The first snow came on a quiet evening, with a bright and clear sky. But the signs had been announced earlier as Lavender had observed. The sparrows were looking for shelter near the house's eaves, chirping loudly. The sky's been lit a few days before and even a few lightning bolts had crossed it without even a drop of rain. It was a sign that the snow was coming, she had announced with joy in her voice. The owl had sung in the grove near the cottage and many crows had gathered in black flocks, breaking the silence of the sky with their mournful grief. It was a sign that winter was going to be heavy, with a lot of snow and sharp blizzards.
When Ferry set off to Lavender's house, after a day of work, the first snowflakes began to fall light, soft and moist, melting as they touched the frozen ground. The hills had begun to turn white already. Ferry wrapped his mother's knitted scarf around his neck, and its softness made him warm up almost immediately as if a room with a fireplace would have been built around him to keep him out of the cold. And winter didn't seem so threatening all of a sudden.
But instead of heading to Lavender's house, the steps led him to his old house. He knew Andrew wasn't home. He had seen him at the mansion, in the game room, in the basement. His laughter and Billy's resonated throughout the house and in the surroundings. Ferry he was surprised that Billy's old friends were coming to the mansion ever more seldom. Instead, Andrew had become a permanent guest at the mansion. Sometimes, he stayed even overnight, in one of the many guest rooms. Ferry met him many times. Billy and Andrew were joking, laughing and seemed to be having a great time together. Andrew was always behaving just as a boy of his age should. Billy didn't seem to suspect anything about his dual nature. Or maybe it was just a well-kept secret. Their friendship seemed normal compared to the many strange things happening at the manor.
His thoughts scattered when he reached the front of the house. The front garden looked frozen and hidden under the snow that fell over the dead flowers. Ferry just wanted to get a twig from the jasmine bush in the back garden. He wanted to plant it in Lavender's garden, under his mother's window. Lately, her mother seemed sad, though she tried not to show it. But her eyes could not hide the sorrow in her soul.
Fortunately, the jasmine bush had resisted the cold and especially the digging in the garden. The twigs looked young. Ferry broke one of them, and carefully wrapped it in his handkerchief, then slipped it into his pocket.
He wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. That place was breaking his heart every time he visited. But then, he saw the back door open, inviting him in. He carefully went inside. If he didn't know what house he was in, he would have thought it was a foreign one. All the furniture was turned over, and a thick layer of dust covered everything. Ferry heard a noise coming from the kitchen, and his heart skipped a beat. He went on at an uncertain pace. There, among the dirty dishes, among the crumbs and stains that covered the floor and the table, he discovered his father. He had a troubled look on his face, his sight blurred by the steam of alcohol that surrounded him. Several empty bottles were thrown on the floor. In front of him was another one, half empty.
"Oh, it's you," he said in a husky voice when he saw Ferry. "I thought it was Andrew. He hasn't been home for days. And I don't blame him," he said, drinking up from the bottle. "Look at this place..."
Ferry felt his left side of the head pulsing. "What happened here?" he asked.
"Lily ... Mrs. Jones wanted to redecorate," Peter said in a low voice, avoiding looking at him.
"Redecorate?" Ferry raised his voice. "Look what's left of this house. If Mom would see this..."
"I know, I know," said Peter, shaking his head. "She doesn't deserve it ..."
"You don't deserve her!" said Ferry between clenched teeth.
"I know ..." said Peter, wailing. "I'm sorry ... I miss her. I want things to be as before."
Ferry shook his head, "No!" he said firmly. "Nothing will ever be as before. You ruined everything!"
His father sobbed, his head in his hands. "Please," he begged, "tell her that--"
"No!" Ferry repeated, this time louder. "I'm not going to tell her anything! And you will stay away from her!"
"Maybe she wants to come back, too," said Peter, looking at him, this time.
"She doesn't. I won't let her!"
Ferry felt his stomach clenching. He had to leave that place. In the night covered by the fresh snow, he ran as fast as he could, with the cold creeping under his clothes. But he didn't care. He had to be as far away as possible from that place.
