Purple Pansies

 

            Patty looked critically at her reflection. This pink dress was pretty, but what about that other purple one? It was so hard to decide. She had to look perfect for the fairy ball tomorrow night. The annual Flower Festival was always the biggest event of the year in all of Fairyland, but this year was special because Patty was finally old enough to participate. She and the other fairies had spent the last several days visiting all the flowers that grew in Fairyland. With their magic, the fairies were able to coax the plants to grow the most spectacular blossoms.

            The last day of the Festival ended with the ball, where all the fairies gathered to enjoy the party and show off their work. Patty thought about the purple pansies that she had spent so much time on. She looked back at the purple dress and tried it on again. Yes, this was the one she was going to wear.

            Patty paid for her new dress and was flying home when she decided to visit her pansies. She wanted to see how well they matched the dress. Maybe she would cut one to put in her hair.

            She flew right past her pansies before she realized what had happened. Panic bloomed inside her as she flew back to look at the damage. Her beautiful pansies! Something had come through and dug them all up. The few that survived were limp and covered in dirt and soil. Who could have done this?

            Patty looked frantically around her and saw what she had been dreading—giant footprints belonging to a human. With a cry, she flew immediately to find Queen Freya. She would want to know that a human had visited Fairyland. Patty flew all over asking several fairies if they had seen the Queen. Finally, she found her tending her own roses for the Festival.

            “Your majesty!” Patty cried, somewhat out of breath. “Humans have been in Fairyland!”

            Freya looked up sharply and asked, “Are you sure of this?”

            “Yes! I saw footprints, and my pansies have been ruined!” Tears threatened to slide down her face as she thought of all the work she had put into her flowers.

            Freya stood up with a regal air and said, “Show me where.”

            Patty led the way, with Freya following close behind. As soon as they reached the ruined pansy patch, Freya pursed her lips and said, “We’ll need to tighten security in case this human comes back. How did they get in here in the first place?”

            Patty was wondering the same thing. It was supposed to be impossible for humans to enter Fairyland. Unless… “What if it was a human who has been here before?” Patty asked.

            “I haven’t invited any humans to Fairyland for years.” Freya’s face turned thoughtful. “But, maybe it was…” She suddenly focused on Patty. “The last human I invited was a woman named Eva. She helped us out of a little bit of trouble before. I invited her to Fairyland, but she never came because she moved away with her family.”

            “But why would she come and ruin my flowers?” Patty cried.

            “Humans do this thing where they dig up flowers to plant somewhere else.”

            Now Patty was confused. “Why don’t they just harvest the seeds for replanting?”

            “They can’t wait. Sometimes, they would rather risk killing the flower than growing a new one. I’ll go see if Eva has come back.” Freya flew off.

            Patty sat down on a branch to mourn her flowers when Freya called, “Well, aren’t you coming?”

            Patty hopped back up and felt her spirits rise. The Fairy Queen had invited her to come! Now she followed Freya, who seemed to know right where to go. They crossed the Fairyland border, and the world seemed to grow a little less colorful. They flew to an old cabin that Patty was sure had been vacant before. However, Freya flew right up to the door and knocked.

            The door opened, and a woman cried, “Oh, Freya! How good to see you!”

            Freya responded with much more warmth than Patty expected. “Eva, I thought you were long gone!”

            “Yes, we did leave, but we decided to come back to our roots. The big city turned out not to be for us. I’m so glad you came! I went to find you in Fairyland, but you weren’t there. Look at these beautiful pansies I found!”

            Patty saw her pansies—beautiful, if slightly battered. They now resided in a flower pot next to the front door.

            “Yes, well, you see, that’s what I’ve come to talk to you about,” Freya said kindly. Those have been cultivated for our Flower Festival for tomorrow.”

            Eva’s face fell slightly. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I would be happy to bring them back! I didn’t realize they were being used for anything.”

            Patty flew up beside Freya. Now that she had met Eva, she didn’t feel so bad for her flowers. At least they would be tended by someone who would enjoy them. “I would be happy to gift them to you.” Patty’s face reddened slightly. “But could I have one of the blossoms to wear with my dress, please? I’m planning on wearing it to the ball tomorrow night.”

            Eva agreed readily. For the next hour, Queen Freya and Patty visited with Eva in her small cabin. It soon became apparent that no one else could see the fairies. Eva’s family came and went out of the cabin without even glancing at the two fairies sitting on their couch.

            After they left, Patty felt much better about things. Her pansies might be ruined or damaged, but she still had one flower to match with her dress. She went to the ball the next night, and received so many comments on her dress and flower combo that she decided to grow pansies again for next year. Only this time, she would make sure to plant them somewhere else.