Volume 8 - CH 1
P. 10
[Forewarning to all about Fairies. If you spot a fairy ring, DO NOT step inside it]
Those were the words printed on the large sign, and Lydia patted it down after she stuck it on a hedge along a small road a little ways from town.
”Well, that should do it,” Lydia said to herself.
People chuckled as they passed behind her.
The Carlton oddball daughter finally lost her mind.
She could hear their whisper but disregarded what they said and made a second inspection of her sign.
[For any directions regarding fairies, please contact Lydia Carlton, at House Number 5 on Mommi’s Tree Alley.]
“Chin up! If any fairies cause trouble, I am the only one who can solve it in this town,” Lydia motivated herself.
She came up with this idea, to seriously pursue this job, only about a month ago. Up to that point, most of the towns people haven’t realized that the misfortunes or accidents were fairy pranks, and when Lydia pointed them out, they only snorted at her.
“And when you solved them, your oddball name will spread even more,“ said the voice that came from above in the tree branches.
The one that was sitting on the branch was a long-haired gray cat. It jumped down to the ground and stood up on it’s hind legs. It even wore a fancy tie around it’s neck.
P. 11
“Lydia, your mother was indeed a fairy doctor, but that was a long time ago, it’s a different story now. I can understand if it was a remote area where humans shared their lives with fairies but not in a rising town like this,“ he said.
The cat who spoke freely and could disappear at will, was not really a cat, but a fairy. He supposedly has lived longer than Lydia but he grew up with her as a childhood friend. And as he said, it was the middle of the 19th century, where railroads spread across all of England, and factories were sprouting up everywhere and people’s lives improved dramatically with the advancement in industrialization. At the same time, it was the era when fairies were thought of as characters in bedtime stories and their existence has slowly become forgotten.
”But even in this town, there are plenty of fairies. And they cause plenty of trouble. So, don’t get in my way, Nico,“ said Lydia.
So I have to post these signs all over town. Besides, the summer solstice is near. The fairies’ pranks are sure to increase.
Just like how her mother was when she was still alive, in order for Lydia to be acknowledged as a fairy doctor, it was necessary to advertise at this time of year. She was only just a sixteen-year-old girl, but Lydia thought of herself as the most knowledgeable about fairies in this region. She was able to see fairies since birth, and naturally became experienced with them.
Consequently, she now had more fairy acquaintances than human. So she thought that her ability was most useful only in a job like this. Just then, she heard the sound of shredding paper coming from behind her. She turned around to see that there was a group of children ripping off her posters.
P. 12
”What are you doing? Stop that!,“ she shouted.
“Aah! Lydia got angry! She’s going to curse us! Hair will grow out of our bellybuttons!”
The children dashed off. As they were running, they continued to shout about cursed hair growing from strange places.
“I will have the fairies pinch naughty children like you!“
Of course, saying such things would only lead to the prankster’s parents becoming even more apprehensive about her.
“Could you really make hair grow?“ came a male voice.
”Yes, do you want me to make you into a fur ball as well?!“ she snapped, thinking it was another mischief-making youngster, and whipped around to face him, but the one standing there bewildered, was a unfamiliar young man.
Surely not a residence of the town, he wore a black frock coat, and carried a leather suitcase in one hand and an instrument case in his other. By his worn out hat and English, she could tell he was a respectable gentleman from the middleclass. He bent down to pick up one of the shredded pieces of poster.
“Would this Lydia Carlton be you?” asked the young man.
“…Yes. Would you please move aside? I want to fix my posters.“
I can’t get discouraged from behavior like this.
Thinking ahead, she brought along extra sheets just in case of these kinds of situations.
P. 13
“What does this ‘Forewarning of fairies’mean?“ questioned the man.
“Exactly as it says. If you hear the voice of a fairy, you have to ignore it. Or else you’re going to regret you opened your mouth.”
“Are you saying that there really are fairies?“ he asked.
“Uh, may I make certain of something. Are you asking me this to make a mockery out of me?”
