by Kiki Thorpe
They were ringing out from all over, filling the air with magical sound. For several seconds, the whole street seemed to hold still in wonder.
Gabby held her breath, too. The sound of fairy laughter was growing, ringing out all over the street.
Gabby saw a flicker overhead, and another. Then, all at once, the branches of the tree blazed with light again. She could see the fairies twirling in the branches, their glows brighter than ever.
“It’s working!” Gabby cried.
The fairies rose into the air. They looked like flames shining brightly against the night sky. Up and down the sidewalks, people gasped.
“Do you see that?”
“What are they?”
“Mommy, it’s fairies!”
“It can’t be…can it?”
“Ouch! Something pinched me!”
Lainey pointed at a blur of light streaking up to join the others. “There’s Vidia!” she said, laughing.
“And look, there’s Tink!” Gabby saw the tiny blond fairy darting through the air. She had Gabby’s fairy bell in her hands and was waving it merrily. The sound of her laugh mingled with the ringing of the bell.
The crowd stood with their heads tipped back, watching the fairies dance through the night. The holiday lights on the houses were all but forgotten.
Gabby spied a familiar freckled fairy among the darting, dancing points of light. “There’s Prilla!” she cried.
“But how did she get here?” Lainey asked. “Queen Clarion said she couldn’t fly.”
“She must have blinked here,” Kate said. “That means she’s all right!”
Prilla grinned and turned a cartwheel in midair. She flew to the other fairies, and they all joined hands. For a moment, they whirled through the air, a shining ring of light.
Then Prilla blinked—and in an instant the fairies disappeared.
For a moment the girls remained quiet, staring up at the sky where the fairies had been. Snippets of conversations drifted toward them.
“…never seen anything like it…”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d have said those really were fairies.”
“…magic, pure and simple.”
“We did it,” Gabby whispered.
“You did it,” Kate said, scooping her up in a bear hug. “Who knew those bells would actually work!”
“Bells?” Mia asked. “What do you mean?”
When Gabby told her about the hidden bells, Mia hugged her, too. “Gabby, you’re brilliant,” she said. “I knew you guys would find a way to save Pixie Hollow.”
The others looked at her in surprise. “You did?” Lainey asked.
“You sure could have fooled me,” Kate said with a frown.
“We thought you caught the Disbelief, too,” Gabby explained.
“Me?” Mia looked surprised. “Never! I’m sorry I stayed away. I was only trying to help,” she explained. “Mami said I needed to spend time with Angelica—and I wanted to. But I was afraid if I brought her with us, the portal would close again.”
“Why didn’t you just tell us?” Kate asked.
Mia sighed. “Because I was afraid you wouldn’t like Angelica anymore if I told you she didn’t believe in fairies. And I thought if I could just make her believe again before you found out, then we could all go to Pixie Hollow together. Then you were so mean about me getting my ears pierced,” she added. “Well, I was pretty mad.”
“I shouldn’t have called your earrings dumb,” Kate said. “But I still can’t believe you got your ears pierced. Did it hurt?”
“Only a little,” Mia said. “Angelica convinced me.”
“Where is she now?” Lainey asked.
They spotted Mia and Gabby’s cousin standing a few feet away. She was still staring up at the place where the fairies had disappeared.
“Angelica, did you see the fairies?” Gabby asked.
Angelica blinked. When she turned, there was a faraway look in her eyes. “Gabby, you won’t believe it. But I think I just saw my old fairy,” she said.
Christmas the next day was not very different from every Christmas that had come before. That is to say, it was lovely. There were many wonderful presents and lots of good food, and Mia, Gabby, Kate, and Lainey each had the cozy feeling of being in exactly the right place—home.
The only unusual occurrence that day was the large rainbow arcing over the city—extraordinary, for the day had dawned clear and cold, without a cloud in sight. Throughout the day, it was much remarked on by children and grown-ups alike. No one could explain where the rainbow had come from, but it remained for most of the day, and gave the holiday an extra-special, magical feel.
The girls were so busy with their own families on Christmas that they didn’t have time to discuss the fairies with each other. It wasn’t until the day after Christmas that they learned the portal to Never Land was gone.
“Are you sure?” Mia asked. They were sitting in her kitchen. Angelica was upstairs in her room, packing up her things. She, Aunt Lara, and Uncle Jack were leaving that day. Kate and Lainey had come to see them off.
“I’m sure,” Lainey said. “I went out to the shed this morning. The door in the wall is gone.”
Kate sighed. “It must have moved again. I suppose it will turn up somewhere else.”