When he reached the outskirts of the town, he had a strange feeling. He stopped and looked behind. Something was following him. It was a black dog, the largest he knew — Mrs. Jones's dog. Without thinking twice, he took flight and stopped only when he reached Lavender's cottage.
*
That Christmas was going to be different. The most beautiful Christmas his mother ever had. He had planned everything, in the smallest details, along with his friends, both humans and fairies.
From the extra hours as a gardener, he had set aside some money and bought an old book he had found at his antique shop. It was a rare book, the antiquarian had told him, a romantic love story with a happy ending. Ferry had been very determined about that. The book was called Magical Love and had been written under a pseudonym, the seller also told him. This was because the identity of the author had never been known. The old antiquarian suspected it was a woman, considering how cheesy the book was. It described the love between a woman and a magical creature. It seemed autobiographical, but it was fictional, of course, the seller assured him. Ferry thought it was perfect for his mother.
Then, he had convinced his friends to accompany him to the edge of the Shepherd's Forest (only to the edge of it) and find the perfect Christmas tree.
"But I thought fairies didn't cut trees," Matilda told him, following the path that Ferry was making in front of them through the snowdrifts. It had been constantly snowing over the past days, and the snow had grown high enough for people to go out with shovels to make paths through. The little children were almost invisible among the snowdrifts, on their way to the sleigh road.
"We won't cut down any tree," Ferry said, turning to her and pointing to the wooden hoe he was carrying on his shoulder. "We will dig out a small tree with roots and plant it in Lavender's garden. For Mom."
This time, Matilda didn't say anything. She smiled at him and nodded. Way behind them, there came Ben, lost in his thick, long coat, which had probably once belonged to his father.
"Come on, Ben, keep it up," shouted Matilda. "We don't want to get dark."
Ben tried to keep up but fell in the snow. For a moment, Ferry and Matilda didn't see him anymore and ran back to him.
It was quiet when they saw Ben's hand rising above the snow.
"I'm fine," he shouted. Then he headed to them, sweeping the snow with his long coat.
"Will you be coming to spend Christmas Eve at Lavender's?" Ferry asked his friends. "It is the first time my mother spends Christmas away from home, and I want it to be special."
"I can't," Ben excused himself. "I promised Steph that I would spend the evening with her family after the Christmas dinner at home."
"I can't either," Matilda said. "My mother found herself preparingalot of Christmas stuff and I don't want to miss that. She'd be very disappointed."
"Of course, I understand ..." said Ferry, though he wished with all his heart to have his best friends next to him on such an important night.
He wanted to tell them about the mysterious guest at the mansion. But the forest getting closer made him change his mind. The trees have ears and the wind mouths to carry the words away, Lavender used to say. So the three friends continued their way through the pristine snow. The weather was warm, even though heavy clouds covered the sky, extending downwards, almost reaching the tops of the trees.
He could hear Matilda behind him muttering about how she hated winter and waiting for the snow to melt so he can play football again. He didn't hate winter anymore. He couldn't say it was his favorite season (nothing seemed more beautiful to him than spring). But somehow, it didn't seem that cold. He was even looking forward to the first snow as little children did. The snow creaked under their boots and their voices sounded muffled as if talking inside a bottle.But now he watched the white landscape around. Something was moving in the snow ahead. He stopped and looked more closely. Something as white as the snow around it.
"What is it, Ferry?" asked Matilda who came close to him, followed closely by Ben.
Ferry showed them the footprints in the snow coming from the town. Ben looked at a fallen log that someone was sitting on. They all followed the footsteps, staying close to each other.When they got close enough to recognize the person, they stopped, not knowing whether to continue the road or not. That white silhouette was Celia Haughty. She wore a long fur coat of polar fox and a matching cap. She was sitting on the trunk, her face buried in her hands; she was sobbing.
Ben stepped closer and gently touched her shoulder. The girl hadn't even heard their footsteps. She winced at his touch. Then, she quickly wiped away her tears and looked up at him, "Ben, what are you doing here?" she asked, trying to regain the confidence everyone was used to. She didn't succeed because her voice was soft and gentle.
