Coral McCallum

Outside the world was crisp and cold. White frost sparked on the ground in the wintery sunlight. Wrapped up in a thick jacket with a fur-lined hood, hat and gloves, Rosie took her mummy’s hand and squeezed it tight. Mummy had promised her “a magical adventure.”

She had been a bit surprised when her mother had driven them to the beach but she kept quiet, trusting implicitly that Mummy knew where they were going.

It was Christmas Eve and as they had scraped the ice from the windscreen of the car before setting off, Mummy had reassured her that they could scatter the sachet of “reindeer dust” that Rosie had brought home from school as soon as they got back from their adventure. Overflowing with excitement about Christmas and Santa Claus and presents, Rosie had asked if they could lay out Santa’s milk and cookies and a carrot for Rudolph too. She had been a little bit disappointed when Mummy had said no because it would be too early but had brightened up when she promised that they would do it before bedtime.

“So much to do on Christmas Eve!” thought Rosie as she walked along the icy path holding her mother’s hand. “And we’ve got to go on this magical adventure too!”

As they walked, Mummy pointed out a huge holly bush with jaggy green leaves and millions of bright red berries. She also pointed out a tiny robin that seemed to be following them as it hopped from one fence post to the next.

Instead of taking the usual path to the beach, Mummy turned right into the woods. Without their leaves, Rosie thought the trees looked a bit scary. They towered above her! Trying to be brave, she held on even tighter to her mother’s hand.

“Nearly there,” promised Mummy, squeezing her hand. “Keep your eyes peeled for the fairy stepping stones.”

“How will I know what to look for?” quizzed Rosie.

“Round flat white stones no bigger than a penny. If they were any bigger the fairies couldn’t move them. You’ll know them when you see them.”

They had only walked a little further when Rosie spotted them. There was a whole trail of them leading away from the path into the forest.

“There they are!” squealed Rosie, eyes wide with excitement and her fear of the trees forgotten.

“If you promise to stay extra quiet, we can follow them.”

Together they tiptoed quietly into the woods, following the trail of fairy stepping stone.

“Will we see a real fairy?” whispered Rosie, taking great care not to stand on any of the small white stones.

“Maybe.”

The white pebble trail led them to a tiny fir tree standing slightly apart from the other trees.

“I think we’re just in time,” whispered Mummy. “Look down at the bottom of the tree beside the last stepping stone.”

Rosie crouched down but could only see the tree’s rough bark.

“Look closer,” encouraged Mummy.

Peering closely at the bark, Rosie saw a tiny step ladder, its top disappearing into the branches.

“Mummy, there’s a ladder,” she gasped quietly. “Is that how the fairies climb the tree?”

Her mother nodded then whispered, “Look at the branches. Look very closely at the ends.”

As she watched each branch closely, Rosie thought she saw movement between the pine needles but she couldn’t be sure then she saw that there was a tiny light at the end of one branch. Silently, she pointed to it and smiled at her mother.

As mother and daughter stood hand in hand, they watched a tiny light appear at the tip of every branch, starting from the bottom and working its way up the tree. Each light was a perfectly shaped bright white snowflake. When the trail of lights neared the top of the tree, Rosie wondered what was going to happen when the fairies reached the top.

Looking closely at the top of the tree, Rosie saw more ladders going right up through the pine needle to the very tip. Holding her breath, she watched five miniscule, winged figures climbed the ladder to the very top of the tree. Supporting each other, the fairies arranged themselves into the shape of a star with the tiniest fairy right at the very top. Once they were all in position, they each held up a lantern creating a dazzling star effect at the top of the tree. Rosie thought it was the most beautiful Christmas tree that she had ever seen.

“Time to go,” said Mummy softly.

“One more minute,” pleaded Rosie quietly, as she tried to imprint the image of the fairy lit tree into her mind.

“One minute and not a second longer,” agreed Mummy.

It had grown quite dark around them while they had been watching the lighting of the tree. As they retraced their steps, the fairy stepping stones appeared to glow in the dark, illuminating their way back to the main path. Halfway back, Rosie paused to turn to look back at the tree. It was twinkling among the huge dark trees that surrounded it. Rosie smiled.

“Come on, Rosie,” said her mother. “Time to go home and sprinkle your reindeer dust.”

With one last lingering look at the tree, Rosie headed home with her mother, hoping that Sanra might bring her a fairy doll.

(image sourced via Google- credits to the owner – no tag)