Everyone knows that when your tooth falls out, you gently put it under your pillow and wait for the tooth fairy to take it and leave some money. But here is the full story.
In every town, no matter how small or big, if there is at least one little kid who still believes in magic, tooth fairies are there. All tooth fairies live a long way underground. In any surrounding forest, there is a tunnel under one specific mint leaf that takes you there. We call that place our bunker, which is funny because it's far different from that. It looks more like an elusive factory full of little fairies rushing around carrying specs of magic dust and all kinds of different essentials to make magic happen. That is where all wishes travel, get organized, and are ready to be fulfilled. My wings have fully grown recently, so I simply go around and help with the sorting. There ins't enough trust in me to send me anywhere, and I get why. There are so many rules outside that you must follow. For the longest time, I couldn't understand why. You must not be seen or heard in any way; you can't intervene in the child's life. The point is we fulfil the kids' wishes without the parents suspecting anything. Most of the time, the wishes are to see a unicorn or get a toy or a pet.
Then one day, an unusual request came. A wish was sent from an 8-year-old girl. Her name was Shalisa. Her parents were immigrants, and she had a hard time making friends since she barely knew any of the language. Every single fairy was busy and on a mission. For the first time, my boss told me to go. I was overjoyed. I took the wish dust in my hand and carefully placed it next to my ear. Shalisa wished for someone to be with her so they could play.
Everyone got me ready from head to toe. I took a flip phone, some magical dust, and headed out. As I removed the huge closing leaf, I saw the sunshine for the first time. I felt the breeze of a warm summer night, and for a moment I let my eyelids gently shut. I flew all the way to her house. As everyone instructed me, I took the money her parents put under the pillow, and through her ear, I got into her mind. It looked beyond magical. We were in a huge pink room filled with balloons and candy. I was standing right by the arched pink door. At the center, there was a huge mushy blanket, and all her stuffed animals lined up, sitting with cups in their hands. Suddenly, I wasn't as small as I had been. From being the size of a fingertip, at that moment, my height was reaching the size of an adult's palm. I was almost as big as her teddy bear!
"The toot fairy!" she screamed in excitement. I blushed a little. I did a little run to get to them, and we started playing.
My flip phone started buzzing, and I knew it was soon time for me to leave. But I was so devastated. I knew a chance like this wasn't going to reappear anytime soon. So, as I left her mind, I decided to hang inside her ear for some time, and maybe, when Shalisa wants to play, we could do this all over again. And guess what, it did happen. I watched over Shalisa as she got out of bed. The first thing she did was check under her pillow, gasp, and silently clench her jaw in excitement. She put on her fluffy pink slippers and ran into the kitchen.
"The Tooth Fairy came!" she announced, gripping the bill so tightly it crumpled.
Her parents giggled. As she sat down to eat her breakfast, I was still hidden deep inside her ear. That was when I heard a mesmerizing tone. As she blanky staring at her cereal bowl, the deep black hole in her ear, which was right next to me, suddenly became a sparkly portal. When I entered, everything was so bright and colorful. Her bowl was like a huge swimming pool. The round chocolate balls were each transforming into beautiful creations. As she took seven of them in her spoon, from the flower-like shape, a real flower started sprouting, growing very fast. I hooped in. She arranged a boat from the cereal balls, and we started creating a whirlpool and blowing bubbles. As the bowl became empty, I left. I hid in her ear again. My flip phone kept buzzing from time to time, and I hung up every time.
I knew the time was getting shorter, and someone was going to come for me, at least to check what I'm doing. The day I had to return and leave Shalisa could be far closer than I thought. Any given moment was a treasure, and I knew I just had to set my mind straight. Instinctively, I cracked the flip phone in half, thinking I could expand my time at least a little. I felt very untrue to myself. Like I was committing a betrayal. However, I just brushed those thoughts aside and stuck to my plan.
The rest of that day, I spent sliding down her hoop earrings. I twirled around her luscious curls or simply rested on her soft earlobes. As Shalisa was taking a bath, I popped the shiny iridescent bubbles drifting around the bathroom walls. After her mom got her out of the bathtub and ready for bed, we played for some time.
As the night fell outside Shalisa's window, I started preparing for the only thing that could let me stay here. I did what I had to. I got a thick strand of her hair and tied it around her tooth. My heart thundered as I started pulling it. My hands were all shaky. She started waking up unable to discern the pain taking over her. Then, I pulled two more of them. My heart sank. I was overloaded with sorrow. I felt my wings start getting crackly, and I painfully fell out of her mouth. That's when my wings fell off completely.
Soon enough, I went into panic mode. I ran as fast as I could, but as soon as I heard her tiny gasp, I knew she saw me through the blurry vision of her teary eyes. I ran to her gigantic bed leg, trying to hide myself. As I swooped behind, I heard her parents getting concerned and rushing her to get to the hospital.
"It was the tooth fairy!" She told them in agony.
The doctors said there was nothing to be fixed. Her only three adult teeth were missing, besides the little tooth that fell out the previous day, and they could no longer grow back. The information spread, and all the other kids in town were no longer excited for their teeth to fall out. Instead, they were scared the same thing was going to happen to them.
I was overwhelmed with guilt and shame. My fingers were forcefully twisting. I grabbed the broken flip phone I found on the floor, but it didn't have any color or glitter left. Even though I was beyond ashamed of my actions, I slowly returned to the bunker. I had nowhere else to go. As I entered the place, everything changed. It was all grey and dispiriting. There wasn't an ounce of magic left.
I walked up the hill, which was fairly near the town but far from my home, walking for days. And here I am now. I live in the hollow of the tree, from which, if you climb on the lowest branch, you get a view of the whole town. As far as I can see, I can tell you that everyone is doing great. After some time, kids were no longer scared to lose their teeth, and they still put them under their pillow. Only this time, the only thing they get is what their parents place under the pillow.
My friends, the ex-fairies, mostly started living as they are, hanging around the forest like dwarves. They've made themselves Dwellings from found leaves and sticks. Most of them spend their days gardening or exploring around. And I, just sit here watching over the town. I used to glance at my hands and look at the windows, watching children place their teeth and waiting for the tooth fairy, and I imagined what if I could bring this back. My biggest wish was for someone to be here with me. I felt undeserving of love. Underservant of anyone speaking to me ever again, even looking at me in the eye.
One thing was holding me together. A few nights ago, as I wandered around the town, I looked through a familiar window. I saw a little girl lying peacefully in her bed and her mom putting money under her pillow. As the mother raised her head, she looked at me and smiled. Expect from the fact that three teeth were missing from her contagious smile. I smiled back at her. The weight of guilt finally lifted. In that one simple face expression, I realized my actions do not define me. If she can forgive me, so can I forgive myself.
Magic survived, but I no longer belonged to it. And maybe, who knows, one warm summer night, I spot a minuscule winged being flying around the air trying to find the baby girl whose wish she got to deliver.