Chapter Eight
(World of Man)
James stood in his kitchen slowly sipping his morning coffee. He hadn’t slept since the disappearance of his wife Katie, three days ago. His friends and family told him that he was crazy because he kept going on and on about Katie. They said she was not real and he was never married.
“I know you’re a little lonely, James, and haven’t had a date in three years. But to make up a wife is just crazy. Maybe you should see a therapist or something. Listen, my wife has this friend Jenny, really nice girl, maybe I can arrange something with the two of you, what do you think?” His friend Jerry once asked him.
“No, I only want Katie. Just leave me alone for a while.” He said.
James knew they were wrong. He remembered her long silky brown hair and her bright green eyes. Her eyes would light up a room when she entered it. Along with her infectious laughter, she was the perfection of a woman, in his eyes.
Looking back, he had wished that he had spent more time with her, instead of always thinking about work. He wished he had kissed her more, held her more and told her he loved her more. When he found her again, he would spend every moment with her as if it were his last.
She couldn’t have just disappeared, and why did everyone but him forget about her? Would he ever see her again? Did someone take her? He asked himself these questions over and over. All the pictures he had of her, the wedding videos, her clothes, all disappeared when she did.
He sipped his coffee again and looked dimly out the window. A humming bird hovered around the window, sipping some red liquid out of the bird feeder. He watched the bird fly from one side of the feeder to the other. Soon the bird had its fill and flew off over the trees. Katie loved to watch the humming birds, he thought to himself. He pictured her looking out the window smiling excitedly at the hummingbirds and calling him over to see it, too. He would never come over; he always said he was busy working. I should have made more time for her.
He finally decided that it would be up to him to save his beloved wife. He would try to follow the last steps she took the day she disappeared. He put his empty cup in the sink and began to write down the things she usually did during the course of her day.
He knew that she packed her backpack in the early morning and always walked to work. If she did make it to work that day, she would eat lunch on the playground. He knew he would have to wait until dark to look for clues at her work, when the school would be closed. When the sun went down, he would be ready.
The hours seemed to drag on forever, until the sun fell slowly over the horizon. James left his house and walked down the hill. He took the same route that Katie walked everyday on her way to work. He looked closely for anything of hers she may have dropped on the way. There was a slight chill in the air as he walked under the streetlights, looking closely to the ground. He held his arms closer to himself in hopes of keeping warm.
When he arrived at the school, he slowly opened the gate and then closed it just as cautiously, behind him. He didn’t want to draw any attention to himself, since he was walking onto private property. The dark playground was slightly lit by the pale glow of the moon. He knelt down on the ground, and brushed his hands over the cool grass, desperately trying to find something of Katie’s. He did this for an hour with no luck. He slammed his fists to the ground.
“Why? Why is this happening?” He yelled, now not caring who heard him. He sat on the grass with his head in his lap. He began to feel like this was a lost cause. None of his friends or family believed him about Katie. If he went to the police, they would just try to put him in a mental institution. He sighed again as a small tear rolled down his cheek and into his lap. He wiped off his wet cheek and looked over at the bushes. Lights started to form in a particular part of the bushes. Suddenly he heard a voice. “James…” The voice whispered.
James jumped up. Now I really have lost it, he thought.
“James…please come to the bushes.” The voice said in a haunting, almost eerie way.
“What? Am I going crazy? Did someone call my name?” James asked aloud.
“Yes, James. Come into the bushes. Follow the light, Katie needs your help.” The haunting voice said.
“Katie! You know where she is? Take me to her!” James yelled, desperately.
“Come to the light, James. Follow the light.” James did as the voice said and crawled into the bushes. Lights twinkled all around him as if he had climbed into a Christmas tree. Suddenly, a bright light flashed and James covered his eyes with his arm. When he removed his arm, he looked around to see the bushes were gone. He stood in a large field of grass with huge flowers. It was hard to see, since the street lights were gone, and the moon seemed different than what it was, only moments ago. He turned back to look at the playground, but it was gone.
“Hello? Who are you? Where’s Katie?” James yelled into the night. He heard an animal howl in the distance. Suddenly, a voice from behind made him fall over.
“Welcome to Atheness, James.”
James looked up to see a beautiful woman standing in the moon light. He sat puzzled, to see that she had wings like a butterfly.
“We have been watching you for a long time. You weren’t supposed to remember Katie. We don’t understand love as much as we thought. Your undying love for Katie is so strong, that even though the world changed while you slept, you didn’t. We soon realized that your determination to find her couldn’t be stopped. You would die trying to find her, wouldn’t you?” The woman said.
“Yes, I would. Where is she? I must go to her, is she near?” James asked the woman. “Who are you, anyway?”
“I am Adrianna, the Queen of the Butterfly Fairies. Katie is on a mission to save our world. I am sorry to take her away from you. She is not alone on her journey, but I’m afraid she may not finish her first mission in time. She has many items to find, but she is running out of time. I need your help, as well.” Queen Adrianna said, as she helped James up.
“What kind of creatures kidnaps an innocent girl, and forces her to go on a mission, for creatures that don’t even live in the same world as she does? Don’t you have people to fight your own battles? I assume I’m not on my own planet, since you’re a fairy. Or I really did lose it.” James said, becoming very angry.
“James, you are on earth, just a different realm. Katie wasn’t kidnapped; she willingly went into the bushes, as you did. She also willingly agreed to go on this mission. She is on her way to visit the mermaids, if you would like to find her.”
“Yes, I would. I’m going to find her and take her home. If I know my wife, she is going to want to go home as soon as she sees me. So, I’m not going to help you on your little crusade. Just point me in the right direction and I’ll be on my way.”
“Very well, James. I understand, but I know you will change your mind, once you find her. If you would like, you can stay in our castle for the night. It is not safe making a journey like this one at night. Will you stay for one night? I can offer a warm bed and food.” Adrianna asked, very politely.
“I must find Katie.” James said with determination in his voice.
“It will be no use tonight. She may already be under the sea, by now. She will be safe in the mermaid village. You need not worry about her tonight. Come, stay with us just for the night.”
“What do you mean, she is under the sea? How is that safe?” James yelled at the fairy.
“James, you must understand this world is very different from yours. You must believe me when I say she is safe. I have my most trusted advisor with her to protect her. Now please, come and rest for the night.” Queen Adrianna asked, holding out her hand to James.
“How can I trust someone that’s not even human? Just show me which direction Katie is and I will be leaving.” James said, standing up.
“I can’t let you do that, James, not yet. You don’t know what is out there in the night. Katie is safe. You will see her again. Now I’m asking you again, follow me to the castle.” Adrianna said, as calmly as she could.
James sighed in defeat. “Very well, but once the sun comes up, I’m going to find Katie.”
When James was set up for the night, he was surprised to find that he fell right to sleep in the cotton bed. Maybe it was a fairy trick, or the fact that he knew that Katie might just be safe after all. He didn’t believe that she was really under the sea. How would that be possible? Then he remembered where he was, and realized that maybe anything can be possible in this strange land.