“Oh, no. I just thought what a mysterious poster this is.”
It seems like he has no other intentions.
“Fine, then.” Lydia pulled herself together and spread a poster on the ground and started to paste glue on it with a brush.
“You’re from England aren’t you? Here in Scotland, there are fairies all over the place. Just as common as the rats in London. But, most people don’t have the ability to notice them, hence, posters like these are incomprehensible to them.”
“Oh, I see.”
“You don’t have to force yourself to believe in me.”
Even to people who take the time to honestly listen, I can only be stubbornly unreasonable. To be like mother who had such an open heart and serviced everyone, I will need to train myself even more to be sufficient, she thought.
Unable to paste the poster up straight, Lydia was struggling to align it and since it was quiet behind her she thought the young man had already left.
P. 14
But, after pasting it up right and taking a breath as she stepped back, there was another voice that asked “Are you finished?”
“Wh-What are you doing?’ she said after turning around and finding him still there.
“Hmm? I was waiting for you of course,” he replied with a genuinely expression.
“…and what purpose is keeping you here?”
“Do you know of Mr. Ballet’s residence?”
“Anyone knows it. You can ask someone on the main street.” And when Lydia started to walk off, the young man followed her.
“You are not going to guide me there?”
“Better not. If you are seen walking with me on the main streets, rumors will fly around that you are some sort of eccentric.”
“I don’t mind. Because I will be in this town for only three days,” he said.
***
The moonlight painted the hill a silvery white; Lydia exited the town streets and followed behind the cat that was trotting along on his hind legs up the grassy dirt path.
In the distance, Lydia was able to see a fuzzy bundle of lights swarming together. It was the flock of fairies. In the middle of it, there was a human figure lying down on the ground.
Passing by Nico, Lydia ran toward it. She jumped into the light swarm, swinging around an ash branch in one hand, making the fairies scattered away like flies off a fruit. In the field lighted only by the moon, Ian was left lying asleep holding onto his violin.
“Mister, wake up! Are you alright?” To Lydia’s voice, he slowly opened his eyes. He smiled angelically as if unaware that he was in unnatural, dangerous situation.
P. 22
“Oh, it’s you. …I was dreaming the most curious dream. Yes, it was like I was surrounded by fairies…”
“It wasn’t a dream.”
“Huh? …Now that you mention it, where are we? It was a beautiful moonlit night and I was taking a walk…”
“You stepped in a fairy ring, didn’t you?”
“Ah yes, there was a mark of a circular light on the ground. I didn’t know what it was and so I was curious. ..So that was a fair ring. It’s the first time I ever saw one.”
It seemed Lydia’s warning on her flyers had no effect.
“So that means I was captured by fairies?” he questioned.
“That’s right.”
“And so you came to rescue me.”
“Luckily, I came just in time before they took you to the fairy world… Oh, but have you had anything taken?”
“No, nothing. I have my violin and my two hands. If something else was taken, it doesn’t matter. I know! Let me play you a song as my thanks.”
He must be a placid person for acting like this when he had just been so close to never coming back to this human world.
P. 23
But most likely, even if he was taken to the fairy world, he would be able to be happy as long as he could play his violin.
Smiling as he stood up, Ian was beautiful as he prepared his instrument. Standing up straight in the grassy meadow, he bathed in the moonlight. The light showered his tall enhancing figure as he set his bow on the strings.
The music that came out was like a dream.
It’s ‘Moonlit Night,” thought Lydia.
It was the first time for her to hear it but this song which was the main song for the concert was easy to guess from it’s brilliant tune that melted into the moon night. Lydia listened, closing her eyes, sitting on the grass thinking how the music sparkled like silver to her ears.
The music abruptly ended. He had stopped the bow, tilting his head in confusion, looking at his instrument.
“What’s the matter?” asked Lydia.
“This isn’t it… Not like this, I can’t get the usual sound.”
“What, really? I thought it was marvelous as it was.”
