​Pindi hovered above the lush Gardenia covered with fragrant ivory blossoms. She beathed in the heady scent and sighed. This particular community garden was her favorite. Fairy Wands speared up between tomatoes, their tiny flowers sparkling the morning sun. Gnarled brown garden gnomes darted between rows of cucumbers, spading and hoeing the fertile earth. Wood nymphs danced along the branches of the Crepe Myrtle trees that lined the sidewalk. Pindi waved when she spotted Xylem and called out, “Good Morning.”
 If Pindi had a choice, she’d live here where she could savor the garden in each season. But, she had responsibilities now. Big ones. With a capital R. Her father Bran, King of the Green Japanese Maple Fairies, had abdicated his throne, telling everyone he was too old and tired to continue ruling. He named Pindi as his successor. She remembered how her heart had stopped – just stopped – for a few beats when she heard those words. “No! Daddy! You can’t abdicate! I can’t be Queen! I can’t do it!” She’d cried and stomped her feet and screamed and railed, terrified at the thought of stepping into his shoes. By herself. She was still reeling. Her twin sister, Mindi, had married Branch, a Leaf Fairy, and moved to his tree. She missed  Mindi so much, like someone had torn off her arm and ripped out half her heart. She still blamed their distant cousin Blade for introducing them. How was she supposed to rule in her father’s place without her sister at her side?  Pindi landed on a Fairy Wand and just breathed. In. Out. In. Out. The garden slowly worked its magic. She would be ok. She was strong enough. She was Queen Pindi.
 
The air chilled. The breeze stilled. The garden held its breath. An army of burly spiders poured through a breach in the hedge of Gardenias, hundreds of hairy legs marching in unison. “Spiders!” Pindi started, eyes wide, mouth open in a silent scream. Revolting creatures with fangs, too many legs, and red beady eyes, spiders were arch enemies of all fairies. Pindi’s father had fought the Great Spider War and defeated the spider hordes when she was 12. The battle had been fierce. Bloody. Dozens of fairy warriors were injured. Spider bodies had littered the ground, mortally wounded laying on their backs, legs writhing in their death throes. Pindi shuddered as the gruesome memory flooded into her brain. She had to move! Now! She flew towards the nearest Crepe Myrtle, barking out orders. “Gather your warriors! Xylem, grab your arrows and bow. Archers – assemble along that branch.”
“You,” Pindi commandeered a dragonfly, “fly to the Green Japanese Maple Tree. Alert my army. Get them here FAST!”
She dropped to the ground and grabbed a hoe from the nearest gnome. “Find your king. Tell him we’re under attack. Bring your spears.”
Pindi jabbed the hoe at the nearest spider, knocking it backwards just as Xylem’s arrow pierced its carapace. “Nice Work!” she yelled and glanced to her side  at the advancing spiders. She swung the hoe back and forth until her arms ached and her palms stung from developing blisters, slicing hairy spider legs with every swipe. Sweat ran into her eyes. She blinked away the sting and kept on. The roar of the battle rung in her ears and her world narrowed. Arrows whistled by, close enough to rustle her hair. She heard the grunts and rumbles of the gnomes as they stormed up from the earth, impaling spiders on their spears. The ground was slippery with green spider blood that hissed and smoked at it pooled. Pindi wrinkled her nose at the acrid, rotten sulfurous odor. She tripped over a dead spider and caught herself. Hearing thrumming overhead, she looked up as her army approached, fairies standing astride dragonflies, raining arrows at the spiders on the ground. Blade waved his sword to catch the light as Dasher swerved and swooped across the battlefield. Blade jumped down and ran  to Pindi’s side. His sword sang in the air is he slashed and dismembered enemy arachnids.
Then it was over. The few spiders who survived scuttled back through the breach in the hedge. Pindi dropped the hoe, its blade now covered with blood and gore. She put her hands to her pounding head and steeled herself to look at the carnage in the garden. Xylem jumped down from her branch cradling her arm. A gnome limped by, his leg swollen from spider venom. Pindi moved among the warriors giving comfort, taking stock. Injuries – too many. But no casualties. They beat back the spiders again. Gnomes worked alongside Fairies and Wood Nymphs to drag spider bodies and toss them into a pile at the edge of the garden. Dragons Argan and Feyren waited to burn the carcasses and purify the ground. “Let’s close that hole in the hedge,” she said, “ and then let’s go home.”
Blade watched Pindi, his heart bleeding. She was magnificent. Would she ever see him the way he saw her? 

