It was Wednesday eve­ning and all of us fairies were assembled in front of the fairy palace. The palace was made of all kinds of different precious gems — diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, rubies and what not. The gems were so shiny and sparkled brightly, giving off a bright light to passers-by even on the darkest nights.

The palace was enormous, for it housed all the fairies living in the kingdom. Two large pillars rose on both sides of the palace with a symbol of unity carved carefully onto each pillar. We were waiting for the famous fairy band “The Seven”, to arrive. All the fairies had been talking about it for weeks and I could feel the excitement in the air. When the band entered the room, we were all deeply impressed by what they were wearing.

Usually, fairies just wore a simple dress made of fresh green leaves, with simple shoes made from twigs. In this band, however, the fairies wore elaborate dresses made from all kinds of different flowers that gave off a sweet scent. They had even decorated their plain twig shoes with coloured leaves, the kind which could only be found in autumn.

The band struck up a sweet melody that charmed all of us. We had never heard anything like it before, although the birds’ songs also had a very beautiful melody. When the fairy band played, it felt as if hundred different birds were singing together. It reminded us of the fairy motto, which was to stay united no matter what. At the end, the band of fairies threw a confetti of sticky flower petals. It felt as if the sky was raining flower petals. The petals landed on our dresses, making them all colourful. There were squeals of delight from the fairies; cries of joy filled the room.

The room suddenly seemed much brighter. The leader of the band stepped forward. Everyone fell silent immediately. A circle of bright, yellow light radiated around her. She wore a yellow dress, made completely from sunflowers, and her hair was tied back in a band made of roses. Like her fellow band members, her shoes were decorated with brightly coloured flowers.

She smiled at all of us and then said, “First of all, I would like to congratulate the band on their excellent performance. It was a long time ago that I joined the band. It happened when I was only 20 years, old. The fairy band came and played a beautiful melody, although they have become even better over the years,.

“We all clapped for them and then the leader of the band stepped forward and told us she was retiring and coming back to live at the fairy palace for she had become too old to travel to all the different kingdoms and play music. She asked me if I would take her place in the band and I was thrilled.

“It has been a joyous 40 years, working with the band. This year, since I am retiring, I decided to dress the band in a new style. As you must have noticed, we are dressed differently this year. These dresses I have made myself as parting gifts to my band, so that they would remember me by them. I made the confetti petals for the same reason. Now, I will pass on my place as the seventh member and leader of the band to Alice Evergreen if she will accept it.”

I was speechless for the first time in my life. This was like my dream come true! I had always admired the band and looked up to them and now I was getting the chance to lead them.

I stepped forward and managed to say, “Yes, it would be an honour.”

The former leader of the fairy band smiled upon hearing this and snapped her fingers. I was now wearing a white dress, made completely of a special kind of pearl flower, which is extremely rare. My shoes were decorated with the same lilies and poppies as hers and even my hair was tied back in a band made of a pearl flower’s petal. She pinned her badge, which read “Fairy Band Leader” onto my new dress and flew down from the podium.

There was a cheer from the crowd as I joined the band. The band gave me a welcoming pat on the back. Then, the former leader of the fairies led the rest of the fairies inside the fairy palace and we fluttered off to the next kingdom to spread joy and hope with our beautiful music. I was already comfortable among my new friends and finally where I truly belonged.

Published in Dawn, Young World, February 18th, 2023