Katie sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She heard soft laughter drifting in from across the hall.

Slipping out of bed, she tip-toed to her door and noticed a dim light emanating from underneath her sister's bedroom door. Katie peeked in to find Annabelle sitting in the middle of the floor.

"Belle, what are you doing up at this time of night? You're going to wake up Gran."

Annabelle spun around and the light dissipated.

"Katie! You scared her away!"

Katie reached over and turned on Annabelle's desk lamp. "Scared who?"

Annabelle jumped up. "It was a faerie." She spread her arms wide and began pirouetting around the room.

"Don't be silly! Faeries don't exist."

Annabelle stopped and frowned. "Don't say that. It hurts their feelings."

Knowing how stubborn Annabelle could be when she was focused on something, Katie tried to change the subject. "Where did you get the flashlight?"

"What flashlight?" Annabelle asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"The flashlight you had when I walked in."

"It wasn't a flashlight, it was the faerie."

"Of course it was," Katie whispered to herself, shaking her head. "Come on, Belle, it's late. It's time to get back into bed."

Annabelle skipped over to her bed and jumped in. "She was so beautiful. You should have seen her."

"I'm sure she was." Katie smiled, pulled the covers up under Annabelle's chin and kissed her goodnight.

***

Summer was almost over and that meant that Katie and her sister Annabelle's yearly visit with Gran would soon be over.

As Katie was packing some of her stuff, she realized that she couldn't find her favorite bracelet.

She emptied out her jewelry box and scanned the contents carefully. Not there. She checked the nightstand, under the dresser, the washroom. Nothing.

Things had gone missing before and Annabelle had been known to be the culprit more than once, so Katie stepped out into the hall and knocked on her sister’s door.

"Come in," Annabelle called out.

"Belle, did you see my bracelet? I can't find it anywhere."

Annabelle’s eyes sparkled. "It was the faeries. They were mad because you said they didn't exist."

Katie gritted her teeth. "Enough with the faeries, already! Now where did you put my bracelet?"

Annabelle's scrunched her eyebrows and glared at Katie. "I didn't take it!"

"Fine!" Katie said, and spun around. She didn’t have the patience to argue with Annabelle anymore and decided that the best thing to do was to tell her Mom when she called her tonight.

She went down to the kitchen and noticed Gran sitting outside on the veranda. It was hot, so she decided to pour them each a glass of lemonade, and then stepped outside.

"Here, Gran," she said, handing her one of the glasses.

"Thank you, sweetheart," Gran said and smiled. "What's Annabelle doing?"

Katie flopped down in the chair next to her Gran and let her legs dangle over the armrest.

"She's in her room playing and she's being a brat again!"

"It's not nice to call your sister names. You're older and should--"

"I know!" Katie rolled her eyes. "I'm fourteen now, and I should set a good example for my little sister."

Katie sighed. "It's just that she's driving me crazy. I can't find one of my bracelets; you know the wire one with the pretty stone in the middle. Anyways, she is insisting that her faerie friends took it."

"Well, that's not so far-fetched."

Katie nearly choked on her lemonade. "Oh, no! Not you, too?"

"What's so hard to believe?"

Katie decided to humor her Gran. "Okay, if faeries exist why can't we see them?"

"Can you see the wind?"

"No, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Even though we can't see the wind, it sways trees, rustles leaves and flies kites. Faeries are like the wind." Gran's eyes sparkled. "You can't see them all the time, but they're there."

Katie peered at Gran and shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I'll believe it when I see it."

Gran reached out and gave Katie's hand a soft pat. "Sometimes my sweet girl, you have to believe in things before you can see them."

Katie was silent for a moment. She looked at the trees as a light breeze picked up and a strong flowery scent wafted to her nose. Jasmine. Yet, they had no Jasmine in the garden.

"Do you smell that?" Katie said, taking a deep breath.

"Smell what?"

"Jasmine--it’’s so strong."

"No, I don't." Gran grinned. "Haven't you ever wondered why you sometimes get a strong scent but no one else can smell it?"

Katie hadn't really ever thought of it, but it did seem odd.

Gran continued. "Or you see a sparkle out of the corner of your eye, or hear a soft tinkling sound, but when your turn around there's nothing there."

"Yeah, I guess that has happened to me before…”

"The faeries are trying to greet you, but you're not opening your heart to them, so you can't see them."

