The wheels of the blue and red bicycles skimmed the ground as Makenna and Caleb Delling biked through Seabrook Island. Makenna, now eleven years old, was in the lead, and Caleb, who was now eight, was left behind. She laughed and let the summer breeze rush through her hair, and her necklace, the one with the blue horse head pendant that she always wore, waved with it. Makenna felt like a brand-new person. Not so long ago, she had won a surfing competition on Folly Beach and a trophy for her ballet group during a dance recital, so she was in a really good mood. Yep, Makenna Delling loved to surf and dance. She started both sports when she was three, and she's kept them up her entire life, so she's obviously pretty good. She thought about starting horseback riding since there was a stable on Seabrook Island, but she decided that she didn't want to max out her mother's credit card, so she just stuck with surfing and ballet, and she loved both of them. She didn't mind not being able to horseback ride, but if by any chance she ever stopped surfing and ballet, her heart would be broken. Surfing and ballet defined Makenna's personality. In her opinion, she was nothing without them.
Now that she was older, Makenna was starting to grow out of fairies, but she still liked them a little bit. She had now focused her attention more on American Girl dolls, especially Isabelle, who was also a dancer. Makenna Delling however, was unaware that behind her back, Caleb had been doing some fairy research, and she also was unaware that she herself was a fairy. A Metamorphic Fairy in fact. She and Caleb were biking to the crab dock that was near the condos of Creek Watch Villas and the Seabrook Island water tower and fire station. They rode on Seabrook Island Rd., and many trees surrounded them. It was a beautiful morning. After biking for a couple more minutes, Makenna and Caleb finally reached the turn for the fire station and water tower. It was a four-lane road, and they turned left, the water tower and station coming into view. They were on the children's rights. Soon they escaped the trees, and now the marsh was on either side of them. It was low tide, and in the marsh, crabs poked out from their holes and crawled about. After a bit, the two siblings passed the station and water tower, and now aside from them were condos, and in front, the road that led to a paved path that would take them to the crab dock. They followed the road toward the path, which went straight, and condos stood on either side of them. Soon the road narrowed down, and they peddled through two cones. Now they were officially on the path that would lead them to the crab dock!
To their left was more marshland, and to their right was the estuary that led to the ocean. Makenna and Caleb continued to follow the path, and they passed a bench, soon coming upon a bridge that was on their right. Next to the bridge was a bike rack. When they were in front of the bridge, Makenna and Caleb stopped their bikes and hopped off them, parking them on the bike rack. Aside from the rack, the path continued and disappeared into another cluster of trees. For the moment, the siblings saw that they were the only ones at the crab dock. There was nobody else. Together, Makenna and Caleb hurried onto the bridge and peered over the railing down at the busy crabs, and their nostrils picked up the scent of the estuary's sand. Ah, it smelled so good. When they finished examining the estuary, they continued down the bridge and stepped onto a sandy path, following it to the crab dock that was on their rights. In front of them was a nature observation deck. It looked a bit like a tree house since it was made from wood, but it wasn't in a tree. People had to climb a flight of stairs to reach the top of the observation deck, and from the top of it, they had a beautiful view of Seabrook Island's marshland and North Beach. From up there, their ears could pick up the sounds of North Beach's waves slapping the shoreline. From the overlook, North Beach looked really far away, but it really wasn't. Seabrook Island was just really small. People could visit every inch of it by merely riding their bikes. Just past the observation deck was the crab dock. Makenna and Caleb went there first. The crab dock, like the observation deck, was made from wood, and it hovered over the estuary. Lots of crab nets and cages were tied to the dock. Makenna and Caleb always liked pulling up the cages and nets to see if any crabs were in them. It was a tradition of theirs. Besides, there were a lot of crabs in the estuary.
Soon stepping onto the crab dock, the two siblings trekked down it, and Caleb stopped, resting his elbows on the dock's railing. Makenna did the same.
