A Journal to a Place Forgotten

January, 5, year 1 of my search.

Writer: Jeremy Mitchells

Starting place: mental ward waiting room, waiting to be picked up by my friends.

Ending destination: Fairy

Reasoning: to find Mynashiah again and find out why I was expelled in the first place

It has been only what seems like days since I was last among the fair folk. It has been realistically however, years. I drift and sway from this reality to my own memories. I was only with them for a handful of days, hours perhaps, but it felt like the better part of a lifetime. I long to return. The fair folk where kind to me. They cared for a wounded and lost traveler. At first I was terrified of them, but as time passed, they proved all cruel storied of the fair folk untrue and made all of their fictional finer qualities pale by comparison. Everything paled next to them and they gave me so much, they made me one if their own. No one believes me, but it’s true. I can prove it. Well, I could. If they would stop feeding me drugs.

I suppose I should explain why I am writing all of this down so plainly and not in some forgotten text or code: I want people to know. What I have experienced is something that everyone should know, even if only second hand. It all began the night my roommates locked me out of the house again. (They made a sport of this ever since they learned I frequently forgot my keys). Sot his time I decided to go for a prolonged walk. Maybe visit my parents - in the next state. Mostly I just wanted to get away from the world that day and just couldn’t achieve this simple goal. Just about everything had gone wrong, but I stop myself here on this topic as that is not that point of this journal.

To the point again; I was walking through a cluster of trees and to the left of me ( I remember this part very clearly) I saw a circle of grass that was several shades lighter than the rest of the field. “A fairy circle.” my mind thought, completely out of leftfield and tinted with wonder. I got closer and knelt down next to it. Now, for the uncultured among you, let me tell you about fairy circles: they appear in a perfect circle where fairies have danced within the last week and are a portal to the fairy realm. Now supposedly, when taken by the fey, you are not supposed to eat or drink for the first three days, or before they let you go (which ever comes first). If you do, you will be stuck in Fairy as a slave forever.

I knelt there anyway, staring at the grass, slightly compressed, and reached out a finger to touch it. Just gently brush the tops of the grass. It tickled, and the tickle spread throughout my whole body as the world went grey. I closed my eyes and shook my head. ------ Then I opened my eyes and I was greeted by the bluest sky ever to grace human eyes. I looked about and everything was lush and full of life and doused in sparkles. I got to my knees, for I found myself on my back, and ran a hand thought my hair. “Wow,” I thought. Perhaps I was dreaming, or in a coma, nothing in the real world was this beautiful.

“No, nothing can be. It is too mucked up by the worries and curses and anger of humans. Get up, follow me please.” I turned to see a brightly dressed man, hair so blonde it was almost green.

“Where am I then?”

He said something then that I could not understand. I looked at him puzzled. “Fairy,” he said, sounding tired.

I stood, brushed off my khakis, and followed my guide. I couldn’t help but to notice how beautiful he was, even for a man.

“When we arrive in the presence of my Lady and Lord, it would be prudent of you to kneel until told to stand. And use no coarse language, it will warrant banishment. Be on your best behavior and old fashioned manners, if you would.” He spoke as if begrudging each word with his hollow kind of grace and manner.

“Alright.” I struggled to keep up with his swift pace. It was like the forest only hindered me while it parted to let him float past. That was when I realized that he really was floating.

“We float because we cannot harm the world with out the proper requests and thanks and prayers, so none of us are allowed or even really able to without conscious effort,” he explained without looking back.

I nodded and followed a bit closer. I didn’t know what else I would come across here. After some time we came to the first of many small moss houses. The ground was warm and soft and the air was filled with a glow that came from everywhere. Then, we came to a court in the center of which was a small grouping of trees, each leaf was golden outlined in a violent green. In the center of the biggest trunk was a walkway, and through it we entered the court of the Fairy Lady and Lord: Janeesha and Miklesh. Bowing to them, even if that information had not been provided, was the only thing I could do for I had to shield my eyes temporarily as the shone brighter than the sun at first glance. It was intimidating and arousing all at once.

I was granted allowance to stay for as long as I would like and I was shown to quarters that could never be duplicated. I was bathed and clothed in their garb and fed and allowed to wander for a short while before I was once again escorted to my chambers for the night. The room was lite by candle and fire place and also lines in the walls that pulsed and glowed. The bed felt like it was made entirely of down and laying in it I felt no need for blankets, even though it was cold. I slept better in that night than I ever have in my life.