​Most don’t see the faded beauty or grace of the abandoned, derelict manor. Most see the broken roof tiles, cracked windows, peeling paint, and rotten columns. Most see a ruin inhabited by birds lured by the skittering and slithering creatures who found their way into secret corners. I see an elegant manor returned the splendor of its heyday with its windows gleaming, its chandeliers glowing, and its doors thrown open to invite guests in formal attire. An orchestra warms up in a corner of the ballroom. Waiters pass through the crowd offering delicacies and crystal flutes of champagne. Join me as we attend a ball where the lines between human and avian blur.
 
Phoenix scowled as he strode up the wide double steps to the covered entrance. He tugged at his black and russet streaked cumber bund, a small rebellion against the formality of tux and tails. His jacket was lined with the same fabric. He would have preferred the russet and black on the outside, but at least he had the secret satisfaction of wearing his signature color. The black silk eye patch he wore added a rakish air to his rugged face. Females noticed him and smiled coquettishly trying to catch his eye. He ignored them. He didn’t want to be here. He hated formal balls. He accepted the invitation only because the hostess told him Star would be there. Phoenix stood on the wide front portico and stared across the graceful curve of the drive and the manicured lawn to the wooded area beyond. It was early. Guests were just starting to arrive. Phoenix knew Star would be fashionably late.
Phoenix watched the Rolls Royce Silver Shadow glide up the drive and stop in front of the steps. The liveried doorman held out his arm to help Garbo step lightly out of the car. A classy lady, Phoenix thought, arriving in a classy car. Not for him, though. He preferred to travel under his own power. He nodded towards Garbo. She paused, then nodded back on her way into the graceful foyer. Phoenix stayed outside.
A waiter offered a tray of hors d’ouerves. Phoenix shook his head. Another offered champagne. “No, thank you,” Phoenix told him tersely and turned to watch for Star. He decided to give her 10 more minutes before he gave his respects to the hostess and left. The late afternoon sky was starting to streak with color. Phoenix hated being out at night. Nights were for more personal pursuits. “Ahem.” Arnold the butler cleared his throat. His bald red pate and rheumy eyes belayed his attempts to keep the years at bay, but he stood soldier straight in his formal black jacket and offered a tray with a single lead crystal class holding a deep amber liquid. “I thought this would be more to your liking.” Phoenix smiled and picked up the glass of Scotch whisky. “Thank you, Arnold, how are things?”
“Just fine, sir,” Arnold replied. “Although it takes me longer to get going in the mornings these days.”
“Doesn’t it just,” Phoenix smiled. He and Arnold went way back. They had fought together on foreign soil and in their share of brawls. He had lost his right eye in one of those brawls, ending his military career. “Why don’t you join me?”
“I can’t. I’m working. If you stick around after the party, we can share the rest of this bottle.”
Sipping, Phoenix considered. Then he caught the amber flash of wings across the lawn. She’s finally come. He watched as Star soared over the trees and lighted gently on where she stood and shook out the shimmery copper skirt of her satin gown. The satin rustled faintly as she walked, like a hawk’s wings cutting through the air. “I plan to be otherwise occupied tonight,” he told Arnold.
Star felt Phoenix’s gaze and smiled to herself. She knew he wanted her and had decided to let him try. She lifted her head and met his stare. 

​This piece was inspired by a real event. I was standing under a tree near the road to The Bird Rescue Center with barn owl Garbo on my fist. A black rolls Royce came up the road and stopped next to where I was standing. The window rolled silently down and a gentleman with white hair, twinkling blue eyes, and a mischievous smile looked out at us. “Is this were I drop off an injured bird?” he asked. I pointed to the hospital building, and he drove off. The car reminded me of when I saw a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow glided up the drive to Villa Montalvo in Saratoga. The car was magical. It looked like it belonged to a different era, and I imagined a ball held in the manor. With birds, of course.
 
