Finding Tinker Bell #3

by Kiki Thorpe

  There was no answer. Suddenly, Silvermist realized she couldn’t see any of the other fairies’ glows.

  “Fawn?” she called. “Rosetta? Dessa?”

  She strained her ears. The only sound was the hush-hush of waves.

  Which way had they gone? Right or left? Silvermist flitted back and forth, trying to make up her mind. She was afraid to go too far in any direction in case it was the wrong way. She might never find her way back in the thick fog.

  Just then, she spotted a small figure coming through the mist.

  “Gabby! Thank goodness!” Silvermist darted toward her.

  She was a foot or two away when she realized the thing coming toward her wasn’t Gabby. She wasn’t even sure it was human.

  Silvermist froze. She looked around for a place to hide, but it was too late. Whatever it was had surely seen her glow. Silvermist braced herself as the creature emerged from the mist.

  He was the size of a small child, but stouter. From his extra-long, knobby nose, Silvermist guessed he was some kind of troll. He was dressed in an assortment of odd items—a tinsel garland, mismatched rain boots, an embroidered tea cozy on his head. He moved slowly, humming to himself. He didn’t see Silvermist until he almost bumped into her.

  “Eeep!” the troll screamed, jumping a foot in the air.

  He glared at Silvermist from beneath the tea cozy.

  “What’s the meaning of this, sneaking up on me like that?” he huffed.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you,” Silvermist said. “I thought you were someone else.”

  The troll harrumphed and straightened his tinsel. “Where did you come from?”

  “I’m not sure. I think I’m lost,” Silver-mist told him.

  “Of course you’re lost!” the troll said with a snort. “Why else would you be here?”

  “I don’t understand,” said Silvermist.

  “This is the Lost Coast, home to the mislaid and the cast away. If it can’t be found, you’ll find it here. And if it’s here, it’s surely lost.” The troll narrowed his eyes at her. “First-time visitor?”

  Silvermist nodded.

  “You’ll soon get used to it. I myself have been lost for…” He scratched his head. “Well, I’ve lost count of the days. But it’s been quite a while!”

  “Maybe you can help me?” Silvermist asked. “I can’t seem to find my way in all this fog—”

  The troll shook his head. “I wouldn’t bother trying to find that.”

  “Trying to find what?” asked Silvermist.

  “Your way,” said the troll. “Slippery things, ways. Always turning hither and thither. This-a-way, that-a-way. It’s no wonder so many folks get lost following them. I lost my way years ago, and quite frankly, I’m better off without it.”

  “Oh dear.” Silvermist rubbed her forehead. The troll seemed to be talking in riddles. “I’m just looking for my friends. They’re around here somewhere. Could you help me find them?”

  “That depends,” said the troll. “Are they lost, too?”

  “I don’t think so,” Silvermist said. “We got separated is all.”

  “Then I’m afraid I can’t help,” said the troll. “If they’re not lost, then we certainly won’t find them.”

  Silvermist sighed. Everything the troll said only confused her more. “Thank you anyway.”

  “Anytime,” the troll said pleasantly. He seemed to have forgotten he was annoyed. “It’s been ever so nice chatting. But I have things to do and places to be.”

  He tipped his tea cozy at Silvermist and shuffled off into the fog.

  “What an odd fellow,” Silvermist said to herself. “But what am I going to do now?”

  She decided she had better retrace her steps. She began to fly slowly back over the pile—past the empty baby carriage, around the tennis racket, over the umbrella, the glove….

  A creeping feeling made her pause. She glanced behind her.

  At first she couldn’t see anything wrong. Then she realized—

  The umbrella was gone!

  She flew back to the spot. There had been an umbrella, hadn’t there? She saw it clearly in her mind’s eye—a green umbrella with bright pink dots. But it wasn’t there now.

  No one had come. No wind had stirred. The umbrella had simply vanished.

  Silvermist shivered. She felt a chill that had nothing to do with the fog. She didn’t think she could stand to be alone a moment longer.

