A young fairy was born with curly blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. A luminous light shone around her. She was a light fairy, as was her mother and father. Together they lived in a wonderful abode in the Light relm. It was forever happy in the Light and was only permitted to the Light fairies.
Her mother raised her with confidence and comfort. Her parents were always patient and never raised their voice. They were a perfect family, always smiling and always together. However, one fateful day, her mother went out to the store, where she met a friend. After they had been talking for awhile, her mother began to change. It was only slight changes but it was noticeable to the child who noticed everything.
Her friend never wanted to leave her mother's side but she began to fear him and would pretend she wasn't home to get him to leave. One day the girl grew curious and she began to watch her mother more closely. Then she realized her mother was fighting a battle.
Her mother was becoming a Dark fairy, because that's what her friend had been. His name was Jordan, the news had said. He had ventured to the Dark relm after his wife died and had come back with a sickness. His light faded as anger and sadness engulfed him.
Soon after he began to look for a friend, for help. Mother tried to help him but instead she was dragged down by him. Her light was gone, replaced with a dark gloomy cloud. She was angry and would find any reason to scold the girl and her father. Their once loving home became a battlefield, a warzone that no army could obliterate.
Her father left, encouraging her to follow him. Alas, the girl thought her mother would get well. "As long as I stay here and wait patiently, Mother will see that I love her and be kind again," she told herself over and over. Some days it was easy to believe but other days those words left a sour taste on her tongue.
As time went on, the girl grew older, as did all the Light fairies. Her light was like a broken lamp. It would shine dimly some days and not shine at all on other days. The relm began to talk, saying that her mother was to blame, that the darkness was spreading and would engulf them all.
Still, the girl trudged on, hoping her mother would see one day how much she loved her. Her motto became, "A lie can become a truth if said enough." She smiled as much as she could, even though everyone could tell it was a painful smile full of anger and fear.
Soon the girl realized her mother was gone, never to return. The hope she once held was gone, replaced by anger. Mother left, she didn't leave a note, not even a number to call.
She grew silent as her light faded into darkness. She was like Mother, a shell of a fairy with no idea how to fix her light. Voices rang in her ears during all hours. Finally, the Light grew tired of the girl. They banished her to the Dark relm, where she could be a dark fairy for eternity.
They didn't know how to restore the light she once had and didn't want to jeopardize their own light. The Dark relm was full of monsters. It was full of voices without faces and creatures without voices. The Dark was a place you could only imagine in your worst nightmare.
Voices rang in her head. "You're alone." "No one loves you." "You're ugly, fat, worthless." "You're a burden on everyone." "It's your fault Mother couldn't get well. You should have tried harder." "You're annoying, stupid. Too stupid for this family." "You're a failure." She cried as she believed each lie. She had heard them all before, the lies that erupted from her own mind. She didn't know how to calm them.
She looked around but couldn't find a trace of any Light fairy. She wanted to go home. "Home is gone. You lost it. It's your fault it's gone." the voices said. The girl grew tired of the voices, tired of the Dark, and tired of being alone. "Hello? Can anyone here me? Hello? Please! I want to go home!" she called as she felt the tears fall from her eyes and onto the dark ground.
In her tears she saw a glow, much like her own glow. "It was so easy to end up here, so why is it so hard to go back?" She asked herself. "Because you can never go back." the voice replied. As she focused on the voice, she realized, it was her own. Everywhere she looked, monsters and gouls surrounded her. They all pointed at her as the voice said, "Your fault! You did this! Your weakness destroyed the family!"
The girl dropped to her knees and cried. "You cry too much. Weakling." The world seemed to grow colder as the girl hugged her knees closer to her. Suddenly, she looked up and the monsters began to move aside. Standing in front of her were Light fairies. There was a beautiful brown haired fairy with emerald eyes, Esmerelda, her friend. Behind her stood another brown haired girl with shimmering golden eyes. It was Mya, a girl whom everyone had picked on in school. Next to her stood a young boy with fiery red hair and brown eyes, whom she had only glanced at in the halls yet never knew his name.
However, behind them all, stood her father. She smiled her brightest smile as her light began to glow. They embraced her. "You're safe now." Esmerelda said, taking her hand and pulling her away from the monsters. The voice in her head grew angry. "You'll never escape the Dark. The Dark always wins! You'll die just like the others, by your own hand, driven by me!" She covered her ears with her hands. The group trudged on, all ignoring the angry screams of the voices around them.
"Just keep going. They're all lies. They seem true now, but they're as fake as the plastic quarters we played with as kids," Mya explained. The girl hugged herself and pressed onward, through her doubt and hurt. Before she knew it, she was back in the Light.
"Are you ok?" the boy asked. "I'm fine. Thank you. Thank you all!" she exclaimed as she hugged them all again. "Just don't make a habit of that." Esmerelda joked. The girl laughed. "We're here when you need us." Mya said, squeezing the girl's hand. She smiled. Together, the fairies walked the girl home as they all departed.
"It's ok now." her father said. She hugged him as tightly as she could, as if letting go would result in her demise. The girl looked up to see a beautiful Light fairy coming towards her.
"Mother!" she exclaimed.
"I'm so sorry my sweet girl," Mother cried, hugging the girl for the first time in years.
"I was so alone Mother," The girl whispered.
" You are never going to be alone again," Mother said with certainty. The girl lit up like a Christmas tree. Her light shone brighter than it had since she was born.
The girl finally understood. The Dark was always inside her, it's inside everyone. You just have to learn to embrace it, and then trudge on without it.