Ferry couldn't believe his eyes. He didn't know for how long he'd been watching the strangely beautiful creature in front of him. Her long, silver hair was falling all the way to the ground. Her skin was pale, almost luminescent and her eyes were studying him spreading icy-blue sparks with every flutter of her long, white eyelashes. The boy didn't have the strength to think or react in front of such an amazing apparition.

She was wearing the same dress of a dark-purple color, rustling as she was stepping closer to him.

When in front of him, she put an incredibly white and delicate hand on his shoulder and told him in a soft voice, "Come! We have a lot to talk about."

And Ferry obeyed, incapable to withstand. Was he under her spell? The fairy—for he wouldn't know to name her otherwise—showed him one of the chairs where he took a seat without saying a word. And whilst he was still trying to get over his astonishment, the fairy put on the table two porcelain bowls and silver tableware. Then she filled up the bowls with the soup in the cauldron and offered one to Ferry. The frail steams of the soup were spreading the most inviting flavors.

"Eat, you must be hungry," she kindly asked him. "You've been through a lot today. This soup will make you feel better."

That's when he noticed the room wasn't dark anymore. It was softly lit by the shimmering, flickering light of dozens of candles, decorating the walls with trembling shadows, like in a sacred temple. Even the leaves and flowers on the walls looked as if scattering a dim light around. Ferry looked at the silver spoon in his hand. It was adorned with skillfully crafted engraving, representing a winged fairy—although Lavender Sky had said that fairies do not have wings, he was too stunned to think about that—and Ferry took the first sip from the steaming bowl. An explosion of flavors, some of them familiar, others strange, yet delicious were blending in a taste he had never met before. And without even thinking whether the soup was enchanted, he sipped from the inviting liquor, the color of honey. He looked at Lavender a bit fearfully, but the fear vanished when the fairy smiled at him. She was sitting on the other side of the table and she was also sipping from her bowl.

"It's been so long since I had a guest..." she said. "I almost forgot what it's like to have someone invited to dinner. It feels nice..."

Ferry had already finished his soup, and he thought it would be nice to have another one, but he wouldn't dare. And then he realized he wasn't afraid anymore. As if the soup had taken away any fear or worry.

The fairy poured him another bowl with a copper ladle as if knowing his thoughts. Then she placed the bowl in front of him and encouraged him to eat. Ferry tasted the soup as if he hasn't already; the flavors seemed even more intense.

"It's a recipe I learned from an old fairy. It must be thousands of years old. That was a long time ago, back home," she sighed. "It's made of parsnip, carrot, celery and parsley roots, and other vegetables and herbs you won't find around here, only in fairyland. I've saved some seeds, then planted them here, in this garden."

Ferry thought it would be appropriate to say something polite; that was what his mother taught him. "I've seen your garden," he said in a low voice. "It's the most beautiful I've ever seen." And he wasn't lying. But his words seemed as bringing even more sadness to her face. She forced a smile, but the smile melted. She was looking at Ferry, but somehow she was seeing through him, lost in thoughts.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? I've tried to keep it the way it was when he was still alive... But with each day, I feel like it's losing the beauty it had. Time is ruthless, did you know that? It steals your most precious treasures, even the most beloved memories. Sometimes, I realize I don't even remember his face. I know he had dark hair and green eyes, and his skin was sunburnt. But I can't remember his face. Time is trying to take that away, too... But it can't take away how I feel. Nobody can." And a silver teardrop fell from her beautiful eyes, scattering in tiny drops of light when it touched the table's surface.

Ferry had never seen someone crying with tears of light. He thought if that creature was a real fairy, perhaps her words meant something else which he could not understand.

"How long have you been living among humans?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Too long," she smiled. But it was a bitter smile. "In the time of the humans, more than a hundred years. It is an awfully long time, even for a fairy."

Ferry felt himself once more overwhelmed with curiosity; he thought that was his biggest fault. And that it would eventually bring him nothing but trouble.

"How did you get here?" he asked. "And why haven't you returned to fairyland?"

"Why?..." she asked whilst her eyes got lost in old times and memories. "Why do we do the most courageous acts? The most amazing things? Yet the craziest and stupidest ones? Because of love..."