  “Wait!” she called to the troll, flying in the direction he had gone. “Oh, wait for me, please!”

  “Mr. Troll?” Silvermist flew through the swirling fog. “Hello?”

  Just when she thought she’d lost him for good, she spotted him scuffling along. Silvermist darted up to him. “There you are!”

  “Eeep!” the troll screamed, and flailed his arms.

  “Oh dear.” Silvermist sighed. “Don’t you remember me? We just met.”

  “Did we?” The troll squinted at her. “So we did! Forgive me, I was lost in my thoughts.”

  Silvermist smiled. “I get lost in my thoughts sometimes, too. Do you mind if I fly with you?”

  “Be my guest,” said the troll. He began to walk again, resuming his humming. He kept losing the melody. He always reached the same point, then started over.

  “By the way, I forgot to ask your name,” Silvermist said.

  The troll’s mouth turned down. “There’s no need to be rude.”

  “Goodness. I didn’t mean to offend you!” Silvermist said, startled.

  “I don’t ask you snooty questions,” the troll said. “ ‘Who are you?’ and ‘Where do you come from?’ and so on.”

  “I wouldn’t mind if you did,” the fairy replied. “I’m Silvermist. I come from Pixie Hollow on the island of Never Land.”

  “You needn’t rub it in,” the troll sniffed.

  “Haven’t you got a home?” Silvermist asked.

  “Did once,” the troll said gruffly. “Haven’t been able to locate it recently.”

  “And your name?” Silvermist asked.

  “Also misplaced,” the troll mumbled.

  Silvermist’s heart went out to the poor creature. “And is that how you ended up here? You got lost?”

  “Oh no,” said the troll. “You’ve got it backward. I’m not lost. I always know where I am. It’s everything else that’s gone astray.”

  “I see,” said Silvermist, though she didn’t really.

  “I’m always losing things,” the troll went on. “I’ve lost hours of time. Lost my nerve. Once I lost my voice for a whole week. I don’t know where it went, but it was never the same after I found it again. That’s why I stay here. If I wander around long enough, I’m bound to bump into something I’m looking for. But what about you?” the troll asked. “How did you come to be on the Lost Coast?”

  “I’m looking for a boat,” said Silvermist.

  “Plenty of those turn up here,” the troll said. “What sort of boat is it? Schooner? Catamaran? Submarine?”

  “It’s a little boat, actually,” Silvermist said. “A small green boat no bigger than your arm. Just the size for a fairy.”

  The troll brightened. “I’ve seen a boat like that!”

  “You have?” Silvermist exclaimed. “Can you show me where you saw it?”

  “Certainly,” said the troll. “Follow me!”

  He veered to the left, moving quickly in his mismatched boots. Silvermist had to flap her wings double-time to keep up with him. Her heart raced. Could Tink be somewhere just ahead?

  “It’s not only the boat I’m looking for,” Silvermist explained. “My friend Tinker Bell was sailing it. She left Pixie Hollow a few days ago, and no one has seen her since. My friends and I have come to rescue her.”

  “Ah, she’s the helpless sort,” the troll said.


  “Tink? Helpless?” Silvermist laughed. “Far from it! She’s one of the cleverest fairies I know. She’s stubborn, too. She never gives up.”

  “Then why are you worried about her?” the troll asked. “She sounds like she’ll do fine on her own.”

  “Because she’s missing,” said Silvermist. “And she’s my friend.”

  The troll nodded. “A friend is the worst thing to lose. Well, here we are.”

  “Here?” Silvermist looked around. They’d come to a sand spit that reached like an arm into the ocean. Unlike the rest of the beach, it was clean and uncluttered.

  Silvermist scanned the smooth stretch of sand. “There’s nothing here. Are you sure this is the right place?”

  The troll looked around. “It was here.”

  “Where could it have gone?” Silvermist thought of the vanished umbrella, and her stomach dipped.