"But--"

"Please, just keep an open mind. What can it hurt?"

Katie nodded, but couldn't help thinking that the whole thing was absolute nonsense.

***

The next morning, Katie looked through the window at Annabelle playing on her swing. She stepped out into the backyard and made her way toward her.

"Annabelle, this isn't funny anymore," Katie said, placing her hands on her hips. "I want my bracelet back, now."

"I already told you it wasn’t me." Annabelle poked her tongue out at Katie.

"For the last time there is no such thing as Faeries." Katie glanced towards the house and hoped Gran hadn't heard her.

"Stop saying that!" Annabelle glared at her. "You're going to make them even madder."

Katie took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. "I'm giving you one more chance, Belle. I'm going to the park with Rachel, and when I get back my bracelet had better be on my dresser."

"They said that they would return it when you realize how wrong you are. And they said that you should bring an umbrella with you today."

Katie looked up at the sky. "Why would I need an umbrella? There's not a cloud in sight."

"You really don't know anything do you?" Annabelle rolled her eyes. "Faeries can control the weather."

Katie threw her hands up in exasperation. "I give up!"

***

Once Katie and her friend Rachel arrived at the park, they scouted the place and found a perfect spot for their picnic. Rachel spread out the blanket, while Katie took out the food.

"I can't believe this is our last picnic together," Rachel said.

"I know. Summer vacation always goes by way too fast. Mom and Dad said that we might come down for Christmas though."

"Really? That would be great!"

They had just finished setting everything up when Katie thought she felt a sprinkle of water. The wind picked up dark clouds rolled in.

"Oh, no! It's starting to rain," Rachel said, looking up at the sky.

Rachel and Katie began throwing things back into the picnic basket, but by the time they had packed up everything, it was pouring. They ran to a nearby gazebo.

"Oh my gosh," Rachel said, laughing. "We're soaked to the bone. Weren't they calling for a clear, sunny afternoon?"

Katie nodded. "I think so."

Suddenly, Katie thought she saw something shimmer out of the corner of her eyes, but when she turned around, there was nothing there.

Then, as quickly as the rain had begun, it stopped.

"Hey, do you smell that?" Rachel asked, wrinkling her nose.

Katie breathed in, deeply. There was no denying it—it was Jasmine.

***

That night, Katie tossed and turned in her bed while her grandmother's words played in her mind. It was all a coincidence. Wasn't it? But when a soft tinkling sound wafted through the air, Katie realized that she wasn't sure what she believed anymore.

She slipped out of bed, grabbed her house coat and stepped into the hall. Then, she peeked in on Annabelle who was fast asleep. There was no need to check on Gran--Katie could hear her snoring softly down the hall.

Katie snuck down to the kitchen, made her way to the back door and stepped out onto the veranda. At first all she could hear were crickets, nothing out of the ordinary, but then a glimmer of light caught her eye.

As she made her way down the steps to investigate she heard the tinkling sound again, near the trees, but nothing was there.

Sometimes you have to believe in something before you can see it.

Katie knelt on the grass and closed her eyes. She felt a light breeze caress her face and the scent of Jasmine filled her nostrils. And this time she embraced it.

"Hello..." she whispered. ““I'm...sorry I said you didn't exist. I won’t do it again."

Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw something shimmering in the moonlight, a couple of feet in front of her. Katie realized it was her bracelet. She took it in her hands and in that moment her heart and mind believed in something magical.

She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and when she turned she saw a shimmer of light, and for a brief instant she looked into tiny sparkling eyes.

Katie froze. And then, in a flutter of wings, the little creature disappeared. Katie sat quietly for a long time, relishing in what she had just witnessed.

Slowly she got up and made her way to the back door, but before going in she turned and smiled.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Katie went inside and up to her room and as she climbed into bed, she realized she had another apology to make in the morning. Then, she closed her eyes and sweet slumber embraced her.

The End

Gisele LeBlanc loves to write and illustrate for children. Her work has been accepted by such publications as: Wee Ones, KidVisions, Saplings, Our Little Friend, Inspiration Station, Beyond Centauri, Cecil Child, and "Itty-Bits of Bliss", a poetry anthology published by Tangerine Sky Productions. When not writing or illustrating, Gisele enjoys spending quiet evenings at home with her husband, son and loyal pooch.

Top of Page