Maya

Maya sat on the ground in front of the fresh grave, knees pulled towards her, arms wrapped tightly around her legs. Silently rocking back and forth, back and forth… a pair of glassy eyes stared out at the disappearing tombstone – grey, expressionless, and lonely. She looked around her at the many mounds covering the hard red sand, the little patches of pale brown and green grass, the small, broken metal fence enclosing the graveyard, the big old tree in the middle of it all, green branches drooping, creating a curtain around it. She looked down at the ground thinking, questioning, wondering why. Why had this happened to her? What had she done to deserve it? What would she do about it? How would they go on? – But mostly, why? Why did it have to be her? Why not someone else? Like Christy? She was always running away from home anyway, so it wouldn’t have mattered to her, right? So why then, why her mother? They were so happy… suddenly she flashed back to a time when the two had been in the bright kitchen of their Summertown home, baking a batch of chocolate cupcakes for Dad’s birthday, laughing, singing, dancing, to an 80’s song on the radio. Her mom had been mixing on some pink icing. She glided over to Maya, whipped up some of the sugar on a teaspoon and let her taste it. She remembered how it had melted in her mouth, the sweet taste, the smooth, soft texture – just like heaven… a twig snapped, she looked up with a start. It was just a stray cat. And there, right behind it, was the now almost invisible stone of her mother’s grave, staring coldly back at her…

Reality rushed back into her mind. It was true, her mom was gone. The tears sprung up, she started to sob, shiver and rock more wildly, trying to contain her emotions, control her tears. “Wrong.”, she kept saying. “Wrong and confusing.” Was it fair that her mom had been taken from her like that? No, it wasn’t right. It just, wasn’t right… she started to get angry, angry at the world for what she was going through. Memories of her mother began to flash through her mind, faster, faster, and faster still- Angela smiling, humming, and laughing. That laugh kept replaying itself in her mind, over and over again. She could hear it, wanted it to stop. But it wouldn’t. It all became too much. She felt dizzy, jumped up, and stared around wildly not knowing what to do. The anger bubbled up inside of her like molten lava. In a blind rage she picked up a heavy rock, screamed, and lunged it at the tombstone. She heard a loud sound and ran over to the stone. There was a deep crack running the entire length of it. She dropped to her knees to further inspect the damage. The stone would have to be replaced. Filled with regret, she sat down and took a deep breath. It was already pitch black out, but that was okay. Dad wouldn’t miss her if she stayed a few minutes longer. She thought he’d become something of a zombie these past three days since mom’s death. He hadn’t said a word. In fact, he barely even looked at her…fresh tears clouded her eyes. She wondered what would become of her and dad. She didn’t want to lose him, too.

She saw something flash out of the side of her eye. It had come from the crack in the grave, she was sure. Yes, there it was again! A pale blue light, but it didn’t disappear this time. She crept over to take a closer look, and then there was a sound too. She pressed her ear against the hard stone, it was a buzzing sound. She thought it was probably a bug.

Maya decided to free it. Why should it share Angela’s fate? She picked up a sharp- edged stone, knocked on the surface, and picked out a loose chunk. The light shone much brighter and the buzzing grew louder, but the gap wasn’t big enough for the little guy to get out. “Must be one big bug.” She muttered to herself. This time she hit hard, the stone cracked completely. Before she could do anything else it lifted itself. She fell back in surprise. It rose and dropped too fast for her to see exactly what it was. The light shot up into the sky and then descended just as fast, until coming to an abrupt halt.

She looked calmly at the creature floating in mid- air before her. She had never seen anything quite like it, but she wasn’t afraid. She never was frightened by anything unusual, it only intrigued her. She embraced new things…found them interesting.

There she was: at sixteen, shoulder- length brown hair loose and stringy from the light rain, pale pink lips shut, sneakered feet planted firmly to the ground, big green eyes gazing inquisitively at the blue thing. Wanting to touch it, to know what it was.

Beautiful was one word she could use to describe the creature… it was about seven inches tall, had a lovely little figure, four large wings, long hair, wore a tiny dress and was entirely blue. They stared at each other, both equally amazed at what they were seeing. She took a step forward.

