Beyond the Firefly Field (12 page)

The Warnings

A
s he walked along, Clayton was lost in thought and paid little attention to his surroundings. He remembered SanArEnDar's words about avoiding discovery. If the fairies went to great lengths to keep from being discovered, how could they possibly trust a bunch of kids with an age-old secret already getting away from them?

Diverting Mike and his friends from the fairies was only a temporary measure. If Mike's cousin really did work for a TV station, sooner or later Mike could probably get a reporter and a cameraman to the tree and obtain proof of the fairies' existence. Clayton felt horrible about endangering the little creatures, and he dreaded telling them about the jeopardy surrounding their secret. And it was all because of him. More and more, he thought they should just never visit the fairies again.

Then there was the matter of the developer and his plans for the land. How could he explain that to them? The warning about Farmer Hawkins was probably no longer necessary. They must have watched him cutting the field, and maybe they even knew why he did it.

Both issues could be as dangerous to the fairies as Mike. And now there might be someone else to worry about. Hopefully, that mysterious person at the lake left before the firefly field really lit up. He would have to warn the fairies about this new possible threat. His worried reluctance about warning the fairies slowed his pace, and the others weaved past him to keep from making a straight trail.

“What took you so long?” Karl asked after Clayton abruptly bumped into him.

Looking up, Clayton saw they had arrived at the fairy tree. “Sorry, I was busy thinking about warning the fairies. I hope they don't get mad at us for Mike finding out about them.”

“I can't imagine them getting mad about anything,” Penny offered. “They seem to have only happy and good emotions.” The others agreed, and Clayton felt a little more at ease.

“We need a plan for getting onto the branch.”

Karl said, “We can get in single file on the path, then walk through the gathering a couple of seconds after the person walks through in front of us. Once on the branch, we keep walking until the last in line gets on and says to stop.”

“I'll go last,” Clayton said quickly.

“I'll go first,” Penny claimed before anyone else could utter a word. They lined up and quickly proceeded to carry out the new plan.

They each tried to keep their eyes open to observe their changing size, but the thick concentration of fireflies made it impossible. Clayton didn't wait before following Brian through the swarm. The fireflies dispersing for Brian didn't have time to re-gather before Clayton marched through.

“I did it!” Clayton exclaimed.

“Did what?” Brian asked.

“I kept my eyes open,” Clayton proclaimed triumphantly.

“What was it like?” Karl demanded.

“I saw Brian getting smaller, like he jumped off something and was moving away from me very fast. Then everything else got bigger. I still didn't feel like I was actually getting smaller, though,” he explained, not knowing how else to put it.

“Hello,” said a voice from further up the branch.

Turning to find the voice, they saw a male fairy walking toward them. He looked and dressed like all the other guy fairies, and Clayton wondered how many he could meet before he would have trouble telling them apart.

“I'm Vork. I've heard about you, and I was hoping to meet you,” he said by way of introduction. They each introduced themselves to the fairy who seemed to have trouble pronouncing their names.

After the introductions, with many name corrections, Clayton decided to get the warnings over with quickly. “I'm sorry,” he began, “but I have to warn you about things that might put you all in great danger.”

“It sounds serious. The Old Ones will have to be told. I can convey your warnings to them if you'd like,” Vork offered helpfully.

“Yes, I would like that,” Clayton said, relieved that the right someone would finally be told.

“Let me get something to write on, BrayIn,” Vork said as he turned away.

“It's Clayton.”

“Of course, ClayTan,” Vork noted. Walking over to a knot bump on the branch, the fairy unfolded a desk. He reached for a piece of rolled brown paper and a stick of charcoal to use as a pen. Everyone gathered around Vork, curious to see if fairy writing was as understandable as their language. Sometimes they heard a fairy speak a word that was completely unknown to them. Some words sounded like two words stuck together and shortened, but made sense if used in a sentence.

Vork seemed a little self-conscious as he dropped the charcoal stick. Maybe he was scared of humans, Clayton thought. Karl bent down to retrieve the stick, and just as Vork bent to pick it up, the two bumped heads. Vork dropped the paper. When they both bent to pick it up, they bumped heads again. Karl finally stood up with both objects and rubbed his sore head with the back of one hand.

Then Vork stood with one hand on his forehead, staggering back a few steps. His second step landed on Penny's foot, causing him to fall over. With a quick reaction, Vork grabbed Penny's arm to steady himself. Instead, he pulled her down with him.

Phil, who was standing on Vork's other side, offered a hand to help him. Taking the offered hand, Vork sprang up, but he fell back down again, pulling Phil with him. Phil fell forward over Vork's body and bumped heads with Penny, who was trying to stand.

As they untangled limbs to Vork's repeated apologies, it dawned on everyone that Vork was a helper fairy. They all took precautionary steps away from the hapless fairy before he could cause any more help. Everybody stood frozen in place, not knowing what to do next.

“Is your head all right?” Vork asked, having recovered somewhat, stepping toward Karl, who was raising his hand to check his head.

“Vork, you need to fold the desk up and put it back into the tree before someone falls over it and really gets hurt,” Karl suggested as he handed Vork the paper and charcoal. He carefully took another step back.

Vork eagerly began the task, buying time for the uneasy kids. While putting the desk away, he also stashed the paper and charcoal inside. Suddenly, a comforting familiar voice came from above. Vork was told by the gentle voice that someone needed help gathering sticks for a stove fire on another branch.

