m thinking you’re right about that, but strange it tis.”

I took a deep breath. “Well, we might as well find out what Midsummer is all about.” Moving closer to the fairy ring, I stepped in.

© Tami Ruesch, The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry, 2009.

Arial has been after me for days to write down my impressions of the celebration of Midsummer in the faerie realm. It isn’t that I have forgotten dancing with the faeries in wild abandon, after all, I have faeries coming and going through the ivy hedge all the time. No, it isn’t that I have forgotten, I just don’t know where to begin.

Arial poked me again. “Begin at the beginning.” She spiraled around my head, tracing intricate patterns in the air with the tips of her fingers. How frustrating it is to try and write with faerie wings buzzing in my ears! “Arial, you sound like something out of Alice in Wonderland, begin at the beginning. You know very well that it’s the “beginning” that I am having a problem with.” She did a mid-air cartwheel, as she passed in front of my nose, I blew on her wings making her bobble.

I want to stop here to tell you that, yes, I did find Arial (she was waiting for me  on the grassy slope leading up to the  firefly meadow, silhouetted against the sun as it hung on the horizon), and yes, Odette came with me to the celebration. She rode with a fire faerie on a particularly stout dragonfly. When the entire court landed at the bottom of the path, the plump dragonfly that had been transporting Odette wobbled off into the tall grass where it proceeded to flop down and stretch out  its tired wings. I could swear I heard a loud, heavy sigh of relief coming from its general direction.

Arial giggled at my teasing. “You know, I met Alice’s white rabbit once, very congenial little fellow. The flower beds are nice enough, but I didn’t really care for the caterpillar.” I gave her a a skeptical glance. “You really want me to believe that Alice was a real girl, and that Wonderland exists?” As I think about it now, that was a dumb question. Arial twirled around, making her skirts flare out. She raised one eyebrow and gave me one of her famous quirky smiles. “Do you really want people to believe there are faeries in your backyard?” Like I said, dumb question.

“Point well taken, but I do think that we are way off the point now. The question on the table is, what was the beginning. And something else… should I tell everyone what happened when Orlaith found out that you had a hand in sending me off into the faerie nevernever?” With all due respect Jim Butcher, but that is a wonderful word! Arial frowned and kicked her toe against the side of my keyboard then paced back and forth in front of the monitor, thinking hard.

“No, I don’t think we have to include that.” She scratched her head. “I think you should start when you arrived at the meadow, you know, when the sun was going down. Oh! and you can put something in about how wonderful it was to see me again!” I hunched over and looked at her sternly (I went cross eyed, but it made my position very clear). “I’ll just bet you’d like that.” She nodded vigorously. I pinched my lower lip. “No, I think I’ll start with waking up on the chase lounge in the backyard. After all, it did seem like a dream.”

“When I think about the times I’ve been to the palace, the troll, the time when I changed into a cat, and getting mail delivered via sail cloth, and everything else that has happened since seeing my little faeries.” Arial feigned surprise, I ignored her and went on. “Midsummer was definitely something dreams are made of, not that that is a bad thing mind you, but something that will take a little explaining.”

I looked at the clock that hangs on the wall to the side of my computer. “It’s almost five o’clock and I have to give the dogs their dinner.” Arial looked at me suspiciously. “Oh, I promise that I will let everyone know the details tomorrow, hey, you can stay and share the dogs dinner!”

Arial jumped up from where she had been sitting on my camera and shot out of the room. The last thing I heard as she headed for the ivy hedge was…”eeeeuww!” I do love it when I get the last word with a faerie.

© Tami Ruesch, The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry, 2009.