The Moonlight Boy | Ferry's Tale # 1

The breakup

"She can't be Poppy," Matilda whispered. "Didn't you see? She can fly. She can appear out of nowhere. Those are not things a five-year-old human can do."

After the stop at The Hornless Unicorn, Oona thought it wouldn't hurt a nap. And since fairies weren't usually spending too much time sleeping, Ferry couldn't miss the opportunity to have a word with Matilda all by themselves.

In Tenalach, there were napping nests everywhere. Oona knew every one of them, of course. Each one of them was the perfect place for taking naps. Built inside the tree hollows, they were filled with dry leaves and field flowers, turning into the softest, most scented mattresses. 

Oona was sleeping now; so did Caireann, snuggled in Oona's arms, smiling as she slept, a sign that she was already dreaming. Her tiny hand was throbbing from time to time, clenching Oona's hand.

"She must be Poppy," Ferry insisted. "Everything fits. Her age, the way she's dressed, her amulet bracelet. Remember what Oona said? That when you lost your last memory as a human, you can become a real fairy."

Yet Matilda couldn't care less about Ferry's theories. She was listening to him, but her gaze was glued to the thick yarn on her ankle. At one point, Ferry even though she was dozing.

"Matt, are you listening?" he said, slowly putting his hand on her shoulder.

Matilda throbbed, "Fine, let's just say Caireann is Poppy. So what?"

"We must take her back home," said Ferry, looking very determined.

This time, Matilda forgot to whisper, "Are you mad? Why would you do that?"

"Because her mother has been looking for her for over fifty years."

"But she doesn't know that. She thinks she's a fairy."

As always, Ferry had a plan. "Remember she was talking about a lost toy? I'm certain it was a toy from home. When she'll find it, she will remember who she was; she will want to come back home to her mother."

"All right, let's say that's true. What are you saying?"

"I'm saying we should look for Poppy's toy and give it back to her."

This time, Matilda couldn't stand it anymore, "Yeah, now I'm sure you lost your mind completely," she hissed. "Are you saying we should find this toy, whatever that is, then find Danny, then find the scissors that would set us free and leave this place without anyone seeing us? And all these while you are looking for the Fountain of Truth so that Oona won't tell anyone why we are here? Don't you feel like our mission is getting a bit... impossible?"

"I'm sure we can do it. We just need a plan," said Ferry with a sparkle in his eyes.

Matilda sighed. She was pale, moody, and had big, dark circles under her eyes. She looked weak and had lost the little enthusiasm she had.

"I don't really care," she said in a low voice. "I'll do whatever you want just to get out of here. I wish I could just close my eyes for a second..."

"Then why don't you get some sleep?" Ferry wondered.

"I couldn't possibly do that! I can't even imagine how it's like to sleep in this strange place. Who knows what might happen while I'm sleeping?"

But Ferry could see no danger in taking a short nap. He put the sack under his head and covered himself with his cloak. The shelter of the tree hollow was inviting him to sleep and he felt his eyelids as heavy as lead. Matilda could stay awake and watch over him if she wanted.

"I think I'm going to get some sleep," he said, yawning.

He was just about to fall into a tangled dream, with trees that were following him, sheep and hornless unicorns. But a whimper woke him up.