Holiday Magick (25 page)

“No,” said Shyrelle and Jim in unison. Their parents were startled at their reaction and the looks of horror on their faces. Both kids stared up at their parents, eyes darting back and forth.

“I know you like that oak, but it's where we want the house,” said their mother.

“Mommy, we have lots of space here and it is the oldest, largest, and most beautiful tree in our little forest. Why can't we change where the house goes? Just a little?” asked Shyrelle.

“We only have two acres, up to the edge of the field over there and the house on that side.” She hesitated and seemed to be thinking about their request as she continued, “That oak and the white pine in that corner are the oldest trees, and most of the other trees
are
small. Let's do this—we'll talk tonight. Daddy has to finish cutting up this tree before we go home. Why don't you two play until then?”

Jim and Shyrelle looked at each other and smiled. “We'll stay around the oak, Mommy,” called Shyrelle, as she and Jim ran back.

When Shyrelle and Jim returned to the base of the ancient tree, Muime and Aria flew down and stood on a low branch. Muime asked, “Can you get them to change their minds?”

“Hey!” said Jim, looking around to find the source of the soft voice. “There are two of you!”

“Yes, this is Aria, my granddaughter. She was in the oak when we talked. I didn't want her to be in any danger.”

“You're tiny people who fly!” exclaimed Jim.

“Actually,” said Muime, “humans are big fairies who cannot fly. A mutation happened millions of years ago, and some fairies grew bigger and lost the ability to fly. They developed into short humans—like pygmies, or like ‘hobbits.' Over time, some humans got bigger and bigger. There are still many of us original fairies around the world, but that number goes down every year, as more of our forest homes are cut down.”

“Wow,” said Shyrelle. “Why can't some humans see you?”

“As humans got bigger, we little people became forgotten, unimportant, and they stop noticing us. Usually it's only children who can see us. Children like you.”

“I don't know if we can change our parents' minds and save your tree, but we'll try. My dad's hard to change once he decides,” said Shyrelle.

“We could try our magic, but it doesn't always work,” said Muime.

“Magic? What can you do?” asked Shyrelle.

“Different things. If they are open to the idea and touch the tree when we're inside, we can get the thought in their minds. Some people probably will never be open to it, like loggers, so they won't change. We can try, if you can get them over here before you leave. It might work quickly, or it might work when they're sleeping.”

“Jim, let's get Mom and Dad now!”

“Okay,” Jim replied excitedly, and they ran off to their parents.

Several minutes later, they came back with their parents. “Mommy and Daddy, we want you to see this tree again. Touch it. See how the bark feels,” suggested Shyrelle.

Their mom immediately reached out her hands and put them on the trunk. “Wow, I feel something unusual. It feels alive, somehow.”

“It
is
alive, Mom,” said Shyrelle.

“I know, but touching this tree feels like touching one of our cats. It's spooky.”

Shyrelle and Jim glanced at each other.

“I don't want to touch it,” replied Dad, laughing. “It might put a spell on me.”

“Yeah, Dad. Maybe you'd turn into a tree!” responded Shyrelle.

“I don't want you to think I'm afraid of touching it. I'll give the tree a big hug to show you it won't feel the same to me as it did to your mom.”

Dad gave his lemonade to Jim and reached around the tree in a big bear hug. “It doesn't feel any different to me than any other tree,” he said, turning back toward his mom.

“Different people sense different things,” answered Mom, still gazing at the tree trunk.

“It's a big, old, and fine-looking tree, kids, but it's where we want the house. That's a problem. It's almost time to go. Can I have my drink back, Jim?”

“Here it is,” Jim replied as he reached out with the cup.

“We'll call you soon about going home, and no complaining,” said Mom distractedly.

Mom and Dad walked to the other part of the lot, and Shyrelle and Jim heard Mom say she might want to change the plans and keep the oak. The fairies' message through the tree had started working on her.

Jim looked to see where the fairies were, knowing they must have heard everything.

“Hi,” said Muime in her soft voice. Jim and Shyrelle both jumped a little, still surprised to hear a voice in the air. “Did you see me drop something into the lemonade you were holding?”

“No,” said Jim.

“
I
saw you near the cup,” said Shyrelle. “What were you doing?”

“I put in a potion to make your dad dream about the oak. It's an empathy powder, mixed from several roots. Get him to talk about the tree in the morning. Don't try to persuade him. Remembering the dream may be enough.”

“Wow! That's powerful,” marveled Shyrelle.

“It's simple compared to what Muime and her family and friends did a hundred years ago. They got hundreds of people to create a special tree day,” bragged Aria.

“What do you mean?” said Shyrelle. She turned to Muime and asked, “Can you tell us?”

“I'd be happy to. It was easy because we worked with kids like you who understood the importance of saving and planting trees. We only had to use our special powers with a few adults.”

