The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry

I felt a tangible shift as I stepped into the fairy ring. A soft breeze began to sweep through the meadow, it carried the sent of lavender and jasmine as it swirled around the circle. I heard the rustling of a thousand  faerie voices blowing on the breeze, soft at first, then growing louder. I spun around and peered into the gloomy recces of the tall pines looking for the whispered solicitations, then, In one gigantic explosion, the air was filled with faeries.

I couldn’t see Arial anymore, she was lost in the frenzy of the faerie celebration. At the edge of the clearing, fireflies flew in and out of the flowers on the bleeding heart bushes, making them glow a soft red, still others flickered like tiny yellow candles moving in and out of the shadows at the edge of the clearing. Mixing with the melodious voices of the faeries were the sounds of the night. Frogs and crickets added the counter point to their song.

The faeries circled and spun, diving in and out, their delicate wings fluttering through my hair. In an attempt to find Arial, I moved closer to the center, making sure not to step on any of the spiraling faeries. They were everywhere, flying on humming birds, and hiding behind flowers. I had been to the realm of the fae before but I had never seen so many different types of faeries, they were all shapes and sizes.

The rhythmic melodies of the faeries were becoming more enchanting and I found myself swaying with the magical music. I caught sight of Arial just as a legion of faeries  lifted me into the air. Normally I would have been unnerved by the sudden change of altitude, but the high pitched singing had filled my ears and I was caught up in the turbulent dance of Midsummer. It looked as if I were dancing with the stars themselves, whirling faster and faster until everything blurred together. I heard musical voices whispering to me to leave the mortal world behind.

The night passed into early morning and still we danced, twisting and leaping, until I felt as though I had merged with the fae. All memory of my mortal world was slowly seeping away. This is wonderful! I have no ties to hold me back, no responsibilities. I am grace and spontaneity! At this moment, I had given myself over completely to the faerie realm, I couldn’t even imagine going back.

I was so caught up in the euphoria of the moment that I hadn’t noticed Arial spinning close by. She had a look of understanding on her face. “Kind One, we must get back to the ivy hedge before the sun’s rays hit the meadow.”  I felt like cold water had been splashed in my face. In the east, the sky was beginning to show the first light of day. The celebration was already beginning to fade from my memory and I became aware that I was floating high above the ground.

“No Arial, I don’t want to go back, I’m one of the fae now, I’ve been invited!” Arial held her wand over her head in both hands and spoke in elvish. The wand began to glow as we slowly drifted back toward earth. Arial spoke, her words soft in my ear. “Hold out your hand.” Reluctantly, I gave in and held my hand forward. She waved her wand  and a small polished stone materialized in my upturned palm.

The stone was soft pink rose quartz that had a hole in the center. I watched as black cording twined around the stone then draped itself over my head so that the pendant hung over my heart. “This is beautiful Arial, thank you, but what do I do with it? Does this mean I can stay?”

Arial smiled. “The Fae need your help on the other side Kind One, your work and the people who love you are there. You are much to important to us to stay in the realm.”  She could see that I was having a hard time remembering. “Hold the stone up to your eye and look through it, you will understand better.”

I brought the crystal up to my eye and gazed through the center. The faeries I had been dancing with were fading into mist, their delicate hands reaching out for me. The last thing I saw was their large liquid eyes as the mist enveloped them completely. The scene was replaced with a picture of my backyard. My three Chihuahua’s were sniffing at the bottom of the ivy hedge and whining, then the scene dissolved.

I let the stone fall. “Arial, I remember! I must get home, what was I thinking? What time is it? How long have I been gone?” Arial’s countenance brightened, She held her wand up and waved it over my head just as the suns rays peeked through the pines. I held my hand up to shelter my eyes from the stabbing light and found myself standing in the shade of the old oak tree that grew by the wall of ivy marking the boundary between the faerie realm and my yard on the other side. Looking down I found Odette clinging to my ankle and thought that this was how we got here, but it seems so long ago now…

The mornings are cool in the summer, it’s the only time I can sit in the backyard and watch my faeries come and go through the portal in the ivy hedge. I’m sitting on the chaise loung and my thoughts come back to me as the memory of the Midsummer celebration fades. The wind chimes are blowing in the breeze and my little Edie is asleep on my lap. Arial is on my shoulder braiding my hair, and the gnomes, Warren and Odette are over in the garden trimming the chives

I turn my head to look at Arial. “You know what Arial? I really do love my backyard.”

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