Topsy Turvy

“How old is the world, Fae?” I rubbed my eyes wearily. “Is this a trick question?” “For that matter, how old are you?” “Two hundred years old.” “No,” the Phoenix replied resolutely. “You are seven years old.” “Hardly,” I scoffed. “Our world is seven years old,” he continued. “I am seven years old.” “You’re not making any sense,” I told him, although the situation had suddenly become very clear to me. The Phoenix, and perhaps everyone else, had gone mad. Being the only sane creature left, I felt the need for self preservation. “How do I get back?” I spoke with caution. It wouldn’t do to antagonize someone so obviously insane. “I’m not crazy.” He tried to assure me. “Sure you aren’t.” I was already looking for a way to escape. “Before there were witches and wars… Before creatures started disappearing and strange objects materialized out of nowhere, our world was quiet. That changed in the course of a night, a night that lasted for three days.” I let him ramble until I was sure there was no way out. “I really need to get back, Phoenix. Now isn’t the time for stories.” “No matter how much the people pleaded, the sun refused to come out from hiding. When it did, the first thing its light touched was a tree in the middle of Dogwood forest. It’s rumored that the first witch appeared on that day as well. No one would have seen her arrive, as they were all watching me.” “I don’t remember that.” “You weren’t aware of yourself yet.” “Ah-ha!” I yelled, having thought I’d caught him in a lie. “But you said we were all born seven years ago.” “We were.” I waited for him to catch his mistake, but instead he continued with his story. “I ate from that tree, a single ripe apple. When I was done, words sprang from my beak of their own free will. It was the prophecy of Mirror Mirror. After that, the tree grew nothing but poison fruit. It’s said that those unfortunate enough to eat the toxic apples hear the prophecy too, just before they die.” I shivered thinking of the night Wolf and I had spent in that forest. “Soon the witch overthrew the surrounding land. Fear and suspicion spread from her kingdom like a plague.” “People began to mistrust magic. Magical creatures started to disappear. Bizarre and sometimes dangerous things began to materialize out of nowhere. Our world started changing. But before it did, I sat down with the counsel of rulers one day and devised my death.” “You mean you planned to die?” “I planned to look as if I’d died.” “But why?!” “Because of what the prophecy said.” “This is ridiculous.” “So I faked my own death and went back to my own world.” “You live in a different world?” I tried to stop myself from feeding his delusions, but it was hard not to react. “Yes. I live in this world.” “You live in a closet?” “No. I live in the darkness. My world hasn’t been created yet. That’s why I came to your world instead. But I came back when I saw what had to be done.” “And that was-” “To guide you.” “You ARE crazy.” “You’re not really a fairy.” “No? I certainly look and feel like one.” “No. You’re what’s left of innocence and imagination. Don’t you get it yet? This world belongs to Evie. This is HER creation. Something happened to her, to you, and you broke off from the world. When I found you, you were unaware and hopeless. I gave you form!” I stared at him open mouthed. “That fairy was going to die. But instead, I saw an opportunity. I saw a way to make you a shape.” “But that’s impossible! I remember my life before that moment.” “You remember the fairy’s life before that moment-” “-a life that began two hundred years ago.” “She only thought she was that old. Evie created most things with memories and lives based on who she wanted them to be. But everything was born seven years ago, the day she was born.” “So you’re saying that I’m Evie?” “You’re Evie’s childlike impulse.” “Then who are you?” “I’m her grown-up spirit. I’m what Evie one day hopes to be.” “Is that why you’re so very large?” The Phoenix nodded, “And you’re so very small.” I tried to come to grips with everything I had just learned, if indeed what the old bird said could be trusted. “Her sister died,” I said slowly. “Do you think that’s when everything changed?” “Everything is going to change anyway. Evie won’t stay a child forever. Already the real world impedes on us.” “Then we’re doomed.” “No! You have the power to keep this alive. Did you learn nothing while you were there?” “I learned that babies come from storks.” “If Queen White had succeeded in getting through the mirror, Evie’s fears would have won. But you got through instead. She armed you with the tools to defeat the witch. It’s up to you to keep this story going.” I could feel that time was growing short. “You’re not coming back, are you?” I asked him. The thought had hit me in the chest, choking the words from my lips. “No.” “I’m never going to see you again?” He didn’t need to answer. Instinctively, I knew. “Come here sweet child,” he said, his wings raised to encompass me. I didn’t need to fear his flaming skin anymore. As I sank into the light of the once great bird, I accepted everything he had told me. I accepted my role and what I knew I must do. “What do you want to be?” He asked me. It dawned on me that I no longer had to be a fairy. I was entering the world not disguised or unknowing, but as myself, whatever that may be. “I’d like to be a princess.” I told him.