Together, they examined the estuary, and Makenna propped up her head, asking, "Beautiful, isn't it?" to Caleb. He nodded and sighed. Makenna mimicked. Then after a bit, she left him and took a steel ramp down to the lower dock. When she reached it, she sat cross-legged and ran her fingertips through the warm water. She always liked doing that. It was her way of feeling relaxed. Makenna always felt good when she was at and on the crab dock. Her eyes caught the rope of a crab net, and she took it, starting to pull. The net was heavy. As she pulled, Makenna closed her eyes and said, "Heave! Heave!" She finally dragged the net onto the dock and sighed, opening her eyes. Then she studied the net and smiled at the sight of three crabs in it. Boy, did these people have some dinner tonight!
Makenna was just about to throw the net back into the estuary when suddenly, Caleb's voice from behind startled her, "Any crabs?" and she gasped, chucking the cage into the water.
Whirling around, she saw Caleb standing in front of her and announced, "Caleb! Don't do that!" She placed her hand to her heart, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Caleb apologized.
Then he grabbed Makenna by the wrist and pulled her up saying, "Makenna, please! I'm ready to go to the observation deck!"
He tugged on Makenna's wrist, and she said, "Okay!" ripping her wrist free, "Lead the way, Caleb."
Caleb grinned and led her to the stairs of the observation deck.
Once they reached them, he said, "Hurry, Makenna!" and grabbed the wooden railing, starting to climb.
Behind, Makenna rolled her eyes, "Brothers." Then she too grabbed ahold of the railing and started to climb. As she climbed though, very faintly, her necklace pendant started to glow. Makenna didn't notice this though. What she did notice was that on the back of her right hand, the hand that was on the railing, it started to turn blue, as if from frostbite! Why though?! Bewildered, Makenna asked, "What the?" and stopped, picking up her hand. She held it close to her face and studied it, asking, "What's going on?" She gulped.
Caleb, who now stood on the observation deck's overlook, peered down to her and asked,
"What's the holdup, Makenn?" Makenna didn't want to worry him though.
Therefore, she dropped her hand, stuck it in the back pocket of her jean shorts and said, "Nothing, Caleb! I'm coming!" And she was. As she continued to scale the stairs, she tried to figure out what on earth was wrong with her hand. It made no sense. Why had it turned blue? Makenna was very confused, but she kept on trekking up the stairs.
Soon reaching the observation deck's overlook, wind gushed through her hair, and the scent of the ocean, picked up by the breeze, invaded her nose. She joined Caleb at the deck's railing and peered over it, smiling. There was the ocean! It was across the marsh, and a Great Blue Heron flew toward it. It was a magnificent view, and Makenna sighed. After a bit, she twisted her body, and her eyes landed on a long, wooden bench that was directly behind her and Caleb. Makenna nodded and approached the bench, plopping down on it. Caleb remained at the observation deck's railing. Once comfortable, Makenna pulled her right hand out of her back pocket and held it up to her face. It was the strangest thing! Her hand no longer glowed! It was back to normal!
Makenna stared at it and asked, "What the heck?"
Caleb soon approached her, and now standing in front of her, he asked, "What are you staring at?" Makenna peered into his eyes, scoffed, and closed her own.
Then she stood up on the bench, literary stood up on it, and said, "Nothing. I'm just fine." Caleb chuckled. He could smell sarcasm a mile away.
Crossing his arms, he said, "Oh come on, Makenna, you can talk to me. I'm your brother remember?"
Makenna wasn't listening to him. Instead, she stared at the ocean again and asked, "You know what, Caleb? Sometimes I wish that I can fly." She sighed, "Join the birds, migrate, and travel everywhere in the world. Sigh. That would be fun."
Smiling, Caleb sat on the bench and peered up at his sister, saying, "Actually, Makenna, as crazy as this sounds, sometimes I can't help but feel like you can fly. It's just," He shrugged, "you have this magical aura that surrounds both you and that necklace pendant." Makenna glanced at him, and Caleb pointed at her necklace, adding with, "Don't get me wrong, Makenn – sometimes I feel that magical aura too." Makenna stared at him. She blinked.
Then she laughed, closed her eyes, and placed her hand to her lips, saying, "Oh, Caleb, you never change, do you? I can't fly. I'm not a fairy."
