Kalena's Wait

Kalena Wind stood anxiously looking out the open window at the bright, beautiful morning, and wondered about last night. She had seen the barn owl sitting in the tree last night, just as the elders had said was possible. What does it mean though? Seeing an owl can be good, or bad. “Today is the most important day of my life,” Kalena thought. It must be good. It must.

Finally, it was time to go. Kalena raced out the door and flew to the scene with all the nerve of a feisty leprechaun. She wanted to make sure she was first in line, not to mention that everyone knew she was there. She was going to ace this, and she wanted everyone to know it!

“I’m going to make it. I know it! I have to. I want this so much I can taste it,” she says to herself as she flies down towards the hundreds of onlookers and hopeful award recipients below. The large, wooded glen is one of her favorite places, and she was ecstatic when they decided to have the ceremonies here.

As she flitters in over the breathtaking sight of colorful waves of shimmering wings, she looks at all the other fairies and sighs, “Darn, I left my cloud forty-five minutes early, and already there’s a long line. Oh well, no matter, I just have to be patient for a little while longer.”

She had taken special care to look her best that morning. The sparkling pale blue dress contrasts perfectly with her big dark blue eyes and waist-length wavy brown hair. Her iridescent sapphire-tinted wings fit just right through the back of her dress!

Helping humans is what Kalena has wanted to do for as long as she can remember. Somehow, to her, it just seems right. Some fairies think she has lost her mind, some think she does not have a mind at all, and some do not know what to think! It takes a special fairy for this job, and Kalena knows she is special. She has always known it. This is her future, her destiny, and most of all, her purpose in life.

She looks around at all the bystanders mulling around, waiting to take their seats for the start of the awards. The Fairy Godmother Awards is the most significant production in the fairy kingdom. It is even more important than the Tooth Fairy Awards! After all, a tooth fairy can only pick up a tooth and leave money. A fairy godmother can grant wishes and make dreams come true!

Kalena hurriedly joins the others in the line. There are at least sixty or seventy other fairies ahead of her. “I should have left two hours early instead of just forty-five minutes,” she mutters to herself. “This will take all day before they get to me! Patience girl”, she says to herself, “take deep breaths.”

She looks ahead through the colorful line curving its way around the hundreds of toadstool seats and sees her friend Felicity standing in line. How did she get here before me, Kalena wonders? She is always late for everything. She could not even make it to godmother training on time.

Further on, beyond the beginning of the line, there is a cobblestone path leading to the great oak tree with a wooden stage built into two giant branches looping down to the ground. The stage has rocky steps going down on both sides of it. On top of the stage sits a pedestal made from moss-covered rocks, with one large marble slab lying sideways on top of it. On top of the marble slab, cradled in several open silk cocoons, rests a unicorn horn, which, when spoken into, resounds across the glen (it was Monoceros’ dying wish that his horn be used for helping the fairy kingdom in whatever way necessary, and this seemed the most practical).

Garen, Kalena’s twin brother, strolls over to Kalena and tauntingly pulls on her wing.

“Stop it, you big toad! You’re embarrassing me.”

“Why should I Kalena? Why are you doing this? This is the most pointless thing I have ever seen. Humans are not worth it. The Fairy Godmother Program is about helping humans, but humans do not want to help themselves. That is why fairies like me, and others, don’t want to do good and join the program. They whine and complain about how terrible their world is, but they would rather sit around in denial than do something about it.”

“What do you mean, sit around in denial?”

“Think about it Kalena. Think of all the bad things that have happened on earth recently. Humans see them as signs that the end of the world is upon them. They do not even want to see the truth. That is denial.”

The trumpeter blows the horn to signal the commencement of the Fairy Godmother Awards. With all the excitement in the air, it feels like the beginning of a royal coronation! Many of the fairies in line have friends or family walking next to them. It is part of the tradition. The announcers finish all of the opening formalities, and the presentation begins. The line starts moving, and Kalena keeps up with the pace. Garen reluctantly walks beside her as the line slowly starts dwindling.

“Don’t you see Kalena? Do you know what I mean?”

“No, not really,” she replies as she looks up ahead to see if the line is moving any faster. She hears the master of ceremonies pronounce Felicity as a Godmother. “Great, Felicity made it!”

“Kalena, pay attention to me,” Garen snaps. “Look at some of the things that have happened. There have been wars fought over land – land Kalena. No one owns the land. We are all part of it to share with each other. You know that. Children have been shooting guns in their schools. It is crazy. It does not make sense. Instead of opening their eyes and seeing what is right in front of them, they just accept what is happening to them as part of the end of the world. They think the end of the world will happen with them blowing each other up, a big rock hitting the planet, or who knows what else. As usual, humans always seem to look at the negative about anything. As I said Kalena, they are not worth it.”

After walking in line for a while, Kalena is closer to the front. It is almost her turn. She feels an excitement in her heart that she has never felt before!

She looks at her brother and says, “Garen, I could not disagree more. I think you are the one who is being negative. Humans have done wonderful things!”

“Now you are in denial Kalena.”

“No, I am not brother, no I am not,” she says calmly.

“Ok, name me one,” Garen says.

Kalena ponders it a minute.

“I am waiting,” Garen says, with a look that implies, uh-huh, just what I figured.

“I am just forming my thoughts into the right words,” Kalena snaps back. “There are many groups and individuals around the world who do see what is right in front of them and whose only interests are in helping humanity. They have given generously of themselves. They believe in a better world and strive to make it so. They do so not only by doing good things, but by teaching a better way of thinking and believing that the earth is, and can be more so, a beautiful and wonderous place full of happy and caring people.

The line was moving again. Kalena realizes there are only three more people ahead of her.

“You do not get it Garen. You never have. Humans have made mistakes, no doubt about it – big ones – but they are starting to see the light.”

“Oh please Kalena, you sound like Mother.”

“Well, Mother happens to be correct on this particular subject.”

“What, just because one or two humans see the light, you think the entire human race is saved?”

“Yes Garen, I do. It has to start somewhere and with someone, but many of them need a little push to move them in the right direction, and that is where we fairy godmothers come in. It is part of our job.” At least I hope it will be, she thinks.

Kalena is almost there, only one more person ahead of her.

“The end of the world is not going to happen anytime soon. You know that. We all know that. It is just a transformation – an end of the old way of thinking and believing in making way for the new. It will be the beginning of a bright, beautiful, and magnificent new world! A world filled with peace, happiness, and love. I cannot wait! I just wish the humans could see it and not fight so hard against it. However, you are right about one thing. Many are in denial right now, but slowly, with our help, that will change. Like humans Garen, you just have to have faith, be patient, and believe.”

“Miss Kalena Wind, please step up to the podium,” the master of ceremonies requests through the unicorn’s horn.

He proceeds with the ritual of bestowing the honor and title on her, and as Kalena turns to walk off the stage, she stops and proudly turns to the applauding audience. She holds up her sparkling wand with outstretched arms, and written on it, in bright gold letters, is what she had waited for her entire life – Kalena Wind, Fairy Godmother!