I Do Believe in Fairies 

The magic of Walmart’s multi packs of glitter. 

Growing up I wholeheartedly believed in fairies. Not only did I believe that they existed but I also believed they often visited me. Try as I might I can’t remember what exactly led me to believe this. It could’ve been a story my Mom read to me, the Sky Dancers dolls I had or possibly Thumbelina. I think it was Thumbelina because I so loved that movie! Regardless the reason, I adored fairies. 

I dressed up as a fairy for Halloween, had a fairy birthday cake, received fairy themed presents and had all the books about fairies one could ask for, especially the book of all books; “Fairyology”. 

I would spend copious amounts of hours in the mud, dirt and sand building villages for my fairies to visit. While I had all the Barbie, Polly Pockets and Little Pet Shop houses and furniture, I believed the fairies didn’t like fake plastic and would only visit if it was made from the earth. I scavenged sticks, rocks, flowers, acorns, berries and anything I could find for my little friends. I built houses with mud walls, beds from bark and roofs from grass. I made houses, parks, restaurants, theaters and every building I thought a town could need. I made it colorful with flowers, leaves and berries. I added pebble cobblestone streets, swimming pools and got creative trying to weave long grass. I spent my springs, summers and falls outside constantly adding to my little city. 

At night when I was fast asleep the little fairies would visit leaving their sparkly pixie dust behind. Different fairies would leave different colored glitter and you could follow their paths through my town. I’d wake up and rush outside to see where the fairies had been during the night. I was always delighted when I saw their sparkling trails. Whenever I lost a tooth I would leave notes for the tooth fairy and she’d always write me back. She told stories of her friends or herself visiting my handmade village and leaving their magic dust behind. 

Years later I learned the truth, that the only magical being leaving behind sparkling dust in my fairy villages was my Mom. Maybe fairies aren’t real or maybe they are. Maybe they’re special humans with magic inside of them so little children can be excited to wake up in the mornings. Maybe they visit mud buildings at night or maybe they’re just sprinkling the multi pack of glitter they keep hidden in their sock drawer. 

Sometimes now when I see a little sparkle on the ground I stop to look at it and smile to myself and wonder what type of fairy had visited the night before.

I do believe in fairies. I do. I do. I do.