My Long Lost Mate

"AAAHHHHHH!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, flailing my body as I suddenly fell from the sky, even seeing birds flying and staring at me weirdly.

The fall went on for a couple of seconds—which felt like hours—and all sorts of thoughts passed through my mind in that short yet long moment. Mostly about how I'm going to survive this fall, or how I'm going to meet my death.

The thought of being saved by the birds around me passed through my mind, but none of the birds were kind enough to help me with their wings. Then the thought of me falling straight to the ground passed, but I didn't dare think about how many bones I'd break before I succumbed to my death. I haven't even reached eighteen years of age. At least a few more months...

The horrifying thoughts and dread that surged through me were deemed useless when I felt myself falling onto something soft, minimizing the impact from the fall and drifting me away from all sorts of unwanted pain. I did die a little, though.

"I'm alive…" I let out the heaviest sigh, slowly opening my eyes to see the blue sky above me. The moment my body made contact with the soft, fluffy thing beneath me, I could feel something tickling my nose, making me sneeze a couple of times upon landing. "Ah-choo!"

Wanting to see if my body was still intact, I tried to sit up, using my hands to support my body, before realizing that I couldn't move.

W-what's going on?! Did I get paralyzed from the shock, or did a part of me unknowingly get separated from me while I was flying with the birds?!

"H-hello? Is anyone around?" I desperately called for help, but no one was around to—

"Ssshhhh!" I heard someone say from beside me, but with me unable to move, I couldn't turn my head to see who it was. "Are you trying to get us killed?!" By the tone of her voice, it couldn't be anyone else but Maggie.

"I can't move!!" I said, hoping she could help me or, at the very least, tell me if I still had my limbs attached to me. And wasn't she the one who was trying to get us killed?

"It's because we're stuck in these damned flowers!" she said, annoyed, but kept her voice low, as if she was afraid someone else would hear us. "Keep your voice down!" she hushed.

What flower? Is she saying that this fluffy thing under me was a flower, and a very sticky one at that?

"What do you mean?" I whispered the question, trying to look around as best as I could with my eyes. There was only the blue sky and the flying birds, and then something like a yellowish powder roaming in the air.

"We're stuck in the fairies' trap," she groaned, and it sounded like she was also trying to get herself out of this sticky situation. "I didn't know the entrance would be right above the fairies' garden."

"Then we should ask the fairies to help us out of here!" I suggested, knowing that fairies were kind creatures who loved to help others. "And maybe also ask them to show us the way to the Wishing Tree," I smiled, then breathed in, "HELLO? IS ANYONE AROUND? WE'RE STUCK HE—"

"What are you doing?!" Maggie quickly cut me off, and by the panic in her voice, it looked like I'd just made a huge mistake… which was probably true when I suddenly felt the world shaking under me. "I swear—"

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Someone—something—was coming, and in every step, I could feel a mini earthquake that seemed to shake this whole garden.

What's going on? Is it not a fairy that comes? Maggie was cursing non-stop, like an unstoppable train. It was hurting both my ears and my peace of mind, which was almost gone by this moment.

"Wow! We got two!" I heard a very hoarse voice say, then the ground shook even more ferociously as it ran towards us. A second after, I could no longer see the bright blue sky, but a massive purple-skinned creature with two little horns on its forehead.

It was so big that it immediately took up every space in my line of sight, and I haven't even seen its body. What is this thing? It was my first time seeing a creature this big.

"What is it? What is it?" Another someone said, and this time, it was a very high-pitched voice. Another purple-skinned creature appeared, shoving the first one aside to take a look at both me and Maggie. They were almost identical. "They're tiny," it said, and the smile on its face immediately vanished. "We won't get full by eating them."

Eat? Are they trying to eat us?!

"It's okay," said the hoarse one, offering a suggestion to its twin that didn't sound like good news for us. "We can keep them for dessert."

The idea of keeping us for dessert brought a smile to their faces, showing me their yellowish teeth and blue tongue. I was too stunned to even say anything, but not with Maggie, who kept throwing curses at the two creatures.

"Is this one broken?" The question made the two tilt their heads, confused as to why Maggie was throwing a tantrum and spitting holy water from her mouth.

"WE'RE NOT A FOOD!!" Maggie screamed, but they couldn't seem to hear what she was saying as they were too tall.

"Brother, what if it's poisonous?" The hoarse one asked, and the other patted its shoulder to assure it that nothing bad would happen. It seemed that the one with a hoarse voice was the sister, and the one with a high-pitched voice was the brother.

"Then, should we boil them in hot water to make sure they're clean?"

"FUCK! I SAID WE'RE NOT A FOOD!!" Maggie screamed yet again, and fortunately, this time, one of them seemed to have taken a hint of what she was trying to say.

The brother leaned closer towards Maggie, blowing a mini typhoon as it breathed. "Are you saying something, little one?"

"We're not a—" Maggie coughed as she was forced to inhale its foul breath, almost fainting and losing her spirit upon her first inhale.

"We're not a food," I helped her explain, holding my own breath as I did so.

"Then why are you stuck in our flowers?" asked the brother, making the sister lean in to listen to our voices.

"It was an accident."

The two looked at each other, wondering whether or not to trust us. "If you're not a food, what are you?"

"We're witches," I said, and they gasped. They quickly picked us up from the sticky flower, helping us clean the yellow powder off our bodies with their big fingers as soon as they realized who we were. Maggie looked taken aback by their gesture.

"What is a witch doing here?" asked the sister, her voice getting even more hoarse by the minute. They gently put us down on the ground, cleaning every bit of the sticky yellow powder from our capes. "Do witches still live here?"

"No, we live in the human world," said Maggie, pointing up to the sky, "We came in through the entrance that was right above your garden, which was actually the reason why we were stuck in your trap."

Maggie took a step back, keeping a safe distance between herself and the two creatures. Despite the fact that they had already helped us out of their trap, she lacked the ability to trust their good intentions.

"Why did you come here?" asked the brother as he sat down on the ground, making the ground shake once more. "It's not safe for you witches to be here if the weather is bad. Everyone is going to turn very vile."

"We're looking for the Wishing Tree," I said, and another gasp came. "Can you help us find the Wishing Tree? I need to—"

"Stupid! Do you think they would help us?" Maggie pulled me closer, whispering. "We were just their food a moment ago! I've had my fair share of fairies, and my past experience told me that—"

"The Wishing Tree?" Both of them asked the same question, tilting their heads in the same manner. "Why are you looking for the Wishing Tree?"

I looked at Maggie's desperate eyes, which were telling me to not trust them just yet, and then at the two creatures—the fairies. From what I can tell, I think Maggie was being too paranoid. These fairies didn't appear to be a threat to us in any way anymore—well, except for their size.

"I was told that its fruit can cure any illness in the world," I replied, ignoring Maggie's baseless concerns. "I need it to cure my mate."

The two fairies then looked at each other, frowning and shaking their heads. They turned to look at me with a solemn expression on their faces, drawing their thin brows together. 

"But the Wishing Tree is dead."