I stood on the back doorstep, looking out across the garden. Plants had begun to take over the paths, littering them with pots and bags of potting mix. Although the backyard had changed, I could still remember where the fairies were at the bottom of the garden. Their home was tucked away in the deep corners of our property. Sometimes they were hidden beneath the seat which warmed in the sun, but sometimes they were burrowed under our garage where the bees resided. Sometimes the fairies would fly out of the bushes and trees in the farthest reaches of the garden, fluttering up from the shadows. I took a few steps towards the pocket of sun on the grass, allowing it to warm my body with its embrace. In seconds I was back. Back to the home of the fairies. Their world is compacted into the dark spaces of our world. The hidden space between leaves in a bush, or beneath a seat where the sun never reaches. This is where they hide the entrances to their world. Upon entering the home of the fairies, reality began to shrink. I felt like Alice after she shrinks to fit inside the small door hidden behind the curtain. This place was a second home. It had always provided me with an escape, just as it did now. The golden light of the fairy world cast a familiar hue across my body, illuminating the edges of the small space. Although I was small, the plants were not. Towering leaves formed the walls of the fairy world, acting as a barricade from reality. Ginormous flowers of all colours and shapes twisted through the space, forming platforms and ceilings for the fairies. I was quickly greeted by my old friends: Daisy, Dandelion and Buttercup. They were still wearing the same dresses I had last seen them in – the ones I had made for them. Daisy was wearing a dress of pink daisies, woven together like a chain. Dandelion was wearing a green and yellow gown, to match her namesake. Likewise, Buttercup was draped entirely in yellow. Her dress was dainty and beautiful. To ordinary folk the fairies would appear as fluffy dandelion seeds, floating through the world and granting wishes to anyone quick enough to catch them. To me they were the three young girls who had accompanied me through my childhood. The fairies who visited me during lonely afternoons, who brought me gifts to cheer me up. I could still smell their intense floral scents and hear their soft chitter-chatter. Although I had not visited for a while, the fairies were still just as happy to see me.