She started to pace back and forth on the bench, and clearing his throat, Caleb said, "Well, um, actually, Makenna; you see, I've been doing some research, and well, um, I think it's safe to say that you may actually be..." He didn't get to finish because suddenly, eleven-year-old Makenna Delling's foot hit a piece of wood sticking up on the bench, and she lost her balance, starting to wave her arms. Gasping, Caleb reached for her and shouted, "Makenna!" but he was too late.
Makenna fell backward, over the observation deck's railing, and screamed, "HELP!" as she started to fall toward the sandy path at the base of the deck!
"Oh no!" Caleb yelled from the observation deck's bench. As Makenna fell, she closed her eyes, reached for it, screamed, and tried to enjoy her last breaths. She was going to be splattered all over the sandy path! No, Makenna was too young to die! However, just before she could hit the ground, suddenly, her necklace pendant glowed up, and a sudden, green blur, which came from out of nowhere, caught her and carried her over to the bridge! From the observation deck, Caleb didn't waste any time. He jumped to his feet and sprinted down the stairs, then down the path, and yelled, "Makenna!" Once over the bridge, the mysterious, green blur turned into a mysterious figure in which it was covered in green magic it seemed, and let Makenna go. Her necklace pendant took her to the ground and gently set her down. The young girl landed on her back, and her eyes were still closed. Caleb soon reached the bridge, out of breath, and he gasped at the sight of the mysterious figure hovering over his sister. It turned to him and saluted. Speechless, Caleb saluted back, and in a low voice, said, "Thank you. Thank you for saving my sister." The mysterious figure nodded and turned on its heel, bending its knees. Caleb watched as it shot into the sky with the help of its wings, yes, its wings, and disappeared in a blast of green dust. Dust rained down, and Caleb peered up to it. This caused some of the dust to land on his eyebrows, and more dust rained down on Makenna, who had still not opened her eyes.
After a bit, Caleb shook the dust off his eyebrows and glanced at his sister yelling, "Makenna!" Rushing to her side, he kneeled and grabbed her shoulders, starting to shake them, "Wake up, Makenna! Please! Makenna!" Makenna didn't stir. Caleb tried again, "Makenna!" Here, Makenna finally stirred, and she opened her eyes, looking up.
At the sight of Caleb hovering over her, she smiled and said, "Caleb. Caleb, you saved me."
"Uhh." Caleb stammered. He didn't know what to say. How would he explain to Makenna that he just saw, what he thought, was a fairy? A real fairy? Before he knew it though, suddenly, Makenna jumped up and fell into his arms, saying,
"Thank you, Caleb! Thank you! You're the best brother a sister could ask for!"
Caleb gasped, "No, Makenna!" and pushed her off, "I didn't save you!"
"What?" Makenna confusingly asked. She peered into her brother's eyes, "Then who did? How come I'm not splattered all over the crab dock?"
"Makenna," he whispered, and he took her shoulders, "It was a fairy. He saved you. Makenna, that necklace you wear is magical. It summoned him. You don't even realize it, but you too are a fairy." There was a pause in the conversation. The crickets began to chirp.
Then, Makenna scoffed, clearly not believing him, and stood up, saying,
"You know, you're disgusting, Caleb."
Turning on her heel, she headed toward their bicycles, and behind, Caleb followed and called, "I'm serious, Makenna! The Tooth Fairy must've left some magic in that necklace pendant! Remember when you first got it and it glowed up? I'm not kidding, sis! You're a fairy! You're a Metamorphic Fairy!"
Makenna threw back her hand and yelled,
"Just shut up, Caleb!" Caleb jumped. He stopped and watched as Makenna hopped onto her bike and started to peddle away, yelling, "I'm going home, and you better not mention this nonsense to anyone!" With that said, she vanished into the cluster of trees that the path led to and left Caleb behind.
Shrugging, he said,
"Well, that went well," and he headed toward his own bike. He knew Makenna wasn't going to believe him. Reaching his bike, he peered into the cluster of trees that Makenna disappeared in and folded his arms, saying, "Just wait, Makenna. Soon, you will start going through the changes of a Metamorphic Fairy. Soon, you will grow your wings. Then you will fly to me and never shut me out ever again." He chuckled, "Your metamorphosis has begun."
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