“But something’s missing. What that is, I don’t know quite myself.”
“Th-That’s it!” shouted Lydia, standing up.
“What is?”
P. 24
*
Ian’s concert was held in an outdoor theater just as the moon began to rise up again in the sky.
P. 34
“Nico, you told him that? Th-That means you appeared in front of him like that?”
“I made sure to stand on all fours.”
“If you talked than the act would be meaningless!”
“Oh who cares, Lydia. By the way, he was the one who carried you home after you were thrown out of the queen’s ball. That letter, I handed it back to him. He was a little surprised, but that was all. I did also explain what happened, just in case.”
“But, that sort of exchange… He will never to able to play the ‘Silver Moon Night’ ever again!” moaned Lydia.
“I don’t mind,” said a voice. Ian stepped out from behind a stone pillar of the theater.
“I was so nervous to try to please the queen that it was the best performance I ever had. Most likely I won’t be able to play as good as tonight’s ‘Silver Moon Night’. I’m satisfied as long as it stays in the hearts of the people who came tonight.”
“Mister Reynolds…”
“Thank you, Lydia. I don’t have anything missing now. In fact, I’m certain that from now on I’ll be able to play better than ever. That’s why you shouldn’t lose anything either.”
His smile made her so happy but also made her heart stink just a little.
“Oh yes, this,” Lydia remembered and held out the rose.
P. 35
“Your performance was beautiful. I’m so glad I was able to listen to it… I don’t know how to say this right, but just one rose wouldn’t be enough to express my excitement, more like I want to give you a ton of elderberries.”
Wiping her wet eyes, Lydia’s desperate words must have reached him.
“Thank you, I’m honored,” he said.
They parted after shaking hands. Carving the warmth of that hand in her heart, Lydia walked her way home with the cat beside her on his hind legs.
“By the way, Lydia. Only fairies would be thrilled to receive elderberries. You need to learn human etiquette.”
She must have felt good that night as she didn’t feel like stamping down on that fluffy tail of his.
End
[Forewarning to all about Fairies. If you spot a fairy ring, DO NOT step inside it]
Those were the words printed on the large sign, and Lydia patted it down after she stuck it on a hedge along a small road a little ways from town.
”Well, that should do it,” Lydia said to herself.
People chuckled as they passed behind her.
The Carlton oddball daughter finally lost her mind.
She could hear their whisper but disregarded what they said and made a second inspection of her sign.
[For any directions regarding fairies, please contact Lydia Carlton, at House Number 5 on Mommi’s Tree Alley.]
“Chin up! If any fairies cause trouble, I am the only one who can solve it in this town,” Lydia motivated herself.
She came up with this idea, to seriously pursue this job, only about a month ago. Up to that point, most of the towns people haven’t realized that the misfortunes or accidents were fairy pranks, and when Lydia pointed them out, they only snorted at her.
“And when you solved them, your oddball name will spread even more,“ said the voice that came from above in the tree branches.
The one that was sitting on the branch was a long-haired gray cat. It jumped down to the ground and stood up on it’s hind legs. It even wore a fancy tie around it’s neck.
P. 11
“Lydia, your mother was indeed a fairy doctor, but that was a long time ago, it’s a different story now. I can understand if it was a remote area where humans shared their lives with fairies but not in a rising town like this,“ he said.
The cat who spoke freely and could disappear at will, was not really a cat, but a fairy. He supposedly has lived longer than Lydia but he grew up with her as a childhood friend. And as he said, it was the middle of the 19th century, where railroads spread across all of England, and factories were sprouting up everywhere and people’s lives improved dramatically with the advancement in industrialization. At the same time, it was the era when fairies were thought of as characters in bedtime stories and their existence has slowly become forgotten.
”But even in this town, there are plenty of fairies. And they cause plenty of trouble. So, don’t get in my way, Nico,“ said Lydia.
So I have to post these signs all over town. Besides, the summer solstice is near. The fairies’ pranks are sure to increase.
