Stiles knows that he is different from the other children. They can't see what he does. They don't understand like he does. He's not sure if anyone really understands, even the adults.

He remembers meeting Padwa first. Padwa's tree sits in the middle of Summer Street Park, though it's disingenuous to say that the willow is Padwa's tree when Padwa is the tree and also not. To him, Padwa looks like a lady made out of vines. Her hair is a long flow of wispy leaves that trail along the grass behind her as she dances. She notices Stiles first and greets him, and it's only polite for Stiles to greet her back. He's two, maybe three, at the time, so his vocabulary is limited for their first few conversations, but Padwa seems to know what he means even if he can't say it.

His mom can't see Padwa but Padwa doesn't mind. She isn't usually seen and is fine with just the birds and squirrels for company but she says it's nice that he comes to visit her sometimes.

After that a few of the locals pop up to make themselves known. There's the gnome family that lives in Mrs. Johnson's garden and the pixies that flutter by one by one until he's met the whole swarm. He meets the crows that are not crows and a lost badger and a handful of creatures there are no names for but who are pleasant just the same.

Then he meets Peter the wolf. His wolf. With Peter comes a whole pack of wolves—and Paul—and Stiles doesn't mind being the odd child so much when he has other odd children to play with. Derek and Laura are the oldest at ten and twelve, respectively, then Charlotte who's seven, but Cora's only a year older. Amber's just a baby but Stiles knows they'll grow up to be friends and tries to include her when he can.

They spend a lot of time in the woods, running and laughing. They swim in the lake while Nadra watches over them. The nymph won't let any of them drown. He meets Takta and Mera, who are like Padwa but not. Cousins, they tell him.

He plays hide and seek with wolves and only cheats sometimes when the howlers are out or when the pixies want him to play with them instead. He meets the stump and talks to the thing inside. It's not nice, so he tells Padwa and a lady in silver comes to take it away. The stump seems happier after that.

He's eight when he meets the shining lady. He's old enough by then to know that people think the things he talks about are weird and they won't understand. Still, he checks with Cora first to see if she can see the sparkles but she can't. Stiles shrugs and leaves Cora to her book. They're supposed to be having quiet reading time but Stiles wants to talk to the lady—their new librarian.

He tugs on her sleeve lightly to get her attention. She blinks once behind thick glasses on thin wire frames as she looks down at him. The glasses make her eyes look large like an owl's. Stiles leans close and whispers "I think your sparkles are pretty."

The librarian smiles and kneels down. She whispers too, saying that she just moved here but that she's happy to have met Stiles. He tells her about Padwa, Nadra, Takta, and Mera. She seems like she would get along with them. She says her name is Amarannaleeah but to call her Amanda. Her grandmother moved with her and she invites Stiles over for tea. They make arrangements for Saturday when Stiles's mom is working and he can slip away from the Hales for a bit.

He debates telling Peter about it, maybe asking him to come along, but when he gets home and tells Peter about the sparkling lady, Peter gives him that same look his mother does when he talks about Padwa and Stiles decides it will be his secret for now. He can introduce Peter when he's older and Peter understands a bit better.

Still, he tells everyone about Amanda at dinner and he smiles back when they smile fondly at him, even if they don't understand. He watches the adults shoot knowing looks at each other and the children snicker but he doesn't mind.

Padwa says that it takes a long time for people to understand and that it's okay. Stiles believes that the Hales will get there eventually. Until then, he'll talk to the unseen for them and be their voice where they can't speak. Padwa says that it's a very important thing that Stiles does but Stiles sees it as just being polite.

He knows what it's like to be different.