From the Journal of Morganlafey
- Now this was told me some time ago, and I believe it to be
perfectly true as I personally know those involved. Here is the story from start to finish.
It had arrived by second day mail. It had all the features she knew she wanted. It was brand new
and shiny and she could talk to it and it to her.
The lovely green box with beige strips was large and cumbersome but somehow she managed to
carry it into her apartment. Up three flights of stairs, down a large hall, and around a wide corner.
There was her door. Painted dark green years ago by the management in an effort to spruce up
the place a bit. Other tenants hated the dark green doors. She didn't, the rent was cheap, and her
immediate neighbors were quiet. That's all she cared about. She wrangled the box just a little
further, and left it in her petite living room.
She was in her late thirties, sort of plain, but with a certain grace. She was known as Miss.
Iverson to her employers, but Penny to her immediate friends. At the moment the only immediate
friend she could think of was Mickey, her large, long-hared, orange cat. "Your Penny loves you,"
she would tell Mickey each and every time she petted his long hair or bent down to feed him his
food from a can. "Who loves you?" she would coo, "Pennnnnnie, wuvs you." Being a good
hearted cat, Mickey would usually purr back or make some other gesture to assure her that he
loved her, too.
And there was the thing, now sitting on the floor. Now resting quietly in the box. Now waiting
to be freed. As she walked into her kitchen to retrieve a knife and take a drink of water, Mickey
could not help but sniff the corners of the box. First this side then that. He stood with his mouth
open in a frozen stare taking in whatever strange smell he had just bared witness to. This was
unusual, no doubt, thought the cat. As Ms. Iverson stepped back into the room clutching a long
sharp knife in her hand, Mickey backed up slightly to get a better footing, and leaped to the top of
the box. With a thud he landed squarely on top.
"NO, NO," she called out. "No kitty, get down!" She stepped forward and waved him away
with her free hand. As the chagrined cat sat on the floor, licking the side of his body where she
had barely glazed him, "you mustn't jump up here. This is mommy's, there is something very
special here inside." Mickey really did not care. He decided it was time to take a nap, so he
stepped over to his favorite ledge where he could have a proper rest.
Now the box. She approached it with great interest. She looked at it. She analyzed the length of
the packing tape. She assayed the breath and width of it. It was really a find looking box, she
hated to harm it but what had to be done had to be done.
She took the long, heavy bread cutting knife in her hand and raised it above her head and with a
shirk and a gesture of power, she let her hand fall. The tip of the knife entered the box and tore
the tape in a clean slice. She ran the knife along a straight line, first this way then that. And it
was done. The box was open and what was inside could finally be released.
She opened the lid of the box and pulled back its leafs. There it was all wrapped in plastic and
reinforced with Styrofoam cutouts. It was beautiful. Oddly though, it was a dark green. She
thought she had ordered it in black. As she looked at it, she decided the green would do much
better, after all most of her decorations in the house were in green with dashes of purple. So it
would fit in nicely. How fortunate she was to have gotten a dark green one. "And now," she
thought, "for the unpacking."
How she labored, how she toiled. She had selected just the right spot for it on an antique desk
that came all the way from Ireland. The desk she had standing in the corner of her living room,
and was a source of pride to her, for she loved everything that was from Ireland. No questions
asked, if came from Ireland it was worth owning.
She lifted it out of the box. It was a bit heavy, but this being a very small room, she did not have
far to walk. She placed it down upon the table and stood back to look. It was beautiful. It was
magnificent. It was her ticket to entertainment, amusement and new adventures. It was her new
computer and it was dark green. For the next hour she labored at hooking everything up
properly. Strangely enough, the instructions were amazingly clear. That alone should have been
her first clue. But she thought nothing of it.
And then, it was done. The monitor was hooked to the computer, the speakers as well. There
was a fast cd-player and headphones, so she could play her music loud while surfing the net,
without disturbing her neighbors. What more could she want? She was in heaven. All that was
needed now was to turn it on.
Mickey was a bit curious by now. She had forgotten to feed him and he knew his tummy was
growling. He jumped down from his perch and ran to his dish. It was empty. How odd, she had
forgotten to feed her Mickey-poo. He let out a soft meow. Followed-up immediately by another
as if to say, "I said, MEOW." She looked over to him and answered. "Yes, yes, I hear you...just
a minute."
She leaned in stretching out her long index finger and pushed the recessed power button in all the
way. Something clicked and then there was noise and then, and then, there were flashes of light.
She heard what she thought was a moan before everything went black. "I killed it," she wailed.
She felt like crying. Her friend, her new computer was dead, at her hands. Mickey ran back to his
perch, it just did not feel right to him.
