Pixies and the Thankful Tree
S.L. Donnelly
Chapter 1 – The Thankful Tree
The leaves were mostly gone from the trees as nine-year-old
Elizabeth Spencer got off the bus and met her brother Noah at the bus stop. “Is
Mom still inviting the pixies in for an afternoon of being thankful?” Elizabeth
asked as the wind whipped her brown tresses around her face. Several strands
got caught in her eyelashes, and she wiped at the riot of curls to get them out
of her way.
Noah nodded. “After last year, she feels kind of guilty
leaving them out of the festivities. And, since we’re going to Aunt Emma’s for
dinner tomorrow, Mom wanted them to join in.”
“Last year was fun. It was our first Pixie-giving,”
Elizabeth said as she skipped happily alongside her brother. It used to
frustrate her that he walked so fast until she realized it gave her the
opportunity to skip.
Noah snorted. “And you burned the waffles.
“No,” Elizabeth retorted, sticking her nose up with a
dismissive snort. “I burned the popcorn. The waffles were fine.”
Brother and sister fell into step, but Elizabeth was deep in
thought. When she was six years old, a flutter of six pixies had revealed
themselves in her backyard. There were six fairies in the flutter. Oberon and
Tati were the leaders, and there were four others, Silver Frost, Radish, Drake,
and Suki.
Each pixie had their own job within the flutter. Suki was
their explorer, making sure everything in the backyard was in working order.
Drake was their storyteller who collected stories and kept them all entertained
in the evenings. Radish was their gardener, ensuring their group was well-fed.
Silver Frost was responsible for liberal applications of ice and rime on all
the surfaces.
Since then, they had gone on lots of fun adventures. Last
year, Elizabeth had wanted to teach the pixies about one of her favorite
holidays, Thanksgiving. It hadn’t been a terrible thing but had definitely left
Elizabeth more than a little cautious about cooking on her own again.
This year, her parents were invited to Aunt Emma’s house,
and the fairies would be on their own. So, Mom had come up with the idea of a
Thankful Tree for Pixie-giving. On it, Noah and Elizabeth had written down
things they were grateful for, and their mom would read them. Elizabeth had
written down some of the things the pixies appreciated and, well. It left
Elizabeth pretty sure her mom was going to regret her idea.
“I still think you should have put nice things on the tree,”
Elizabeth scolded. At fifteen, Noah was probably a little too mature for this
kind of game but insisted on joining them.
“I put nice things on the list,” Noah objected, but the
little smirk around his lips told Elizabeth all she needed to know. Her brother
had some mischief up his sleeve.
Elizabeth gave him a droll look as they entered the house.
“What are you planning?” she accused.
Noah merely put his hand to his chest in an innocent “who,
me?” gesture and walked into the kitchen. “Mom, we’re home. Do you need
anything?”
Honor Spencer hugged Elizabeth and dropped a kiss on Noah’s
forehead. “Wash your hands and set the table for the pixies. Plastic plates,
please,” she said. Honor turned to her daughter. “Do you have any homework for
the long weekend?”
Elizabeth shook her head. “And no quizzes until Tuesday. I’m
free, free, free,” she said as she danced in a circle. “Thank you so much for
inviting everyone in for Pixie-giving again.”
“It’s been a rough year filled with a lot of changes,” her
mom said. “We should all remember to be thankful for being together again this
year. For having food to share and loved ones to share it with.”
“Can I put on my tutu for the party, Mom? