The Girl who Danced with Fairies art by Jeff Miller
As Samantha Jenkins lay in bed she would nightly hear footsteps heavily make their way down the hall and stop at her bedroom door. Samantha would hold her teddy bear tightly and close her eyes as the door slowly creaked open. Not wanting to see the person at her door she remembered that her special friends would also visit about this same time every night.
When she reopened her eyes, a light would begin to fill the room. At first one little fairy would appear and then a second. Before long hundreds were buzzing about the room making for an unbelievable sight. The fairies loved Samantha and would scoop her up and carry her around the room. The fairies easily fit in her small hand so it took hundreds of them to pick her up. They laughed and smiled as they gave her sensations that few children get, the gift of flight.
Hefting her body through the air the fairies took Samantha away from her room to a dark and magical forest each night. Samantha tightly held on to her teddy bear as the fairies lowered her to a special illuminated place in the forest. The towering trees stood like sentinels, protecting her special place from the darkness that enveloped the wood. Most of the fairies gathered at a central spot where Samantha was fixated on the brightness and beauty of their light. Samantha would wake the next morning and there was no evidence of the fairies, they were very sneaky Samantha would think.
Samantha told everyone she knew about the fairies and how she could fly with their help and about the strange and magical forest she visited. No one believed her and her claims were dismissed by most adults. Teachers and other adults believed Samantha was simply a child with a very active and vivid imagination.
Samantha’s stories exhausted her teacher who was also tired of Samantha drawing the fairies on her desk, in her books, and on her homework. The teacher arranged for Samantha to see the school guidance counselor about her ridiculous fascination and preoccupation with fairies.
Ms. Rugelli, the counselor at Samantha’s school, was different than other adults Samantha had talked too. Ms. Rugelli actually believed her about the fairies and would not only listen but encouraged Samantha to describe them! They spent a lot of time together and Ms. Rugelli would allow Samantha to use her crayons and art supplies to draw detailed pictures of the fairies and the special forest.
One year later found Samantha in the back of the car of social worker, Hendrix Hughes. Mr. Hughes had gotten to know Samantha well over the past few weeks since being introduced by Ms. Rugelli. They were on the way to a place called a foster home. Samantha was confused at why she couldn’t just go stay with Ms. Rugelli or Mr. Hughes but was okay with where ever they went.
The foster home was much different from her regular home. Samantha did not say much the first evening at the home and was very shy. They seemed like nice people and Samantha was enjoying playing with the family dog. When she went to bed she waited for the door to open or for the fairies to come. The door never opened and the fairies never came, and she was very, very happy.
