Caitlin's Wish

by Victoria Taylor

  “What did Bethan tell you to do?” asked Rufus.

  “Hang on a minute, you know Bethan?”

  Just then it all became clear in Caitlin’s mind; she remembered that she’d been told that all would become clear in time.

  “It was you who asked Bethan to help me, wasn’t it?”

  Rufus looked down at the floor sheepishly “Well I may have mentioned it when I last went to Fairyland… but only because I was so worried about you. You were so sad and I hated seeing you that way. I knew they’d be able to help you!”

  Caitlin smiled. She was glad she had such a kind hearted friend to care about her.

  “It’s OK Rufus, I’m not angry with you at all. Bethan and the fairy folk have helped me so much, how could I possibly be angry? Thank you for caring enough to ask for help.”

  Rufus looked up at her tilting his head to one side “So you’re not angry?”

  “No, not at all; thank you! You’re so kind.”

  Rufus hopped closer to Caitlin “I am always here for you, you know that don’t you? I will always listen to you and no-one will ever know that I’m actually talking to you. They will only be able to hear a tweeting sound.”

  Caitlin giggled “That’s so cool! It’ll be our little secret!”

  “That’s right” said Rufus. “Now can you remember what Bethan told you to do?”

  “Yes” said Caitlin “she said that I should talk to my Mum. Do you think she’ll believe me though?”

  Rufus thought for a moment before answering. “Maybe not at first, but I’m sure you’ll be able to convince her it was real eventually.”

  Caitlin poured herself a drink. “Would you like something to eat and drink Rufus?”

  “Oh yes please, Caitlin. It’s freezing cold out here this morning.”

  She poured a small cup of water for Rufus and put it on the windowsill before opening the door of her Mother’s special cupboard where she kept all her best cakes and biscuits. She reached inside and pulled out a large cake tin. As she lifted the lid off, it revealed a large chocolate cake smothered in rich chocolate frosting. Her Mum had baked it the day before as a special treat for Caitlin and Chris.

  Anxiously Rufus said “Caitlin, you know that’s not the stale cake that your Mum usually gives me.”

  “I know” she replied mischievously.

  “It’s a fresh chocolate cake with extra frosting on top and it’s going to taste delicious! Today you deserve more than just stale crumbs…you deserve the best, because you’re such a wonderful friend.”

  Rufus gasped. “Won’t your Mother be cross?”

  “Ah well you see I have a plan! We’re going to share it, so that way when I say that I ate the cake, I won’t be lying, will I?” she giggled.

  “Oh Caitlin you are naughty” said Rufus smiling “but that cake does look very tempting.”

  So she cut a large slice of cake, putting a small portion of it on her plate and the rest of it on the windowsill for Rufus.

  They both ate it quickly before anyone caught them. It was just as well that they did, because 5 minutes later Caitlin’s Mother came downstairs and went into the kitchen for breakfast. She was shocked to see Caitlin up so early; she was a child who liked her sleep!

  “Good morning sweetheart, you’re up early today aren’t you? Are you OK?”

  Just then she saw the plate with crumbs on it.

  “Caitlin!” she scolded. “Did you have chocolate cake for breakfast again? The chocolate cake I made for tonight’s dessert?”

  She rolled her eyes in despair, trying to remain strict but finding it hard not to laugh. She could see the funny side of it too, after all who would choose cereal for breakfast if they could have double chocolate cake with extra frosting instead? “Caitlin we’ve talked about this, haven’t we?”

  “Sorry Mum, but it looked so nice!” Caitlin said using the puppy dog eyes that she knew her mother could not resist. It always worked and this time was no exception.

  “It was really yummy by the way!” she said smiling.

  Mum gave in and hugged Caitlin tightly “Well I suppose once won’t hurt, but don’t do it again!”