"Ferry is looking for a Christmas tree for his mother. Matt and I, we're helping."
"How nice," Celia said without any trace of malice in her voice.
Ferry and Matilda also came closer.
"Can I come with you?" she asked, raising from the tree trunk.
Matilda opened her mouth to protest, but Ben rushed to answer, "Of course. It's okay for Celia to come with us too, right, Ferry?"
Ferry didn't see anything against it.
"But--" Matilda protested.
"Come on, Matt, it's Christmas Eve. How bad can it be?" Ferry said placatory.
Matilda rolled her eyes and started ahead of them. Ferry hurried to join her, while Ben and Celia tried to keep up with them.
Ferry looked at Matilda with the corner of his eye. The girl walked with a firm pace, frowned and determined. She didn't wear knitted caps like the other girls in Goodharts, not even in the winter. Instead, she wore high-waisted pants and boots, made especially for her by her father, the shoemaker. She also wore a short coat that allowed her to walk easily. Practical was Matilda's favorite word when it came to fashion.
After a few moments, Matilda began to relax, having fun on Celia's expense who, trying to keep up with them, fell into the snow a couple of times. Ben, the gentleman he was, always rushed to help her get up and shake off the snow on her long fur coat.
"Good thing we don't have hunters around here," Matilda said. "Otherwise you would have been the hunted."
Celia pretended not to hear. She was telling Ben about the latest gossip in school. "And then Amanda McCloud and Will Barlow from the football team bought one ice cream, and they ate together at the same time. I mean, their mouths were this close, even touching while they were eating. And you know, that's practically kissing."
Matilda, who wasn't far enough from not hearing her, stopped in place and all the others were forced to stop with her.
"I don't think Ben is willing to hear who the whole football team is dating," she said to Celia.
Celia stepped closer to her, undisturbed. "I think Ben can speak for himself. And I don't think you three when you meet each other, talk about quantum physics." Then, looking at each one, she added, "Actually, what do you talk about when you are together? If I come to think of it, what do you have in common?" she asked suspiciously.
Matilda didn't answer, this time. Nobody did. That made Celia continue her interrogation, "Because I don't think you have anything in common. For instance, I don't see missy here gardening, as I don't see Ben playing football, just as I don't see Elf solving mathematical problems. So what brings you together?"
"It's not your business," Matilda snapped. "I'd rather not have anything in common with them and know that I can always rely on them rather than having everything in common and not having them around when I need to. And don't you ever call me missy!" she threatened, pointing her finger at Celia. Then, she set off to the forest.
Ferry hurried to catch up with her. Ben said something to Cecilia, and they soon caught up with them. They had been walking for a while without any of them saying a word.
At one point, Matilda was left behind, claiming she had snow in her boot. When Cecilia passed beneath a tall elm tree, Matilda quickly made a snowball that she threw into the snowiest branch of the tree. All the snow on the branch fell into Celia's head; the girl fell in the snow with a short scream. A snowball that came out of nowhere interrupted Matilda's laughter, aiming her head. It took Matilda a few seconds before she realized that the snowball had come from Ben.
"Ben, how could you do that? Traitor!" she shouted at him.
Ben didn't have the time to say or do anything because another snowball hit him in the head. Ferry was the one to throw it, this time. He laughed at Ben and shrugged. Soon, two teams were formed: Ferry and Matilda on one side, and Ben and Celia on the other. Snowballs were flying everywhere. The snow was fresh, and the snowballs scattered in a cold, sparkling dust every time they hit their target. Laughter and shouting came with every snowball thrown.Ferry almost forgot what they were there for, so much he enjoyed the snow fight. The croak of a bird flying somewhere above them reminded why they were there. Ferry didn't hide from the snowballs that were flying towards him.
"Everyone, we have to go. It'll be dark soon."
They all agreed. They didn't have to enter the forest. At the edge of it, as if it was expecting them, there was a pine tree, no taller than a short span.
Ferry tossed the snow aside, then carefully dug around it, being careful not to touch its roots. Everyone started digging around the pine tree with their bare hands. The roots were deep enough, so all four had to strive and, when they managed to remove the tree from the ground with its roots, they were all tired and full of dirt. Matilda had dirt on her nose and cheek, and Celia had soiled her impeccable fur coat. But she didn't seem to care too much about it.