Composing herself she looked at all the connections. They all seemed fine. She tried it again, but
this time nothing happened. She was very disappointed and frustrated. It was too late to call for
customer service, so dead it would stay until the morning. She turned and looked around the
room. What mayhem. Plastic wrap and Styrofoam all over the place. She refused to clean up the
mess tonight. "Come here cat," she called out to only friend as she walked into her room. "Let's
get mommy's old lap top and surf the web." She scurried out of the room grabbing a container of
chocolate ice cream and a bag of kitty bits and switched off the overhead light in the living room.
It was around one or two in the morning when she found she could not keep her eyes open. Her
bed was feeling very comfortable by now. Heavy with exhaustion her lids finally fell, her fingers
driffted off the the laptop's keys. The next morning, upon waking she did not recall if she had
shut off her laptop, but it was off and neatly placed upon the floor at the foot of her bed. Mickey
was no longer in the room, which was odd because she was sure she had closed her door.
What was that odor she smelled. It was pleasant and sweet. She thought perhaps one of her
neighbors had been baking or something. As she arose from bed, she noticed that all of her shoes
and all of slippers, which were usually scattered here and there, were all lined up in a row.
Strange, she had not remembered doing this. Chills ran down her back and bumps raised on her
arms. Now she wondered where Mickey was.
She opened the door to her bedroom and walked down the small hallway leading to the living
room. That strange smell grew stronger. What was it? She knew it was really a combination of
smells. Of lilac flowers, fresh bread, coffee, and fruits or jellies maybe. As she came into her
living room she could not believe her eyes. No where to be seen was any Styrofoam or plastic
parts. The floor had been swept clean. The furniture polished bright. There were lace
comforters stretched out over the sofa and the chairs. She shook her head unable to realize what
she was seeing. There was a noise, it was a high pitched squeal, maybe. She turned to look but
there was nothing to see, except very tiny, glittering lights she saw briefly in the corner of her eye.
Mickey, sitting on his perch in the window, purred loudly and squinted in the sunlight. He had a
secret, he was not going to let out. Besides, it was, no doubt time for his morning nap. She
walked to the kitchen counter and saw a plate of fresh baked rolls and a glass jar of blueberry jam.
The coffee was fresh and sitting in a cup for her right next to a smaller creamer filled with milk.
There were tiny pink and yellow flowers cut and placed neatly in a tiny crystal vase and a neatly
folded up lace napkin, placed just so for her use.
Standing neatly in the corner of the room, on its side, was the dark green box. Its flaps pressed
closed, so as not to disturb that which remained inside. She walked toward it and as she did, she
notice those tiny lights swirling and circling the box as if it were a covering of fog that lay low in
some Irish Green Valley. Whatever was causing it, it was beautiful to behold. Strangely she did
nothing to disturb it. As if under some kind of spell, or intoxication, she did not think so strange
at all. It was as if she were bewitched.
And there it stood. It rested upon the table, where she had left it alone the night before. But it
had not been alone at all. Apparently, it had not arrived alone but with inhabitants or an
inhabitant. Bracing herself for the worse, she held her breath and pushed the power button in
again. Oh the magic. Oh the wonder. It made a noise, this one much happier perhaps even a sort
of laughter, followed by bright flashes of light. The monitor screen poured forth majestic colors
and hues in a swirling, spinning motion. She was thrilled. She was enraptured. She was
enchanted to say the least. She jumped around the room and danced with the lights, swaying this
way and that. For a brief moment she was a child of wonder again, happily prancing with joy and
abandon.
Mickey, was happy too and joined in the dance. On and on they went until exhaustion had
overtaken her. She was happy. Perhaps happier then she could ever remember being for such a
long, long time. Into her life had come magic and mystery, both of which had been gone since she
could not even remember when.
Day after day, when she came home from work, there would be merriment and music playing
inside her apartment only to stop when she entered. Mickey was always watered and feed and a
dinner laid out with fine linen and flowers was always waiting for her. In the morning when she
awoke, there was always the smell of fresh bread, jelly and flowers. Sometimes there would be
soft lights that would swirl around her legs and she would dance and make merry for hours in her
living room. She was happy. Truely happy.
The green box in the corner of the room took on a sort of mound look, but she did not mind. It
was now covered with fresh cut leaves and other fauna twigs and potting soil. Whatever or
whoever lived inside liked their privacy, and having spent a lifetime believing in little people and
things that went bump in the night, she knew not to disturb them or it. But how her curiosity
ached to know what they looked like and who it was. But then again she knew, she had to
respect "their" privacy and so she never peeked and never intruded.
