Story by [Linderel].
'I saw them go by there, I swear!'
The girl ran, bare feet slapping against the pavement in a staccato rhythm, every so often stopping to make sure her bigger companion was still following. Her pigtails lopsided and her cheeks a healthy red, she made the perfect picture of childish excitement. When she reached her destination, a small clearing in the forest on one side of the summer-dry gravel road, she stopped and then proceeded to bounce in place. A beatific smile on her heart-shaped face, she pointed at a fallen tree mostly obscured by other, younger plants.
This amazing find would surely cheer her brother up.
'Hannah, wait! Hannah, if this is another one of your nonsense stories, so help me, I'll--'
Gasping for breath, her brother leaned against a nearby tree and squinted at the clearing, trying to spot the creatures the little girl had supposedly seen only a few minutes ago. He doubted he would; Hannah was possessed of a particularly vivid imagination. A moment passed, then another. Pale and still wheezing faintly, he slid down to the ground and was about to open his mouth for a sarcastic remark when his sister wailed. Loudly.
'They aren't here! They were here, why aren't they here! They were-- they were here!'
She sniffled, eyes brimming with disappointed tears and her whole face transformed into a crumpled frown of such misery that he didn't have the heart to act the voice of reason. He sighed tiredly.
'Jasper,' she said, voice wobbling, 'I wanted to make Jasper smile. But they went away. Stupid fairies!'
The boy stifled a bark of startled laughter and then simply looked at his little sister. Yes, it would be like her to believe one of her flights of fancy would seem just as real and wonderful to someone else. Feeling suddenly warm, he took off his jacket, tied it to his waist and then rifled through his pockets. A slightly mischievous smile quirked his lips briefly as he found what he was looking for.
'Hannah, do you think fairies like sugar?' he asked, tone genuinely curious. When his sister turned to him, wiping at her face with both hands, he held up a wrapped caramel. She hesitated, then, brightening, started bouncing again.
'Yeah! Yeah! Fairies like sugar! It'd be silly if they didn't, really silly!'
The beatific smile was back. He returned it with a slight one of his own, then unwrapped the candy and broke off a piece. Giving it to Hannah, he pointed at the tree they had been looking at. In a whisper, he instructed: 'Go just a little bit closer, carefully. Make as little noise as possible, and when you get near enough, lay the candy on the trunk. Then come back here and stand right next to me. We'll wait, and when they smell the sugar, they'll come investigate, I think.'
Eyes round now, she prepared to do as told, moving as soon as the words 'okay, go' passed her brother's lips. As she made her way to the tree, he couldn't suppress an impressed grin: there was barely any noise. A little cat, she was. After she laid their bait down, though, she all but sprinted back, making him snort. Some practice was obviously needed. Maybe he could teach her some of the stealth techniques he'd learned at her age. Abandoning that train of thought, he drew her into a loose hug. She smelled like summer and baby shampoo, and he tickled her sides before stating: 'Now, we wait.'
It took a few more minutes and a short yet fierce tickle war, but slowly, slowly, a group of odd little lights began to gather around the fallen tree. Shocked, Jasper froze mid-dodge and could only stare. Blinking, he glanced uncertainly at his sister, wondering if it was merely his eyes playing tricks on him.
The expression of pure joy on her face set him straight, though, and suddenly he felt both very old and incredibly young. She was twirling in place, whooping in glee and clapping her hands. They were so small. Then she turned to him again, glowing, so happy, and looked like she might shout whatever it was that she wanted to say. Instead, the little girl lifted a finger to her grinning mouth in a shushing motion.
'It's our secret, right? No one will know but Hannah and Jasper?'
He smiled at her, a conspiratory smile, his eyes soft and just a little bit sad.
'Yeah. Our secret.'
The boy was nearly knocked down by the force of her exuberant hug, and just for a second, he clung to her. Then he stroked her head, letting her twist around in his embrace so that she could look at the tiny creatures flitting about in the clearing. He watched, too, and forgot how cold he had been mere moments ago.
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