That moonless night, a curious group stopped at the edge of the forest, contemplating what awaited ahead of them. It was time to say goodbye to those who were about to venture back into the Land of the Unseen.

Hoity Toity looked like the happiest and most optimistic of them all. He was joking and winking at every joke, even if he was the only one laughing. Rosemary tried to smile, always looking for Parsley's gaze. He tried to smile at them, but his smile faded every time their eyes didn't meet.

The only one who didn't smile was Sage. In his gray attire and covered in a black cape, Sage looked like a true warrior. His hair fluttering in the wind made him look even more threatening. He looked at them all in turn and no one dared to say anything. Ferry, Ben, and Matilda had also joined their fairy friends for the farewell.

While the others were saying goodbye, trying to joke to chase worries away, Sage approached Ferry and took him aside.

"Listen, Garrett, I know we haven't gotten along much lately," he said in a serious voice looking at Ferry dead in the eyes, "but I want you to be careful while we're gone. I don't know how long we'll be gone. A lot can happen in the meantime. So you'd better mind of your own and stay away from trouble."

Ferry nodded.

"And when I mean to mind your own, I'm talking about Matilda," he continued in the same tone. "She's dealing with a lot right now. She's disappointed that she wasn't allowed to participate in the selections for the football team. She's worried about Ben and Bianca. And she's very insecure about the future. She certainly doesn't need your insecurities."

Ferry frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you made a promise to leave her alone. I expect you to be a man of honor and keep your word. She needs time to think until I get back. She doesn't need distractions and silly games of feelings."

Ferry clenched fists. He wanted to tell Sage his feelings for Matilda were not a game. But he didn't. The last thing he needed was a new confrontation with Sage in front of everyone.Sage glared at him once more, then walked away. Ferry didn't take his eyes off him. Sage stepped closer to Matilda and all the clouds in his eyes disappeared.

"I want to give you something," he told her. "I wanted to give it to you for a long time, but I didn't find the right time," he added and handed her a scarf in which an object was wrapped. "Now, I think it's the right the time"

Matilda unfolded it and discovered a dagger in a metal case engraved with strange symbols."Sage, you shouldn't ..." she said, without taking her eyes off the dagger. "I know how much you care about it."

"I want you to have it," he said, wrapping her hands in his. "I have Thyme's weapons."

Matilda shook her head, folding it back, "I don't want it ... It's like-- like saying goodbye ..."

Sage gently lifted her chin with his finger, and Matilda looked at him. "Not goodbye, Matt ... Just farewell. I'll come back to you. I promise," he said and cupped her cheek with his palm.

Matilda tried to smile and slowly put her white hand on his arm.

"Sage, let's go! It's getting late," Rosemary called him, taking one last look at Parsley.

Sage wrapped himself in the black cloak and joined the others. Three figures headed for the forest that seemed to be waiting for them. Sage turned, and gave Matilda one last look, then was swallowed by the darkness with the others.

Matilda was still staring at the forest long after they were gone, not ready to leave. Ben stepped closer, "Matt, let's go home. It's not safe here ..."

Matilda nodded and joined Ben, walking away from the forest. She stopped near Ferry and seemed to want to say something. Their eyes met and they looked at each other for a moment. Ferry wanted to tell her everything would be fine. But the words got stuck in his throat. Matilda passed him by and continued on her way with Ben. Ferry and Parsley headed for Lavender's house in the opposite direction. The night fell on everyone even heavier.

*

That night, Ferry fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. He was awakened by Lavender who shook him hard.

"Ferry, wake up! We can't find Oona."

Ferry quickly pulled a shirt over him and went outside. Dawn was barely setting.

"She's not in her room. She's nowhere near the house," Lavender said. "I've been looking for her with Parsely for more than an hour."

Ferry looked around, but there was no sign of her. The sun was beginning to show itself, piercing the horizon with spears of light. Where to start the search?

He headed for the fountain, Oona's favorite place. Something shone in the grass: a snowdrop. Oona always left snowdrops behind when she was happy. He took a few more steps. Other snowdrops loomed in the grass like dewdrops in the morning.

"I'm going to look for her," Ferry told Lavender and Parsley. "I think I know where to find her."

