The Hidden Lives of All Magical Creatures
One night, when I was twelve years old, my seven-year-old sister woke up screaming from a nightmare. She was so frightened that she couldn't settle down enough to go back to sleep. Wanting to comfort her, I improvised the following fantastical story on the spot. As the tale unfolded, her fears gradually faded, and before long she drifted peacefully back to sleep.
Long, long ago, magical creatures lived on the young Earth. But they faced a growing problem. A new race, called humans, had begun spreading across the world. The humans multiplied quickly and soon far outnumbered the magical creatures.
As the humans spread, the magical creatures found themselves in increasing danger. The newcomers did not like sharing the Earth with them, and many magical beings feared for their future.
At last, the leaders of the magical creatures called a great council. One option was to fight the humans, but few favored that choice. The magical creatures did not wish for war.
Then an elder rose and offered another solution.
"We could become humans."
The thought of becoming human filled most of the council with fear. Murmurs swept through the gathering until one voice rose above the rest.
"We would lose what makes us who we are," the speaker said. "We would no longer be magical."
The elder waited for the murmurs to fade before speaking.
"We would still be magical," he said.
"How?" they asked.
"When humans who are descended from magical creatures fall asleep," the elder said, "their dreams carry them back to a magical land."
The council agreed to the elder's plan.
As a twelve-year-old boy trying to comfort my little sister, I brought the story to a close.
"Tonight is the greatest festival of the magical folk," I told her. "You need to go to sleep because you're really a fairy. Tonight, you're competing to become the Fairy Queen for the coming year. But if you don't go to sleep, you won't be able to compete—and you won't have a chance to become the Fairy Queen."
A few minutes later, she was asleep.
That is the gist of the story I made up for my little sister so many years ago. Through all the craziness of life, one lesson from that night has stayed with me: stories have the power to help us face our fears, navigate our struggles, and find hope.
That is the goal of everything I write.