Unexpected Magic

One Intriguing Sign

Author's Note: This picture is from Chris Child of unsplash.com. This entry is for _Once_Upon's current and their contest in April. Please wish me luck! 

 It has been awhile since I saw Avery. The last time I saw Avery was at summer camp last year. We were all laughing for no reason whatsoever. That was when I overheard Jonah open his mouth.

"Avery, magic isn't real," he said, holding in a few snickers. 

"Magic is real and it is real to me!" Avery shouted back, "You guys don't understand! Fairies could be out there somewhere! Maybe even as fireflies concealing their true form." 

Jonah let out his last fits of laughter along with his "gang".

"You're hilarious, kid. No one will ever believe your "fairy tales"," He said and he walked out of the Mess Hall."

                                                                                                   ~

"Just ignore him, Avery. He is a joke, a corny and insulting one," I told him as we were in the shade of the swaying willow tree.

"But, Terrie. You heard Jonah," responded Avery.

"I know, but ignoring him is only the best way to handle the situation," I said, looking back to see Avery, only resulting just a field of plain grass instead. Where is he?

"All right, campers. Time to head down into the amphitheater for some good old fun," one of the counselors blared on the megaphone. We all headed down the hill, leaving me searching for Avery. It was only a few minutes that still made me tick, so I went along with a string of campers.

It took the rest of a fairy's hour to reach the amphitheater. The amphitheater had unstable wooden benches transforming into seesaws once the campers sit. Unsurprisingly, I sit next to Jonah, who sneered at me in response. The chattering was a maddening spiral as I tap my fingers onto the almost splintered wood in a repetitive motion.

As I scour my surroundings, all I see are fireflies disappearing once in a while. In a flash, Avery must have been chasing the light. I immediately got up and ran along. However, my steps gone to a stop, staring at an intriguing sign on a piece of wood: 1 Fairy Woods. There were a couple of amateur childlike illustrations below the words. Avery might have seen this. This must be some sort of prank, right?

I have to run along to find Avery, or else, it's too late. Anything can happen in a mundane summer camp. Heck, even near the forest of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Avery. mustn't. be. harmed. 

Besides, the Fairy woods might be a brutal place as many believers make it up to be. How do I know? I've been listening to a camper rambling to Avery on how fairies can be dangerous, of course. The only choice I have is to trust the fireflies to lead me unknowingly or to just give up (in which I find it to be a slice of pie). 

My guts assigned me to a mission to follow the fireflies and I accepted it. As I sprint along with the glow , a rocky path intertwined to reveal a polished golden yet almost scraggly road. This was going to be one brutal ride. 

My head ducked through twig-like branches of dead trees and my body dodged over falling trees in the way. This is not a game, I guess. However, my body seems to be draining like of those limited water ports. My foot limped over a dead tree without watching and ended up strangled with branches trying to hug me. And then, I fell along with my so-called perseverance to a shallow waterfall.

                                                                                            ~