"Be careful, Garrett," Parsley said. "It can be a trap, and we can't come with you."

"A trap?" Ferry wondered. "Oona wouldn't do that to me," he said, shaking his head no.

"Garrett, Oona doesn't know you. She doesn't remember anything from her past life, so she can't remember you either, no matter how much you wish for that. All she knows about you is that you're a boy from this town who took her away from her mother. Even if you saved her life and took her out of that house, her mother, whoever she is, is the only being she knows. Why do you think she didn't look for her? Maybe Oona let you take her out of that house knowingly. Maybe you brought a spy among us."

Ferry felt his jaw clench. He followed the snowdrops without saying anything more. Parsley was wrong. Oona couldn't do that to him. Oona was his friend, and somewhere in the depths of her soul, she knew him.

The snowdrops-covered path took him away from Lavender's house. And he was not a little surprised when the snowdrops were seen at the edge of the forest, continuing to see the path that led to the thicket of the forest. Ferry looked all around him. In the honey light of the morning, the forest resounded and trembled with life like a restless child who can't wait for a new day of freedom and play. Ferry followed the snowdrop and came to an old tree in which a deep hollow was embedded. Oona was peacefully sleeping in that hollow, wrapped in wildflowers, leaves, moss, and thin grass.

Ferry touched her white shoulder, and the red-haired fairy opened her eyes. At the sight of him, she smiled, yawned, and stretched out her white arms.

"I had the strangest dream," she said in her sweet, melodic voice. "It was as if I was dancing under a gentle sun, which did not burn me like this one here. Then I got up in the air and flew over some tree-houses from which came out all sorts of curious beings, dressed in colorful clothes. Then came endless fields of wheat sprinkled with blue flowers. And I was flying high, ever higher towards the warm sun that did not burn me but gave me strength and joy. I was so happy," she said. Then a shadow of sadness appeared in her eyes, "I wish that dream never ended."

Ferry reached out, helped her out of the hole, and shook the grass from her hair and clothes.

"Let's go home, Oona," he said softly.

The fairy nodded and wrapped her thin hands around his neck, stepping lightly into the soft grass.

"What makes you so sad, Ferry?" she asked him. "You treat me so nicely, and I only bring you trouble, I can tell. Could I make you feel better?"

Ferry shook his head, "I'm not sad ..." he said. "At least, I wasn't, some time ago. I was happy and full of dreams, and I saw life in vivid colors. Only now, I don't see life as clearly as I used to..."

Oona caressed his cheek with her delicate hand.

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?" he asked.

"For not giving up on me. You have a good heart, Ferry,"' she added, looking at the trees and the paths in front of them. "I don't know if this is a blessing or a curse ..."

Ferry led her on sideways to Lavender's cottage. The old fairy and the lizard-man greeted them, breathing a sigh of relief at their sight.

"That's all we needed," Parsley muttered. "An amnesic fairy who walks in her sleep ..."

Ferry pretended not to hear him, and led Oona inside, placed her on the armchair, and poured her some chamomile tea into a chipped cup.

"She seems to be remembering," he told Lavender. "She told me about a place she dreamed of. It was Tenalach, I'm sure of that."

But Lavender shook her head, "That's not possible," she said. "Once you have passed through the Valley of Oblivion, your memories are lost forever."

"Then how can she control the weather? How can she leave snowdrops behind? How can she still do magic?" Ferry insisted.

"Being a fairy is in her nature, whether or not she remembers it," Lavender said. "She can learn how to use her fairy powers again. I could help her myself. But that doesn't mean she'll ever remember who she was .."

"How sad it must be ..." Ferry said, watching Oona sway, mumbling a song. "To know, inside your soul, that something is missing, but not to realize what that is. To have your mind and heart torn into pieces you don't know how to put back ... And whatever you do or become, your life will always be incomplete ..."

Lavender put his hand on his shoulder. "Sometimes it's better to remember, even the bad things, than not to remember at all ..."

*

After dinner, Ferry trained late into the night. He wielded the sword and spear, and aimed at the bow and arrows; he even tried to hit the target with one of Lavender's kitchen knives. All the weapons Thyme had left in the human world were now in Sage's possession. His training made him feel safe, now that he was always on his own. And it also made him forget for a while about the disappearance of Bianca and the pain of his friend and his family, but mostly, of not being able to come close to Matilda. He made a promise, and no matter how hard it was, he had to keep it.

