of the sun drenches my skin. One disappointed look around tells me exactly where we are.
“Great. Your meadow.”
“Hey, it’s safe. I think we should lay low here. Nobody knows about this place except for us.” She takes off her backpack and drops it in the grass. “Besides, the sun is shining and it’s warm. You don’t get much of that in October in New Hampshire. Enjoy it.”
Zoë plops herself down on the grass as she pulls off her jacket. She rolls it up into a makeshift pillow and lies back onto the grass, tucking it under her head.
“Yeah, it's nice here. And sure, the sun feels great, but I guess I was just hoping for something a little more… mystical, tonight.”
“Mystical?" She asks, twisting her brow at me. "Like fairies and dragons?”
I chuckle and take a seat in the grass next to her. “Maybe no to the dragons.”
“So is that a yes to fairies?”
We laugh together. I lean back on my elbows, close my eyes and let the warmth of the sun wash over me.
“You know,” Zoë says. “Mystical actually sounds kind of fun.”
I look at her, smile and reach my hand out for her to hold. The second she takes my hand in hers another world sparks to life before my eyes.
Small pink and white flowers emerge and bloom from the grass all around us. The sun gently drops toward the horizon and dims, taking the harsh edge off its light and tinting the sky the rich, warm blue of an autumn day. Fluffy white clouds take shape above us and sparkle as the rays of the setting sun bounce off them.
A large oak tree grows from the ground in front of us. It starts as a seedling surfacing from the earth then rapidly expands into a full, thick trunk with braches sprouting left and right, reaching out into the air. Tiny buds explode into rich emerald green leaves. They glow softly and give off a delicate light of their own. A small pond, covered in lily pads and surrounded by moss, materializes to the side of the tree. A frog croaks faintly and hops out of the pond and onto a rock.
I sit in amazement, my gaze directed at the frog, smiling at the beauty Zoë has created. Memories of being in elementary school and dream walking with her flood me. “Maybe you should try kissing him,” Zoë sarcastically says. We laugh again.
I let go of her hand and stand up, filled with the giddy excitement of a six-year-old girl and walk toward the tree.
Glowing emerald sparkles fall from the tree’s leaves like slow-motion raindrops. I hold my hand out to catch some, but they glide over my skin and flow back into the air. Out of the corner of my eye I notice a collection of the emerald sparkles forming a shape. I turn to look and see a butterfly-sized fairy with pale blue skin and brilliant violet eyes. She flitters her silver wings as they glow with great intensity.
I cautiously hold out my hand for her to perch on. She moves toward it with hesitation. Just when I think she is about to accept my offering, she quickly flies up to my face and tickles my cheek with her wings before fluttering in a swift circle around my head and disappearing into the tree. I look up to follow her path and am stunned at what I see.
Hundreds of fairies in every color in existence are scattered throughout the branches. Their wings radiate beauty, light and tranquility. I take a step closer to the tree and place my hand on the trunk. The bark illuminates under my touch. The area around my hand glows a warm, golden yellow before swiftly climbing the trunk and exploding through the branches like wildfire.
The sound of small, fluttering wings fills the air as they all take flight at once. In a mesmerizing display of beauty and magnificence they burst out of the tree and fly in hundreds of different directions, as if escaping the clutches of the emerald wonder.
I run out from under the tree’s cover to witness the spectacular event. They disappear into the firmament as the sun finally dips below the tree line at the edge of the meadow.
The sky darkens to a bewitching gradient of pink, purple, and indigo as an enormous full moon rises over the navy blue horizon. The moon radiates like nothing I have ever seen in real-life. Its vast size and position in