Then, the boys tied the pine tree with ropes, and Ferry pulled him behind him. They started for the town, tired, dirty, but happy. Celia began to sing a Christmas carol, and the others joined her.Upon entering the town, their paths separated. Everyone had to get home.
"If you want, you can come to my place," Celia invited them. "We have plenty of food."
"I'm sorry," Ben said in a tone that really showed he was sorry, "but I have to get home, then see--"And Ben stopped, turning his gaze to the ground.
Celia smiled at him. "It's all right, Ben," she told him, then kissed him on the cheek. "Steph is a lucky girl. It was fun," she added, smiling at Ferry and Matilda.
Ben blushed to the tip of his ears; He wanted to say something, but then a black car stopped right next to them. The Haughty family's driver lowered and opened one of the rear doors of the car.
"Miss Haughty, get in, please," he said in a cold tone. "Your mother has been looking for you for hours."
Celia entered the car without saying a word. The car started for Haughty Mansion, leaving Ben behind. The boy seemed slightly saddened when he said goodbye to his friends.
"I must go, too," Matilda said wrapping her scarf around her neck. "It's late."
As soon as the darkness set in, the cold began, too. Matilda had a red nose and dirt stains on her cheek. Ferry came closer to her and wiped the dirt off her rosy cheek. The girl did not protest. She touched his hand that still touched her face and kept it there for a while.
"Thank you," she said, smiling at him with her eyes and her pretty lips.
"For what?" Ferry wonder.
"For today," she said and smiled that wide, big smile of hers only her friends knew. "Celia was right. It was fun," she added, then headed to her house a bit in a hurry; or so it seemed to him. He stood there for a while, looking behind her until she was out of his sight. Then, he started for Lavender's house, pulling the pine tree after him. The snow began to fall.
*
Christmas Eve was just as Ferry had imagined. While his mother was at the Pride's residence to help the preparations for the Christmas party, Ferry decorated the tree with his fairy friends. After planting it in the middle of the garden, Rosemary had adorned it with gingerbread, cookies, rosehip, wild berries, sugar-coated apples, and quinces. The garlands were made by Lavender out of popcorn. But the most beautiful Christmas ornament had been the soft, shining snow that fell around, sitting on the young branches of the tree. Rosemary lit blue flames that neither the wind nor the snow could extinguish. Fairy fires.
The table was loaded with the most delicious food. Lavender and Ferry's mother would prepare everyone's favorite dishes. In the middle of the table, there was a large, round, steaming loaf. Lavender had prepared all kinds of salads from the vegetables Parsley had been caring for the whole year, which they resisted until the snowfall: lettuce, arugula, spinach. Then, there came the baked potatoes with butter and sweet cream. Grilled mushrooms with wild garlic with all kinds of spices sprinkled over. Then, it was the turn of the dessert: plum pudding, blueberry tart, and apple pie. In the end, Eileen Donovan had prepared a cake with berries and sweet cheese.Ferry had prepared a gift for each of his friends: new wool for Lavender, a beautifully carved spear for Thyme, a bag for gathering plants for Rosemary, a wooden trowel for Parsley, and a baking tray for Sage. For his mother, he had packed the book in the most beautiful paper he'd found.
When his mother received the book in front of the Christmas tree, her eyes filled with tears."Thank you, my dear," she said giving him a warm hug. "If I could offer you the moon in the sky, I would give it to you ...."
"You're already doing more than that, Mom," Ferry told her, hugging her back.
His mother didn't let go of the hug. Next to him, she seemed small and fragile.
"You're the best son I could ever wish ..." she whispered in his hair.
"Merry Christmas, Mom!"
"Merry Christmas, my sweet, sweet boy!"
*
Later, they gathered around the fire in the fireplace, and sung old songs, from the time when humans and fairies were alike; the cottage was filled with laughter and, sipping on their fir syrup or jasmine tea, they all had decided to retreat to their sleeping shelters.