Parsley joined him, watching him from aside, "I never liked weapons," he said as Ferry paused to drink some water.

"Neither do I," Ferry said, taking off his shirt and wiping himself with it. "But it seems I have to."

"You're doing well," Parsley told him. "And you will do better. I tried, too. But my hands are covered in scales and the weapons slip out of my hands all the time. Good thing the gardening tools are made of wood," he smiled.

"Well, since my fairy skills are not in a hurry to come out, at least I should know how to defend myself," Ferry said. "I don't even master the basics," he sighed. "I'd love to turn invisible. Or go through the walls."

"That's not that hard. I, of course, can turn unseen at will. I just have to think about it. You have to use the moonlight for that.

"How?" Ferry wondered.

"You have to drown in the moonlight and become one with it. Come," he said.

Ferry followed Parsley down the path behind Lavender's house where the shade of the trees did not reach. The moonlight poured over the bushes of wild roses and over the herbs. A cone of light came off the moon, falling perfectly in the middle of the path.

"Look, sit there, right in the center of the path," Parsley encouraged him.

Ferry did as he was told.

"Now, close your eyes. Think of something that has always brought you peace. A scent. A place. A touch. A person ... Anything ..."

https://youtu.be/5ZOVp2cB95Y

Ferry closed his eyes. Parsley's words drifted farther and farther away. He could feel the moonlight on his skin as it got heavy and flooded his every pore. It was nice and warm. Fireflies rose to the sky, becoming one with the stars. Then, she came. Matilda. She smiled at him, her cheeky smile. She got closer and touched his hand. When their fingers intertwined, she stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him. Her kiss took his breath away. He felt nothing else. He felt only her.

"Now open your eyes," he heard Parsley's voice coming from afar. "Raise your hand..."

He opened his eyes and her image faded. He looked at his hand and saw the rose bushes as if in a fog. Then he realized he was looking through his hand. He could feel the ground slipping from under his feet. Parsely supported him.

"Come on, get some rest," he told him.

Ferry slowly sat on the thick grass, taking deep breaths. He didn't know whether the dizziness that gripped him was because he almost became invisible or because he realized he was in love with Matilda."I did it," he whispered.

"Yes, you did," Parsley smiled. "From now on, your fairy skills will come out one by one. You'll see."

But Ferry turned sad, "Does that mean I have to leave this place?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to do it before the age of twenty-one. But if you don't do it with an open heart, if you don't leave this place because you want to, not because you have to, all your powers, no matter how great, can't help you defeat the enemy. You see, Olarf, the Spear of Justice is shown in extraordinary circumstances, and if not all the conditions are met, then the Spear can't reveal itself."

"What are those conditions?" Ferry asked.

"Well, first of all, there must be a situation in which justice must be done; when something or someone that caused a lot of suffering must be destroyed. Then you need the Moon's Tear which is activated by the moonlight. Then, you need the Spear Carrier, a fairy with great powers, in whose presence the Spear appears. And the Spear Handler. We believe they both represent one and the same person as it happened last time in Tenalach. But that's not all. When Olarf is formed in five different worlds, the Tear of the Moon gains unusual powers. It is as if it is recharging in each of the five worlds."

"What kind of powers?"

"It's been a long time since Olarf was complete. But the elders say the Tear becomes so strong, it can bring warmth to an entire world. Or it can create life. But this has happened so long ago, that we do not know whether it's the truth or a myth.

Ferry was lost in thought. His mission seemed more complicated and difficult with each passing day.

"What about the Moon's Tear? What's its story?"

Parsley looked around, and his voice turned mysterious as he replied, "The Moon's Tear is a priceless stone. It is said that a drop of moonlight fell on a stone on the head of a dragon when dragons were still claiming the sky. After the Fall of the Dragons, the stone had several carriers. Only a few managed to reveal the Spear of Justice with its help. You see, it's important for the Carrier to have a good heart. Because, if it fits in the wrong hands, and the Carrier has a dark heart, the Tear can become a dangerous weapon that can do a lot of harm. It can replace an entire army. It can unleash wars. It can destroy entire worlds and destroy innocent souls.