Ferry was about to ask her something, but he forgot what. Her words made him silent, and he thought it would be wiser to let her talk.

Lavender Sky rose from her chair and looked at the photographs above the fireplace.

"My story," she started, "is quite amazing, even for a fairy. I am not a fairy from around here. Maybe it might have been easier that way, she sighed. "I was living in a faraway land, very far from here. I had to fly a long time to get here. Or I could use the door between the worlds through which I could reach the farthest lands in a blink of an eye. But the door was always guarded, and it would only open during special times. Or when the fairy leaders considered it necessary. But I've always managed to get through, to everyone's despair. You could unleash dark forces when going through the doors between the worlds. Who knows what other beings could sneak in while the door is open? But you see, I've always been such a curious fairy. Curious about everything around me and about what was on the other side. I've always found people fascinating. Maybe people find fairies fascinating, too. Maybe everything different and unknown it's attractive and irresistible to them. At least that's how I felt. I was attractedin a hasty manner with people and their lives.

"I loved to watch them from above, protected by the shield only invisibility can offer. I never interfered with them because it was forbidden. That's what the Book of Fairies said, from the oldest times when the Great Fairies still walked those lands. And anyone who was disregarding the laws in the Book of Fairies and interfered in the life of humans was severely punished. Take my word for it, the laws of fae are cruel. Crueler than what people call death.

"But I was always reckless. And even if I wasn't breaking the Book of Fairies, I loved to watch them, hear the voices of humans. Of course, I wasn't watching them inside their homes. I never came in contact with them, although I loved to play jokes on them and see their reactions. I would take away their hats, make their food disappear and misplace their tools. But I was always fixing things, putting them back the way they were. And I loved to watch the wonder on their faces. People are wonderful creatures. They are capable of great things, they are kind and generous. But people can also be foolish, fierce and cruel; they can destroy the purest, most innocent soul. I met all sorts of people. But I had the blessing, or perhaps the misfortune, to meet the most wonderful of them all.

"It was a hot summer day, and I managed to sneak out the door between the worlds, deceiving the guards, as usual. The guards are horrible creatures. Ruthless even. But not very clever. I would always succeed in tempting them with some cookies and sneak through while they were crowding over the sweet traps. And I could finally fly free to the world of humans.

"That day, however, the sun was hotter than usual. I was looking for a shadowy place, so I went to the Shepherd Forest. I knew there were fairies living in that place, but I didn't want to draw their attention. Not the fairies interested me. I slowly descended in the forest. I was looking for a spring or a puddle, anything that would soothe my thirst. And I didn't see the iron trap the people prepared for the wild beasts, hidden underneath a layer of leaves and branches. The trap caught my foot, almost crushing my ankle. I was bleeding. White blood. Fairy blood. I screamed, but no one seemed to hear me. Not even the birds or animals could be seen, that hot day. I would have asked them for help. I felt the power of iron coming upon me, poisoning and overwhelming. I felt my body getting weaker. I don't know how long I lied there. In the world of people, time runs faster. I knew it was down when I entered their world, and then the sun was already setting.

"I was simply lying there, thinking I would end up torn apart by some wild beast or even worse, captured by people; who would either kill me like a freak they were scared of, either walk me around, like an animal of the circus. Proud that they had the precious, living proof of fairy existence.

"My thoughts were interrupted by the noise of branches, cracking under heavy footsteps, coming ever closer. With my last strengths, I tried to move. Someone had set my foot free from the iron trap. But I felt too weak to fly. Then, some strong arms lifted me up like I was a feather and carried me somewhere at the edge of the forest. I couldn't see his face. But I could feel his heart beating hard in his strong chest and his firm arms wrapped around my body. He smelled like the earth after a warm summer rain, like dust and freshly cut grass. He was holding me close to his chest, and I couldn't see where we were going. Yet strangely enough, I wasn't afraid anymore. I felt protected, I felt safe like I never felt before, not even in fairyland. All I could see was the sky above us with the clouds walking along. Giving us its blessing. I didn't need anything else but his strong arms, holding me. And the blessing of the lavender sky above..."

Thank you for reading this chapter! I'm really anxious to know what you think of it. Don't forget to vote, too. It means a lot :)