The dew from the evening’s fog rolls down the belly of overturned leaves. Madeline Burclen walked through this magical land. Madeline Burclen was most definitely and most certainly not a bad girl and would never ever hurt a fly. Her fingers were alway soft and gentle her steps were always graceful and careful. Madeline Cossette Burclen appeared to be perfect, Her clothes were always in style and her grades were always A+, but her parents were never with her. They always seemed to be absent and she was given the duty care for her little brother and clean her home. Madeline was very young, she was only 15, she still had many years before she should have been forced to settle down and Madeline was always very curious and it always got her into trouble. Madeline’s curiosity came from her longing for a childhood and the curiosity that comes with it. This time her curiosity brought her to a forest. A magical, glistening forest. She found this forest while taking her usual morning stroll. She was walking along the prairie where her house sat. She had found a stick, this stick was not normal. It was crooked and covered in some type of lichen. It did not belong in the prairie where she stood. The sparkling dew and vibrant moss, drew her in, she wanted, no, needed to discover what was in this forest to make it so vibrant compared to the dull trees anywhere else in her small town of Coeur D'Coeur. Step after step into the forest awakened her senses in a new and alarming way. The smell of flowers, not explainable by any human. The sweetness too sweet to put into words. Mosses and Grasses and leaves every color imaginable. Vermilions, verdigris greens, cattleyas, gamboges. Bright and cheery colors. The most unusual colors, so delightful and so vivacious. Little birds flew every which way, their sound vibrated through her eardrums. As she walked further and further into the heart of the forest she noticed movement out of the corner of her eyes, before she could turn and discover who this person was there was nothing but the sparkle of the sun. This happened many times and many times there was nobody there to catch. Madeline soon convinced herself she was just imagining this and just began ignore the feeling of being watched.
She continued her journey through the pillowy moss. The dew began to sparkle more than ever and the little flies all around became sparkles floating in the breeze. Almost instantly the world changed, as if she walked through a portal to a new world not visible from the outside. Solitary houses made of moss and leaves sewn together in a stiff wallpaper stood, waiting the appearance of any passer by. More of these sticks were found on the ground. Owls, squirrels and birds carried foods and garments throughout this magical world. Madeline never was surprised or confused but this time she was. What was this magical world? Peppermint curled up into a ball on her shoulder, but Madeline’s fear didn’t stop her. She continued to walk through this unknown world. Up ahead she saw what seemed to be a market place, but that wasn’t surprised her the most, the marketplace was filled with fairies.
The fairies wings were light and flowy, as if they were silky butterfly wings blowing in the breeze. There faces were dainty and fresh, they had a glow and a sparkle to them. They appeared to be perfect, but looked like they had a secret hidden behind the shimmer in their eyes. There hair was flowy and shiny, every head bobbed with a different color. Blues, purples, pinks and oranges. There clothes were all form fitting and light almost ghostly. The marketplace was filled with fairies chatting over freshly baked scones and contemplating purchases that they would soon decide to make. Madeline was so confused and shocked, this world was, was, crazy. It was different. It was real! She had to pick her chin off her simple striped turtleneck. The vendors all had smiling from cheek to cheek and always seemed to see a familiar face. Each face had the glimmer of a secret. Every vendor sold something different, from dresses to baked goods to flowers. As Madeline walked farther into the marketplace she began to draw attention to herself. Curious glances made her feel self conscious and weird. She felt so self conscious. She never had felt so open and exposed in her life before. Before Madeline had the time to ask one of these fairies what this crazy world was, an enormous amount of strength pushed Madeline into a nearby alley. She untangled herself from her hair that had been pushed on her face and looked up to find a face staring at her. She had purple, grey hair that was cut into a cute pixie bob around her face. Her long purple gown flowed around her fair skinned legs. Her eyes had a sparkle to them that made you feel like old friends even if you had never met her. She held her hand out to help me up. Madeline look frightened by this gentle creature, but gladly accepted the help.
“Hi, I’m Lavender.” She stuck out her hand once more. Her dainty fingers embraced Madeline’s. Her eyes gleamed, it was no friendly gleam, it was creepy and secretive. It matched all the glares that she had seen in the past moments. Before Madeline could simply utter her name Lavender spoke again.
“Here’s the deal, you need to put on this dress and follow me.” The light yellow, soft fabric felt like sunshine on Madeline’s arms, as she walked the flowy fabric made her feel like she was flying. Madeline didn’t have time to thank Lavender before she was pushed away once more. This time she was pushed into one of the houses. As she stepped in the air smelled like sugar and flowers. Lavender sat Madeline down on a giant toad stool and began to talk.
“I know this may be a little weird for you, but you need to stay calm. This is all you need to know. We are fairies, you are humans. We are a myth to you and you are a myth to us and it’s better it stays that was.”
“Then how do you know that i’m a human?”
“Just let me finish, I will explain. So our world --the fairy world-- is a secret to your world as yours is to us. The world need to remain like this for the safety of both of our people. We have never found each other because we were both taught that curiosity killed the cat. I am a very curious person, as I assume you are. I also discovered your world. This is what happened.