That is why its secret and that of the one who keeps it must be hidden, known only by as few creatures. Some beings, such as the little people, can feel it. They can feel its presence and that of its Keeper. Its power, like any great magical item, can become overwhelming. And sometimes even a burden to the Keeper."

"So the Spear only works if five conditions are met," Ferry said. "A situation where justice is required, the Moon's Tear, the Keeper, the Carrier, then the Handler. Without even one of these, the Spear of Justice does not form, and the enemy cannot be defeated."

"Exactly," Parsley said.

"Don't you think there are too many conditions," Ferry said, thinking. "What are the chances they will all be met?"

"These worlds work in mysterious ways," Parsley said. "It has already happened in Tenalach, and we didn't even expect it. It can happen again."

*The next day, at noon, the gate of Lavender's garden creaked and Ben entered. He looked just as tired and weak but had a small spark in his eyes. Hope.

"I thought we'd spend the day together if you don't mind," he told Ferry. "The wait is killing me, he said. "Can I stay here for a while?" he asked Lavender.

"You're always welcome here, Benjamin," she smiled.

"Come on, let's go to my room," Ferry told him.

Ben followed him to his room on the terrace.

"Any news from Sage?" he asked as soon as they reached Ferry's room.

Ferry shook his head no.

"I hate that uncertainty," Ben said. "I can't focus on anything. I can't stay at home anymore. My parents started renovating the house and the garden, just to get their minds on something else. But to no avail. I see them starting something, then stop in the middle of it, then abandon it completely. My sisters still roam the forest, searching for her. So do our classmates. They don't want to give up, although I can tell they are starting to lose hope with each day. Celia and Billy join me in the forest every day after school. I wish I could tell her about fairyland ..." he sighed.

"We can't tell her yet, although I think her parents are no strangers to fairies. It's better for her safety. How are things between you two, now that you're back together again?"

"Okay, considering the situation," Ben said, blushing. "Her parents still don't know about us. But they will probably find out soon, now that everyone at school knows."

"I'm happy for you, Ben. I really am."

"What about you and Matt?" Ben asked.

Ferry sighed, "It's complicated ... I mean we're talking again... but she still doesn't want to have anything to do with me. She still avoids me. Even now when--"

"When what?"

"Nothing. I was wondering ... Doesn't it seem strange to you that Sage has always been with her? That they spend so much time together?"

Ben frowned, " I think that's because he's lived with Matt's family since he came to Goodharts. 

Besides, Sage is an Amalgham. It is not in their nature to get attached to anyone, especially to a human. But anyway, I will be forever grateful to him that he went in search of Bianca. You need a lot of courage to face the fairies of Tenalach."

Ferry didn't say anything. It seemed that Sage had become everyone's hero and everyone had only words of praise for him. Maybe he saw him in a different light just because he liked Matilda, too. Maybe Sage was a good person, after all.

"What do you want to do today?" he asked Ben just to change the subject. Sage was not exactly his favorite subject of discussion. "We could train in the garden."

"I'm not very good at that. I would only stay in your way. Do you have books?"

"I'm afraid that apart from Lavender's Book of Fairies, there aren't many books in this house. Rosemary took the book about plants with her."

"No, I've already read them," Ben said.

"You read the Book of Fairies? I've been trying to finish it for years. I always get myself lost in it ..."

Ben laughed, "You're a dreamer, Ferry."

Ferry also laughed, "You're not the first to tell me that. Celia told me that, too. You two have more in common than I thought."

Ben agreed, looking down, "I like her a lot, you know? In fact, I think it's more than like. More than a crush. I think-- I think I'm in love with her."

Ferry gave it a thought. He remembered the last night when his feelings for Matilda helped him reveal one of his fairy powers."

"How do you know?" he asked Ben. "That it's more than just a crush?"

"I guess it's more than the fact that you think about that person all the time. I think it's because everything around reminds you of her, even if it has nothing to do with her ... And when you think about her, you feel that weird feeling in your stomach and then all over your body. Like a shiver, you know?"

Ferry nodded. He, too, had felt the startle Ben was talking about. Just one time. What he thought he had felt before paled compared to what he felt now.