Lainey fiddled with the friendship bracelet she was wearing. Mia had given one to each of them. “You think the fairies are all right, though, don’t you?” she whispered.
The girls looked at each other, considering. “Yeah,” Kate said. “I do.”
“Me too,” said Gabby.
“So do I,” Mia agreed. “I don’t know how I know. I just do.” Deep in her heart, she felt sure all was well in Pixie Hollow. “I wish Angelica could have seen it, though. I know she would have loved it.”
“There’s always next year,” Lainey said.
Mia nodded, though she was thinking that a lot could change in a year. But I’ll never stop believing in fairies, she thought. That was one thing she knew would never change.
Uncle Jack came downstairs with the suitcases then. It was time to say good-bye. Aunt Lara was misty-eyed as she hugged Mia and Gabby. “I can’t believe it will be a whole year till I see you next,” she said. “You girls will be all grown up by then!”
“I hope not!” Gabby exclaimed.
Mia gave Angelica an extra-long hug. “Thanks for my new earrings,” she said. For Christmas, Angelica had given her a pair of earrings like the ones they’d seen in the bead shop. “I’ll send you a picture as soon as I can wear them.”
“Thanks for the book of fairy tales,” Angelica said. “I’m going to read it on the drive home.” She leaned closer to Mia and whispered, “Sometimes I do believe in fairies. Just a little bit.”
Mia smiled. “I know,” she whispered back.
After more hugs and a few tears, Angelica and her parents got in their car and drove away. Mia, Gabby, and their friends stood on the front steps waving until they were out of sight.
“Look what came in the mail,” Kate said.
It was the last day of winter break, and the four friends were in Mia and Gabby’s backyard. Gabby was trying to make a snowman out of the melting snow, and the other girls were helping. It was an unusually warm winter day, and they’d come outside to enjoy the sunshine.
Kate pulled an envelope out of her coat pocket. Inside was a letter written in crayon.
“Maybe losing the rainbow wasn’t such a bad thing after all,” Lainey said.
“Don’t you think it’s weird that we haven’t heard anything from Never Land, though?” Kate said. It had been more than a week since they’d seen the fairies blinking away in the night sky. They’d checked the toolshed every day, but the portal still hadn’t reappeared. The girls missed their visits to Pixie Hollow. “You’d think they might send a thank-you note, at least, after all we did to help,” she added sourly.
“Maybe they’re still busy getting their magic back to normal,” Mia said.
“Anyway, it’s not the fairies’ fault the hole closed. They always said it was just Never Land’s magic.”
Kate gave the soccer ball a hard kick so it bounced off the fence. “Well, phooey on Never Land, then. Why open a portal if you’re only going to close it?”
“Maybe the portal was there just so we could help the fairies when they needed us,” Lainey said.
“I don’t believe that,” Mia said. “I don’t believe we’ll never go back again.”
“Maybe some other kids found the portal somewhere else and they’re visiting Pixie Hollow right now,” Kate grouched. Everyone was quiet for a moment.
Gabby looked up from the large snowball she was pushing. “Maybe it’s already here,” she said. “Maybe it’s just waiting for us to find it again.”
The girls looked around. There was a fresh, earthy smell in the air. Even though it was only January, they could sense spring just around the corner.
“What’s that on your shoulder, Gabby?” Kate asked.
As Gabby twisted to look, something yellow fluttered into the air. “A butterfly!”
The girls looked at each other. It wasn’t spring that was just around the corner. It was Never Land!
“Quick!” said Kate. “Follow that butterfly!”
The butterfly flew high into the sky, then disappeared over the fence.
“It’s gone!” Lainey cried.
But even as she said it, the girls could feel a warm breeze on their faces, blowing through the slats of the fence. When they touched it, they discovered that the boards were loose again—just like they had been when the magic first started.
“Come on!” Kate cried, pushing against a loose board. Through the hole, she could hear the unmistakable jingle of fairy laughter. Pixie Hollow was just ahead. They were going back to Never Land!
Kiki Thorpe spent much of her childhood reading, daydreaming, and searching for fairies in the forests of Idaho—pastimes that were good training for writing children’s books. She is the author of several books for young readers, including the New York Times bestselling series The Never Girls. She lives with her husband and their two children in Denver, Colorado.
Jana Christy is the illustrator of many books for young readers, including all of the titles in the New York Times bestselling series The Never Girls. When she’s not painting, she’s usually exploring the outdoors or tending her raucous garden. Originally from Rochester, New York, she lives with her husband and two sons in North Adams, Massachusetts.