Caleb gasped again, and opening his mouth, he stuttered,
“I-I-It’s you.”
“Correct, Caleb Delling,” said the mysterious figure, and Caleb held his breath when stepping out from the shadows, with his arms crossed, was a young, ninja-like fairy! Tracey! Merlin’s apprentice! It was him! He had come back! Smiling, Tracey winked and said, “It’s been a while, Caleb. I haven’t seen you since the day I rescued your sister from splattering on the ground after she fell from the observation deck.”
“Holy smokes.” Caleb said with his eyes wide open, “It’s really you! You were the one who rescued her!”
“Surprised?” Tracey asked in a calm voice.
He had grown into a very, very handsome teenager. His black hair, which had now grown longer, went down to the top of his spine. Hair was pulled behind his left ear but not his right. His right ear was hidden. He was dressed in: a green, ninja-style, tunic-like shirt that was green on the outside but purple on the inside, a brown belt, brown, long pants, wristbands, and black boots. He definitely had a ninja-like appearance to him. Over the years, along with him, his wings had also grown. They were still light green with purple mixed in with them; they still had purple borders, and they still glittered with green and purple fairy dust; they were now just a lot larger.
Clearing his throat, the teenage fairy approached Caleb and said,
“Sorry about the inconvenience, Caleb. I didn’t mean to attack you with my stars. I just needed to get you alone and still.”
“Oh no,” Caleb said, still amazed, “you’re fine.”
“Thank you.” Tracey politely said, “Now, Caleb,” He narrowed his eyebrows, “I don’t mean to do this to you, but Master Merlin said that this is the only way to have your sister come to him. I apologize, but I must use you as bait.”
“Gulp.” Caleb said, “Bait?”
“Only for today,” said Tracey, “Remember the message I gave you when I rescued Makenna? I told you that you must at least try to help her become a Crystal Metamorphic Fairy so we can at least try to help Sensei Merlin.”
Caleb nodded and said, “Right. I remember.” He thought back to the day when Makenna fell from the observation deck and was rescued.
He remembered the mysterious figure flying away, and as it flew, through telepathy, Caleb could hear it saying, “Young, Caleb Delling, my name is Tracey. I am Merlin’s apprentice, and I must ask for your assistance. You’re going to be the only one who’s still going to believe in fairies when Makenna comes of age. I must ask for you to help me help her become a Crystal Metamorphic Fairy.” Earlier that day, when Caleb explained to Makenna that he met the ninja-like fairy in her dream, he really meant it. Just thinking about it, Caleb could feel himself smiling.
He focused his attention on young Tracey who asked,
“Caleb, will you help me?” in a polite voice.
“Will I help you?” Caleb asked. He grinned, “Heck yeah! I always knew fairies were real, and I’ve always wanted to help one out!”
“Really?” Tracey asked with a small smile, “Thank you, Caleb. This means a lot to Master Merlin and I. All right,” He turned on his heel and began to march away from Caleb, toward the Gator Pond, “let’s go then!”
“Wait, Tracey!” Caleb called after him, for he was still pinned to the garage door.
Tracey stopped and turned to him, gasping. “Oh no!” he said, “Caleb, I’m so sorry! I forgot you were pinned to the uh, well…,” He gestured at the garage door with his hand and tried to find his words, adding, “that strange moving piece of technology.”
“It’s called a garage door.” Caleb told him.
“Garage door!” said Tracey. He blushed, “Of course! I knew that!”
“Sure, you did.” Caleb said, “Sigh.” He shook his head. Ninja-like fairies were hard to figure out.
From where Tracey stood, he flapped his large wings and picked himself up off the ground. Then he flew to Caleb and started to hover in front of him.
Bringing his index finger to his chin, he tapped it and asked, “Okay, how do I do this again?” With his free hand, he scratched his head for a few moments. Then he said, “Ah, here we go,” and pulled out the stars at the same time.
Caleb yelped, and he fell to the ground, landing on his face, yelling, “OW!”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Caleb!” said Tracey. He peered down at the stars he held, “Maybe I should’ve done one star at a time?”
Caleb lifted his head and peered up to him, narrowing his eyebrows. “You don’t say?” he asked. Tracey slipped the stars into his back pocket and hid his embarrassment behind a weak smile. Then he flew to Caleb and hovered in front of him, immediately becoming serious again.
Caleb stood up and brushed himself down.