Ben now walked around his room, studying the few things Ferry had. The bed, the chair, and the closet were tree trunks transformed into pieces of furniture. The bark had peeled off, revealing the trunk in which rain, wind, and snow had become encrusted.

An idea came to Ferry. He knew what he could give Ben to read. Something he should have read a long time ago.

He searched under the bed and rummaged in the wooden box in which he kept his things. He went out with Mrs. Cobbs' diary. At the sight of it, Ben's eyes sparkled.

"I completely forgot about it," he said. "Mrs. Cobbs always said people in this town had a connection to fairies. Maybe they still have. Maybe we can find out something about that."

"I know," Ben agreed. "But we must also read the letters from that mysterious man, even if they are so intimate."

"We'll flip the coin," Ferry decided. "One reads the diary, and the other the letters, then we switch."

Ben rummaged in his pockets for a coin to toss in the air. He had to read the letters. Ferry felt that Ben was no stranger to intimacy. According to Celia's diary, what happened between the two of them had passed the makeout stage.

The boys spent the whole day reading Mrs.Cobbs' diary and letters. Lavender found them sitting on the floor, so immersed in reading, that they didn't even notice the cookies and juices she had brought.

Ferry had already read some of Mrs. Cobbs' diary. The pain of losing her little girl went beyond the pages. Then, the story became more complicated with each page. Nick, Mrs. Cobbs' husband had also disappeared into the woods. 

Then a mysterious man appeared who offered to help her and whose name did not appear in the diary. Gradually, between the young Mrs. Cobbs and the mysterious man an intense love story blossomed from which she desperately struggled to get out, but to which she returned every time. Moreover, that man seemed to believe her about the fairies, which had made Mildred Cobbs fall even more in love with him.

Ferry read about their secret meetings at the lake house, about desire, lust, guilt, regrets, helplessness. Mildred Cobbs' life had always been turbulent. Her love affair had not stopped even after her husband returned from the forest. Nick had returned from the Land of the Unseen another man. With his mind troubled and animal impulses, Nick Cobbs had become a danger to himself and others. The mysterious man advised Mrs. Cobbs not to hospitalize him, but to keep him hidden for when the fairies would return after him.

Then in Mrs. Cobbs' life a new character appeared--a woman whom she had named S in the diary. S was connected to the Pride Mansion and had even taken Mildred Cobbs there in secret. The two had tried several times to enter a secret room of the mansion but failed. Ferry's heart skipped a beat as he read what that room was-- the last room on the third floor.

The story became even more tangled and dangerous, and the language more and more cryptic. S disappeared from Mrs. Cobbs' journal. And the mysterious man had a new name. A name that made Ferry shudder: the monster.

But what Mrs. Cobbs discovered at Pride Mansion had made her withdraw from her investigations. She talked about a gathering and what the participants of that gathering had done. As she had noted, staying away from the horrors of the mansion was the only way to stay alive and see her missing daughter again.

Then, the boys switched and Ferry read the mysterious man's letters. And he understood why Mrs. Cobbs couldn't resist him. The small, sharp handwriting, sometimes with grammatical errors, seemed to belong to a calculated man who considered all the possibilities. Every word, every sentence was written in such a way that it left no shadow of a doubt. The desire, the passion, the confidence behind every word went beyond the pages. The letters were always signed with: Forever yours, A.

Ferry read the last lines of the last letter. It seemed that at some point, Mrs. Cobbs refused to see the man again, and their story ended abruptly. An old photograph fell from the pages of the letter. Ferry studied the photo: a man and a woman were kissing at the edge of the Shepherd's Forest. Ferry recognized it by the oak on the edge, much younger at the time. Yet, the man's face was blurry and he couldn't recognize it.

Ferry put the letters aside. He could feel his temple pulsing. Ben finished reading the diary, too. The speed with which Ben read had always amazed Ferry. He could read three books in one night if he put his mind to it.

"Ben, what do you think?" Ferry asked.

Ben adjusted his glasses, "Well if we look at the dates of the letters, Mrs. Cobbs' affair with the mysterious man began after her husband disappeared into the woods. Moreover, that man believed in fairies or so he claimed. The same man is related to the Pride Mansion."

