A FAIRYTAIL..PART3
BARBARA SMITH
aa-ma,
Daa-da. The large blue eyes of the child stared at her intently as he watched
her mouth shape the sound of the words. His own mouth was slightly ajar and a small
dribble of saliva ran down his chin unnoticed, as he concentrated on the face
before him.
Stella
felt a rush of love for this beloved child of hers. If only he would talk.
“Is
your mum giving you the third degree again Harry?” The baby’s eyes slid sideways,
his face breaking into a huge smile, displaying two tiny teeth nestling in his
lower gum. He stretched out his chubby arms towards the figure emerging from
the bushes.
“Oh,
hello Mildred,” Stella greeted the small being approaching them.
The
fairy had become almost part of the family, ever since the day that Henry had
discovered her living in his garden and she had been instrumental in bringing
he and Stella together.
Mildred’s
appearance was bizarre as usual. Her sense of colour and style was non-existent.
Stella had been taken aback by her first meeting with the fairy, expecting
gossamer and lace, instead of a scarlet mini-skirt and luminous purple boob
tube.
Henry
thought that Mildred was wonderful and spent a lot of his time down in the old
summerhouse, where Mildred lived with her husband, a hapless gnome called
Norman
The
fairy tottered towards them, the heels of her silver stilettos hampering her
progress, as they sank into the soft soil with every step.
Harry
crawled towards her eagerly, like his father he adored Mildred.
“Whoa!”
she laughed as she collapsed onto the blanket and the baby fell upon her.
Stella
smiled as she watched the pair. Harry lay on his back chuckling heartily as
Mildred tickled him.
After
awhile she sat up and pulled the baby to his feet. He clung onto her shoulder
gently fingering the folded wings on Mildred’s back.
“Still
no luck then?” the fairy asked.
Stella
gave another sigh. “No. He’s ten months old; surely he should be able to say a
couple of intelligible words by now. I took him to the doctor last week. I
thought maybe there was something wrong with his hearing.”
“And
what did he say?”
“Same
as you and Henry really. His hearing is fine and he will talk when he’s ready.”
“See!
Anyway he does talk; you just can’t understand what he says. Believe me, when
he’s got something important to say it will come out loud and clear. Perhaps if
he had a playmate it would help him along a bit? That’s what I came to tell you
really, that he is going to get one--- a playmate that is”
“Really,”
Stella sounded a bit bemused.
“Yeess,”
Mildred drew out the word and inclined her face towards Stella, as if prompting
a response. Stella stared at her blankly for a few seconds and then the penny
dropped.
“Really!
Oh Mildred how wonderful, when are you due?”
“Hold
on a bit,” the fairy held up her hands in protest. “ I’m not 'due' at all. We
fairies have a better arrangement than you lot.”
“
Oh,” Stella was taken aback. “ Well how do you---, you know?”
“The
first bit is the same, wouldn’t want to miss out on the fun, would we?” Mildred
winked. “ After that it’s up to the elf. He has to lay this little egg. That’s
one of the reasons I came over. Norman’s in the process and his screeching was
really getting on my tits.”
“Oh
poor Norman!” Stella looked horrified.
“Poor
Norman my ass! It’s only a little egg for God’s sake, to hear him caterwauling
you would think he was parting with the Titanic or something.”
"Still,
it can't be pleasant for him," said Stella.
"Pleasant!
It's not bloody pleasant for me, listening to him keep going on about his
sodding bag."
"His
bag?" Stella looked confused.
"Oh--
the egg has to grow a bit after it's laid and the elves usually knit themselves
a little bag to keep it in, until it's big enough for hatching. I think he has
shown me every bloody stitch, boring or what?"
"Well
I think you are too hard on him, he's a lovely little chap."
"Yeah,
well you don't have to live with him, do you?" Before they could disagree
further, Harry changed the subject for them. Leaning his face in front of
Mildred’s, he unleashed a string of gibberish then looked at her solemnly, as
if awaiting a reply.
"Oh
really!" Mildred laughed, having failed to understand a word he said.
*****
Unusually
for a British summer, the weather continued to be sunny and hot and a few days
later Stella strapped Harry intro his pushchair for a walk in the nearby woods.
On the way she would call in on Mildred and Norman.
“If
I hear one more word about that bloody egg I will wrap it round your sodding
neck Norman!” Mildred’s voice carried to Stella as she rounded the bushes.
Norman
was sitting in the shade of a tree looking sullen. Clutched in his arms was a
bag, which appeared to have been knitted from leftover bits of wool. His face
brightened when he saw Stella
“Have
you come to see the egg?” he looked like an eager little puppy.
Mildred
was sunbathing, resplendent in a multicoloured bikini. Her eyes were closed
against the glare of the sun. She opened one eye at Norman’s words and sat up
when she saw Stella.
“Oh
thank you God.” She raised her arms to the sky. “An intelligent being at last.”
Norman shot her a venomous look, as his fingers grappled with the cord holding
the bag closed. Finally he had it open and proudly held it out for her to look
inside.
Stella
drew in her breath at what she saw. Nestling in the bottom lay a silvery grey
egg, about half as large again as a duck egg. What made her gasp was its
beauty. The silvery surface gleamed as it caught the light, reflecting tiny
pinpoints of rainbow sparkle.
“Oh,
it’s beautiful Norman, when will it hatch?”
“Well
it’s already doubled in size. So it should be within a week. It is quite
beautiful isn’t it,” he said with pride. “It was worth all the pain.”
“Was
it really bad?” Stella sympathised.
“Terrible,”
he whispered.