Then he picked up the picnic basket and showed it to Tracey, asking, “But, Tracey, what will I do about the picnic basket?”
“Just leave it on the front step.” Tracey told him, “We’ll only be gone until dusk tomorrow. I shall take you to Merlin’s Island. Sensei otta be proud. Do you trust me?” He held his hand out to Caleb, and he examined it after he put the basket down.
After a bit, he took Tracey by the wristband and shook it, saying, “I do, Tracey.”
“Then hold on tight.” Tracey said. He closed his eyes, and after a little bit, Caleb saw that he was outlined by green magic! He gasped and chuckled as very slowly, he was lifted into the sky, still holding onto Tracey’s wrist. Merlin’s apprentice soon flapped his wings and lifted into the sky, saying, “Make sure you don’t let go, Caleb. Winds are strong today. A storm may be coming, so we must hurry.”
“Don’t worry, Tracey.” Caleb said, “I’m holding on for dear life.” And he was.
Both his hands were now wrapped tightly around Tracey’s wrist, but he flinched and said, “You don’t have to hold on that tightly, Caleb.”
“Oh.” Caleb said. He loosened his grip, “Sorry, Trace.” Nodding, Tracey flew forward, and behind, he dragged Caleb along, officially kidnapping him, but it was for a good purpose. All that was left behind was the picnic basket, and it rested comfortably on the front step.
The bike ride to Seabrook Island’s North Beach was a fairly long but lovely ride. The entire way over, Makenna hummed and hugged her surfboard. When she reached North Beach’s parking lot, she dismounted her bike and put it on the bike rack, locking it up. Then she propped her surfboard up against the bike and took out her beach clothes. Afterward, she left her bike and surfboard a bit to rush into North Beach’s pool house and change into her beach clothes. Now here she was. Makenna currently was standing at the end of North Beach’s boardwalk, in her surfing clothes, with her surfboard under her arm, and she was peering out to the beach and the warm Atlantic Ocean. There were lots of people, including children, on the beach who were running around and having a delightful time. Makenna was ready to get into the water. She loved the beach. Smiling out at the ocean, she sighed and pulled off her beach dress, plopping it down on the boardwalk’s railing. Then, with her surfboard tucked under her arm, she sprinted onto the beach and headed toward the ocean. When she reached it, she threw her surfboard onto the water’s surface and started to steer it out. The wind was really blowing out here. It felt delightful. When Makenna reached knee height in the water, she plopped onto her surfboard and started to paddle. She paddled out toward the ocean, beyond the waves, and when she reached an area she thought was an ideal swimming location, she slid off her surfboard and plopped into the ocean with a small splash. Underwater, she smiled, and her fingernails changed from blue to yellow. Makenna circled her surfboard a couple of times, and she was having the time of her life. When she returned to the surface, Makenna sighed and crawled onto her surfboard, starting to float. She peered forward to the ocean’s horizon and gasped when she saw that on the horizon, was a buildup of dark clouds! Tracey was right. A storm was coming.
At the sight of the clouds, Makenna said,
“Oh snap,” and climbed onto her surfboard. She paddled in toward shore, but halfway to it, a large wave snuck up on her from behind, and turning her head, Makenna gasped at the sight of it and smiled, “Yes! Perfect!” She paddled faster, and the wave caught her. Right when it did, she jumped up on her surfboard and grinned as she started her run. She steered her surfboard to the left and jumped off the crest of the wave, doing an Air Reverse. Then she landed back on the wave and continued her run. However, Makenna was totally unaware that her necklace pendant was starting to glow again, and this time, it glowed as brightly as it did when she first got it! As she continued her run, her high ponytail blew back and forth due to the wind. When finally, her run ended, she jogged out of the ocean, chuckling, and her surfboard was back under her arm. Her necklace pendant also stopped glowing.
Makenna plopped her surfboard down on the beach’s sand and turned her head, peering out at the storm clouds on the horizon. She nodded, and her nails changed back to blue. Makenna still had some time to wander down to the end of the beach. She didn’t consider a trip to North Beach complete until she had seen the end. Every time she traveled to North Beach, she always wandered down to the end. It was considered a little “tradition” of hers, and Makenna wasn’t going to break that tradition all because of a little storm coming toward the island!