Ferry frowned, "Who is this man?"

"Maybe a former employee of Pride Mansion. Maybe he's not even in this town anymore. Maybe he's not even alive anymore."

Ferry shook his head, "Something doesn't fit. You know Oona was talking about a mysterious man who has something to do with Mrs. Jones and Kian. The Monster, that's what she called him. And I don't think it's a coincidence."

"Do you think they are one and the same?" Ben asked, scratching the back of his head. "That means this man must be about ... ninety, a hundred years old now. There is no man that old in this town."

"What if he's not human, Ben? What if he's a fairy?"

Ben shook his head, "If he's one and the same with the man in the photo, he's not a fairy. Fairies do not appear in photos."

Ferry nodded. Ben was right, as usual.

"I have to go," he said, getting up." I don't want my family worries about me," he added with a wave of sadness in his voice. "And thank you! Even though we didn't find out anything, it was good for me to take my mind off the troubles for a while ..."

Ferry led his friend out, then stayed in the garden for a while. The shadows of the evening did not bring him peace, nor did they clear his thoughts. He didn't feel like training that night. Lavender, Parsley, and Oona were playing an old fairy game called Beads and Rings, in which the players had to throw beads through a ring. The one who managed to throw the most beads was the winner.

They asked Ferry to join them, but he kindly refused. His head ached from reading, so he thought it wouldn't hurt to take a little walk; or a nice flight. 

On the wings of the wind, he flew over the town all the way to Matilda's house, stopping in the nearby poplar tree. So what he had promised Sage he would stay away from her? As long as she didn't know he was around, he could see her whenever he wanted. Matilda was, as usual, in the backyard. She was alone and seemed more thoughtful than usual. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of her. And all the strange sensation in his stomach came back, stronger than before.

Matilda was standing, throwing Sage's dagger into a log. Then she was taking it out and repeated the movements over and over again. Ferry felt his sight turning blurry. Sage again. Even now, that he was away, his presence still crept between him and Matilda. Ferry watched her again. There was something different about her. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. Maybe it was because she had let her hair grow, tying it in a bun from which rebellious strands stubbornly protruded; maybe because she was wearing some unusual pants, tight on her leg that made her movements smoother and lighter; or the tunic that highlighted her slim waist; or maybe simply because now he saw her in a different light. Ferry knew that Matilda liked to tailor her own clothes which looked so different from those of girls her age. And that made her even more beautiful.

Ferry made himself comfortable on a thick branch and rummaged in his pockets for roasted peach cores which he began to nibble on without taking his eyes off Matilda. Ferry smiled, taking a deep breath. It was the most pleasant way to end a day.

Then, he heard something. Something that froze the blood in his veins. Something coming out of the nightmares he had tried to chase away, thinking they were long forgotten. A clap. It was coming from somewhere nearby.

Ferry looked at Matilda but the girl didn't seem to hear, still throwing Sage's dagger at the log. Ferry could no longer wait; he took flight, scanning the town below him for the clapping sound and the creature that made it.

He then heard the long wailing and saw the dark shadow creeping through the trees on the side of the road. The Banshee. He lowered himself, but remained in the air, watching the black figure with his heart pounding to break his chest. The old hag stopped from time to time and clapped her hands. Then she took her head in her hands and wailed again. Her white, rough hemp, tangled hair looked like it turned bigger with every step she took.

The creature haunted the sleeping streets, striking the cobblestones with her gnarled, blunt cane. Ferry knew people couldn't see or hear her. She seemed to be looking for a specific house because she sometimes stopped, studying a house or another. Then she started again, whining. She passed Ben's house. She passed Matilda's house and then Danny Stevens's. She stopped in front of a pretty house, and the moaning became louder, breaking the silence of the night and filling the whole street. After she moaned, squatting in front of the house, her head in her hands, she suddenly vanished as if she hadn't even been there. The silence fell over the street, heavy and stifling. Ferry recognized the house with its rose-covered walls and flower-laden balcony which he climbed so many times. And his heart almost stood still. It was May's house.

I hope you liked the pictures I added to this chapter. The pages of Mrs. Cobbs' diary are handwritten by yours truly ;) Let me know what you think about this chapter. Thank you for being you!