She began, the new recruit entered my station. I looked her up and down, inside and out, and I decided that she just might have the stuff needed in this army. I immediately sat her down and proceeded to give her my standard line. I spoke, she listened offering not one word until I had finished.
About seven or eight years ago I chanced to know a most unusual woman. She was quite lovely but there was something about her that was peculiar. Maybe it was the way her thick, voluminous locks of red hair fell so perfectly at her shoulders framing her exquisite face. Or maybe it was the way she moved her hands to punctuate her pronouncements. Maybe it was both of things and about a thousand other things as well. But, then again, maybe it was my youthful exuberance.
She was unique in my eyes, but she claimed that she was one of many. How can this be I wondered? Her round china blue eyes spoke volumes as she etched out the path that her long existence had taken. She seemed to radiate as I looked closely at her. She seemed to glow. It was as if she were a prism of glass reflecting the great light from without.
I didn't understand it then but almost immediately she told me she thought me to be like kin. I found this remark somewhat curious, for what would make a stranger say such a thing to a newcomer such as I. I mean as I was back then. What would make her think that she and I were anything alike? She told me that she would take me under her wing and teach me all that I needed to know.
I told her it sounded wonderful and I wanted to sign up immediately. But I was green back then, Yes, as green as you are today. No sooner had I spoken these words then things began to change. Gradually at first, then quicker and quicker, until all that I had once been was no more and I had become the being standing before you now. Changed forever and changed for good.
The time we spent together in my training period at "boot camp," seemed one of the most carefree times I had ever known. I had no wants, no worries, no feelings of loss or foreboding. I was alive and that was all that was important to me. I was a good initiate and I learned all that she had to teach me. Of course, I was not really alive anymore in any mundane sense of the word. Life for me had become something very spectacular. There was no longer anything common about it.
But how did the transformation take place you ask? It was not painful I tell you this, but there certainly were physical changes occurring. One might think the process to be very uncomfortable, but it wasn't at all. It was very gentle and in someways liberating. My arms seemed to grow weaker with each training exercise, but my back and my spirit had never been stronger, well they would have to be, it is only logical.
My new health shines through. My hair has never seemed longer or more brilliant with color. My eyes went from being a sort of nondescript blue to vibrant green. My flesh became translucent and when I smile now there is almost a twinkle that sparks forth. Everything I place upon my body takes on a look of style and beauty. My movements are so very graceful now that it is as if I have been studying the ballet all my long life. Now I can sing so lovely that when I am in a forested area, the birds line-up close-by just to copy my notes.
But the most happy part of this life is that I can do so much for so many. I can now be a bringer of glee and whimsy and cold hard coinage. I can impart truth to the seeker and glamour to the dull. We here perform a most wondrous service to humanity. We make happiness afoot in a world of woe. We make losing teeth a happy event, and not a time for sadness.
Now I can tell you, I think you are like us. In fact, I believe you to be one of my kin sure and true. I can tell you want to bring something unique to a world filled with pain and travail. Of course this is your decision. One not to be take capriciously, for once it has been made, it can not be undone.
While we are on the topic, let's put it all on the table. You know life will not be all glamour dust and extracted incisors. There is a myriad of problems and stresses you will encounter. For instance, on dark nights you will have to practice the glowing just so that you can see where you are flying. Many a lad and lass has perished by flying in a dark backyard of a mortal's home, only to be attracted to some blasted light that electrocuted them. Nothing left of them but a triangulated pile of sparkle and a bag of coins.
Oh, but don't concentrate on the bad. Think of all the happiness it brings. Every tooth you collect becomes the seed of a fairy oak tree, which will grow strong and become a sacred grove where all the enchanted folk can live happy productive lives. Such a service you will be doing. I can only imagine what missions will be ahead of you. It will be an exciting life. You will see new worlds and interact with strange beings. By the time you are standing here talking to someone else like I am talking with you today, you will have experienced much!
So what do you say young recruit, are you going to step up to the plate and meet the challenge? To borrow a quote from the mortals Marines, we are looking for the few, the magical, the Tooth Fairies!
So tell me quickly, are you ready to sign-up?
Unfortunately, my friend never did finish her story, because our soup arrived and the subject was changed to "pass the butter," and isn't this "the best soup you ever tasted". I must ask her next time if that recruit did in fact sign-up. If not, perhaps one of you would like to meet the challenge? Well, you let me know, and I will pass it along to my friend, the recruitment officer.