Peering back out to the clouds, Makenna stood up straight and said to the approaching storm, “Forget it, storm! You’re not scaring me! You’re not going to stop me from wandering down to the end of North Beach!” She stomped her foot and closed her eyes, turning. Then she sprinted down the beach, opening her eyes, and said as she ran, “If that storm won’t change its course then I have to make this quick!” As she ran, her necklace pendant started to glow again. She passed dogs, adults, and kids that were beginning to leave the beach, because of the storm, but she kept on running. She refused to break her tradition! Wind gushed through her hair, and now, she was running on an empty beach. The clouds crept closer, and she heard a clap of thunder coming from them.
Makenna tripped and almost fell, but she caught herself.
She currently was now almost at the end of the beach, and she smiled, saying, “Yes!” However, then she peered down and gasped at the sight of her necklace pendant glowing. “What the?!” the young, Metamorphic Fairy asked, “What’s going on?!” As she ran, she reached for her necklace pendant, but once again, it shocked her! Makenna yelled, and fighting the pain, she closed her eyes, stopped, and pulled as hard as she could. The harder she pulled; the larger the blue lightning bolts became. Now, there were a bunch of blue lightning bolts flashing in Makenna’s face, but she kept on pulling. As she pulled, the thunder grew louder, the clouds came closer, winds blew about 40 mph, and sand, picked up by the wind, blew onto the backs of Makenna’s legs. Seagulls flew as fast as they could toward Bird Island, a small island across Seabrook Island’s Club, and bottlenose dolphins in the ocean leaped out of it and swam toward safety. Makenna’s eyes were closed the entire time she pulled on her necklace pendant, and she yelled, “Oh, I’m so sick and tired of you, necklace pendant!” And she was. She was so tired of never being able to pull off the necklace pendant for seven long years. She kept on pulling, and there was a loud clap of thunder.
Makenna’s entire body, from head to toe, like the necklace, glowed up a bright blue color, and she was lifted into the sky. Then, with one more tug, she did it! Makenna ripped off the necklace, and it floated away from her!
Yelling, the young fairy clenched her fists and shouted, “Somebody help!” into the stormy atmosphere. She bent her knees and hugged them, starting to slowly spin around and around. The necklace, still glowing, returned to the young fairy and circled her. The familiar sound of cracking iron invaded her head, and suddenly, Makenna’s hair was taken out of the high ponytail, and it waved back and forth. Right after it was taken out, the magic left her head, so now, Makenna’s body, only from shoulders down, was covered in magic. She still hugged her knees, and she tried screaming for help, but she didn’t succeed. Suddenly, light pink lipstick appeared over her lips, and blue eye shadow that matched the color of her eyes appeared on her upper eyelids! With eyes still closed, Makenna let go of her knees and held her arms out to her sides. From ankles up, the necklace circled her some more. She held her arms up over her head and spun on one foot extremely fast. The necklace next circled her upper body and hips and sucked the blue magic away from them. When it did, Makenna’s outfit had changed! Instead of a bikini, she now wore a short, silky, light blue dress that had transparent, off-the-shoulder sleeves. She stopped twirling and did a midair backflip. In the process, light blue ballet slippers decorated her feet. When she landed, she turned her back to the camera, and the necklace circled it. Then, just like that, she popped small, sky-blue fairy wings! Blue diamonds hung from each wingtip, and purple outlined the wings. It was now official! Makenna’s metamorphosis was complete! She was a real fairy or in other words, a Level 1 Metamorphic Fairy! Her Level 1 fairy self was simple, yes, but still beautiful.
A blast of wind blew across the entire beach, and there was another thunderclap. In a blast of blue fairy dust, Makenna was taken slowly to the ground, unconscious, and she landed gently on her back, with her head tilted left, groaning. The necklace, now no longer glowing, landed next to her. The approaching storm had now stopped, and it was hovering over the ocean.
After a couple of minutes, Makenna squirmed, and lifting her hand, she reached for her head and rubbed it, asking,
“Oh man, what happened?” Turning her head, she dropped her hand and opened her eyes which landed on the necklace resting next to her. “What the?” Makenna asked, “It actually came off?” Turning onto her side, she reached for the necklace but froze at the sight of her off-the-shoulder sleeve. “What in the name of?” asked Makenna. She jumped to her feet and studied her new outfit up and down, gasping. Shaking her head, bewildered Makenna reached for it again and said, “I think I hit my head. Where in the name of did this outfit come from? What happened to my surfing clothes?!” She gasped again, “Oh no,” as Caleb’s rumors about her becoming a so-called, full-fledged fairy soon reentered her brain. She refused to check her back. No, Makenna didn’t have wings – she just had a strange change in attire. Picking up her necklace, she put it back on and decided that it was time to go home. Too many weird things were happening to her. She was now afraid of being out in public. Makenna turned on her heel, sighed, and said, “It’s time to go home.”