  At that moment her Mother noticed that Caitlin was dirty and wearing a crown of ivy and flowers. Puzzled she thought to herself “I’m sure Caitlin had a bath last night.” She knew something must have happened for her to be in such a state, but decided to broach the subject gently.

  “So did you sleep well last night?” she asked.

  Caitlin hesitated. She knew that she had to tell her Mum, but didn’t know where to start.

  “Mum, can I please talk to you?”

  “Of course you can sweetheart. What’s the matter?” asked her Mother sitting down in the rocking chair. She beckoned for Caitlin to come and sit on her knee.

  “All right Princess, what’s wrong?”

  Caitlin climbed onto her Mother’s lap all the time wondering “Am I doing the right thing? Will she think I’ve gone mad?”

  “I really don’t know where to begin…” said Caitlin.

  “Well let’s try at the beginning because that’s always a good place to start. I’d love to know where that pretty crown came from; it’s so unusual.”

  Caitlin smiled and sighed with relief, maybe this wasn’t going to be so difficult after all.

  “You know you asked me if I slept well last night?” she started “Well actually I didn’t sleep much at all! Oh Mum, I went on the most amazing adventure last night. You’ll never guess! When I went to bed I was feeling really alone. You see none of my friends understand how I feel and it was upsetting me.”

  “Oh sweetheart” said her Mother holding her close “You’re never alone, I’m always here for you.”

  “Yes, I know that, but it’s difficult sometimes because none of my friends understand what my life is like with Dad being ill all the time. I used to let it get me down, but guess what Mum? I won’t let it get me down any more! Something happened last night that has changed the way I look at things now.”

  “Really? That sounds fascinating. What happened?” asked her Mother.

  “When I went to bed last night I noticed a bright light in the corner of my room. I didn’t know what it was at first, but then it started changing its shape until it turned into a beautiful Angel.”

  Mum gasped in shock, she didn’t expect to hear that! “You saw an Angel?”

  “Yes! I’m not joking Mum. It was an Angel! She was so beautiful! She had bright blonde hair which shimmered like gold, piercing deep brown eyes, ruby red lips and the kindest face I’ve ever seen.

  Her wings were so white they dazzled me as the light reflected off them and she was just….” Caitlin stuttered as she recalled “she was just amazing. She told me that her name was Bethan and she had been sent to help me. She didn’t want me to be sad anymore. She asked me to go with her, and I really wasn’t sure Mum. I remembered what you’ve always told me about not going with strangers, and guess what? She understood. She explained that this was different, and to be honest I had no doubt that she was an Angel. She was glowing from head to toe! She took my hand and away we flew, through the night sky to a place called Fairyland.”

  “Well Caitlin, it sounds as if you had a wonderful dream last night” replied her Mother.

  “But Mum…..”

  “It must have been a dream if you went to Fairyland. You probably got the idea for your dream from one of your fairy stories; after all you’re always reading them, aren’t you?”

  “Oh but Mum, please listen to me” begged Caitlin. “It wasn’t a dream, it really wasn’t! At first when I saw Bethan in my bedroom I thought I must be dreaming so I pinched myself hard to see if I was awake. It really hurt and the mark is still there, which proves that it wasn’t a dream! I didn’t imagine this, honestly!”

  “OK well carry on and tell me more about it then” said Mum.

  “When we got to Fairyland there were other children there too. Each child had an Angel with them, just like
me!

  There were pretty fairies that sang to me and danced around to cheer me up. I met real pixies! They were so charming, yet mischievous at the same time, playing hide and seek with each other in the woods…..

  Do you know what Mum? They ALL knew my name and who I was! Can you imagine that? Here I was feeling so sad and alone and all along they were there, just waiting to help me! How amazing is that?”

  “Hang on a minute. You mean to tell me that Fairyland really exists and that they knew who you were?”

  “Yep!” replied Caitlin smiling.

  “No, I don’t think so my darling. This must have been a very vivid dream. It’s quite brilliant, but it’s definitely a dream!”