Just like how her mother was when she was still alive, in order for Lydia to be acknowledged as a fairy doctor, it was necessary to advertise at this time of year. She was only just a sixteen-year-old girl, but Lydia thought of herself as the most knowledgeable about fairies in this region. She was able to see fairies since birth, and naturally became experienced with them.
Consequently, she now had more fairy acquaintances than human. So she thought that her ability was most useful only in a job like this. Just then, she heard the sound of shredding paper coming from behind her. She turned around to see that there was a group of children ripping off her posters.
P. 12
”What are you doing? Stop that!,“ she shouted.
“Aah! Lydia got angry! She’s going to curse us! Hair will grow out of our bellybuttons!”
The children dashed off. As they were running, they continued to shout about cursed hair growing from strange places.
“I will have the fairies pinch naughty children like you!“
Of course, saying such things would only lead to the prankster’s parents becoming even more apprehensive about her.
“Could you really make hair grow?“ came a male voice.
”Yes, do you want me to make you into a fur ball as well?!“ she snapped, thinking it was another mischief-making youngster, and whipped around to face him, but the one standing there bewildered, was a unfamiliar young man.
Surely not a residence of the town, he wore a black frock coat, and carried a leather suitcase in one hand and an instrument case in his other. By his worn out hat and English, she could tell he was a respectable gentleman from the middleclass. He bent down to pick up one of the shredded pieces of poster.
“Would this Lydia Carlton be you?” asked the young man.
“…Yes. Would you please move aside? I want to fix my posters.“
I can’t get discouraged from behavior like this.
Thinking ahead, she brought along extra sheets just in case of these kinds of situations.
P. 13
“What does this ‘Forewarning of fairies’mean?“ questioned the man.
“Exactly as it says. If you hear the voice of a fairy, you have to ignore it. Or else you’re going to regret you opened your mouth.”
“Are you saying that there really are fairies?“ he asked.
“Uh, may I make certain of something. Are you asking me this to make a mockery out of me?”
“Oh, no. I just thought what a mysterious poster this is.”
It seems like he has no other intentions.
“Fine, then.” Lydia pulled herself together and spread a poster on the ground and started to paste glue on it with a brush.
“You’re from England aren’t you? Here in Scotland, there are fairies all over the place. Just as common as the rats in London. But, most people don’t have the ability to notice them, hence, posters like these are incomprehensible to them.”
“Oh, I see.”
“You don’t have to force yourself to believe in me.”
Even to people who take the time to honestly listen, I can only be stubbornly unreasonable. To be like mother who had such an open heart and serviced everyone, I will need to train myself even more to be sufficient, she thought.
Unable to paste the poster up straight, Lydia was struggling to align it and since it was quiet behind her she thought the young man had already left.
P. 14
But, after pasting it up right and taking a breath as she stepped back, there was another voice that asked “Are you finished?”
“Wh-What are you doing?’ she said after turning around and finding him still there.
“Hmm? I was waiting for you of course,” he replied with a genuinely expression.
“…and what purpose is keeping you here?”
“Do you know of Mr. Ballet’s residence?”
“Anyone knows it. You can ask someone on the main street.” And when Lydia started to walk off, the young man followed her.
“You are not going to guide me there?”
“Better not. If you are seen walking with me on the main streets, rumors will fly around that you are some sort of eccentric.”
“I don’t mind. Because I will be in this town for only three days,” he said.
***
The moonlight painted the hill a silvery white; Lydia exited the town streets and followed behind the cat that was trotting along on his hind legs up the grassy dirt path.
In the distance, Lydia was able to see a fuzzy bundle of lights swarming together. It was the flock of fairies. In the middle of it, there was a human figure lying down on the ground.
Passing by Nico, Lydia ran toward it. She jumped into the light swarm, swinging around an ash branch in one hand, making the fairies scattered away like flies off a fruit. In the field lighted only by the moon, Ian was left lying asleep holding onto his violin.
