The Beginning of our Story.
I won't ever forget the day that I first met you. You changed me that day, Gem, and you did so without ever even realizing it. There was something about you, your sweet innocence or your charming naivety, that really hit me hard. You reminded me that there was still beauty left in this world worth fighting for; you pulled me away from the mud pit that I had been stuck in and gave me the motivation to make something of myself. If it wasn't for you I would probably still be lying in that dirt patch, dried up and spent like a crisp fall leaf.
It was early in the afternoon on Easter Sunday. The holiday had come early that year, during the time when the Earth was just beginning to emerge from its wintery cocoon into springtime. The primroses were starting to bloom, and the bright green leaves swayed gently on the delicate overhanging branches of the trees. The sun was shining through the trees, creating intricate patterns of shadow and light on the ground that danced along my skin with the movements of the leaves above me. I was lying in the dirt, hidden from view behind the rhododendron bushes, with my back up against the largest of the oak trees. I was still on a hangover from the previous nights drinking; my head was pounding and my throat burned from consuming too much booze and not enough water. My stomach was also aching; I hadn't eaten anything in over a day, excluding the egg yolk I had sucked out of a robin's egg earlier, but I was feeling to ill and tired to do anything about it. Instead I focused on the sounds that I heard around me: the birds chirping, people laughing, and you, talking to the flowers. I had been listening to you talk to them for almost an hour, you kept giving them names like " Patel" and " Smith." Your voice had progressively become easier for me to hear as you made your way closer and closer to my hideout, I knew that sooner or later you would duck through the bushes and find me lying there. The thought irritated me really, I didn't like having to talk to anybody if I could help it, and several times I considered getting up and leaving. I would have done it if hadn't been feeling so damned tired and hung-over at the time. I closed my eyes briefly and took a long, deep breathe through my nose. I was hoping that you would decide to turn around and go back to your parents, leaving me alone in the bushes. But you didn't. The leaves rustled as you ducked around the bush, emerging into my little hideaway.
The very first thing that I noticed about you was your eyes, green and almond shaped, they gazed at me with an intensity that seemed almost unnatural for a child. Those eyes are beautiful, Gem, I've always thought so.
You were instantly curious about me, not wasting any time to dash over and kneel beside me. Smoothing the edges of your yellow sundress, you gave me a sweet and genuine smile. That was the first time that you ever smiled at me, Gemma, and I wish that I had better appreciated it then. After that day, it would be a long time before you ever smiled at me like that again.
" My names Gemma, I'm ten" you said, pulling at the ends of your braid. " What's your name?" Instead of answering you I groaned, hoping that you would catch on to my annoyance and go away. You didn't take the hint. " Why are you here?" you asked, trying to get a response out of me, " Are you trying to find Easter eggs?" I laughed at that question, amused at how childlike it was, and decided that it would be worth it to try and talk with you.
" I'm not looking for any eggs" I said, " I live out here, this is my home."
" This is where you live!"you said, putting emphasis on the last word. " But you don't have a roof!" I sat up after you said that, surprised at my willingness to talk.
" Yes I do, it's up there" I said, pointing up at the overhanging branches with the bright green leaves and tiny pink flowers clinging to them.
" whoa really?"
" yes, really."
You looked up, staring at the pink flowers above your head. "It's beautiful" you said, "your roof of pink flowers is the prettiest that I have ever seen."
I finally smiled at you then, and you did too. I noticed that one of your two front teeth was missing, and the other one was just starting to grow in.
" Who were you talking to back there? The tulips?" I asked, trying to change the subject. I didn't like talking about my homelessness.
You leaned in closer to me then and lowered your voice, as if what you had to say was a huge and important secret. " I'm not speaking to the tulips. I'm speaking to what's inside of them. They all have fairies inside of them, fairies that live inside of them and help them to grow." I could tell how excited you were about this. " But you can't see them, they are invisible, they only appear to the people that believe in them. I have been talking to them, because someday I know that they will let me see them." You were smiling again, clearly proud of yourself for believing in the fairies. The smile vanished quickly, replaced by a serious look. " Do you believe in them? Have you ever seen one?"
I was tempted to play along with you but I didn't. Instead I chose to tell you about the min mins, the creatures that my father had warned me about so very long ago. " Nah I haven't seen your fairies, and I don't believe in them. I believe in something darker and more sinister."
"What?"
" They're called min mins. They are evil spirits that live inside of the trees, waiting for lost children. When they find them, they steal them away, and nobody ever hears from them ever again. I cocked my head at you then, my mouth formed into a mischievous grin. " You wouldn't happen to be lost would you?"
You sat up straighter after I said that, lifting your chin and glaring at me. " Your trying to scare me aren't you? Well it won't work! You don't scare me."
I smiled at the truthfulness of that sentence. You weren't scared of me at all, you spoke to me like you would to any other person. I liked that about you. I was about to say something else to you, I don't remember what it was anymore, when I heard a shout.
" GEEEEMMMMAAAA!" " Gemma where are you!"
It was your mother, calling for you. Your eyes grew wide when you heard.
" I have to go now!" you said, standing up and brushing off the skirt of your dress.
" Wait! Before you go I want you to have this." I handed you the little robin's egg, the one that I had sucked the egg yolk out of earlier. You held it delicately when I handed it to you, and I could tell that you somehow knew that it was something natural and beautiful and important.
" This is the best Easter egg I have ever seen", you said. With that, you gave me one last, toothless grin before dashing out of the bushes towards your parents.
As you ran off I sat up and peered out from behind the bushes, watching you. You ran over to your mom, pulling on her hand and demanding her attention. " Look what I have!" you said, showing her the egg. She didn't pay any attention to it.
" Gemma! Look at your dress! You got dirt all over it, that was your good Sunday dress that I spent a lot of money on! Didn't I tell you to be careful of it?"
Looking irritated, she grabbed the scooter that you had abandoned and walked out of the park, you were following just behind her. I watched you as you went home, noticing that you lived in a house that was located just across the street from the park. I made a mental note of that, knowing that it would come in handy if I ever wanted to see you again. I didn't realize it then but I would see you again, many times, and I would watch you mature from a little girl into a young woman. And so, our story began.