In A Fairyland Dream

♧

On a beautiful morning at this time of the day, the Foster family were bright with mirth. Lena hummed and fixed the bed near the wardrobe while her father was cleaning his desk in the room. On the opposite side, there was the bathroom, and Serena was about to use the faucet in order to brush her teeth when something felt queer in her mouth.

She glanced up at the mirror and bent over to check herself when a tooth was sticking out at the top in between her teeth. As she began to poke it, the tooth fell out and landed in her plump hands. The plucky little girl was twinkled with joy since it was her first time her tooth got out.

This would mean...

"I need to to put this under my pillow tonight!" Serena was thrilled at the thought of the tooth fairy in her mind. At last, her dream came true. How exquisite this must be!

During breakfast, The Fosters were about to sit in the dining table when Serena instantly forgot to greet Axel on the patio. But before she was about to do that, Serena made a little innocent twirl in front of her dear old father with dreamy eyes as if someone cast a spell in her. Mr. Foster chuckled as he watched his youngest daughter fled from the room and made her way outside with her wild running feet.

"Ah, your little sister! I wonder what goes around in her imaginative world." Mr. Foster leaned back with a laugh.

Lena couldn't help but smile at the lovely scene, and her face shone with radiance as if to say, "That's my little girl."

At this time in the morning, Mr. Foster wore his blue flannel shirt, long trousers, and was barefooted because he was entirely aware of how much time it took for his daughter to mop the floor. From now on, everyone decided it was best if they did not wear shoes inside the house.

Shortly after, he began to ask Lena some questions about her job, and he wondered if things were going fine. Lena set the kettle aside and avoided her father's gaze.

"It's going alright, dad."

"What about the new student of yours you've mentioned last time?"

"Which one, dad?"

"The boy that's been on the papers a week ago."

"Kenneth Lambert? He's—he's a nice boy, it's just his family. They don't seem to support him enough I am afraid."

"What happened, actually?"

"I had to stop the lesson. They told me it would be pointless for him, especially his father." Lena paused and there was a note of sympathy passed in her voice, "He was very set in his decision when he said he would sell the guitar. Poor Ken, I feel as if this was partly my fault."

It never entered her mind if this would ever happen.

Mr. Foster let out a sigh. "What unfortunate news."

Lena shook her head and said, "Not unfortunate, dad. Things can change. At least I have my other job where I can still teach music for those kindergartners."

"In that school? I reckon some certified music teachers will have to have to endure the stress of being stuck with those little imps forever. I hope that won't happen to you."

His eldest daughter rolled her eyes when he referred to the children as little imps. "Of course not forever. I can teach the higher grades, except the post-secondary level, of course, because it requires a master's degree at least and I don't really have much experience in the position. I do admit it's hard to manage the kids sometimes, but you know, dad, I've always had a loving spot for children ever since my little sister over there." and from where she sat, her finger pointed at the little angel, where they could see the child hugging Axel in her chubby arms outside the honest windows.

"Lena, you are beginning to sound like your mother every day," Mr. Foster then sipped his remaining tea from his table, where he turned his head away and eyed the little figure. "Whew! Well, here my dear daughter comes." His gaze followed the child as she was heading her way back to the door, and when she came back inside, her chubby little hands were all dirty.

A glow crept over her delicate face when a delicious food caught her eye on the plate.

The child held up a rapturous smile as she drew closer. "Hey, daddy! May I eat that piece of sandwich on the table?"

"You may, my dear. Just run along and wash your hands and get change. Go kill away those germs and come right back here until you are clean."

"Okay, daddy. But don't eat it, okay?" with a salute from her father, the apple-cheeked girl jumped up in a squeal and within a second, she darted to the stairs.

In the midst of the talk with father and daughter in the dining room, the youngest one rushed back again, and they realized she had transformed herself just by wearing a different shirt. The sandwich was still laid on the table in the same position, and Serena was proud that her father kept his word very seriously and had not even taken a morsel of the sandwich.

Mr. Foster beckoned his child to sit on his lap, whom he secretly marked her as the "boss in the house", for he felt there was something different in her which he dearly loved about. She was drowned with contentment over the delicious sandwich because it had been a long time since she hadn't eaten anything she liked after the months of eating soup, mashed potatoes, chicken porridge, and fruits. Of course, It was enough for the family, but the little girl yearned for more tastes in her tongue.

"Get me the ketchup, dad." It almost sounded like an order for him, and he meekly obeyed the child he's so fond of.