  “There’s so much more to tell you” Caitlin continued completely ignoring her Mother’s disbelief.

  “Bethan led me along this magical winding pathway to an old tree in the middle of Fairyland. They call it the Healing Tree and there were children from all over the world sitting underneath the tree talking to their Angels. We both sat underneath the tree just like the others and we talked. The Healing Tree was so mystical; as I leaned against the tree trunk it was healing me and hugging me. It was like nothing I’ve ever felt before, ever!”

  “Now wait a minute Caitlin. You mean to tell me that there was a tree that heals and hugs you? No my dear, that was definitely a dream!” insisted her mother.

  Caitlin sighed with frustration; this was proving to be harder than she’d imagined it would be. Determined to make her Mother believe she continued

  “It wasn’t a dream!”

  She thought hard. How was she going to convince her? She looked down at the floor whilst she thought. Then suddenly it came to her…

  “Look at me!” she demanded.

  “If it was a dream then why did I wake up like this? I’m wearing the fairies’ crown on my head and I’m covered in twigs and leaves from sitting underneath the Healing Tree. If this was all a dream then I would still be clean, after all I had a bath last night!”

  Her Mother thought about the facts and considered the possibility that her daughter had been sitting under a tree.

  “Maybe...” she pondered.

  Caitlin didn’t waste any time in seizing the opportunity and she continued “But most of all why do I feel so happy now? I know Dad loves me and that he can’t help being poorly. Best of all though I know that I’m never alone! I’ve only got to remember the Healing tree to feel the love and support from all the Fairy folk.

  I feel so happy that I suppose it doesn’t really matter if no-one believes me.

  I know that it was real and I will always remember it as long as I live!”

  Her Mother looked closely at Caitlin’s face and her radiant smile. She thought to herself “Something has changed within her. I haven’t seen her smile like that for a long time. Maybe there could be some truth in all of this. Just maybe it wasn’t a dream after all.”

  She put her arms around Caitlin and gave her a reassuring hug.

  “I suppose if you feel so strongly about all this, then maybe it wasn’t a dream after all.”

  Caitlin beamed from ear to ear, hardly able to contain her excitement. Her Mother believed her!

  “The most important thing is that you have learned that you’re never alone!” Mum said. “There’s always someone to turn to whenever you need a shoulder to cry on, or advice. You know you can always talk to me, don’t you sweetheart?”

  “But you’re always so busy looking after Dad, I don’t want to bother you” replied Caitlin.

  “Sweetheart, I’m your Mother! I love you! I will always make time for you whenever you need me. You can always talk to me, no matter how busy I may seem.”

  Caitlin squeezed her Mother tightly. She felt relieved to have discussed how she felt at last. “I love you so much!” she said.

  “I love you more!” said Mum smiling. This was a personal joke that they had always shared, each would say “I love you” then they’d say “but I love you more!” in turns until eventually one of them would give up from giggling so much.

  “Caitlin you’ll never know just how special you are! I am so proud of you! You and your brother have coped brilliantly with all the recent changes in your lives. None of us wanted things to change but they have and there’s absolutely nothing we can do about it. I’ve been impressed with how you’ve handled it, and maybe because of that I’ve overlooked how you were feeling deep down. I’m truly sorry Caitlin. I should have paid more attention to you. I’m so sorry that you were feeling so sad and alone. I love you more than words could ever explain. You can always talk to me. Do you understand that now?”

  Caitlin hugged her Mum tightly.

  “Yes I understand. Please don’t feel guilty Mum, it’s OK. I should have talked to you, I can see that now. Bethan told me you’d listen and she was right.”

  Mum smiled and said “I’m so happy that you can see things differently now Caitlin. I’m really proud of you, my little princess.”

  Later on that same day Caitlin decided to tell her brother Chris all about her adventure. Just like her Mother, Chris found it hard to believe at first, but Caitlin was determined to convince him it had really happened. By the end of their conversation Chris believed her. He found it fascinating, listening carefully to every detail as Caitlin told him what she had learned.

