Ambrosia

Harriet's mother had always told her not to play with people that tapped on her window in the middle of the night, but surely that rule didn't apply to fairies!

The seven-year-old giggled and lifted the window latch quietly, ushering the tiny creatures inside. They grinned back and stroked her hair softly. One fluttered over to Harriet's dollhouse and pretended to dance with the figurines. Another sat on her shoulder and whispered nonsense words into her ear.

The room grew brighter as more fairies found their way in; all of them glowed in beautiful pastels--colors that Harriet had never seen before. They filled her room--sitting on her bed, playing with her toys, picking up the clothes off her floor.

Harriet thought they were lovely, but as more and more poured through her window, she started to worry.

"I don't think my mom would like this," she whisper-yelled. "Some of you have to go."

She tried to shoo a few of the nearby fairies out her window, but they scowled and barred their teeth at her. Harriet wrung her small hands like she'd seen her mother do. Maybe there was a good reason she wasn't allowed to let strangers into her room.

"Leave!" she said a bit louder.

One fairy tugged Harriet's earlobe gently and stroked her cheek. The creature made a hushing noise. A second flew up and offered Harriet a grape from the vine outside her window.

Overwhelmed, the poor girl sobbed softly and took the grape. As she bit into the fruit, the tears that had begun to well up at the corners of her eyes dried away. Her pursed lips relaxed back into a smile.

"Beautiful," she whispered.

The fairies all focused their eyes on her and surrounded the girl. They pulled at her clothes and hair softly. Harriet didn't resist as they led her out the window, down the grapevine, and into the woods.