It spoke: “I am Evanah, the last of my kind. I have been sent by the people of my world to help you. We know of your loss, and shall assist you as you seek revenge, for he is our enemy, too. We see how unjust he has been, and cannot allow it. We must merge with your world and make him pay.” It said in its funny, bell- like voice. The creature continued, “I was sent three days earlier, but got trapped beneath the stone. You may place that blame on Giggles, our entrance guard, for delaying me with requests for souvenirs. However, we must speak. Speak, and devise a plan. I am now at your service, Miss Maya.”

The girl stood there for a couple of seconds, trying to gain clarity on the creature’s words. From what she’d understood, this bug was there to help her. Then she knew it, she would get her payback. Feelings of triumph, anxiety, and excitement shot through her. She would avenge her mother’s murder, she thought, and it all started right then. But she had her doubts. Was this for real? Or was she imagining the whole thing? She wasn’t sure and intended to find out, before she got too excited. After all, she had already been let down one time too many…



“So,” replied Maya, “you’ve come to get back at my mother’s murderer? You say “he” is your enemy too, huh? Why? What’d he do to you? Destroy all your other little creature friends? Why do talk like you’re afraid of him? Should I be scared of you? And how do I know I can trust you? That you aren’t some kind of hoax?”

“I see you have many questions Miss Maya, “it said, “and I shall certainly answer them. We know why you inquire in this manner, but please do not fear us. We shan’t harm or deceive you. I am real, and I am here to help you. But you must trust me; it is the only way we will get anywhere.”

“We have never feared Danyal, we pitied him. However, over the past two years he has become a horror to our world. We have tried and failed many a time to bring him to his senses. He is partly the reason for those of my species, fairies, becoming extinct. But when he took your mother’s life, it was a step too far. And we could not allow him to get away with it. He knows of our anger, and is in hiding at present. We will find him, and bring him to justice.”

Maya was still hesitant to trust this fairy, and asked, though in a much softer tone this time: “How will we find him? How are you going to take revenge, make it equal? How can any punishment be enough for taking a life?” her voice trembled, she paused, took a breathe and then continued, “Where is your world? If that’s where he is, will you take me there? Please?”

“You are correct; nothing can make up for a life. But we will do the best we can. We do not know where he is as nobody has seen him since May the third. We will make the journey to my world when the time is right. For now, you must go home. Your father is beginning to worry about you.”

Sensing that the conversation was over, Maya got up to leave. She walked to the gate, then turned around and asked, “You staying there?”

“Yes.” Replied Evanah. “I will wait for you here, meet me after school tomorrow. Go now, you father is waiting at the door.” With that, she flew to the old tree and disappeared beneath the curtain of leaves.

She started jogging, took a left a few meters down the road and continued until the end of the street where her house stood. Surprised at finding her dad really standing at the door, she wondered how Evanah had known he would be there.

“Oh, you’re back.” David said. “Where’ve you been? I was getting worried about you. You’d been gone for five hours.”

She was saddened by the robotic way he spoke to her. “I was down at the graveyard, dad. Have you had supper? Would you like some hot chocolate? I know it’s your favorite” she asked hopefully, trying to bring back the dad she knew and missed.

“No thanks, sweetheart. Think I’m going to get an early night’s rest. Your dinner’s in the microwave, alright? Don’t stay up too late, okay? Goodnight.”

“I won’t dad. Goodnight.” Tears in her eyes, she went up to her room, drew back the curtains and sat by her window. She loved looking out at the night; seeing how far the sky seemed to stretch, the stars, the big, soft clouds outlined by the large ball of silver light in the middle of the blackness…she listened to the silence, the light breeze whistling in her ears, barely audible. Felt the coldness from outside encircle her, the damp metal window- frame under her fingers, the mist crawling up her arms and onto her face. This is what she loved. Being alone, taking in her surroundings. Feeling, looking, listening to the night. There was no one and nothing but her. Her and the natural world. It was her time to enjoy, to think. She closed her eyes, soaked it all in.

Then she felt a sudden chill run down her spine, shut the window and flopped down onto her bed. The softness of the mattress felt good against her aching back. Only now did she realize how tired she was. She stared up at the ceiling, noticing the peeling wood for the first time in ages. I should sought that out tomorrow, she thought.





Maya got out of bed, stumbled over to her window and looked out. It was a warm, sunny, cloudless day. She could hear birds singing in the distance. Christy’s mom was watering the garden. She smiled, and went downstairs. There were two mugs of hot chocolate and fresh muffins on the table. She sat down and helped herself to one. It was delicious. She took another bite and savored the melting, fudgy taste. She heard humming, and looked behind her swiftly.