One day as she surfed the net, she happened onto a chat room. Now this room seemed empty
except for her and one other chatter. She was using her usual chat nickname, "Fairy Lady" and
the other was using the name "Hi-Jolly." "What an odd name," she typed. "Suits me," he typed
back. "Does it?" she questioned. "Yes, very much so," he answered. Without stating so, she
knew the other chatter to be a man, and this was his room, he had set-up to chat with others who
enjoyed the fairy folk.
"Why does your name suit you?' she asked, "because," he answered, "I am a very jolly soul, I
suppose my parents knew this about me when they named me." "Your parents named you this?"
typed she, "Yes, this is my real name Fairy Lady." he answered her.
"Do you like the fairy folk," he asked of her. "Yes, I do. And I do believe with all my heart." she
replied. "That is good, because you know the Fairy Folk believe in you too." he told her.
What a happy conversation they had until she had to go. So sorry she told him but she had work
the next day, and had to get off line. He typed back to her asking when she would be back? "I
could log on tomorrow, she told him." Then tomorrow would have to do.
And her usual, curious evening and day went by. The wonders still abound. She fell to sleep in
the evening only to hear sweet music and smell the fresh bread in the morning. This day, when
she awoke there were flowers near her bedside. Cut and standing in her drinking cup. She could
not help but smile.
That night she sat before her computer and searched for the man she had chatted with before, but
he was no where to be found. Where was her new friend, ‘Hi-Jolly?" Sadly, she was about to
log off, when his name suddenly appeared in a private message. "Hello, Fairy Lady" he typed to
her. "Hello," she typed back. She did not know why, but her heart was racing. She was just so
excited to see his name on the screen.
Day after day they met on-line and chatted into the wee hours of the morning. She told him
everything and he was kind and listened to her. He explained to her that he was from the old
country originally, but had moved here a while back. He was a jack of all trades and enjoyed
various activities including dancing and he was good with his hands. She liked all he had to say
and she longed to know him better. "Perhaps," he would answer her. "Perhaps."
Each evening she would log off the computer, sad to say good-bye. Tears would fill in her eyes
and she would cry for missing him. Touching her monitor screen she would whisper, "Hi-Jolly,
Hi-Jolly." Who was this being on the other side of the monitor that brought her so much
happiness and pain at the same time. She needed to know him. She felt herself attached. Their
hearts connected in someway.
Every morning when she awoke, there standing right next to her bed were fresh flowers. She was
loved she thought. For the first time in her life, she felt very loved. And it was more then just
fairy magic, but what was it? She would lose her mind if she could not be with him.
The magic the unseen ones did for her were paling under the weight of her longing for ‘Hi-Jolly,"
As with all enchantment, once the joy begins to fade, the spell does too. If she was not careful
she might lose her unseen friends, to that unseen chatter on her computer. But which was more
real to her? Unseen beings in her apartment or an unseen person typing to her through another
computer so very far away? That night, as she chatted with her "Hi-Jolly," she could wait no
more. "Will we ever meet?" she asked him.
A long pause took over the screen. No words were typed back then, slowly the sentence
appeared,. "If you met me you might not love me anymore," How could he type this, she
wondered. "But," she answered him, "I love you already."
Another long pause. "You say this, but if you saw me, you may not love me, and this would
break my heart." he typed back.
She sat silently and thought for a moment about what she wanted to say. "I do not think there is
anything about you that I could not love. I know you for who you are. I know you from the
bottom of your soul to the top of your heart. And you know me this way too. Don't you
understand this?" she answered him.
Yes, another long pause. "I fear you would not love me if you knew who I was."
"Please." she typed. The cursor flashed over and over and over again. No response was typed
then . . .
"Very well." he answered her, but not on the screen. It was the sound of a man's voice, with a
very thick brogue, and it was coming from behind her. Her fingers were frozen upon the
keyboard. Mickey, who had been sitting nearby, dashed out of the room. There was an odd
mossy odor that filled her nostrils. "Fairy Lady, turn around," he commanded, "it is I, your Hi-
Jolly."
With all the strength she could muster, she stepped up out of her chair, closed her eyes, took a
deep breath, and turned around. Opening her eyes, she noticed that the room was strangely dark
as if lit only by candles. She squinted and starred deeply into the darkness. There he stood by the
fairy mound in the corner, where once the box had been. He was short in stature, but not
uncomely. He had raven black hair with glints of red and long bushy sideburns. Dressed in
clothes that would probably have been considered outdated in the early eighteenth century, he
held a tri-corner hat in his hands. He looked questioningly at her. She slowly approached him,
"Hi-Jolly? You're Hi-Jolly?"
