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18. Rainbow

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It was a sweltering spring afternoon; with a heat that curled and withered the very weeds in Sophie’s backyard. She hated the heat and the feel of the arid grass bending beneath her bare feet as she took careful steps towards the back of the garden. Momma had warned her about the sun – told her how He never showed mercy, especially not on fair skinned girls like Sophie. But Sophie had always been a naughty girl. It was she who stole the cookie from the cookie jar and blamed it on her brother; it was she who ran through the house with muddied feet and told Momma it had been poor Sebastian the dog. Momma had kicked Sebastian out into the yard after that. Sophie only smiled.

Now Sophie was up to no good once more. Shooting tentative glances back towards the small cottage with the red chimney, she took another step forward. Her sister Ellie had told her she mustn’t make a single sound, for noise would scare them away. “It’s not often They come out to dance,” Ellie had said, “But when they do…it’s like watching a swan glide over the rainbow.” Three dull months had passed since Ellie had told her about magnificent swans pirouetting over rainbow sun shines. It had been winter then, and Ellie had said They only come out during the spring – when the flowers sing and the trees swayed melodically along. “They sleep through the winter,” Ellie replied when Sophie had asked her what They did during the season in which They couldn’t dance. She personally couldn’t comprehend how anyone could sleep for three months straight, but Ellie only told her, “It’s too cold to dance.”

Her wide eyes darted both ways before she took a few steps forward. Leaping across the cluster of vines which wound their way across the garden floor, Sophie landed silently before the clearing she had dreamt about every night for three whole months. She had never liked winter – snow messed up her hair, the cold turned her cheeks a bright shade of red – and its existence was the only reason she had to wait three months for this day. Inside the clearing, Ellie had promised endless laughter, continual flashes of happiness, sparkling chutes of champagne (Momma never let her have champagne!) and a world full of wondrous adventures just waiting to be embarked on. “Because today,” Ellie had said, “Is the day the fairies come out to play.”

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A/N: I know I haven't written and updated in forever and a day, so I thought I might as well upload it. It's really short, approximately 400 something words, but I just wanted to put something up to remind people I'm actually not dead. Haha. This was originally my english tutor homework, but I'm quite attached to Sophie and her world, so I had to show everyone. :D Anyways, I'll be updating my stories soon, probably after my exams.