When I next awoke, the sun was still lingering on the horizon, and I could see it through the stone windows of my room. The sky was painted in colors that I had never seen before, and the air was clear. A light fog played in the garden and seemed to dance to a song I heard. Curious, I splashed my face with water from a basin near the door and changed back into my own clothes. I dashed towards the garden hoping to find the singer.

To get to the garden, you passed under an archway that was covered in deep burgundy colored flowers with a strong and compelling scent. I stopped a second to look around and saw a young woman sitting on the bench that was set directly below that balcony of my room. She was beautiful, peach skin and bright blue eyes that seemed unfocused. She was slender, but not skinny and she just sat there singing. I swallowed and stepped forward, “What are you singing, Lady?” I asked, trying to be polite.

She blushed and looked at me, as if seeing me appear out of nowhere. She bowed her head and said plainly, “A folk tale, would you like to know the words?” I nodded dumbly. Her voice was deep and rich. She patted the bench beside her, and invitation which I took. “It is in the old tongue, before humans developed their own words.” she began.

“Dena tratho bes momes’z

bes hatse antre dem

sones ‘k zent

roi bes eklib’z hatp

bes hib’les ‘o bes tolp

nos jessos snaptesh’z

Dena s’japte’z

dena kold jesod

dena nur jesod.”

As the last strains died away, the sun rose completely over the hills and I watched as her

skin grew in color and began to sparkle. Now a bronze skinned beauty sat before me with blonde curls that rested as lightly as she on the bench. “What does it mean?” I was filled with wonder at this woman.

“It is a cautionary tale warning our children to not stray far from home. Would you like to hear it in your tongue?”

“Yes, please Lady.”

“And through the woods,

the old man said,

never do run,

for the beasts catch,

the children of the world,

in their nets,

and snares,

and keep them,

and eat them .”

I was lost, the words had sounded so beautiful before, like fairies are supposed to sound. Now that the words made sense, I was confused. However, I spent the rest of my day with this woman and she showed me around and told me stories of her people. It turned out that she was only half fairy; her father had raped her mother, which was why her skin changed color with the sun. Her skin changed color thought every part of the day, being nearly black at noon and solid white just after the sun set.

“Lady, is every day here like this? Are there no conflicts?”

“Sometimes there are, but they are small and easily settled. Life here is safe,” she paused and turned to look at me. “You have called me Lady all day and have not asked my name, why?”

I shrugged, “I figured you would tell me if you wanted me to know. Come to think of it, I never introduced myself. I am Jeremy Mitchells, human from the Untied States.”

She smiled, as if I had made a joke, “ I am Mynashiah, daughter of the Missus Hapotynime or the Violet Mother of Healers.”

When I followed her back to her room she changed from white to blue and her eyes became white. I thanked her for the day and asked to see her again some time. She agreed and then I leaned over and kissed her on her mouth. It was only a peck, but she blushed purple. I bid her goodnight and returned to my room with little trouble.

I went to sleep feeling very happy and content in my day. I dreamt that night, thought I do not remember what they were now. All I know is that when I woke up I was in my own bed and naked (I still haven’t found those clothes) and I was horribly disoriented. When I walked out into the kitchenette my roommate, Joshua, told me I had been hit by a car and had been unconscious for three days. The doctors had said to just let me sleep it off because there was no severe damage; I was probably just waiting for my brain to get over the shock. It remains, however, that no one can explain why my eyes are now no longer their settled grey. Now, two separate colors shine in my soul’s orbs: my left, a striking green, and my right and cool blue caged by gold. I say it is the after effect of being in Fairy, or perhaps the price I paid for their hospitality, maybe they marked me so they know if I returned. Whatever the case, I will know eventually. But everyone knows this already, it is what they put me away for. That’s what they said at least. But now I am out, clean bill of health they said, and I want to find home.

I have never been sure about what home was until I sat and thought about Mynashiah and how much I missed hearing her voice singing or talking or even humming. To me, home will be where ever it is that I find her. I truly do not care where that is. Connected with this letter is a sort of Last Will and Testament and it dictates who gets what of what I leave behind. A warning, it wont be much for I don’t have much. I hope you all do well and live well for as long as you are a part of this plane; please remember me fondly.

And so begins my journey back home.

With much respect and malice,

Jeremy T. Mitchells