𝐒𝐮𝐤𝐮𝐧𝐚 𝐆𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚

A Lone Champion

The unknown fairy child fell silent for a moment, then explained, "I don't really like playing with them. They're too old for me. I prefer playing with kids my own age." Faban was momentarily taken aback but eventually responded,

"Oh... okay."

They remained silent for several minutes, the atmosphere between them growing increasingly awkward. Finally, the unknown fairy child mustered the courage to ask Faban,

"So, can we play with your shadow puppets again?"

They resumed playing, losing track of time until they realized it was already afternoon. The caretaker of the Aether Glimmer orphanage called all the children inside for dinner.

At night, Faban went to sleep with a sense of happiness because he finally had peers to play with. He was no longer alone, as Shimmer was now by his side. The next day, Faban and Shimmer met again at their secret hiding place.

Despite only knowing each other for a week, Faban and Shimmer were inseparable, as if they had been friends since infancy. The caretaker of the Aether Glimmer Orphanage couldn't help but smile at the close bond between the two fairy children who had lost their families.

The caretaker was glad that Faban had found a close friend in the orphanage. However, amidst Faban's joy, some children in the orphanage felt left out.

They believed that the caretaker favoured Faban and neglected them because of Faban's actions.

One day, while Faban and Shimmer were playing near their hiding tree, a group of older children from the orphanage forcefully grabbed Shimmer's hand while she was sitting next to Faban.

"Hey, let go of me!" Shimmer exclaimed as she was being pulled.

"What are you guys doing to Shimmer?!" Faban asked in surprise.

"Now, it's our turn to play with Shimmer! Stay away, Faban!" said one of the senior fairy children, trying to separate Shimmer from Faban.

"I don't even want to play with you guys! So let go of me!" Shimmer protested.

"Why do you even want to play with this loser? He's useless! He has wings but he can't even fly!" one of the seniors said to Slimmer. Faban's eyes welled up with tears when he heard the hurtful comments.

He was used to being excluded by the other children at the orphanage, but this time they were being openly cruel, right in front of his new best friend, Shimmer.

Shimmer couldn't bear to see Faban being taunted and shouted,

"I don't care if he can't fly! I bet if he could, he'd be the fastest flyer out of all of you!" The older children at the orphanage burst into laughter at Shimmer's outburst. One of the older fairy children with green wings sneered,

"Him being the fastest flyer? That's the funniest joke I've heard all day!"

Faban's tears streamed down his face as he hung his head low, each droplet hitting the ground. Shimmer, witnessing this, felt her anger intensify. In a fit of fury, she lashed out at the seniors without considering her words.

"I'm sure if Faban could fly, he would beat all of you as the fastest flyer!"

The seniors erupted in laughter, mocking Shimmer's ignorance. They reminded her that Faban couldn't fly and scoffed at the idea of him surpassing their years of experience. Sneering at Shimmer, the senior child with red wings made the others join in the mockery. Defending Faban, Shimmer shouted,

"I can teach him to fly!"

This only fueled the laughter of the senior orphanage children. The child of one of the seniors with green wings jeered,