There was Angela, smiling at her; saying they were freshly baked. The girl dropped her muffin, confusion blurring her mind. It couldn’t be, her mom was dead.

The scene changed.  It was raining hard; she looked out the living room window, enjoying the sound of the thunder. She saw something lying on the tar a little further down the road, ran out to see what it was, and then stopped a few steps from what looked like a figure…wait. The red coat, black heels, it was all too familiar. No. She didn’t like what she was seeing. Dad had seen her run out and came after her. She heard him stop behind her, yell something and push past her. He turned the body around.  There was a piercing scream.



A clap of thunder nearly burst her ears. Maya shot up. It was six thirty, time for school.  Her teachers said she didn’t have to go, but she thought it was better than staying home where everything reminded her of mom. She went over to her window; it was a dull, dreary, drizzling, and overcast day. No sun, no singing. The day had barely begun and already she felt miserable.

Dad was gulping down his coffee by the kitchen sink.

“Morning Maya, I’m leaving now. Have fun at school and be good, okay?”

“Yes dad, you know I will.” She replied.

David gave a tiny half smile, kissed her quickly on the forehead and then went out the door. Once again, she was alone. She heard the car reverse out of the driveway and disappear down the street. She nibbled on a piece of dry toast while tidying up the kitchen, then grabbed her school bag and left.

The high school was a ten minute walk from her house and the streets were packed with kids. Her neighbor, Christy Jauns, joined her. She was tall and slender, with long dark hair, hazel eyes and a smile that seemed to melt every boy who saw it.

“Hey Maya, what’s up? You look preoccupied.”

“I had a dream again…”

“Of your mom? Listen, it’s only natural. You’ve just been through a great deal and the only time it’ll stop is when it’s off your mind. And please don’t expect that to happen anytime soon…”

“Yeah…it’s just that it always seems so real.”

“That’s dreams, babe. But you’ve gotta snap back into reality. I know it’s hard, but you have to move on…”

“I know, and I will.”

“Good. And don’t forget, I’ll always be here for you. So just let me know when you wanna have a popcorn crazy day again.”

Maya smiled. “Thanks, I think Saturday will be a good day for one of those. Haven’t had one in ages.”

“My house this time.”

Before she could reply two of their friends fell into step beside them. Daniel, and Craig. Daniel was a sports guy; strong, tall, tanned, with blonde hair and light eyes. Craig was of medium height, fair, brown hair, dark eyes, dimples. He was more of the baby- cute type and had had a crush on Christy for years. But she never paid him any notice, not after he dated her bully in the sixth grade.

“Hey guys, popcorn craze at my house on Saturday. Wanna join?” asked Christy.

“Only if we get to see your hair catch fire again” replied Daniel, playfully.

“Yeah, I’m in.” said Craig

“Well thanks for backing me up!” retorted Daniel

“Yeah, thanks Craig. ‘Cause it really wasn’t funny showing up at school the next day with an afro.” Said Christy.

They all couldn’t help laughing at the memory of how she had looked that day. None of them had expected anything close to it. And all the thanks went to Mrs. Jauns who had thought she could fix the burnt mess. What was even funnier was that the lady thought it looked great and refused to let Christy wear a scarf.

“Oh come on guys! It was ages ago!” exclaimed Christy.

“Yeah, a whole sixty days. Or should I rather say two months? Either way, yup – you’re right, it’s been an eternity.” Daniel said sarcastically.

“Oh yeah, I hope you haven’t forgotten your little teaspoon incident that happened…when was it? Last week?” Christy shot back.

Daniel didn’t get a chance to reply because the school bell had just rung.



Maya’s mind kept wondering back to the previous day’s happenings. She was curious to see if the fairy would be there like she’d said she would.  After school the four friends walked home together. Christy and Daniel continued the morning’s argument, Craig stared at Christy, and Maya thought about what would happen that afternoon. The others were laughing about something that she hadn’t heard. She knew they only went on as if everything was normal because she was with them, but she’d heard them talking about her before. Saying that they were worried, and they couldn’t even imagine what she was going through…She was glad they didn’t bring it up in front of her because she got enough of that from the other kids and everyone else. And she found it annoying.

Each one broke off from the group as they reached their houses, until it was just her and Christy.