Garbo
Garbo looked out the window of the Rolls Royce Silver Shadow as it glided noiselessly up the circle drive to the gracious manor. She sat, spine straight as she had been taught, and smoothed the skirt of her dress. Not a gown. She wore a dress cut just below the knee. Cream colored, set with beads, fringe along the hem. Her white hair was styled in a short bob with finger waves. Her feathered arms covered in long kid-skin gloves. She belonged in this car.
The car slowed to a silent stop and a liveried doorman approached. She lifted her arm so he could help her step into the evening light. She saw Phoenix standing on the portico and hesitated at his nod. She knew him by reputation only. A dangerous hawk. She held his glance for a moment and then graciously nodded back.
The manor itself was two story white stucco with a red tile roof. A double set of stairs let up the terraced lawns to a long, columned portico. Double doors flanked by gently arched windows stood open to welcome guests. Strains of a waltz whispered through the air as Garbo floated up the steps. It was early yet. The sky glowed with the dusky blues and purples of sunset.
In the high-ceilinged foyer, Garbo accepted a crystal flute of champagne from as passing server. Lifting the glass, she let the bubbles tickle her nares while her dark chocolate eyes scanned the ballroom that opened beyond. Couples circled and swayed, skirts swirling gracefully to “The Blue Danube” played by the orchestra. Garbo heard the clinking of glasses and the murmur of conversation as she made her way around the foyer. She nodded regally at casual acquaintances and stopped to talk with old friends. She waved at Poe and Jazz across the room. They made a striking couple; his all-black tails and her rich sable wrap that brought out the gold in her large eyes. Garbo scanned the room looking for Him. She knew he would be here. That’s why she accepted the invitation. There, in the corner, in white tails, silver hair brushed back, his onyx eyes bored into hers. Champagne wasn’t on his menu tonight. Nor were oysters or caviar. Garbo and her beau saw only each other. They met in the center of the room, circled, and soared out the open French doors into the fading light and the dark shadows of the tall fir trees behind the manor.  A light breeze ruffled their feathers, bringing with it the dark secret scents of the night. They seemed to float up to the tops of the trees. Swooping, dancing. Flap, flap, glide, flap, flap, glide to the orchestra’s waltz. Finally hunting in the dark. Mating. Elegantly as only barn owls can.

​Pindi sat on a leaf and wrapped her arms around her knees. She rested her chin on top of her knees and pouted. Zoom flew by and said, “Hey Pindi, let’s go for a ride. Hop on.”
“I can’t,” Pindi grumbled. “My mother won’t let me leave the tree. She’s afraid of the human virus.”
“Pindi!” called her twin sister Mindi, “Mother wants to know if you have your mask. You’re not supposed to go outside without it.”
“Its not fair!” Pindi yelled. “We don’t even know if fairies can be infected by this virus, but we’re not allowed to go anywhere or do anything!” She got up and stomped into the grand hall.
“Pindi,” her mother, Queen Caelia said softly, “you know we have to be careful until we know if the human virus can infect us.” Pindi crossed her arms and glared at her mother. She refused to be soothed, even though Queen Caelia stroked her shiny hair while she talked. “You father is in in counsel with the fairy kings from other trees. Some of them are reporting virus infections among their fairies, mostly those who live near big human cities. And we’ve heard stories of animals being infected. We don’t know how this will impact us, so we need to be careful until we have more information.”
“I hate being stuck at home,” Pindi complained.
“You’re not stuck,” Queen Caelia replied, “you’re safe.”
After a moment, Queen Caelia sighed and said, “You can go out with Zoom. Wear your mask and wash your hands when you get home.”
“YAY” Pindi ran out of the grand hall pumping her arms in the air. “Come on Mindi, let’s go. Will you grab my mask?”
Pindi stood on a branch and called Zoom. “We can go! We can fly with you!”
Zoom flew to the branch and waited for the fairy sisters to jump on the hummingbird’s back and flew off. Pindi tied on her mask while they were flying and then shouted “Weeeeeee” as they careened around the garden.
“Let’s go see Intrepid, Dasher, Ka-a, Ribbit, and Xylem. Even Blade,” Pindi said. “I miss everyone.”
“You know we can’t visit,” Mindi warned. “We have to stay far enough away from each other that the virus can’t spread. We’d have to shout at each other.”
“I don’t care,” Pindi replied. “I just want to see my friends, even if all I can do is wave hello.”
“Intrepid is still in Santa Rosa,” Zoom told the fairies. “He likes it up there with his buddies from the bird rescue center. He will be sad to miss seeing you, though.”
“Look, there’s Ka-a! Hi Ka-a, “Pindi shouted, waving wildly. “How are you doing?”
“I can’t chat right now. I’m on sentry duty, “Ka-a said as he cawed out an alert about a person walking a dog along the sidewalk.
“Look, there’s Xylem riding on Dasher,” Mindi said. “Hi Xylem. Hi Dasher.”
Xylem turned and waved; her short dark pixie cut hair framing her cute face. “Hi you two. I miss you.”
“We miss you, too,” the fairy sisters said in unison.
“Let’s start planning our mid-summer celebration. Surely, we’ll be able to gather again by then,” Xylem said.
“Yes!” Pindi yelled. “We can send each other ideas by butterfly. It’ll be fun, and we’ll have something to look forward to. Great idea!”
“We have to go now,” Dasher said. He turned and his long red abdomen gleamed in the sun. “Bye Pindi, Bye, Mindi,” he called as he and Xylem flew off.
“Let’s go look for Ribbit!” Pindi said as Zoom turned towards the gutter.
“Ribbit,” called Pindi. “Ribbit, will you come say hi to us?”
“Ribbit may be hiding in the cool dark drains,” Mindi said. “He doesn’t like warm, sunny days. We may not get to see him.”
“We need to get back soon,” said Zoom. “I am getting hungry from all this flying. You two may be small, but you are heavy on my back.”
“Ok,” said Pindi. “But let’s swing by the pond and see if we can find Blade on our way home.”
Zoom circled the Red Japanese Maple Tree above the pond and found Blade lounging on a leaf. He waved a lazy hand at his cousins. “Hi little fairy cousins,” he called.
Pindi grimaced. She hated to be called a little fairy cousin. “We’re 13 now! We’re not little any longer,” she yelled.
“You’ll always be my little fairy cousins,” said Blade. “I love you guys, even if you are pests.”
“Boy fairies! Pindi scowled. “They think they’re so cool. Humph. Let’s go home, Zoom.”
Back at the Green Japanese Maple Tree, the fairies climbed down from Zoom’s back. “Thank you Zoom!” they called as Zoom left to find his lunch. “We had a great time.”
Mindi turned to her sister. “Let’s start planning our mid-summer celebration.”
“Ok,” said Pindi and they walked into the Grand Hall arm in arm.