“Mister, wake up! Are you alright?” To Lydia’s voice, he slowly opened his eyes. He smiled angelically as if unaware that he was in unnatural, dangerous situation.
P. 22
“Oh, it’s you. …I was dreaming the most curious dream. Yes, it was like I was surrounded by fairies…”
“It wasn’t a dream.”
“Huh? …Now that you mention it, where are we? It was a beautiful moonlit night and I was taking a walk…”
“You stepped in a fairy ring, didn’t you?”
“Ah yes, there was a mark of a circular light on the ground. I didn’t know what it was and so I was curious. ..So that was a fair ring. It’s the first time I ever saw one.”
It seemed Lydia’s warning on her flyers had no effect.
“So that means I was captured by fairies?” he questioned.
“That’s right.”
“And so you came to rescue me.”
“Luckily, I came just in time before they took you to the fairy world… Oh, but have you had anything taken?”
“No, nothing. I have my violin and my two hands. If something else was taken, it doesn’t matter. I know! Let me play you a song as my thanks.”
He must be a placid person for acting like this when he had just been so close to never coming back to this human world.
P. 23
But most likely, even if he was taken to the fairy world, he would be able to be happy as long as he could play his violin.
Smiling as he stood up, Ian was beautiful as he prepared his instrument. Standing up straight in the grassy meadow, he bathed in the moonlight. The light showered his tall enhancing figure as he set his bow on the strings.
The music that came out was like a dream.
It’s ‘Moonlit Night,” thought Lydia.
It was the first time for her to hear it but this song which was the main song for the concert was easy to guess from it’s brilliant tune that melted into the moon night. Lydia listened, closing her eyes, sitting on the grass thinking how the music sparkled like silver to her ears.
The music abruptly ended. He had stopped the bow, tilting his head in confusion, looking at his instrument.
“What’s the matter?” asked Lydia.
“This isn’t it… Not like this, I can’t get the usual sound.”
“What, really? I thought it was marvelous as it was.”
“But something’s missing. What that is, I don’t know quite myself.”
“Th-That’s it!” shouted Lydia, standing up.
“What is?”
P. 24
*
Ian’s concert was held in an outdoor theater just as the moon began to rise up again in the sky.
P. 34
“Nico, you told him that? Th-That means you appeared in front of him like that?”
“I made sure to stand on all fours.”
“If you talked than the act would be meaningless!”
“Oh who cares, Lydia. By the way, he was the one who carried you home after you were thrown out of the queen’s ball. That letter, I handed it back to him. He was a little surprised, but that was all. I did also explain what happened, just in case.”
“But, that sort of exchange… He will never to able to play the ‘Silver Moon Night’ ever again!” moaned Lydia.
“I don’t mind,” said a voice. Ian stepped out from behind a stone pillar of the theater.
“I was so nervous to try to please the queen that it was the best performance I ever had. Most likely I won’t be able to play as good as tonight’s ‘Silver Moon Night’. I’m satisfied as long as it stays in the hearts of the people who came tonight.”
“Mister Reynolds…”
“Thank you, Lydia. I don’t have anything missing now. In fact, I’m certain that from now on I’ll be able to play better than ever. That’s why you shouldn’t lose anything either.”
His smile made her so happy but also made her heart stink just a little.
“Oh yes, this,” Lydia remembered and held out the rose.
P. 35
“Your performance was beautiful. I’m so glad I was able to listen to it… I don’t know how to say this right, but just one rose wouldn’t be enough to express my excitement, more like I want to give you a ton of elderberries.”
Wiping her wet eyes, Lydia’s desperate words must have reached him.
“Thank you, I’m honored,” he said.
They parted after shaking hands. Carving the warmth of that hand in her heart, Lydia walked her way home with the cat beside her on his hind legs.
“By the way, Lydia. Only fairies would be thrilled to receive elderberries. You need to learn human etiquette.”
She must have felt good that night as she didn’t feel like stamping down on that fluffy tail of his.
End
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