Paila's Fairytale

“Young lady.” A soft masculine voice sang drowsily in the darkness. Another moment later, the voice sang again. The young woman’s eyes slowly opened and squinted under the sudden bright fluorescent light.

“What?” She sleepily questioned while rubbing her eyes and opening them once again.

“Wake up.” The voice whispered, the figure finally coming into clarity in her eyes. It was a small boy sitting on her bed. He was green-skinned with short blue hair that was held away from his large black eyes by an orange headband. He smiled at her warmly as she stared speechlessly.

“Good morning, young one.” He whispered sweetly, sliding carefully off the edge of the bed and walking to the brightly lit window. The sunlight spilling through the hanging drapes shined on his skin and came alive on his hair. When the sun touched it, it seemed to look like fire.

“Good morning.” She smiled in quizzical amazement. Blinking and staring at this strange creature, she wondered to herself if she had died and this was some strange limbo-like place.

“Who are you?” She propped herself up to sit against the headboard of her bed.

“I am called Gideon.” He turned to face her and bowed.

“It’s nice to meet you.” The girl bowed her head in kind. “I’m sorry to be rude, but what exactly are you?” The little man smirked and answered matter-of-factly that he was a dream nymph. She gaped at him.

“A dream nymph?” She leaned forward and placed her hands between her knees.

“Of course.” He spun around. “Would I look like this if I were human?”

Her wide eyes rested as she brought her knees up to her chest.

“I guess not.” She sighed and laid her head on her knees. “So am I dead? Or am I just dreaming?”

“You are not dead, but the fact that you are dreaming remains to be seen.” He answered lifting into the air and softly landing on her bed. He quickly made a spot beside her legs and laid in it.

“What do you mean?”

“The only way you can tell if you are dreaming is if you are not where you belong.” He spoke gently.

“Paila?” Suddenly, a familiar voice stuttered from the doorframe. She quickly looked to find her redheaded friend hanging onto the door like he was going to fall if he didn’t hold tightly.

“Mick!” She was happy to see his freckle covered face but was worried he would see Gideon. He slowly crept into the room and awkwardly walked toward her.

“They said you died and then came back to life.” He looked at her gravely before asking if she was an apparition sitting before him.

“Yeah, and I’ll haunt you forever,” she pinched his arm and looked around to find Gideon had disappeared. “What happened anyway?”

“You don’t remember?” Mick sat in the chair situated beside the bed. When seeing Paila’s confused reaction, he told her that she had gone into cardiac arrest and that she was dying.

“I don’t know how or why you went into cardiac arrest at your age, but you survived.” He sighed and leaned back in the chair. Paila clutched her chest thoughtfully.

“I remember being in a lot of pain but I don’t remember dying," She looked back at Mick with tears in her eyes. “What an ordeal that must have been for you. I'm so sorry.”

“It was really scary but I'm just relieved you're alive.” He answered with a sigh, smiling softly at his cupped hands in his lap. Paila reached out to put a hand on his, the both of them sitting in silence for what felt like a few minutes.

“Did the doctors say when I’ll be released?”

Mick thought for a moment and remembered that he never asked.

“I can check if you want.”

“Yes please.” She nodded quickly. “I want to get out of here as soon as possible.”

“Okay, two seconds.” He nodded and disappeared out the door.

“Who is that guy?” Gideon suddenly appeared out of nowhere, surprising Paila.

“His name is Mick. He’s my best friend.” She answered with surprise still on her voice. “Why?”

“He’s got weird hair.”

“A lot of people have hair like him. Who are you to say he has weird hair? Yours is blue.”

He inspected his hair thoughtfully.

“A lot of beings have hair like me.” He said almost sounding like he was offended.

“What are you doing here anyway? Why are you talking to me?” Paila was beginning to get annoyed with this little creature.

“I’m supposed to take you to where you belong but I can’t until you realize you’re dreaming and are in the wrong place.” He sighed with frustration. Paila, too, was starting to get frustrated.

“I already know I’m in the wrong place. I’m in a hospital. Everyone knows you shouldn’t be in the hospital.” She crossed her arms while Gideon eyed the window.

“Look out this window.”

Paila turned her head toward the sunlight.

“Not from there, silly.”

Paila sighed and rolled her eyes before stepping out of her bed carefully. Her legs wobbled as she took steps toward the window. She leaned on the ledge and opened the drapes covering the glass.

“What do you see?”

She examined the outdoors, noticing people walking around almost aimlessly. Cars coming and going and children playing in the puddles from the newly melted snow. She saw how clear the sky was and how warm the sun felt on her face.

“There are a lot of people outside and there are a lot of kids out there playing in puddles. The sky is clear. Not a cloud in sight. The grass is showing its face again.”

“What color is the grass?”

She turned to Gideon with a confused expression.

“Green.”

Gideon grinned.

“Then, my dear, you are dreaming.”