  “It hasn’t gone anywhere,” the troll said. “I’d guess it’s been found.”

  “Found? By whom?” Silvermist asked.

  “Who knows? All I can tell you is that if it’s been found, it’s lost to us.”

  “Oh, never mind.” Silvermist didn’t want any more of the troll’s riddles. The bubble of hope inside her burst. A tear slid down her cheek.

  “There, there,” the troll said. He pulled a woolen sock from his pocket and held it out like a handkerchief.

  Silvermist dried her eyes on the toe. “I don’t know what to do. I can’t find my friends. I don’t know which way to go.”

  “Try following your nose. That’s how I get about.” The troll crossed his eyes and looked at the tip of his nose.

  “But how do you see where you’re going?” Silvermist asked.

  “I don’t,” the troll said. “But this way I always know where I am.”

  The troll said good-bye. Then he set off into the mist. “Just remember,” he called back to Silvermist. “If it’s lost, you’ll surely find it here…” His voice faded away before she could hear the rest.

  Silvermist rubbed her arms. It was awful to be alone in this place.

  Except…

  All of a sudden, Silvermist knew she was not alone. Someone was following her.

  She spun around. No one was there.

  But wait…a dark blur in the mist sharpened into a familiar silhouette. It had a high bun, wings, and a short leaf-dress.

  Silvermist gasped. “Tinker Bell?”

  The figure in the mist gave a start, as if it had been caught. Then it turned and fled.

  “Tink!” Silvermist cried, chasing after her. “Wait! Come back!”

  “Kate? What are you doing?”

  The question seemed to come to Kate from miles away. Slowly, as if waking from a dream, Kate dragged her gaze away from her lap. The fairy Rosetta hovered before her, frowning.

  Kate glanced back down at the stack of comic books in her lap. “I’m looking for Wonder Woman. I had this great Wonder Woman comic book, only I can’t find it.”

  Rosetta’s frown deepened. “Are you feeling all right?”

  Come to think of it, Kate did feel sort of strange. Like she’d been asleep. “How long have I been sitting here?” she asked.

  “A long time,” Rosetta said. “Hours, maybe. We’ve searched this whole place, but there’s no sign of Tink or the boat. We need to move on.”

  Kate rose, noticing that her legs felt stiff. “Hold on. Let me get my things,” she said.

  Still clutching the comic books, Kate stood and picked up Ellie. She tucked the elephant back into the crook of her arm, along with her softball and a few books she’d checked out of the school library six months before. But it was too much to hold. The softball slipped from her arm. When she tried to pick it up, she dropped Ellie.

  Rosetta’s foot tapped the air impatiently. “Leave those things.”

  “No,” said Kate. “Just give me a minute.” She stooped to pick up Ellie and dropped a book. Kate looked around. A blue backpack lay on the sand nearby. She picked it up and brushed it off. It didn’t belong to her. But it was already lost. Whoever it belonged to wouldn’t miss it more if she took it.

  Finders keepers, Kate told herself.

  She loaded the backpack, stuffing it with her toys, books, and other things she’d found on the Lost Coast. By the time she was through, she could barely close the zipper.

  She swung the backpack heavily onto her back and followed Rosetta to where the other girls and fairies were. Even before they reached them, Kate could hear raised voices.

  “We can’t bring all that!” Iridessa was saying.

  “Why not? We’re the ones carrying it,” came Mia’s reply.

  As Kate emerged from the fog, she saw what they were talking about. Mia, Lainey, and Gabby were surrounded by piles of things. Dolls, games, and clothes, which looked much too small, sat in a basket at Mia’s feet. Lainey held a pillowcase full of stuffed animals. Gabby’s arms were also full of toys, including BowBow. A baby blanket was tied around her neck like a cape.

  “I can’t leave her behind.” Mia thrust out a giant plastic doll with tangled hair. “She was my favorite doll in first grade. And I found my journal from second grade. And my rainbow hat—”

  “I need BowBow,” Gabby added. “And my blankie and my squeaky giraffe and this rubber ducky…”

  “What about you? Those can’t all be yours.” Iridessa eyed the stuffed animals in Lainey’s pillowcase.