The look of dismay on Vork's face was replaced by a wide smile at the news of someone needing his help. He walked to the edge of the branch and stepped onto the air, plummeting a short way before slowly rising with his wings spread wide, showing patterns of swirling browns, oranges, and grays.

With great relief at having the helper redirected, the kids looked up to find SeeLee floating where Vork hovered. Behind SeeLee followed LeeLan, MarLan, and AnDrin. The descending fairies' wings shared the same swirling patterns and vivid colors, as if they were connected somehow.

As the others landed, Vork rose into the air. He looked back at the group and waved goodbye, seemingly happy to be off to help someone else who needed him. As he drifted upward, his wings' swirling patterns changed into jagged shards like a broken stained glass window, falling back into the base of the wings. The pieces melted back into the spreading swirls before he was out of sight.

“Congratulations on surviving your first helper,” SeeLee laughed as Penny rushed to give her a hug.

“You showed up just in time,” Clayton admitted. “Once we realized Vork was a helper, we didn't know what to do, and then we started getting scared.”

“You don't have to be afraid of them,” SeeLee said reassuringly, then continued in her “everything will be all right” voice. “You just have to anticipate that anything could go wrong. If there's something to trip over, they'll trip over it. If there's something to tip, they'll knock it down. If something can be spilled or dropped, be prepared to get out of the way fast. If a helper fairy approaches you, be ready to move. And always try to redirect them or give them a simple task to perform. They just want to help, and anything they're given to do makes them very happy.”

“That's what Karl did,” Penny chimed in. “When Vork came closer to him, Karl suggested he fold the desk back into the tree.”

“That's perfect. Now you see how it works,” SeeLee nodded approvingly. “If you can't think of anything else, you can send them to find me or LeeLan, MarLan, or AnDrin.” The kids then exchanged brief greetings with the other fairies.

The relief Clayton felt after Vork said he would convey the warnings to an Old One evaporated. Once again he would have to approach the subject of the dangers threatening the fairies' safety, or maybe even ending their very existence.

Clayton looked along the branch he thought of as home while visiting the fairy world. The fairies scurrying about were preoccupied with the same activities he had seen them doing before. Booths were being set up, tables and chairs were unfolded seemingly out of nowhere, and splashes and laughter could be heard from the pools above.

Babies bounced on their spider-web trampolines. Firefly lamp posts were being set up for the night, and insects were busily running errands. Everywhere fairies happily greeted each other as though a holiday was approaching. Clayton knew all were oblivious to what might befall them, and a sense of panic began to overwhelm him. He felt a sense of loss about something that hadn't even happened yet. He looked at SeeLee to find that she was already staring intently at him. He blushed and broke into a sweat.

Softly, SeeLee crooned, “You radiate such distress and show a need for relief from some burden you carry.” Her voice soothed him, giving him encouragement that everything would soon be okay. But Clayton knew he had to give his terrible warning, no matter how wonderful and secure SeeLee made him feel.

Words spilled out of Clayton like the breaking of a dam. Hoping a serious tone would get through to SeeLee, he warned of the old farmer and the road he had cut, emphasizing that the field had been mowed very close to SeeLee's home. He hoped the alarm and anxiety in his voice conveyed the seriousness of his warning.

Clayton continued with his warnings about the new developer. He explained how a factory building or parking lot might be built where the fairy tree now stood. The others added their concerns occasionally, echoing his words. He hinted the fairy tree might have to be abandoned.

Finally, Clayton blurted out, “And we haven't been able to keep your secret! Someone who isn't a friend found out about you. He knows people who can take pictures and make reports on television to expose you. He's been following us, but we chased him away. We didn't know he was anywhere around here until we saw him in school, and he let it be known he had been spying on us. He threatened to expose you and how you live. We're really sorry. Please forgive us.”

Quickly changing the subject, Clayton added, “There's something else, too. I saw somebody walking along the lake right before we got here, and if they watched the firefly field light up and investigated it, they might stumble upon you.”

He spewed his warnings out in a rush, anxious to hear SeeLee's reaction. Every second passing took too long, and Clayton felt trapped in a time warp within a time warp. That made him wonder if Karl was right—maybe they should bring two watches. How strange for him to think of that silly experiment at a time like this.

Finally, SeeLee started to speak. “Thank you for your concern. These matters will have to be brought to my father's attention. He can discuss them with the Old Ones. They need a new problem to consider, as they seem to be moody and fidgety lately.” She still spoke in the way that promised everything would be fine.

Relieved of his burden of guilt and worry, he finally let his body and mind relax for the first time all day. The others felt more at ease, too, and let out a collective sigh of relief. Time returned to normal, whatever that was, when they were on the fairy tree.

The twins were also relieved, arguing about the fairy twins they still couldn't tell apart.

Then everyone spoke at once, sharing details of the warnings. This included an extensive description of a bulldozer and what it could do to the fairies' tree home. Clayton even told SeeLee about his awful dreams of destruction. A big, ugly factory building was also explained as well as a parking lot. An explanation of big, noisy trucks and traffic jams followed. He was glad the fairies' expressions were appropriately horrified. Before long, everything had been covered, and the fairies assured them that the Old Ones would know exactly what to do.

The group's attention was soon drawn to the activities on the branches surrounding them. They arrived at the tree slightly later in the day than before, and many of the things they had watched being set up were already in place.

“I hope the deer were here already,” Brian said.

“No, they haven't visited yet, but they don't come every night, so you never know when a big deer head will pop up next to you.”