* The Fiction Awards 2020 Winner *
In Goodharts, the small town beyond the hills, nobody knows how Ferry Donovan looks. His mother has been keeping him out of sight for over nine years. When the boy finally begins school, the people are not only int...
A raven with giant wings and bald head descended from the skies. It was his raven. Baldie.
He landed right in the middle of the Dryads. They all turned their rigid heads of bark and stopped. A whirl of black smoke, branches, and black feathers wrapped the raven and a raven-man emerged from the middle. Ferry's heart skipped a beat.
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"Move away from him!" his voice thundered, covering the sound of snapping branches. The Dryads took a few steps back, but the one holding Ferry didn't loosen the grip.
"A visitor from the far land of the Moon among us. Such an honor," he said in a long-winded, low voice like the one of a wise man. "Why is he so important to so many?" he asked.
"Let him go or else ─ "
"Or else?" asked the Dryad.
" ─ or else I'll peck your bark so hard, it's going to turn into pierced cheese when I'll be done."
When hearing his words, the Dryads stopped. Ferry felt the grip loosening until he was free.
The Dryad behind him took a bow. "Forgive me," he said, "but it wasn't my wish to harm this fairy. We just want to help her protect him. But now, since you're here, that would be your honor," he said, taking another bow.
And the Dryads retreated and walked away with large, slow steps towards the trees around, becoming one with them. Silence fell as if nothing had happened. All Ferry could see now were still trees. Only their branches were slowly undulating in the wind. The raven-man bowed his head, then turned and set moving towards the edge of the clearing.
"Baldie, wait!" Ferry shouted behind him. The raven-man stopped, without turning.
"Please, don't leave me here," Ferry begged. "Take me with you, please! I know it's you. Matilda needs me... And I ─ I need you. Please..."
And Ferry fell to his knees. He couldn't bear the thought of being alone anymore. Baldie hesitated for a moment. But Ferry clung to him like an old friend he hasn't seen in a long, long time.
Baldie smiled. Then he pulled out a throaty call. Somewhere from above, three strange creatures descended. A giant lizard, a wolf-man, and a woman with the ears of a hare. Izzy, Shadow, and Harry made their fairy appearance. Or better said Parsley, Sage, and Rosemary.
"I'm so happy you're all right, Master," said Shadow, taking a bow.
"I'm happy to see you, too," said Ferry with all his heart. He recognized them all from the meeting in his backyard. It seemed like ages ago. Home looked like a distant place now.
Baldie sat in the middle, calling the others to come closer, "We needed to come, this place is not safe," he said. "I've seen this place from above and I know where we can talk quietly. Let us go!"
"But we need to find Matt!" Ferry insisted. "She's alone and helpless. And she's in danger."
Shadow sniffed the air around with his wolf-like nose, "That's easy. I know how to find her. Follow me!"