"I am indeed FairyLady. At your service." He answered as he bowed.
She stood in front of him now, he was perhaps a foot or two smaller then she, but very pleasing to
the eye. She smiled at him and his eyes filled with a twinkle. "It has been you all this time?"
"Yes, it has been I."
"Hi-Jolly, the name does suit you." She reached out her hand and bent down slowly to him to
look him eye to eye.
Hi-Jolly blushed, his cheeks and ears turning very bright red. With a flash and a sparkle he
materialized a bunch of long-stemmed red roses and presented them to her. "For my Fairy lady,"
he said.
She took the flowers from him and smelled them, taking in their sweet scent. "They're beautiful,
thank you. She placed a kiss upon his cheek." She could not help but laugh and coo.
Nervously, he danced about from foot to foot, then took her hand and kissed it. "You are the
most beautiful woman in the world " He told her.
Now it was her turn to blush. She did not know what to say, and she stared at him all the while
smiling.
"Do you still love me, Fairy Lady?" he asked of her.
"Yes, still with all my heart. I love you Hi-Jolly. You have come into my life and brought such
beauty and magic. You have been kind to me and made my day to day life seem romantic. You
have given back to me my innocense and my wonder. Yes, Hi-Jolly, I do love you with all I have
to give."
Hi-Jolly reached into his tri-cornered hat and pulled out a handful of what looked to be common
dust. Throwing it up into the air it poured down over him and in a flash of lights before her stood
a man of equal stature, perhaps an inch or two taller than she, dressed in modern clothes with a
human looking cast. "Fairy-Glamour," she whispered.
"And now for you." he answered. From his pocket he withdrew a handful of the dust once
more. Tossing it over her head. It sparkled and sparked and when it was all said and done, she
stood before him like the Fairy Lady he knew her to be. Her cascading locks glistened all the way
down her back. Her ivory satin dress shimmered as she moved, and her shoes were now crystal
slippers. Around her neck was a choker of diamonds and rubies. Upon her head was a crown of
emeralds and sapphires. She was beautiful. She was a woman in love.
Hi-Jolly bent down upon one knee and took her hand into his own. "I have loved you for a very
long time, perhaps since you were three or four, for I have been nearby you since you were a
child. I waited to see if you would choose to marry a mortal and when it looked to me you would
not, I thought it time to make my intentions known to you."
"But how could you have known me since I was so young. I did not know you." she questioned.
"Yes you did. But as you grew older you forgot about me, and I grew quiet. Your
grandmother, the one who willed you the desk, knew me well. She was a fine woman and I knew
her since she was a child as well. We played along the creek that ran the length of the old farm. I
knew her mother too, and hers besides. When she died, your grandmother it is, she sent the desk
to your father and he gave it promptly to you, as she desired. I decided to leave the farm and so I
had myself shipped in the crate. Ahh, the first time I laid eyes on you, I fell in love. You were so
sweet and fine. Do you not remember the desk always being in your room, until you moved out?
Those four years you were in college were traumatic for me, I must say. I missed you so. But
you did occasionally come back for holidays. Then your parents gave you the desk to keep
always. That was just before they won the lottery, and went away on their world cruise?"
"But I have been here, watching and waiting. Those mortal men you dated were fools not to see
what is so obvious to the heart's eye. I have waited until I could wait no longer. Fairy Lady, it is
rarely, though sometimes done, will you consent to be my Fairy Bride and come away with me to
the old country?"
She could not believe her ears. In fact, the whole event was something extraordinary. Mickey
dashed into the room and rubbed his head against Hi-Jolly's leg indicating that he seemed to
approve. She glanced down to Hi-Jolly on his bended knee, and stared into his eyes. There was
such sweetness and truth, she knew she had found her mate for life. "Yes, Hi-Jolly, I will consent
to be your Fairy-Bride."
In a flash of light and a twinkle of glitter The Desk, Mickey, Hi-Jolly and the Fairy Lady, were all
transported to the fairy kingdom in the beautiful Irish Countryside were they live today along with
their fairy children in their fairy cottage as modern day Kings and Queen of the Fairies. Perhaps
you will meet them one day in person, or log on to your computer and chat with an unknown
stranger, who just so happens to be a Fairy. In which case, it is strongly suggested that you be as
nice as you can to the unseen chatter for one may never know what magic he or she might bring.
Susan Bosler is a writer, artist and medieval historian living in Southern California with her husband, kitties
and dogs. She writes under the name Morganlafey. You can visit her fairy site at
http://www.oocities.org/Area51/Shadowlands/8346