“I’ll catcha later right, kiddo?” Christy asked as they parted ways.

“Yeah, sure. Come by tonight.”

“Alright, see ya then”

Maya went to her room, dropped her bag onto the floor, ran downstairs, got some lunch and headed out to the graveyard. It was getting darker outside. Looks like a storm’s coming, she thought.  The fairy hadn’t said where she should wait, so she went over to her mom’s grave, thinking that’s probably where Evanah would be. She didn’t like it there. Every step towards that place made her feel more depressed than the one preceding it. .. Before she could sit down to wait, the fairy appeared.



“Good day, Miss Maya.”, she tinkled, “I have news for you, Danyal has been seen in my world. We will now go there.”

“Go there…now?” she asked.

“Yes, we do not want to lose any time. For he is travelling up the Georgiana Stream, and may get too far if we do not leave immediately.”

“How can I just go? I’ve got a dad, and friends who’ll wonder where’ve I’ve gone!”

“Miss Maya, you may choose to stay if you wish. If not, then we must leave now. You will return to your world as soon as our quest is over.”

She thought about it; it wouldn’t make sense to let this opportunity go. She had to make that man pay, and dad would thank her for it when she got back.

“How long will it take? She asked

“I am afraid I cannot answer that. It may take a day, or even months or years. We cannot be sure.” Evanah replied.

She thought it would be worth it, even if it did take years. “Alright, but at least let me go home and leave a note for dad.”

“Very well. But you must hurry, the porthole closes at five.”

Maya rushed home, packed a few things into her backpack, grabbed a sheet of paper, and wrote:

Dear Dad,

I’m going on a trip, to find Mom’s killer. I don’t know how long I’ll be. Please don’t look for me, I’ve got company…I’ll be fine. I’ve got to prove to you that it wasn’t an accident.

Take care of yourself,

Love Maya

She pinned the note to the couch because she knew that would be the first place dad went to when he got home. Before, he never watched TV. In fact, he’d hated it. These days, it was all he ever did. Watch TV, eat, sleep, and work.

She had just gotten to the front steps when she saw Christy, Craig and Daniel coming up the driveway.

“Where’re you off to?” Christy asked, looking surprised.

“Nowhere. I was just going to the park.”

“With a backpack and in this weather?” Craig asked skeptically.

“Yeah, you know, thought I’d have a late lunch out there.”

“Oh, we’ll come with you.” Daniel said, “We’ve all finished our homework and have nothing else to do, anyway.”

“I’m sorry you guys, I just need some time alone…”

“Wait,” said Christy, “you’re not running away are you?”

“No! Why would I do that?”

“We all know what you’ve been through,” Craig said, “but you don’t need to run. If you need time away from home, come stay with me.”

“Thanks Craig. But that’s not necessary, I’m fine at home.” She replied.

“I don’t know where you’re going, but I’m coming with you Maya. I’ll follow you all day if I have to, I swear it.” Daniel said. The others backed him up.

“Please guys; I wanna be alone for a while, ok? I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” She lied.

“Na-uh,” Christy retorted, “I don’t trust you.”

“Yeah, and you’re not leaving until you tell us where you’re going and why. No more lies.”Craig said.

Seeing how obvious it was that her friends weren’t going to leave her alone, she gave up.

“Fine, come if you want. But I don’t know where I’m going and I’ll tell you why later.”

She moved forward before anyone could ask anything else. They had to jog to keep up with her and were surprised to see they were heading towards the graveyard.

She caught questions like where’re we going, why this way, you’re not moving into a grave, are you- but didn’t know who was asking them, or even bother to answer. They would know soon enough, but right then time was running out. It was already four forty-five. They bounded up the cobblestone pathway and stopped in front of Angela’s stone.

“Now what?” asked Christy. “We pray?”

At that same moment, sensing that these kids were innocent and harmless, Evanah came out. All three of the newcomers were completely dazed by the sight of her. Daniel was mumbling something no one understood and the other two just stared.

“Will your friends be accompanying us?” the fairy asked.

Maya looked at their dumb -struck faces and replied, “I’m not sure. Let’s just get going and see who follows.”