​Poe is a blind common raven who lives at a bird rescue center. He has a secret life as a writer.
 
They can take my eyesight but not my memories and not my stories
 
As soon as he was sure all the handlers had left for the day, Poe got busy. He mentally thanked whoever designed the mews with gravel floors 4 feet deep. He unearthed his typewriter and dug a little deeper for the stub of his cigar. He’d have to ask the free birds who brought him scraps of paper and smuggled out his manuscripts to bring him another stogie soon.
Jazz and Vihar were arguing, as usual. The great horned owls were sisters, but they couldn’t agree on anything. “I was out of the nest first,” Jazz claimed. “That’s because you fell,” Vihar countered. The same argument, every night. Hoot, hoot, hoot, was all he heard as they bickered back and forth. But, they were paying him in mice to write their story, so he would put up with them.
Jumping up on his typewriter, his stogie in his beak, he swiped the cigar back and forth against the side of his mews until it lit. He took a deep breath and got ready to type
“Stop arguing, you two,” Poe croaked around the cigar in his beak. “Jazz tell me how you came here to the rescue center. Vihar, you can add your details after Jazz is finished. I can’t understand you when you both hoot at once.”
Vihar clicked her beak. She was annoyed, but she let Jazz speak first.
“We were living in a nest in a tall tree. Our parents were away a lot, hunting. Vihar and I were trying out our wings, seeing if we could fly. I jumped up and flapped my wings, then a gust of wind caught me, and I couldn’t get back to the nest. I kept flapping my wings, but I ended up on the ground. Some humans saw me and bought me food. I decided I had a good thing going,” Jazz went on. “Humans brought me food. Why should I learn to hunt when I had a ready supply of food delivered at my feet? But after a few days another human came and put me in a box and brought me here.”
Vihar hooted, “I landed on the ground a couple of days after Jazz did. “But I knew what I was doing!” It’s not my fault the wind gusted again.”
“I sat at the base of the tree waiting for our parents. Then some humans walked by and saw me. They brought me food, too. It was much easier to eat the food they brought than to try to fly back up to the nest,” Vihar explained.
“Our parents flew back and saw me sitting on the ground. They waited for a few days for me to fly back up to the next, but those other humans came and took me away in a box, too.” Vihar added.
“Now we live at the bird rescue center. We lived together in the same mews for a long time,” said Jazz. “Then, we started arguing and the humans separated us. Now, Vihar lives next door. That’s fine with me,” she said, clicking her beak.
“If I were living in the wild, I’d stay up in my favorite tree all day. I’d hunt at dawn and dusk. When I got hungry, I’d use my big asymmetrical ears to hear a squirrel skittering through the leaves on its way to its nest. I can see really well, too, so I’d know exactly where to swoop down to catch that squirrel for dinner, grasping it and killing it with my strong talons. They’re much stronger than any human’s. I eat just about anything I can catch.” Vihar added. “So does Jazz. She caught and ate a skunk once.”
“Hey, look what I can do,” Jazz piped in. She turned her head three quarters of the way around her body. “I bet you can’t do that,” she told Poe.
“I can’t see what you just did,” said Poe. “I’m blind, remember?”
“Oh, sorry,” Jazz said. “I just turned my head 270 degrees. I can’t move my eyes, so I move my head instead when I want to see to the side or behind me.”
“Cool,” Poe answered, dancing on his typewriter keys. “I think I’ve got this. I’ll finish typing it and push it through the slit in my wall to my friends on the outside. They’ll take it to my publisher.”
“Pipe down!” Star, a red-tailed hawk, called. “Some of us sleep at night.”
“We’re done for the night,” Poe replied. “You’ll get your turn to tell your story.”