  “Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to go to Fairyland one day” he said. “It sounds like an amazing place.”

  “So you believe me?”

  “Yes, I do. At first I thought you were teasing me, but as you told me more and more I could see that you were serious. I’m just so glad that Bethan and the fairy folk were able to help you find your lost smile! It’s so good to see you happy again. You’ve got such a pretty smile, sis. You know you can always talk to me if you’re ever feeling down, don’t you?”

  “I didn’t want to worry you” replied Caitlin.

  “It’s OK, you can always turn to me, sis. You’re so precious to me, I’d hate to think of you being so sad and keeping your feelings inside. So have we got a deal then? From now on you’ll let me help you?”

  “OK” agreed Caitlin. “You’re the best brother in the whole wide world.”

  As time went by Caitlin shared more and more of what happened with her brother and instead of teasing her about it, he sat and listened intently. Despite the fact that he had been coping with his father’s illness better than his sister, Chris still felt angry about the fact that his Dad had become disabled. He missed the ‘old’ Dad who was fearlessly adventurous, but he’d felt unable to share these feelings with anyone. As he was naturally a quieter child than Caitlin, people had assumed that he was fine when deep down he wasn’t.

  He relished having the opportunity to discuss his feelings with Caitlin and she helped him to overcome his bitterness.

  They both started to think more positively about their Dad’s illness, appreciating every single moment that he spent with them so much more than they had before.

  They no longer thought “Why my Dad?”

  Instead they thought “Why not my Dad?”

  They both realised that disability and illness can affect anyone at anytime. It’s no-one’s fault. That’s just the way life goes sometimes.

  A deep rooted change had taken place within Caitlin. That sad little girl was gone forever.

  Everybody noticed the difference. She was so positive and happy now, in spite of everything.

  Life in the village continued as it always had, apart from one exception. No-one knew that Caitlin had returned from fairyland with a special gift. Not only could she talk to Rufus, but she could understand all the animals and birds, and they could understand her!

  She decided that it was best to keep her new found ability a secret for now. It was just easier that way.

  Rufus and Caitlin continued their daily chats but anyone who overheard them would just think that Rufus was tweeting back to Caitlin. We know different though, don’t we?

 
; The most important thing of all was that Caitlin’s smile was no longer lost; in fact it was never lost again!

  It didn’t matter what life brought, she could always see the glimmer of hope in it.

  Both Chris and Caitlin remained positive throughout their lives thanks to the lessons learned one night in Fairyland.

  Caitlin never forgot the Healing Tree or the very special Angel who took her there.

  The End

  INFORMATION PAGES…..

  So what is a Young Carer?

  A young carer is a child or young person (aged under 25) who helps in lots of ways to look after someone at home. That person might be an adult or child who has a long-term illness, a disability, a mental health problem or a problem related to drugs or alcohol.

  There are many ways to care for somebody. A lot depends on the type of condition that they have. Here are some examples of the type of care they may need.

  • Personal Care e.g., Dressing, Washing, Toileting.

  • Domestic e.g., Cleaning, Cooking, Laundry

  • Emotional Support e.g., Cheering them up when they’re down, reassuring them and other family members that everything will be alright and being there for them during the bad times.

  • Other day to day tasks can include shopping, paying bills, or looking after your brothers or sisters.

  • Helping them or reminding them to take their medication.

  • Helping them get about, e.g. Wheelchair

  Some young carers may have to do more than others do, but their lives are still affected in both negative and positive ways. Caring for someone can be hard work; at times you may feel sad, angry, tired or even exhausted. Your education can be affected too. You might be late for school, it might be hard to find time to do your homework, and you might miss days because you are tired or the person you are caring for needs someone to stay with them. When you are in school you might not be able to concentrate because you are worrying a lot.