Secrets Are Unraveled

It was late in the night already. Artemis sat crouched under his bedcovers. Insomnia was not a problem that plagued him until the beginning of that school term. It was one of those problems that had, until recently, bothered only other people, and it was beginning to worry him. He had tried to explain it all away to himself, attributing it to his criminal-minded character, certainly it was usual for a person such as himself to stay up, all the way into the wee hours of the morning, but he knew it was not true. Then he lied to himself that it was the food at St Bartleby's, but the little nagging voice in his mind waved it away, and much to his chagrin, he had to admit it was not that either after he had written back home for 'food fit for human consumption'. There was also that aforementioned little voice, this mysterious entity had simply barged into his mind the morning he found the 'plastic lenses' in his eyes. It was conscience, the annoyingly saintly side of himself which stuck to him like an oil-slick n a sea. And last, last but not least was an inexplicable grief that was constantly shadowing him. It was an unfathomable lost memory of a friend, whom he had never yet always known, a friend who was now irrevocably dead.

Artemis furrowed his brow, plumbing ever deeper into the depths of old remembrances, trying, as hard as he could to place that feeling, as he did this, he cursed Sabrina. 'Thorn in my side she is…….'And with that, he fell into a fitful sleep.

Now, before you begin pitying Artemis, let me tell you that Sabrina was having a far worse time. She was already teetering on the edge of insanity, the next day would be the next counselling session with Artemis and she still could not find the book. She was pondering furiously on how her things always chose to take French leave just when she needed them most as she dug through her landfill of a room with a rake that the 'friendly and helpful' gardener had so unwillingly lent her.

'Tick tock' the cursed clock triumphantly (to a very frazzled Sabrina) announced the passing of the fourth hour of the morning. She took a deep breath in preparation to let fly a string of swearwords, but stopped short, Aha!, the book (of fairy tales meant to inculcate moral values to children) had suddenly returned from it's vacation.

The next day

Sabrina took a deep breath, not to let fly another string of swearwords, but instead, to brace herself in opening the door which separated heaven from hell in the form of. a ghostly pale, very sardonic, very sadistic boy.

After a few false starts where she had tiny panic attacks. She finally managed to open the door of her office.

'Oh it's you Artemis, come in, come in.'

Artemis merely smiled. He had decided, after a recent, very pained letter from his mother ,that he would spare the hapless psychologist from further stress.

'Hello, it's good to see you Miss. I'd like to apologise for what happened last week.' Despite being so outwardly civil, he wished heartily that he could throttle the sanctimonious woman, especially when she began cooing exclamations of saccharine sweet forgiveness.

Artemis continued upon the jolly, apologetic façade he had coined the distinguishing behaviour of sentimental idiots whom he would'nt be seen dead with all through the session of Sabrina's idle prattle on relationships and morals and suchlike. Until Sabrina pulled out a brightly illustrated 'Big Book of Educational Fairy Stories for all ages to read and enjoy', then, something in him snapped. No, not the his patience, but the invisible walls set up in his mind when he had his memory wiped. The lies which held back the wellsprings of humanity and dammed up the old memories of friendship ,the real treasure that Holly, Root, Mulch and even Foaly had given him. The moment he read the word 'Fairies', those walls simply shattered and the truth, the dazzling, beautiful truth came rushing back to him. He was, to quote poet Emily Dickinson , struck 'blind' by the truth. Temporarily. He was shaken out of his state of shock when Sabrina spoke, 'Like it?'

'Oh…what…yes, yes, absolutely, absolutely.' Artemis, still stunned, choked out the words, not quite knowing what he was talking about.

'Good then. Now, I would really appreciate it if you were to read this and discuss it with me during the next session we have.'

Artemis was now fully lucid, 'Oh, certainly.'

And he found himself outside the office with the book in his arms as Sabrina closed the door. Besides that, he now had a goal, and that was to find the fairies again whether they liked it or not .