Come to my house in the dark of the moon
On the night when the veil grows thin
Enter, and see what waits within

A blood-curdling scream
Silent wings glide by
A raven, an owl, or a ghoul?

I sit on the porch with my madly carved grin
My candle lights the way in
To my house in the dark of the moon

Guests come creeping along the ground
Slithering through the leaves
Staggering down the walk

Do you hear that skittering in the yard?
Is it leaves being tossed by the wind?
Or something more sinister, stalking?

A pale face swims out of the dark
with round black eyes and very sharp teeth
She’s waiting for you

Is your heart pounding in your throat?
Can you run? Can you hide?
Do you have the breath to scream?

Ignore the tingle on the back of your neck
The shiver along your spine
That sense that someone’s watching you

Look over your shoulder
There’s nothing there
Or is there?
​
Are you brave enough to walk up the steps?
Come through the door to see what waits
In my house in the dark of the moon

​Pindi burst into the grand hall panting, her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.
“Mother, Father, Mindi, the dragons are back!” Pindi gasped between breaths. “Can we go greet them? Please? There are so many! They’re resting in the Crape Myrtle Trees. Ka-a and his friends made room for them.”
“May we,” Queen Caelia corrected.
“May we go greet them?” Pindi repeated, bouncing from one foot to the other, impatient to get going.
“They’re here early,” said King Bran. “Let’s go speak with them. I’d like to hear about their migration.”
“There are lots of babies and young dragons with them,” Pindi said. “We can make friends.”
King Bran and Queen Caelia flew towards the front of the garden, followed by Pindi and Mindi. They saw hundreds of dragons sitting in the Crape Myrtle Trees. The dragons looked down from the branches, their long necks curving gracefully. Their wings shone with every color of the rainbow. Their eyes were kind.
“Wow!” whispered Mindi. “They’re beautiful.”
“Argan, Feyran, we are happy to see you,” King Bran called to the leaders of the blaze of dragons. “How was your migration?”
“King Bran, Queen Caelia, Princesses Pindi and Mindi,” replied Argan, nodding his head regally. “We are happy to see you. We had to leave our summer lands early. There were huge storms coming. I wanted to be gone before the winds and rains started. We flew quickly, ahead of the storms.” Argan was very formal in addressing the fairies. Fairy was not his best language. He spoke slowly and sometimes stumbled on the words.
“Did you have any trouble along the way?” asked King Bran.
Bored by the adults’ conversation, Pindi and Mindi flew over to a small group of young dragons.
“Hi,” they said. “We’re Pindi and Mindi. Welcome to our land. Let’s be friends!”
The young dragons all spoke at once, none of it in Fairy.
“I guess they don’t speak Fairy,” said Mindi. “We don’t speak Dragon. What shall we do?”
“We don’t need to talk,” said Pindi. We can use signs and gestures. And we can teach each other our languages.”
“Come on, let’s fly,” Pindi called to the dragons as she gestured with her arm. “Let’s go.”
A half dozen young dragons lifted off from the Crape Myrtle Tree and followed Pindi and Mindi.
“What if someone sees us?” Mindi asked.
“Don’t worry,” Pindi replied. “Most humans can’t see fairies, let alone dragons. We’re invisible to them because they don’t believe in us.”
Dragons are much larger than fairies, and they fly faster. Pindi and Mindi flew as fast as they could after the dragons, but they couldn’t catch up. They stopped at the large fir tree to rest.
“I don’t think they know they left us behind,” said Mind, pouting. “I wanted to get to know them.”
Just then, the dragons turned and flew back towards the Crape Myrtle Trees calling to Pindi and Mindi in Dragon.
“We’re here!” Pindi shouted, jumping up and down on a branch. “Over here!”
The dragons heard them and turned as a group, colors swirling like a sparkling rainbow.
One of the dragons nodded towards the fairies, turned her head, and jerked her neck back.
“I think she’s trying to tell us to climb in her back,” said Mindi. “Let’s go.”
Pindi chose a purple dragon and Mindi chose a pink one. They climbed up and the dragons took flight.
Pindi directed her dragon by pulling on her scales to go right or left. Mindi’s dragon followed. They flew until the dragons were tired, then headed back to the Crape Myrtle Trees. The dragons landed on branches and Pindi and Mindi leaped off their backs.
“That was fun!” Pindi said. “Let’s try to talk with the dragons.”
Mindi bowed her head to her dragon and said clearly, pointing at herself, “my name is Mindi.”
She repeated “Mindi” again. Her dragon nodded. She tried to say Mindi, but she couldn’t quite get her mouth around the sounds.
Mindi shrugged and pointed at her dragon and asked, What’s your name?”
“Spark,” said the pink dragon.
To Mindi, it sounded like “sssssparkkkk”. She tried to say the pink dragon’s name with the appropriate number of s’s and k’s. It was hard.
Spark smiled. Mindi’s attempt at saying her name was pretty good.
Pindi pointed to herself and said to her dragon, “my name is Pindi.”
The purple dragon looked puzzled. To her, Pindi sounded just like Mindi. Two fairies with the same name? That was weird.
Pindi pointed to the dragon and asked, “what’s your name?”
“Dazzle,” said the purple dragon.
Pindi tried to pronounce what sounded to her like “sszzazzle”.
Dragons and fairies giggled and tried to say each other’s names until Pindi heard her father call.
“Time to go,” she said. “Goodbye, it was fun flying with you today.”
At dawn the next morning, the blaze of dragons lifted from the branches of the Crape Myrtle Trees and flew south to their wintering grounds in the desert. It was a short stay, but Pindi and Mindi hoped Spark and Dazzle would be back next year.

