1888 Massachusetts
The night was a clear wintry night, not a cloud in the sky as a feathery figure zipped through the crisp air. No doubt Jack Frost was up to his usual tricks nearby, but wherever he was, it wasn't here.
The feathered being giggled as she zipped through the air, darting for the distant town. It had been nearly three hundred years since her last excursion into the field, since normally her precious Baby Teeth would do the tooth collecting. For some reason though, the smaller fairies were afraid to go after this one particular tooth. Thus she, Toothiana the Tooth Fairy, had to retrieve it herself. Every tooth contained a precious piece of a child's memory, and her sworn duty was to protect it after all.
As she neared the tooth's location, she couldn't help but notice the surroundings. This was no neighborhood, it was the middle of town. Very few people were walking about at this hour, many of them coughing into handkerchiefs. That was right, her fairies had mentioned there was a plague of tuberculosis in this area,
And judging from the tooth's call, the child was in-
Tooth stopped dead in the air, wings nearly missing a beat as her heart sank. A hospital. The child was in the hospital during these times. A sense of dread overcame her as she rocketed for the sinister building ahead. Please let the little one be at least stable, she mentally pleaded. Please, please...
After a little while searching, Tooth found the window to the room she was looking for. After making short work of the window latch, she carefully flitted into the room. A quick scan showed that the room was empty, just her and the child and the tooth. She silently hovered to the lone occupied bed, risking a glance at the child's face. What she saw tore at her heart.
The child was a little girl, no more than seven or eight years old. Her skin was pale, and flecks of blood spotted her pillow and blanket. Her hair lay limp around her face, and with her mouth open ever so slightly Tooth could see the gap caused by the missing right incisor. With trembling yet practiced hand, Tooth carefully reached under the pillow and retrieved the tooth, shivering at the already conflicting happy memories emanating from it into the otherwise gloomy room. Finally she couldn't take it, and had to look away from the little girl's face. On the nightstand was a few get well cards, a cracked lamp, and...what was that?
Tooth blinked back her tears enough to get a closer look at the object. It was small and black, and almost...almost looked like a flower, but the petals were partially see through. A black lace flower? Who would give that to a child?
"T-tooth Fairy?"
A gasp escaped Tooth, her eyes shooting back to the little girl's face. Only her eyes were open now, and the hazel orbs blinked in sleepy surprise as the little girl strained to sit up. Tooth instinctively reached to lie her back down, but the child shook her head, a trembly hand reaching for the lamp and clicking it on. The dim yellow light washed over them both as the child looked at Tooth again, now visibly more awake.
"You're real too...?" The child whispered hoarsely.
Tooth swallowed, but nodded in reply with a weak smile.
"Yes, I am. It's nice to meet you, little girl." She replied gently.
"M-my name is Ruthie. My brother said you weren't real...I knew he was wrong." She whispered with a smile. Tooth giggled a little in reply.
"I guarantee you he believed in me as well at one point, Ruthie. How are you?" She asked, fearing the answer.
"My chest hurts, but I'm okay. Are there others? Does Santa exist too?" Ruthie demanded to know, nearly bouncing in her seat with excitement before a coughing fit overtook her. Tooth used her lightning reflexes to grab a tissue and hold it in front of the girl's mouth as she coughed. She shuddered at the feeling of what horribly resembled blood before the fit died down. "Th-thank you..."
"You're welcome. And to answer your question, yes, there are more of us, and Santa is as real as I am. Though he doesn't bring this weather, that's Jack's department." Tooth joked, setting the tissue down.
"Jack? Jack Frost? He's real?" Ruthie whispered, eyes widening in wonder. Tooth nodded, unable to stop a sad smile from forming on her face.
"Yes, and I can't tell you how much he'd like hearing someone say that..." Tooth admitted.
"Are you all magic? Can...can you heal kids?" Ruthie whispered, a small gleam of hope in her eyes. Tooth felt her throat constrict, and she struggled to answer the little girl's question. However, the silence must have been answer enough, and the hopeful look faded. "Oh...sorry, I g-guess it was a lot to ask..." She mumbled sadly.
"No, it's not that, it's just...I want to help you heal, I want there to be someone who can help you, but there just...there just isn't, I'm sorry. You just...need to get better by yourself..." Tooth answered morosely, feathers drooping. Ruthie shook her head sadly.
"This hurts grown ups, but it hurts kids worse. The doctors think I'm gonna die...I'm scared." Ruthie whimpered, tearing up. "I don't wanna die in here. I wanna go home and tell my brother he was wrong..."
"You will." Tooth couldn't help herself from clasping the girl's tiny hand in her own, looking into her eyes. "You're a strong girl Ruthie. Prove those doctors wrong and show your brother what for." She encouraged, holding the hand close.
Ruthie blinked, but slowly smiled, gapped teeth showing and eyes twinkling. Her eyes then began to droop, and the little girl sank back into her pillow, gold dream sand twinkling above her sleeping head.
Tooth sighed sadly, gently placing a quarter under her pillow and shutting off the lamp before heading out the window, spotting an all-too-familiar golden figure nearby.
"Thanks Sandy." She called out. The golden sprite did not speak, merely formed images above his head with the sand. She sighed sadly.
"It hurts seeing a child like that...I hate not being able to do anything to help them. Why must we stand by and watch them suffer?" She asked, already knowing the answer. The Sandman could only shake his head and form more symbols above his head. Tooth nodded sadly, looking back at the window leading to the thought of child.
"I know...we can't save all of the children...but we can try to save as many as we can." Tooth relented sadly, turning from the hospital. As she did, her mind replayed the whole conversation with the child. As she flew away, she couldn't help but remember the little girl's first question towards her.
"You're real too...?"
"What did she mean, 'too'? What other spirit could she have met...? Tooth couldn't help but wonder as she made her way back to the Tooth Palace in Punjam Hy Loo.
As the Tooth Fairy and Sandman faded from view of the hospital window, the shadows in the lonely hospital room seem to grow darker. A form emerged from the darkest shadow under the bed; tall, gaunt, a shark like face with yellow eyes, and windswept hair. Pitch Black glanced at the window, a small sneer forming on his face as he saw the retreating Dreamsand threads in the distance.
"Indeed...not every child can be saved." He uttered lowly, turning to the sleeping ill child. He observed how her breathing rattled, even when sleeping peacefully. Black sand started to gather in his hand, and he solidified it into a second black lace flower. Setting it next to the first flower, he looked to the slumbering child again.
"I shall visit again, Ruthie. Hopefully tomorrow I won't be prevented." He whispered, pulling the blanket back up to her chin. Within seconds of that soft action, he faded back into the shadows, and all was quiet once more.