The next morning as promised they all accompanied Jayda to her Pine tree. The fairies were horrified to see where the branch had broken off, remembering how beautifully symmetrical the tree had been before. But they were fascinated with the perfectly cut edge and the way the special medicine covered the end so it wouldn’t get diseased.
“Does it still hurt, Jayda?” asked Talida.
“A bit,” Jayda admitted. “But it feels so much better since the Big Ones came and fixed it.”
“I hope the Big Ones won’t come back today,” little Narida was looking around nervously. “I’m still scared of them, even if they are helping our trees.” Nagida and her friends started laughing just then, and Narida looked even more worried. “I thought you said they could hear us when we laugh. Better be quiet or they might come to find out what’s going on!”
“Oh Narida, don’t worry,” Zaida said with a smile. “Only the little one seemed to hear us, and that’s probably because he was very close to the tree. I’m sure they can’t hear us from far away, right Merida?”
“Well, no-one really knows what the Big Ones can hear. But I agree with Zaida, if there are no Big Ones close enough for us to see them I’m sure they can’t hear us.” Merida replied. “Now, let’s all make a circle around Jayda’s tree and give it some healing energy.”
The fairies arranged themselves around the trunk close to the broken branch. Each one held the trunk with one hand and touched the next fairy’s shoulder with their other hand. Naida was next to Jayda and as all of them began to concentrate she felt a warm tingling sensation traveling through her connecting the tree and all the fairies in a powerful energy circle. She looked at Jayda and saw that although her were eyes closed she was smiling. It seemed that the energy was healing her too.
When they finished Jayda opened her eyes and looked up at the group. She thanked them all, “That felt so good. I feel so much stronger now. And my tree is happy you all came and helped it heal too.”
Then at Merida’s direction they all flew off to take care of their trees for the day. Naida gave her friend a quick hug before she left. “I’m so glad you feel better, Jayda.”
When Naida reached her tree her heart sank with disappointment again. There was still no sign of life. She flew around and diligently tried to warm up each place she thought a leaf or flower might appear. But there were still no buds so it seemed to be a thankless task.
Finally she sat on a branch and sighed. “I just don’t understand,” she said to her tree. “What do you need me to do so you can wake up?” Of course the tree didn’t respond. “Please, I’ve been trying to wake you up for so long. Everyone else’s tree has leaves or flowers or both already!” Still nothing from the tree. “Come on, I’m really trying! I want to believe in you. I want to know what kind of tree you are. I’ve never seen a real Catalpa tree, so I want to see your leaves and flowers. Please!”
In her frustration Naida was almost going to kick her tree, but she stopped herself just in time. “Oh, dear, that won’t help. I’m sorry, tree. I will give you one more hug and good energy and then I’m going home.” Naida put both her hands on the trunk and bent her head to touch it too. She sent all her good energy to the tree for a long time. Finally she began to feel the tree’s response. There was an energy there, different from Jayda’s Pine tree. It seemed to be coming from deep down in the tree, almost in its roots. Naida felt better and began to smile. “Thank you tree. I believe you’re feeling me. I’ll wait for you to wake up. I’m sure you know when the right time is for you to make buds. Now I have to go home, but I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Naida flew home with her heart feeling lighter. She was glad to see Jayda was already there and went over to see how she was. “Are you feeling better Jayda?”
“Yes, Naida. I’m much stronger today. And my tree is definitely healing.”
Narida flew in and joined them. “Oh Jayda, I’m glad you’re feeling better. I don’t know if I could survive if something like that happened to my tree. You’re so much stronger than I am!”
The three of them laughed and hugged each other.
“Oh Narida, you’re strong in your own way,” Jayda responded.
“And I can’t wait to see your lovely tree tomorrow.” Naida added. “Will it talk to us?”
“I hope so,” Narida said. “It only needs a little breeze, so we’ll see. And I’m glad you’ll all come to see it tomorrow. I hope we can see your tree soon, Naida?”
Naida was about to reply when Merida called them all to the circle. “We’ll be visiting Narida’s tree tomorrow. And then we just have Naida’s tree left to visit. Naida, can you tell us all a little bit about your tree?”
“Oh, goodness,” Naida looked down in embarrassment. “Well, there’s not much to tell. It hasn’t woken up yet. But I can feel its energy, deep down, like in its roots. I’m sure it will wake up soon.”
“What does it look like?” Zaida asked. “Does it have big strong branches that can hold everyone like my Oak tree? Or is it tall like Jayda’s.”
“No,” Naida replied uncertainly. “It doesn’t look very special. Its branches aren’t straight, or specially thick or thin. Some of them are a bit twisted actually. It just looks like it hasn’t woken up yet,” she finished lamely seeing Nagida and her friends starting to whisper and chuckle.
“Well,” Merida said. “I think we should all visit Naida’s tree the day after tomorrow, even if it hasn’t woken up yet. That way we’ll have all seen each others’ trees at least once. Alright, Naida?”
Naida nodded without enthusiasm. “I’d rather everyone came when it has woken up,” she muttered.
As they made their way to bed Jayda took Naida’s arm comfortingly. “Don’t worry, I’m sure everything will work out.”
“I don’t know about that. But I did talk to my tree today, and I could feel its energy so I’m sure it will wake up eventually.” Naida responded. “I just don’t know what a Catalpa tree looks like!”
“Well, I didn’t know anything about Pine trees either, and I certainly didn’t expect it to get struck by lightning!” and the two friends laughed as they settled down for the night.
Copyright © Jennifer P. Tanabe, 2015
Jennifer P. Tanabe 