  “Not all of them,” Lainey admitted. “But they looked so lonely. I just couldn’t leave them behind.”

  “It’s our stuff,” Kate spoke up. “We can take it if we want to.”

  “But we’re not here to find things,” Iridessa protested. “We need to stay focused on finding Tinker Bell—”

  “And the boat,” Gabby reminded her. “I’m not leaving without our great-grandpa’s boat.”

  “And the boat.” Iridessa nodded. “But bringing all that other stuff will only slow us down.”

  “Could you leave some of it behind?” Rosetta asked the girls.

  “No!” they chorused.

  The girls glared at the fairies. The fairies glared back.

  Kate couldn’t say exactly what came over her at that moment. But with a quick motion, she undid the pouch on her belt. She snatched up a handful of fairy dust and tossed it over the piles of things.

  “There!” she snapped. “Now they won’t slow us down.”

  The fairies gasped. The other girls looked shocked. Kate felt a little shocked herself.

  “The fairy dust!” Rosetta exclaimed.

  “I can’t believe you did that,” Iridessa said.

  Kate squared her jaw. “Well, it’s done.” She hoisted the full backpack onto her shoulder again. The fairy dust made it feel as light as a feather.

  But before they could go anywhere, Fawn dashed up. She looked worried. “We have another problem. I can’t find Silvermist.”

  * * *

  On another part of the beach, Silvermist raced after Tinker Bell. Or what she thought was Tink, anyway. The shape in the mist looked just like her friend. But why was Tink running away?

  “Tink, stop! Why won’t you talk to me?” Silvermist called.

  The shape zigzagged like a fish trying to shake free from a hook. Silvermist’s wings were starting to get tired. She struggled to keep up.

  There was something odd about the way Tink looked. She had no glow!

  The thought drew Silvermist up short, and just in time. For a wall of rock loomed out of the fog. If she hadn’t stopped right then, Silvermist would have slammed into it.

  The sheer wall rose so high she couldn’t see the top. The only opening was a single hairline crack too small for a fairy to fit through. Silvermist searched for a way around it. She found none.

  The Tink-like shape was gone. It had va
nished like a wisp of smoke.

  What was I following? Silvermist wondered. Was it a spirit pretending to look like her friend? Or was her own mind playing tricks on her?

  Back in Pixie Hollow, Silvermist had heard tales about Shadow Island. It was said to be a cursed place where nothing was as it seemed. But they were only stories, meant to give fairies the shivers. Silvermist hadn’t imagined they might be true.

  Then again, she hadn’t imagined Shadow Island was real, either.

  Voices floated toward her. She heard the silvery tones of a fairy speaking, followed by the rise and fall of a girl’s voice.

  “I can’t believe you did that.”

  “Well, it’s done.”

  Silvermist hesitated, afraid to trust her ears. But the voices sounded real, so she followed them.

  “Oh thank goodness—” Silvermist broke off when she saw her friends. From the looks on their faces, she could tell something bad had happened.

  “Here’s Silvermist!” Kate said tensely. “See, there’s nothing to worry about.”

  “Where were you?” Fawn asked, fluttering over to her.

  “I—” Silvermist shook her head. She didn’t know where to begin. “What’s going on here?”

  “Nothing,” Kate said firmly. “We were just saying it’s time to get off this beach. Everybody ready?”

  Without waiting for an answer, Kate charged off. The other girls exchanged glances. Then they picked up their things and started after her.

  “What happened? Why is everyone upset?” Silvermist whispered to Fawn.

  Fawn told Silvermist about the fairy dust. “It was like Kate lost her mind for a moment. I’ve never seen her act like that.”

  It’s this place, Silvermist thought. It makes everything strange. She was glad they would soon be leaving the Lost Coast.