Ferry said good-bye to everyone and made his way to his room on the roof. Missing something because the evening was a unique, unforgettable one. He knew what was missing; he had to see May.
It was late at night when he arrived in front of May's balcony. He threw a few snowballs into her window, which scattered as they touched it.
May went out the window wrapped in her woolen room. Ferry flew to her and landed on the terrace.
"Ferry, what if anyone sees you?" May scolded him.
"It's late. Nobody can see me now. It's just the two of us," he said. "Did I wake you up?"
"No, I couldn't sleep. I was thinking ... I've been waiting for you the entire day at the flower shop. I wanted to give you something."
And May invited him to her room. Inside it smelled like warm weather, jasmine blossom, and sleep. The girl searched inside a drawer from which she took out a blue envelope. She gave it to Ferry, waiting. He opened it and found a photo of her inside. In the photo, it was summer, and May was smiling, her skin kissed with the sun. She was wearing a white dress with a small, blue flower pattern.
"So you can always remember me", she whispered, and Ferry saw a trace of sadness in her eyes.He looked into her eyes. He didn't quite understand her sayings.
"Of course, May. I could never forget you. I have something for you, too."
"What is it?" she asked, a sparkle in her eyes chasing the sorrow away.
"Not here. Come with me," he said, taking her hand and heading for the balcony.
" Like that?" she asked. She only wore a shawl over her nightgown.
"Don't worry. I'll keep you warm."
May's cheeks turned pink, yet she followed him.
Ferry picked her up in his arms and flew off the balcony. She was as light as a feather. They flew over the sleeping city, their hearts close to each other. May shivered once in a while; as Ferry flew higher and higher, she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him tight, her frail body clinging to his.
They stopped at the outskirts of the city, on the thick branch of a sycamore tree, above the railway line. Ferry dusted the light snow off the branch, making her room to sit. He took out a small box from his jacket's pocket. May eagerly opened it. Inside, there was a bracelet made of herbs of the hills he had braided for her in the summer.
May put the bracelet on and then hugged him. Ferry didn't expect it, and he was barely breathing, unable to do anything. Then, May nestled at his chest. He wrapped his armed around her. It was quiet and snowing. And Ferry wondered if she could feel how happy his heart was. He wanted to stop the time and stay with her forever in that frozen embrace.
"I wished we could stay like this for the rest of our lives," he told her. "Only the two of us..."
His words made her throb. She pulled away from him, and Ferry thought he could see tears in her eyes.
"I want to go home," she told him, shivering. "Can you take me home, please?"
Ferry didn't understand anything, anymore, "What happened? Did I do something wrong? Was it something I said?"
May turned her eyes away from his. "Just take me home, Ferry. Please, take me home ..."
*
It was late and cold when he returned to Lavender's cottage. Ferry felt his face frozen. He couldn't tell whether it was from the tears that began to fell as soon as he left May's balcony. It didn't snow anymore, but the frost took over the town and the air above. He went to his room on the roof, under the magic glass dome. He wiped off his frozen tears. That night should have been perfect, and she ruined it.
He took out his jacket and threw it on the floor. As he was preparing for a sleepless night, he thought he heard whispers coming from the cottage.
Inside, in front of the fireplace where only a few embers were smoking still, Thyme and Parsley were talking. He could hear them loud and clear in the silent night.
"We shall be gone soon," Thyme said. "Akna needs us."
"What about Ferry?" Parsley asked. "I mean, Garrett ..."
"He's not ready," Thyme said. "You'll stay here. Since you can't shape-shift anymore ... And it takes someone to stay with them in this world. To guide him. I'm afraid that--"
"What?" Parsley asked.
"Have you seen the snow? The first snow?"
"Yes, but what does it have to do with--"
"He started to like the snow," Thyme interrupted him. "Before, he hated winter. And the cold. But now..."
"Now?"
"Now I wonder if it was a wise decision to bring him into this world. Into the world of humans ..."
This was the Christmas special chapter. I hope you liked it. I could never thank you enough for all the joy you bring. You're the best readers in the world. Merry Christmas to you all!