A song in the night

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As he was watching his face in the mirror, fragments of old memories came to his mind—thoughts that wouldn't let him be at the time, happenings that made him wonder and wonders he couldn't find the answer to. 

He remembered his mother's look on the nights with a full moon when she was putting him to sleep; there was both wonder and worry in her eyes. He remembered the fear on his father's face when sometimes, they met under the walnut tree in the backyard when evening came and the moon was up in the skies. And he also remembered May's delight, that beautiful autumn evening when the moon appeared over the forest. No, he never looked at his face in the moonlight. He never liked to look at his face, anyway. For it always reminded him how different he was.

Now, he finally understood. When the moonlight caressed his face, his forehead looked like a magical, radiant map. The moon shone in the middle of his forehead and bright stars, smaller or bigger, were rippling on his temples. It was as if the night's stars and the moon were tattooed on his forehead in bright, shimmering lights.

"I'm a Moon Fairy..." he whispered.

Lavender Sky took a seat next to him, on the divan. She didn't dare to make any gesture, afraid she might trouble him more.

"Who am I, Miss Lavender?" he asked. "What am I? You said I was a changeling. But who would do that? And why? Please, you have to tell me!"

The fairy looked like she wanted to say something, but then she changed her mind. Ferry could tell that no matter what the fairy was about to tell him, it was to change his life forever. Was he really prepared for such a confession? He couldn't escape the feeling that danger would be appearing at every corner once he would know the truth.

"I'm not the one to tell you," she said, looking away. "I'm sure that soon, someone from your homeland will come to you. And then, everything will be clear."

"How can you tell?"

"Because they came to me, too, a long time ago... They brought you to me that night. I was the one supposed to take care of you, in this world. But I─ I just couldn't care about anything or anyone, at the time. James was long gone. And my children were missing. To me, fairies meant only tears and misery..."

"Then why did you bring me here? Why telling me all these? Why now?"

The fairy took his hand in hers, then put it on his chest. The raven's stone.

"For this," she said. "The raven's stone. It's a─"

"It's a magical stone, I know," Ferry interrupted her. "You can see magical beings through it. Unseen beings. You can see fairies."

"That is not all," she added. "It is much more powerful than that. It can show you the future, too. Follow me," she said rising from the divan.

They went out in the garden, in the cottage's backyard. The fairy covered herself with a large cloak. The garden was lit like in the daytime. The fairy led him to the fountain in the middle of the garden. Only now he noticed what a strange fountain that was. It was an artesian-well made out of marble, with fantastic beings encrusted, the same Ferry kept seeing on almost all the objects in Lavender Sky's house. The basin was round while in the middle an odd structure was rising. It was made of once-white stones, just as beautifully crafted as the basin. Ferry thought he has never seen such stones in Goodharts. What was really strange about the fountain was the lack of water.The fountain was covered with a fine coating of moss. A sign it hasn't been used in a long time.

The fairy stepped closer to the fountain, and she caressed the frozen beasts of stone with her fingertips.

"I need your help, Ferry," she said. "I need the raven's stone to─ To see if my children are still alive. I need to know if I'm ever going to see them again. If through the raven's stone you can catch a glimpse of the future, if my children are still alive, then the raven's stone will show me."

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