It was October 31st around 7:30 and the dark was just rolling in. Just like any night I began to take my usual evening stroll through the forest. This particular night my mind was racing so I took an extra long walk. As I walked with my lantern I noticed the vibrant colors fading as I walked farther. They forrest become more vague and more vague and less dense and less dense until I was in a field. My cat killing curiosity told me to keep on walking. I found houses made out of weird materiel and little kids running around. They all were wearing funny clothes and knocking on peoples doors. Then the doors would open and a person would something in these bags they had. It was really weird. I knew I was somewhere I shouldn’t be and then soon realized the “myths” of humans and halloween were correct. I was lucky I didn’t get recognized while sprinting as fast as I could back to my house. I then vowed never ever to go back to the human land ever again. When I say you wandering around aimlessly I knew you must be human, so he we are. Now just remember one thing. You can never go back. I know you human, you can’t keep a secret for very long, your lips are like butter.”
“But, I need I want to go home.” Madeline’s eyes became watered with tears. She thought of all the people she would miss, her mother, her papa, even her pesky little brother. Peppermint hugged around my neck, I brushed my face against his and gave him a quick peck on the forehead. This would be her life. A single tear rolled down her cheek blotting her beautiful dress. Lavender saw the sadness.
“Wait, you can leave if you prove you are worthy.”
“Anything.” Madeline’s voice was filled with hope.
“You have to stay here for a 3 days without telling anyone that you are a human, it may seem easy but this task is harder than you think.” Madeline felt confident. She would do anything to go back to her loving family at home.

Madeline slept on a couch in Lavender's little house. The sheets were as soft as a flower petal and her pillow feathery and light. As she floated into a dream world she thought of her mother smiling as bright as the sun and sweet as sugar. She thought of her father holding her hands and hugging her tight, squeezing away all her fears. She even thought of her annoying little brother and how she almost missed his annoying screaming. Madeline felt like she had slept for ages. She woke up to the sunlight in her eyes and the smell of what seemed to be honey. She walked out of the living room and into the kitchen. Lavender stood at the stove flipping what seemed to be purple pancakes. She saw a plate and a glass of orange juice on the table, the table looked like any other wooden table except for the fact that there were vines growing all around it. Now that she looked harder there were vines growing everywhere. Even the couch had vines hugging the pillows the plush heart of the couch. It was more cryptic than charming. The vines looked like they would grab you if Madeline was to sit anywhere near them. Lavender waved her hand out to the chair, inviting madeline to sit. Madeline slowly walked to the table and gingerly sat down on the chair. A plate with steaming purple pancakes was placed in front of her. Lavendar must have saw her confusion.
“They’re my specialty,” Madeline realized her hunger and began to eat the pancakes. They were, weird for the lack of a better word. They had the same hidden quality that she had seen in the fairies eyes.
“You never told me your name,” Lavender asked with a smile on her face.
Madeline washed her pancakes down with orange juice and stuck out her hand. Madeline was grateful to taste something to close to home.
“I’m Madeline Burclen.” She answered hastily.
“Oh wow what a name!” Lavender exclaimed, surprised by the quick response.
“Well Madeline Burclen, you have got your work cut out for you!” Lavender exclaimed. Madeline began ask what she meant, but quickly realized that she had to stay in this crazy world for three more days. She also had to not tell anyone she was human, which she thought was easy but Lavendar made it very clear that it was not as easy as it seems. Madeline began to walk out the door, her curiosity had taken the better of her. Before she made it all the way out, Lavender grabbed her arm. Her fingers were cold and harsh.
“You were just going to walk outside like that? What have I told you? No one can know you’re a human!”
“Oops!” Madeline chuckled, she was very grateful Lavender caught her because if she hadn’t Madeline could have never been able to go home. She thought of how crazy it was that one little thing can change your life forever. Her curiosity put her into a situation where she could lose everything. Madeline was now determined now, more than ever. Lavender handed her some fake wings. They looked very close to real ones. Madeline slipped them on.
“Ok, you’re set to go” Lavender said with a sigh of relief. Madeline walked out the door, and down the road to the marketplace that she discovered just the day before. As she walked through this busy street she was greeted with smiling faces. She felt like she fit in here. She wished her mother could see this, she wished she was with her mother.

Madeline was proud of herself, she made it halfway through the day without revealing her secret. She survived a baby almost pulling the makeshift wings of and a wing shiner almost seeing the straps where the wings wrapped around her shoulders. She finally sat down at a small cafe to avoid any other mishaps. As she sat she observed the passing people. She saw so many different looking people with all different colors of wings and hair, any color you could imagine: red, pink, blue and even silver. The next thing she saw surprised her, a couple holding hands were strolling through the marketplace. As she looked up her life became so much more confusing. It was her parents. Her very own parents. The people who made her pancakes in the morning and seeped her tea. She was so shocked she didn’t even know what was happening. She stood up and ran over to them. When they saw their daughter standing in front of them there mouth made perfect little circles. Just as shocked as Madeline all they could mutter was.
“How?”
Madeleine's parents guided her over to where she previously was sitting. Madeline’s father sighed and began to talk.
“Okay, I know this is very confusing for you, but before we tell you anything you need to tell us what you’re doing here” He spoke in a hushed tone. She told them everything. It just jumped out of her mouth, her word filter had been turned of. As she spoke they both just nodded their heads. A motion untranslatable. Madeline finished her story.
“Now your turn.” Her voice was scared but adamant. She awaited the story that would change her life.
Her parents let all there breath out, and then announced.
“We are fairies.” They continued to spoke, but Madeline only heard a couple of words.
“.. so sorry...”
“....why we are always gone....”
“......so sorry....”
“....you are a fairy......”
“.....stay forever....”
It’s crazy how one little thing can change your life forever.