Evanah led them to a freshly dug grave on the far left of the yard and flew inside. A large hole appeared at the bottom and she told Maya to step inside it, and that she would follow after her friends. It started storming. The sky was extremely dark, the wind was howling and rain poured down in heavy splats that stung them. Maya jumped into the hole, she didn’t know whether the others had done the same because as soon as she was inside she was engulfed by a sea of bright pink light. No longer than what seemed like a second later, she found herself back at her mom’s grave. Out of nowhere, Christy and Daniel popped up next to her. Then Craig and Evanah.

“How come we’re back?” Maya asked. “Didn’t we make it in time?”

“We did.” Evanah replied. “We are now in my world, Summertown.”

“Summertown is in our “world”.” Craig said.

“Our world is exactly like yours-“Evanah began to say.

“- then why don’t you just live in the real world?” Daniel interrupted.

“We cannot do so. Creatures like me would never survive there.” She replied.

“Well why not?” Christy asked.

“Humans can be a very cruel species,” Evanah said, “The people in our world are an entirely new race. Most of your kind of humans would not accept them. Our world is a duplicate of yours, underground, but we do not survive the same way you do. You shall soon learn so.”

“So does this mean my house would still be down the road from here?” Maya asked.

“Yes, with a family living inside it.” the fairy replied.

Maya looked at the gravestone beside them. She realized it only looked like her mother’s, but belonged to someone else. The name on it read ‘Gina Marias’. This grave looked much older. The stone was cracked and dusty.

Evanah flew towards the gate and the others followed. They couldn’t believe how much it was like their Summertown. They saw Christy’s house, and Maya’s right opposite it.  Soon they passed Craig’s house. Then there was the school, sports center, town hall, and military camp. It wasn’t raining here, but it was still dark. It looked like a ghost town. Dull, silent and scary.

“Are the people here invisible, or is this just an empty town?” Christy asked.

“Neither one, Miss.” Evanah said. “Everybody is asleep.”

“Asleep?” Daniel asked, surprised. “It’s only five- fifteen!”

“Yes, it is so. We sleep in your hours of daylight, which is why the sky is so dark. Your night time is our daytime. When the sun disappears from your world, it rises in ours. “

“So that means it’ll be daybreak soon?” Craig asked.

“That is correct.” The fairy replied. “I shall now take you to a hotel, for you must all be tired.”

They followed her quietly for another fifteen minutes before she came to a stop. They walked into what looked like the Summertown shopping mall, only to discover that it wasn’t a mall at all. Instead it was a huge hotel. Evanah led them inside, and straight up to the second floor. She opened two doors, one for Christy and Maya, and the other for Daniel and Craig.

“Shouldn’t we first tell the receptionist about this?” Daniel asked.

“They already know.” Evanah answered. “They have been expecting your coming.”

She then flew down the passage and disappeared from sight.

Maya lay in her bed, wondering what would happen next. She was excited about the next day. Would they find Danyal? How would the others react when she told them the whole story? What had Evanah meant when she said the hotel people had been expecting Daniel? She didn’t see how they could possibly have known, when her friends themselves hadn’t even known they were coming…It was still early for bed, but the four were pretty worn out from everything that had happened that day and before long they were all knocked out.



Daniel woke up to the sound of children singing. He’d forgotten they’d slept at sunrise and was surprised at first to see the room so bright. Looking outside, he saw a group of pre-school kids playing hop scotch on the pavement across the road. There were cars all over the streets and people walking in all directions. He’d swear he was back home. It was sunny and warm; he couldn’t help smiling at how perfect it all looked… Craig moaned. He always had trouble getting up. He looked at his watched, two- thirty. That meant it would be dark again in a few hours time. 

“Come on Craig, get up. It’s almost dark.” He shouted across the room.

“Ag…are the girls up already?” he asked

“I don’t know,” Daniel answered. “maybe if you hurry up and get done, we’ll catch ‘em in pajamas.”

“I doubt it.” Craig said. “They’re probably awake and sitting pretty in the lobby, waiting to see what we’re gonna do today.”

He was right. They were awake, but they were only leaving their room when the boys came out. They had just said good afternoon when Evanah appeared. She told them that the hotel owners had prepared something for them to eat, and after that they would go to their king for information on Danyal’s whereabouts. She left them to eat, saying she would be back to fetch them when they were done.

“Maya now’s the perfect time to explain why we’re here, and what we’re gonna tell our parents when we get back.” Christy said as soon as they were seated.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I won’t need to explain where I’ve been. – left a note for my dad. As for why we’re here, it’s to find my mom’s killer.” She replied.

