In was the night of Easter's eve and the children were all tucked away in their beds; most had gotten their parents to set their basket on the porch. All the lights in town were off except for one; in the back bedroom of a small house on the edge of town. The room was splattered with paint of all colors and the single desk in the room sat under the open window; it was no longer its original color, but instead it was splats of this color or that.
A young woman sat at the table with a variety of paints to her left and mess of colored eggs to her right. She had drawn her hair up into a messy bun; to keep it out of her way. A pair of thin framed glasses sat on her face and just under her right lens was a smear of bright purple paint. She held a paint brush in one hand and a red egg in the other.
She dipped the brush into bright yellow paint and began to put dots all over the previously colored egg. She had been at this all day from boiling the eggs to letting them dry; setting up the desk and painting them and letting them dry again only to add more paint. It was her own personal tradition; ever since the night of Easter fifteen years ago.
She had seen the legend in person by accident, but it left an impression deep within her heart. Many scolded her and many told her that things like the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, and the Sandman were just make believe, but there was no convincing that they were imaginary; not after she'd seen him. It had been Easter Eve's night that she had seen him out in her mother's garden; in the midst of the Easter lilies that had yet to bloom.
His blue grey fur had shone under the moonlight as he stood there for a moment and then the flowers all seemed to open up after he touched the one closest to him. She had gasped and he had looked up to her window; emerald eyes widening at the site of a child in the window. He had hit the ground with his foot and in an instant he was gone.
She was adamant in her belief after that and started her own tradition of leaving small gifts for the legends. She still left out milk and cookies for Santa with the addition of a thank you card. She had always attached a small thank you sticker to her teeth for the Tooth Fairy and always told others that they were real. As she aged people began to think of her as strange for she never stopped believing.
It was her belief and stories that always brought the children's attention and it was for them that she continued to tell the stories of the legends. She decorated for every holiday and most would come by to see her decorations; others would mock her and her childish beliefs. She knew that she most likely would never be able to see him again, or see any of them for that matter, but she would try to help others keep believing.
Now finished with her eggs, she tucked them all into a box and lugged it out to her car. She would drive to the next block over and put eggs in whatever basket she found on the front porch; she would never hide them or leave more than two in a basket. She had done this every year since her family had moved away and would return with an empty box back to her house.
She would prepare a special basket; once she was back at home. She would fill it with carrots and apples then cover it a white cloth that had eggs painted all over it. On the handle she would attach a thank you card and write 'to the Easter bunny' on the outside for all to see.
She'd place it in the garden, in the midst of the Easter lilies and then make her way back into her house. She clean up her desk and paints and make sure everything was in check before she made her way to her bed room. She'd switch off every light whisper a soft good night to the Sandman and drift off to sleep.
Sometime during the night, the basket in the garden would be taken and the one she set out the year before would be in its place. Inside would be an egg decorated just for her and a small note would always be attached.
'Thank you for always believing in me.'