“Tell us,” said Shyrelle.

“Please,” agreed Jim.

“Do you know where Nebraska is?”

“Yes,” said Shyrelle. Jim looked puzzled, so Shyrelle explained, “It's near the state where Uncle Paul lives—Iowa.”

“Oh,” said Jim.

“Nebraska,” said Muime, “has lots of farms and few trees. There were even fewer trees back then. There was a leader out there who wanted to have more trees, but he didn't know how to get them planted. He was deeply curious, and knew there was a lot more happening in nature than most people understand. He could see us. We became friends with him and gave him the idea of a special day dedicated to planting, saving, and protecting trees.”

“Arbor Day,” shouted out Shyrelle. “I remember that from school. But why? Why are trees important to you?”

“They're our homes, and they are truly incredible creatures. Trees provide shelter and food to animals, protection against the weather for everyone's homes, and clean air for all of us to breathe. Fairies go back thousands of years with trees. Some trees, like this one, are so old that they can tell us about what happened in the past, like when there were years of drought.”

“Oh, I didn't know,” gasped Shyrelle. “Tell me more.”

“We can help humans, like your mom, understand the importance of trees because we know trees better than anyone. We use our ancient magic to convey the love of trees to them, and you can help by telling them about
why
trees are so important.”

“Tell me more about how you started Arbor Day,” asked Shyrelle.

“Once we had our friend, J. Sterling Morton, settled on the idea of having a special tree day each year, we needed to spread the message. We asked every fairy within hundreds of miles to help. They came from all over. We focused on talking to the children who could see and hear us, and then they talked to their parents and teachers. The first Arbor Day had students across Nebraska leading parades and tree-planting celebrations. Over a million trees were planted the first day! It was wonderful! From there, a group of us fairies chose to work on spreading the holiday. We were able to get fairies around the country involved, and other states started Arbor Day celebrations. Then fairies in other countries heard about it, and helped people do the same thing in their lands.”

“Maybe, if you could do all that, we can get our dad to change, too?” Shyrelle hoped, her eyes wide.

“We hope that you can get him to change! For now, let our magic work. When he wakes up tomorrow morning, just get him to talk. We'll be here when you come back,” said Muime.

“Kids, let's go home and have dinner,” called Mom.

“We're coming,” they both yelled back. “See you soon,” they whispered to Muime and Aria as they scampered off toward the car.

“Good luck,” called Muime.

The next morning, Shyrelle and Jim ran up to the old oak tree and whispered, “Hello?”

“Hello,” responded Muime and Aria, looking down at them.

“It worked!” Shyrelle exclaimed. “This morning, Dad started talking about a dream he had last night. We asked him all about it. At first he didn't want to.”

“Yeah,” said Jim, “But he did, finally.”

“He sat there quiet, drinking his tea and looking out the window at the oaks and maples in our backyard. He wakes up slowly, you see,” explained Shyrelle. “Mom came down and he told her he'd been dreaming about your old white oak. He
never
talks about dreams. He seemed confused about how he was feeling and what to do. He told Jim and me to go play in the other room, but we stayed near the door and listened.

“He didn't want to change his mind about the house location, but he thought he should save the oak tree. Mom wanted to save as many trees as they could, so they talked it over. The two of them called the contractor. It turns out that it won't be that hard to change the house and driveway locations a little bit, so we can save your oak tree
and
most of these other trees!”

“See, both of you have power, too,” said Muime, with a huge grin.

“Wow! That's true,” said Shyrelle.

“Can we land on you?” asked Muime.

“Yes,” said Jim.

“Sure!” exclaimed Shyrelle.

Muime flew onto Jim's left hand and Aria flew onto Shyrelle's right.

“We thank you forever,” said Muime. “Please remember us, and visit us often while you live here and get older. You have great power and might be able to save many trees around the world.”

“We will,” said Shyrelle. “We can start right here. Jim, let's invite kids over and introduce them to our new friends. They can help.”

Muime and Aria smiled at them, looking forward to working with them in protecting trees. Jim and Shyrelle continued to talk excitedly, making plans for saving more trees. Shyrelle had big ideas for getting her school involved and Muime was hopeful for the future, knowing that dedicated humans can persuade others and make a difference in the world.

Memorial Day—originally called “Decoration Day”—was a national day of remembrance established following the U.S. Civil War. Traditionally, people place flags on the graves of the fallen to honor their sacrifices. In the past century, the practice has been extended to cover those who have died in all U.S. wars or military conflicts, and many local towns honor them with parades and official ceremonies. While some people continue to honor soldiers on this day, others seem to have forgotten the day's true meaning and instead have cookouts, picnics, and trips to the beach. However, is there another reason why people need to stop on Memorial Day and recognize those who served their country? Might there be a time when those soldiers will again be called upon to protect the citizens?