“How do you plan on doing that?”Daniel asked. “He could be anywhere. How do you know he’s in this world? How’d you meet the fairy?”

“He’s been seen here, yesterday.” She said. “I was visiting my mother on Monday, I was angry, things happened, and I ended up freeing Evanah. I’m not in the mood to talk right now, ask her for all the details.”

They dug into the prepared pancakes, Craig soaking his in maple syrup.

“So how long do you think we’re gonna be here, Maya?” Craig asked, his mouth full of pancake.

“We don’t know.” She answered. “It depends on how long it takes to find him.”

“Well all I know is that’s cool with me.” Christy said. “Anything’s better than being near my mom.”

“I’m up for what could be an eternal holiday,” Daniel chimed in. “just wish I’d gotten to say goodbye.”

“No need, Dan.” Maya said. “We’ll go back, as soon as my work here is done.”

“Dan? Is that my new name, May’s?” Daniel asked, amused.

“Yeah, you know, it’s short for Daniel. But that doesn’t mean you have to call me “May’s”, please.”

“Then don’t call me Dan.” He said, shuddering. “It makes me sound so old…”

“Fine I won’t.” Maya laughed.

Evanah came back into the room.

“I have just been told that Danyal has been spotted again. In Westville, this time. We must hurry, for he is moving at a remarkably fast pace.  I hope you have all eaten to your fill, young ones, as we have a long journey ahead of us.” She said in her tiny voice.

They were each given a backpack filled with food and a few other things that Evanah said they might need on the road.

“Aren’t we gonna stop somewhere?” Christy asked.

“Yeah, why all this food?” Craig asked, heaving his pack onto his back.

“We might have to go on straight for quite some time.” The fairy replied. “As for the food, I cannot guarantee we will find more. In our world we do not need to eat, we live off happiness. What you have now has been specially prepared for you.”

“What if it runs out?” Daniel asked.

“I hope that shall not be the case, but we will rest in Springfield, and we shall provide for you there.” She said.

By this time they had reached the entrance hall. Evanah led them out the front of the hotel, past the pre-school and further down the main road.

“Will we be walking all the way to Springfield?” Maya panted. “Because if distance is the same in your world as it is in ours, that’s quite a long way from here.”

“No, Miss Maya. We shall utilize another means of transport shortly.” The fairy answered.

She led them a further thirty minutes out of the town, then turned right onto a sand road which led to a forest. It was around four- fifty. The air was getting chilly and the four enjoyed walking on the trail in the sunset. They could see the deep reds, oranges, yellows, pinks, and purples of the sun over the tops of the forest trees which stood like blackened silhouettes against the fading light. Sounds of crickets and birds singing softly could be heard. They had been quiet ever since leaving the town, each one engaged in his or her own thoughts. They walked to the Georgiana Stream, and stopped where the stream seemed to be most narrow. Evanah told Maya to step into the water, she obeyed and once again the pink swallowed her up. This time, she found herself standing in front of a large gray building. The others joined her seconds later, blinking from the brightness of the light.  The sky was now a pale charcoal color and the air was much colder. They put on the jackets the fairy had provided for them.

“You shall now meet our king.” Evanah said. “We shan’t stay here for too long, or Danyal will get further away. He is presently two towns from here.”

Maya didn’t know how Evanah knew this, but assumed it to be a good guess.



It was warm inside the building. There was a large, fluffy red carpet covering the entrance hall, and similar ones running along the many passageways sprouting from either side of the room. The walls were silver, and a large metallic flower was painted onto the widest one. They went through the last corridor on the left which then led them to a huge, empty blue room, with a sky blue carpet and walls covered in the same metallic painted flower as the entrance hall. There was a man sitting on the mat at the end of the room. He looked up and smiled.

“Hello there!” he said, getting up. “I am King Judd.”

They were all surprised, expecting to have found a high and mighty kind of man. Instead he was tall, skinny, and very ordinary- looking. He greeted each of them with a handshake, addressing them by their names.

He then put an arm around Maya’s shoulders and said, “We will do everything we can to help you. I give you my word for it, and I am very sorry for your loss.”

Maya loved the look in his eyes. It was a kindness, a concern she had never seen before… at least not in the eyes of someone who was a complete stranger to her. She thanked him.