Dauntless flew towards the north side garden where her brother, Intrepid, told her the fairies lived. She was jealous. Intrepid had met fairies and had even stayed with them while his wing healed. Intrepid was such a typical brother, Dauntless thought. Falling out of the nest while trying to show off because his feathers had grown in. He thought he could fly. He ended up falling and landing on a car.
Dauntless zoomed around the Green Japanese Maple Tree looking for fairies.
“Look”, Mindi called to her sister. “I don’t know that hummingbird. It looks a little like Zoom and Intrepid.”
“I see,” said Pindi. “Let’s go meet her.”
The sisters flew towards the new hummingbird.
“Hello,” Mindi called. “I’m Mindi and this is my sister, Pindi. We live here. Who are you?”
“Hi, I’m Dauntless, Intrepid’s sister. Intrepid told me all about you. I came to see for myself.”
“Intrepid came to say goodbye and to thank us before he left,” said Pindi. “He said he was moving north. I guess hummingbirds don’t always stay close to their homes.”
“No,” said Dauntless. “We’re Anna’s Hummingbirds. We don’t normally migrate, but we do fly around looking for food.
“Intrepid wanted to explore,” said Pindi. “He told us that when he came to say goodbye. He promised to come back to visit.”
“Do you want to meet our friends?” Pindi asked.
“Sure!” said Dauntless.
The fairies and their new friend flew towards the koi pond and the Red Japanese Maple Tree to find Blade. As usual, he was hanging out with his buddies, looking for adventure. Or more likely trouble, thought Mindi. Blade attracted trouble just like Pindi.
“Blade come meet our new friend,” called Pindi.
“This is Dauntless. She’s Intrepid’s sister and Zoom’s daughter.” Mindi explained.
“Dauntless, meet our cousin Blade. He’s a leaf fairy,” Mindi said.
“Let’s go find Xylem” Pindi said.
“Xylem?” Blade responded. “I’ll go with you.”
“Blade has a crush on Xylem,” Pindi whispered to Dauntless. “He doesn’t think we know.”
Three fairies and one hummingbird flew to the front of the giants’ house looking for Xylem. The found her sitting on a branch of the Crepe Myrtle Tree, her chin resting on her fist, looking bored.
“There’s nothing to do,” Xylem sighed. “And, its hot.”
“Come with us!” Blade called. “We’ll go play in the waterfall. It’ll cool us off and it’ll be fun.”
Pindi and Mindi exchanged wide-eyed looks. When had Blade ever suggested doing anything with them?  “He must really like Xylem,” Pindi whispered to her sister.
They all flew back towards the koi pond with its wide waterfall splashing down the wall. Dauntless was delighted to hear the water as they flew closer.
Blade flew sideways through the water. “Wow, that was great!” he shouted, shaking the water out of his hair as he landed on the wall and spread his wings to dry them. “Be careful not to get your wings too wet or you’ll fall,” he warned the others.
Dauntless wanted to go next. She danced in the air in front on the waterfall, jousting with her long, pointed beak. She didn’t want to dive through the wall of water like Blade did. She twirled and dove and shook the droplets from her wings when she landed on the wall next to Blade.
Pindi, Mindi, and Xylem counted to three and launched themselves into the waterfall together. They wove in and out of the water, giggling and turning. Halfway through, Pindi got caught in the water and couldn’t fly out.
“Help!” she cried, but her voice was drowned by the sound of the falling water. She tumbled down into the pond. Her wings were completely soaked and were too heavy to fly. Pindi couldn’t swim. She flailed her arms and legs helplessly in the water. “I’m drowning!”
Tigre, one of the juvenile koi swam over to Pindi. He wondered if she was a mosquito. Maybe he could eat her.
“No!” Pindi yelled. “I am not a mosquito. Don’t eat me.”
“What are you?” Tigre asked.
“I’m a fairy,” Pindi managed to say between gasps for breath. “I can’t swim. Please help me to the side of the pond.”
Tigre swam in a circle to see if the other koi were nearby. He didn’t see anyone. He turned his head and looked at Pindi again. “A fairy?” he asked. “I’ve never met a fairy before.”
“Well, I will be happy to introduce you to my friends if I ever get out of this pond.” Pindi said, exasperated.
“Ok, climb onto my back,” offered Tigre.
He swam close to Pindi and she grabbed on to his dorsal fins and dragger herself up. She lay across Tigre’s back, panting.
Tigre swam to the edge of the pond where Blade, Mindi, Xylem, and Dauntless were waiting.
Dauntless flew down to Tigre. She hovered just above the water. “Climb up,” she told Pindi. “I’ll fly you to the wall.”
Pindi was exhausted, but she managed to reach up and grab one of Dauntless’ feet. She hung on tightly as Dauntless rose, turned, flew to the top of the wall. Blade, Mindi, and Xylem flew right beside her.
Pindi collapsed on the wall, heaving for breath. She couldn’t believe what had happened; falling down a waterfall and being saved by a fish. She stretched her water-logged wings to dry them and said a heartfelt thank you to her friends. “You saved me. Thank you.”
“It was our pleasure,” all four of them replied.
 “That’s what friends are for,” said Dauntless.
And they all sat on the wall enjoying the sun and waiting for their wings to dry.