“Oh,
for God’s sake don’t get him stared on his suffering! What a wimp! Other elves
do it every day so it can’t be as bad as he tries to make out.”
“Well
maybe you ought to try it next time,” Norman retorted.
“If
I did Norman, I’m sure I would make a quieter job of it than you.” The fairy’s
voice was heavy with sarcasm and Norman’s face filled with anger. Stella jumped
in to diffuse the situation.
“Harry
and I are off for a walk in the woods. Why don’t you two come along?”
*****
The
shade of the trees was pleasantly cool. Mildred ran around the pushchair,
playing peek-a-boo with Harry, while a truculent Norman followed silently
behind them.
Stella
glanced round at him. He was walking with his head down. He had slung the long
handle of the knitted bag over his head and every few seconds he peeped inside
it to check the egg. Poor Norman, Mildred was too hard on him and he was such a
sweet little chap.
They
strolled on for a while, enjoying the shade afforded by the canopy of trees.
Mildred was chatting about the forthcoming hatching of the egg and Harry was
almost asleep when a strangled cry from Norman made them turn as one.
For
a moment Stella couldn’t work out what was going on. Norman’s face resembled a
ripe plum and the colour was deepening with every second. The bag, which had
previously hung easily at his waist, was beneath his chin and appeared to be
throttling him.
A
raucous cackle made Stella look up. A gaggle of crows had caught up the strap
on the bag and were dragging Norman backwards Mildred gave a blood-curdling
scream and ran towards the helpless Norman, just as his feet left the ground.
His cry of terror was cut short as his back slammed into the trunk of a tree.
The birds released their grip on the strap, which snagged on a truncated branch
leaving the elf dangling a few feet off the ground.
“Bastard
crows! Shitheads.!” Mildred scaled the tree like a monkey, hurling abuse at the
crows that were observing from the adjacent trees. Their cawing sounded like
cruel laughter. Harry watched silently as Stella ran to take up Norman’s weight
while Mildred unhooked the strap.
“The-the
egg,” stuttered Norman, as Stella lowered him to the ground. His fingers
trembled with the cord and the two of them peered worriedly inside. Stella
sighed with relief, as the softly glowing egg was revealed unscathed.
Mildred
scrambled down the tree and threw her arms around Norman.
“It’s
all right now baby,” she crooned, as a large tear ran down the elf’s face.
“I’ll kill the bastards if they touch you again”.
Stella
watched the pair in amazement. Before the walk she could have sworn that they
hated each other, now here they were acting like lovebirds, you just never
knew.
*****
The
following Sunday Stella rose early. Henry’s parents were coming for tea. She
got on well with the couple and Henry’s dad was really sweet, but Stella always
felt that her mother-in-law was judging her. It was nothing specific, just
small comments that made her feel inadequate. Henry said she was imagining it,
but it made her feel insecure, as if she were not quite up to her role as wife
and mother. Today she was determined that everything would be perfect.
By
lunchtime she had everything prepared for the meal and felt she could relax in
the garden for a few hours. But it wasn’t to be. No sooner had she collapsed
into the deck chair, than a loud ‘Yoo Hoo’ came from the bushes and Mildred and
Norman appeared.
“Look
who we’ve brought,” gesturing to Norman who was carrying something in his arms.
“Has
it hatched?” Stella rose from the chair and hurried towards Norman. She gasped,
in his arms was the most exquisite child she had ever seen.
“Oh
Mildred she’s gorgeous!” Stella said as Norman handed her the infant.
“Henry!
Come and see,” she called as her husband appeared with Harry.
The
baby could have been a miniature version of Mildred. Tight black curls ringed
the tiny heart shaped face and her skin was almost translucent.
“She
doesn’t look newborn at all,” said Stella, as the child smiled up at her.
“I
keep telling you Stella, we fairies arrange things a lot better than you
humans. Who wants to go through all the fiddly bits, like potty training and
all that? We arrive fully equipped, it’s easier that way.”
“Hello”
Stella jumped as the child spoke to Harry, who was gazing at her raptly. He
reached out and touched the baby’s cheek gently, then giggled with excitement.
“Can
I get down now and play with Harry? Asked the little creature. “Of course,”
said a bemused Stella, helping the child onto the grass. Harry wriggled in
Henry’s arms, wanting to be put down as well and soon the pair were playing
happily.
“What
will you call her?” asked Henry.
“Gertrude,
definitely.” Stella and Henry glanced at each other. Fairies might be well in
advance of humans, but when it came to naming their beautiful children they
didn’t seem to have a clue.
Henry
brought a bottle of sparkling wine from the house and the four of them toasted
the safe arrival of Gertrude.
The
time flew past and it was only the sound of Henry’s parents approaching in
their car, which alerted them to how late it was.
“Oh
my God!” squealed Stella. “I’m not even changed yet!”
The
three fairies quickly took their leave, Stella and Henry were the only humans
who knew of their existence and they were eager to keep it that way.
*****
The
day was just right for eating outside. The meal had gone well and Stella was
beginning to relax. Henry was in deep conversation with his father. Henry’s
mother was sitting on the grass with Harry, trying to remove the ice cream
smeared around his mouth. Smiling, Stella watched from the comfort of a
deckchair.
The
heat of the day had settled to pleasant warmth and everything seemed perfect.
Harry
struggled away from his grandmother’s attention and staggered his first few
steps across the grass.
“Clever
boy!” cried Stella sitting up in her chair. But Harry ignored the praise. He
was too busy staring at something overhead. That was when he uttered his first
intelligible words. Small fist raised to the sky, he said quite clearly.
“
Bloody bastard crow, kill!”