“Do you know why he did it?” she asked softly. “Or what we’re gonna do when we find him?”

The King had just begun to reply when someone barged into the room. It was a boy, about eighteen. Tall, strong looking, blue eyes, dark hair, with a bronze- colored complexion. He was saying something about a cat; paused, took them all in, and would have continued his rampage if the king hadn’t stopped him. He was introduced as Ralph.

“I’m sorry about my son’s rude manners.“ Apologized King Judd and then turning to Ralph, “Ask for forgiveness.” He ordered.

“What for? I didn’t do anything wrong I –“ began the boy

“Ralph.” Interrupted the King in a stern voice.

“Alright then fine I’m sorry, new people, I didn’t mean to be rude it’s just that I was in such a state about what that cat did to my new shirt that I wasn’t thinking and therefore, didn’t greet you.”  Said Ralph sheepishly.

“Thank you, son.” Said the King. “I assure you all, he isn’t usually like this. Anyway, let us go to dinner, you must be hungry.” He told the others.

They followed the King and Ralph into another room, purple this time. With purple carpets and purple walls, as well as the metallic flower printed all over them. It seemed like every room was like this, just different colours. Maya wondered why they used the same flower pattern everywhere and made a mental note to ask King Judd about it later.

The four friends looked at the empty purpleness. They were sure the King had said they were going to supper. They wondered why then, was there nothing there.  Ralph, who had noticed their puzzled expressions, said:

“I should tell you, all the furniture in this house only appears when we ask for it. Don’t ask why because I honestly don’t know. It’s my father who decided on that.”

King Judd heard this and chimed in, “Oh yes! I’m sorry for not mentioning that before, but yes, it was my idea. I want it to be this way because I like space.”

“So much of it?” asked Christy. “Don’t you find it a bit empty?”

“No,” the King smilingly “you might, because you are not used to it. But I’m old and dislike a crowded house. So, if you want furniture, call for it. If not, you have all the space in the world to do what you like. “

“I think that’s a genius idea.” Said Daniel. “I wouldn’t mind being able to work out anywhere. Or even do some sports,” he laughed, “this place is pretty big.”

“Yes” the King said in a friendly voice “feel free to do so whenever you like. Oh and speaking of sports, my son doesn’t mind the idea of the emptiness either… he tends to enjoy flying his toy planes around the house.”

“Toy planes hmm” Said Maya. “How old are you, Ralph? ‘Cause I’d swear you look about seventeen, at least.”

“Eighteen.” Replied Ralph “Why, do you think It’s childish to play with planes?”

“Yeah actually I do.” Maya retorted. “Don’t you have more serious things to do?”

“That depends on what your idea of serious is.” Said Ralph. “Don’t you have hobbies? ‘Cause planes is one of mine and I enjoy it. I always will, whether you think it’s childish or not.”

“Jeez Ralph there’s no need to get uptight.” Maya shot back at him. “You asked if I think it’s childish and I answered honestly. Can we please just leave it at that?”

“Fine. Sorry for taking it the wrong way.” He replied.

“Good.” The King said. “Now come, let’s eat.”

“Was wondering when that’d happen.” Craig said.

King Judd called for a table and it popped up out of nowhere. A big, round, purple table with purple chairs and a table cloth of the same colour. It was laden with all types of food. Ralph and the King waited until their guests were seated before sitting down themselves. The four travelers dug in, enjoying the delicious feast. They were so busy eating that none of them noticed that only the four of them ate, until Daniel had eaten enough and, thanking them, noticed that they hadn’t touched a thing.

“Wait, how come you’re not eating?” he asked Ralph “You and the King, aren’t you hungry?”

“We live only on happiness.” King Judd replied before Ralph.

Christy, who along with the others had now taken interest in the conversation, thoughtfully said:  “Oh. Yeah, Evanah did mention that, but when you said ‘Let’s eat’ I thought you meant all of us.”

“I did.” The King replied with a smile “Seeing you all enjoying yourselves brings us happiness. That’s like eating to us.”

“Yeah,” Ralph chimed in, “it really is. There’s nothing nicer than seeing your friends happy.”

“Evanah said that Danyal made everyone in this world fearful and unhappy.” Maya said, “How is that you are all surviving?”

“Ah.” Said the King, “That’s a good question. You see, even though Danyal makes us miserable, we still survive because we have each other. My people know that I am here and would never abandon them. They also know that we don’t believe in evil. We know it’s there and that it exists but we don’t act in that manner. That keeps us happy.”