​ This is repost. I originally posted this in January 2019 but I couldn't find it when I went through the archives.  It is one of my favorites.
​
A small wooden carousel sits on the Piaza della Republica in Florence, Italy. It is owned by the Picci family and is carefully attended by a family member. It is a charming, colorful antique carousel with 20 horses and two gilded carriages. The horses stand two by two, leaving plenty of room for parents to stand next to children. The carousel makes people smile. It is magic.

At dusk, the attendant approaches the carousel carrying a box. He has come to remove the feather plumes from the horses’ headdresses and pack them away for the night. The tourists, all but two, are gone, finding their dinners and evening entertainment. One couple remains standing in the shadows of the Piazza, witness to an amazing scene.
“Finally,” sighed Eduardo, “that feather has been poking my head all day.”
“I like the plumes,” said Francesca, “they are like wearing a hat. I feel glamorous.”
“I hope the attendant brings soap and water,” Maria complained, “a little girl dripped ice cream all over my mane and shoulders. I feel so sticky.”
“Look, here he comes with a bucket. Ah, that warm water feels so good.”
“Oh, my aching back. And legs. And neck. And everywhere else,” griped Giuseppe. “Kids these days don’t know how to properly mount a horse. They were kicking me all day. I am getting too old for this.”
“I just love riding round and round, with a giggling child on my back,” gushed Marisol. She was the youngest of the horses.
“I wish we could jump off this carousel and gallop through the streets. We could race, like in the Palio di Siena,” Marco said with a lusty sigh. “It would be so much fun to race flat out instead of bobbing slowly up and down.”
“The horses that run in the Palio di Siena run around in a circle, too,” corrected Luigi. “They’re just faster. And they sometimes run into each other or crash into buildings or spectators. Besides, we have these poles running through our backs. We can’t go anywhere.”
“I can dream, can’t I?” Marco snorted.
“Horses, horses, calm down,” Anna pleaded. “It’s getting dark and I’m tired. Let’s all go to sleep. Tomorrow is another day. I wonder if we will get to wear the blue plumes? We’ve been wearing white for months.”
“Good night my lovelies,” said the attendant as he put away his bucket and picked up the box of feather plumes. “Sleep well. See you in the morning.”
The two remaining tourists looked at each other in wonder. “Let’s ride first thing in the morning.” They whispered good night to the horses and strolled away, hand in hand. “I wonder where we should eat dinner.” 