With that said, she started back down the beach, but after four steps, suddenly, her small wings flapped, and Makenna was thrown into the sky, screaming.
She shouted, “HELP!!” as the wind blew her all over the place. She looked like a kite caught in a hurricane! Makenna continued to scream, and she tried to zoom back down to the beach, but the wind, and her wings, blew her toward Kiawah Island, Seabrook Island’s next-door neighbor instead, and she yelled, “HELP! SOMEBODY WAKE ME UP! I’M HAVING A NIGHTMARE!!” Next, her wings threw her to the left, out toward the sea, and Makenna yelled as she splashed into the rough water. Splash! Coming to the surface, Makenna coughed and yelled as a powerful wave crashed down on her and pulled her underwater. Underwater, Makenna spun all over the place, with her eyes closed, and she yelled for help. Her wings took her back to the surface and lifted her out of the water, but a second powerful wave crashed down on her. Hurrying to the surface, Makenna coughed and shouted, “HELP!” but a third wave crashed down on her and pulled her under. Every time she tried returning to the surface, she was pulled under. Finally, Makenna gave up, knowing that her life was over. She stopped struggling and let herself sink. Due to lack of oxygen, Makenna started to lose consciousness, but just before she could drown, suddenly, a hand came from out of nowhere and grabbed her wrist! A hand! Then, whoever it was that grabbed her, started to pull her toward the surface, but Makenna was already unconscious, so she couldn’t see the face of her rescuer. Who was her rescuer though? Well, Makenna would find that out soon enough.
Above the waves, the storm raged on. Rain poured down like hail, and the wind blew like crazy.
Back at Jenkins Point on Seabrook Island, in front of Makenna’s house, Mrs. Delling, Makenna and Caleb’s mother, was dressed in a raincoat, and she was yelling for her children, “Makenna! Caleb! Where are you?!” Mr. Delling was also with her.
He was holding the picnic basket Caleb had, and he yelled at his wife, “Michelle, they couldn’t have gone far! They should be back!”
“But they’re not!” Mrs. Delling shouted, “Makenna! Caleb!” She was having trouble fighting against the wind – it was so powerful. A great blast of wind blew a huge tree limb off a tree, and it fell straight toward Mrs. Delling! At the sight of it, she gasped and froze. Behind, Mr. Delling yelled, “Michelle!” and he threw down the picnic basket. Then, sprinting to his wife, he grabbed her and pulled her out of the way before the branch could hit her. They together fell to the ground on their sides, and the fallen tree limb smashed into the road where Mrs. Delling used to be. She and Mr. Delling sat up, and at the thought of her children out in this weather, Mrs. Delling started to cry. Mr. Delling peered into her face and shouted, “Michelle, we’ll look for Makenna and Caleb after the storm! Right now, it’s too dangerous to be out! We have to go inside!” He grabbed Mrs. Delling by the arms and helped her up.
Then, once they were both standing, they together hurried to their house, climbed the stairs, and disappeared inside. Inside, Mr. Delling locked the door, and Mrs. Delling was having a panic attack.
Her hand was pressed up against her heart, and gasping, in a choked voice, she said, “Andy, our-our chi-children! They’re all a-alone out there!” She reached for her head, “I can’t take it!” and she turned, trying to run outside, but Mr. Delling pulled her away from the door and said,
“Michelle, no! We can’t go out! Don’t worry, I’m sure Makenna and Caleb are fine.”
“No!” Mrs. Delling shouted, “Andy no! They’re our children! We have to find them!”
“We will, Michelle,” said Andy, “I promise we will. Right now, let’s make some hot tea and wait for the storm to pass. As soon as it’s over, we’ll look for Makenna and Caleb. Deal?” He held his hand out to his wife, and she examined it.
Then she gulped and took Mr. Delling’s hand, saying, “Okay, Andy,” as she shook it.
“All right.” Andy said. He pulled his wife into a hug, and they shared a kiss.
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