“Then how come you don’t just forget about Danyal?” Christy asked. “You have one another and that brings enough happiness to keep you alive so why are we out to get him?”

The King replied, “We have to get him because most of us are surviving. – But not all of us… there are some who are deeply affected by the almost non-existent fairy population and some of the people Danyal has taken away. For them, having us and their family and other friends is not enough. They are dying, and because of that their loved ones are losing hope and dying too. We fear that in this way, we may all die out.”

“Why did he kill the fairies?” Daniel asked, “What did they do to him?”

“Danyal is a sad man.” The King told them, “He lost his wife two and a half years ago. It was an accident but you see it happened at a fairy’s den. At first he understood that. Then all of a sudden he decided that he needed revenge and took it out on the fairies. After he had, or so he thought, finished them he moved onto people. I don’t think he has a reason for this, except that now killing is in his blood and his anger is still so strong that he just can’t stop.”

“Then he found a way into your world.” Ralph continued. “We don’t know how, it was probably by chance, and then he…” he looked at Maya and stopped. “and then he did what he did, before returning here and disappearing.”

“How did you find out?” Maya asked, trying to stay strong.

“Evanah.” Replied the King. “She is psychic. She can see into the future as well as what people are doing. We have been using her to keep an eye on him. Unfortunately we couldn’t stop the incident in your world from happening because Evanah had only checked up on him when it was too late…”

“And that’s how she always knows stuff!” remarked Daniel. “Like when she told me the people at the hotel were expecting me.”

“Yeah… I was wondering about that.” Christy said.

“Well, now you know.” Ralph said with a smile.

“Where is Evanah?” Maya asked. “I haven’t seen here since we got here.”

“She has her own quarters,” the King replied. “You probably won’t see her until tomorrow. Speaking of which, it’s going to be a long day of travelling for you so if you’re done here, I think I should show you to your rooms?”

“Yeah, a long day indeed. I’ll do it for you, father. I’ll show them around and then to bed, if you’ll let me?” Ralph offered.

“Sure son.” His father answered with a smile. “You could do with the opportunity of getting to know them better. I see good, good friends in them.”

With that, they all thanked the King and got up. The table immediately disappeared and King Judd said goodnight. Ralph told them to follow him and led them out in the direction opposite to the one the King had taken to leave.

Back in the warm passageway with the red carpet and silver walls, they passed many smaller passages, each one leading to another empty room. All four of them were fascinated by the size of the place and Ralph, sensing this, decided to leave them to their thoughts and keep leading the way quietly. After a few minutes he stopped in front of one of the little passages.

“Alright. This is the girl’s room. I know I said I’d show you around, but as you can see there’s really not much to show.”

“Yeah.” Said Christy. “Just a whole lot of colourful, bare rooms and passages and red carpet.”

“I have a question.” Said Maya. “If all the rooms are empty, how do you know which is which? Can’t you just use any room for anything?”

“Nah.” Replied Ralph. “They’re different colors and even though they’re empty, each one has its own hidden furniture to suit its purpose. When you walk in now your furniture will be already be there because that’s how we’ve set it, while you’re here. You can do that. - make it stay when you want it to.”

“Interesting.” Said Craig. “Don’t you ever get confused? I mean, how many colours are there?”

Ralph smiled. “I’ve been living here for eighteen years. If you were too, believe me, you’d know this house inside out as well. Oh and there really aren’t that many… maybe about 36. The house isn’t that big.”

“Not that big.” Daniel said, “It’s like a hotel compared to our houses.”

“Yeah,” laughed Maya. “We should pay a visit to our Springfield and see what this place is. Maybe it is a hotel.”

“You should do that” Ralph said, “but for now it’s bedtime. I don’t want my father complaining about me keeping you all up.”

“You’re right, we’d better go.” Said Christy. “I’m really tired anyway.”

The two girls started walking towards their passageway. Then Maya turned and asked, “By the way, where’s the boys’ room? Just out of curiosity.”

“It’s natural to wanna know where your friends are,” laughed Ralph. “they’ll be in the next room. That one right there.” He said, pointing to the passage across from them, about a meter away.

“Thanks” Maya said smiling. “I was just checking. Now goodnight guys, don’t stay up late.”