​Pindi and Mindi were playing on the fence when Zoom flew up to them. He was panicked. “My baby son fell from the nest!” he chirped between gasps for breath. He’s sitting on a car. He’s too young to fly. Plus, I think his wing is broken. Help me!”
They looked at each other in horror and flew to the Crepe Myrtle Tree where Zoom had his nest. There, on top of the giants’ car parked below the tree sat Intrepid, Zoom’s baby boy. He was wedged between the windshield and the hood.
“I’m afraid,” he chirped. “I can’t get out.”
Pindi and Mindi hovered around the baby, calming him as much as they could.
“What should we do?” Mindi asked. “How can we get him back to the nest?”
“If his wing is broken, he needs a healer,” said Pindi. “We can’t put him back in the nest if he can’t fly.”
Mindi looked up. “Oh, No! Here comes the giant. He’s coming to get in his car.”
Pindi and Mindi both flew to the giant and shouted as loudly as they could. “Don’t get in the car! There’s a baby hummingbird on your hood. He’s injured.”
“What? There are two of you?” the giant asked shaking his head. “Am I seeing double?”
“We’re twins,” Pindi shouted. “Will you help us with the baby hummingbird?”
“Can you lift the baby without touching him with your hands and carry him to our healer?” asked Mindi.
The giant nodded. He opened the car door and took out a small towel. Spreading the towel on the windshield, he used a corner to nudge Intrepid onto the towel. Then he gently picked up the towel with Intrepid clinging to it.
“Bring him to our tree,” Pindi said. “Our healer will help with his wing.”
Zoom flew around and around the giant holding his baby. “It will be ok,” he chirped. “The giant is taking you to help.”
“What are you two up to now?” King Bran demanded when he saw his daughters followed by the giant and a frantic Zoom.
“Intrepid fell from the nest and injured his wing. We’re taking him to our healer,” Mindi explained.
Later that morning
“There, there little guy. You’re going to be fine. It will just take awhile for your wing to heal. You’ll be flying in no time,” the healer told Intrepid. “You’ll need to stay with us until you can use your wing again.”
“I want to go home!” chirped Intrepid.
“Listen to the healer, son,” scolded Zoom. “He knows what he’s talking about. I’ll visit you every day, and you can play with Pindi and Mindi while your wing heals.”
Pindi and Mindi took turns playing with Intrepid and feeding honey nectar. Intrepid loved honey nectar and swallowed greedily. He got stronger every day.
Four Weeks Later
“My wing itches,” Intrepid complained. “When will you take off this cast?” he asked the healer.
“Let me check to see how you are healing,” said the healer. “Hummingbirds heal fast.”
“Hmmm,” he said as he gently moved Intrepid’ swing. “I think we can take off this cast today. You will need to be careful with it for another week or two.”
“Hooray!” shouted Pindi, and Mindi. “We can teach you how to fly! Let’s practice. Flap your wings.”
Intrepid stood up straight and flapped his wings. He opened his beak and chirped in amazement when he lifted off the ground. “I’m flying!”
“Careful son,” Zoom cautioned. He had just flown over from the Crepe Myrtle Tree to check on Intrepid. “You’re really good at flying. Take it slow. Don’t get carried away.”
The friends practiced flying every day. After a week, Intrepid was flying up and down and frontwards and backwards, with Pindi and Mindi right next to him. “This is fun!” he chirped.
“Let’s fly to your nest and surprise your father,” Pindi suggested.
Off they flew, towards the front of the house where the Crepe Myrtle Tree grew. Zoom was flitting around the garden, sipping nectar for lunch. He looked up and saw Intrepid flying with Pindi and Mindi. “What?” he asked. “You flew all the way home? That’s amazing. You are a fantastic flyer.”
Zoom and Intrepid said goodbye to Pindi and Mindi and spent the afternoon sipping nectar. All was well again.