He planted a paternal kiss on top of his little girl's head, handing it over to her, while she was busy chewing a great deal of the sandwich. Mr. Foster watched over the child until she was done and she licked the remaining sauce from her fingers in the end. A sudden burp echoed from the deary lips.

Lena flashed a wide look of dismay in front of her little sister.

"Oopsy!" Serena put her hand over her mouth, suppressing her girlish giggle.

"She'll become a lady," Mr. Foster remarked, and not a trace of dubiousness in his tone. "A feisty one."

Serena ignored her father and wiped the smear sauce off her lips. Her sister rose from her chair and grabbed a tissue from the end of the table. "I'll help you with that, little sister."

The little angel sat straight when Lena wiped her little sister's mouth with a tissue. For a minute, the child's imaginations swept her away from reality, murmuring incoherent sounds that Lena heard before her until she cast an addled look.

It was hard for Serena to stay focused since the number of freckles she had were flooding in with distractions, causing herself in a state of reverie. She thought about the tooth fairy in her dream and had anticipated if some miracle would happen tomorrow.

Hours of waiting, the evening wore away. Later at night, It was bedtime and Serena was dressed in her plain pyjamas by now. In the dim room across the open window, she could see the moonbeams glossing over the streets in shades of galactic blue. The dark-cloaked mountains were seen far away, where a faint light of ametrine bead twinkled from the place. She was not so sure if her eyes were fooling her, but this gave Serena a fresh hope in the coming of the tooth fairy. The breeze sent shivers down the trees, the flowers, the bushes, and they began to produce a sound of a whisper outside as if they were trying to tell her a message.

She hurried over and picked up her tooth from one of the drawers beside the bed. The child laid it under her pillow, bounced onto her bed and crawled under the blankets until she was fast asleep.

At this moment, she fell into a heavy slumber.

Her slumber went on throughout the night, and tonight she fell into a dream. A dream she would have a hard time forgetting...

The sky was cloudy, but there was a streak of light gazing down at her little figure. Serena found herself in a different world. In a world full of Jars.

Yes...

Jars.

Every single one of these jars had a tooth inside. Serena began to rub her eyes and blinked several times at the sight of the workers who came marching down from the top of the hill. It looked like they were about to pick up these objects. These workers were butterflies, five times as big as her size and she could not believe what she was seeing.

Under the clouds, the butterflies began to sing a short song in a chorus.

One by one

We have a task that needs to be done!

Far and wide

We need to send it off at once!

Don't be late

Or else we'll break her rage!

One by one

One by one!

We'll send it off to the fairy at once!

These swarms of butterflies sang to the world of nature in a rather military fashion. Each of them picked up the jars and flew away, and Serena thought it must be boring to do their job. Turning her head around, a familiar form appeared. He was running down the hill.

It was Axel.

"Hello there, little saint! Good to see ya!" The husky dog waved his paws.

"Oh! You-you talk!" Serena faltered in an astonished gasp. Her mouth was wide open.

"What do you expect, child? You just heard a bunch of butterflies singing and you were fine with it a minute ago." The furry dog lifted a questioning brow.

"But-you-I-" she was at a loss of words and unable to form a sentence at all.

"Alright, alright. You look like you've seen a ghost in front of you. Come and follow me, my pet." he soothed, taking the shivering hands in his.

Her eyes lit up into a fire when she heard the nickname. Serena shot him a sharp look and jerked her hands away from him.

"I'm not your pet! You are my pet, Axel!" Serena cried, completely bothered when someone called her other than her name.

The dog shook his head and waggled his tail and paw altogether. "Now, now. Do you even remember I am Mr. Allan's pet?" he reminded in a patronizing way.

"Obviously, I remember. But that doesn't mean I am your little pet. You should know I hate being called that." Serena huffed in defiance and folded her chubby arms.

He bowed slightly and excused himself for an apology. "Forgive me. I won't call you 'My pet' from now on just as you please," he paused then went on. "So, shall we begin our journey?"

Puzzled, the child was vaguely surprised, forgetting for a moment her burst of temper a while ago. "Oh! To where?" She was piqued and wondered where this journey would end up to.

"You don't know? To the tooth fairy of course!" Axel threw an obvious look, finding this amusing by the little girl who was utterly clueless.

Then she watched him go, and the moment he was near the hill, she followed him behind. The ringing sound of his steps flowed in the atmosphere, and his fluffy tail repeatedly wagged behind him.

Serena never expected the dog would speak in her life, but it was interesting he did, and they were sailing to an exciting adventure.

Most of all, she was excited to meet the tooth fairy herself.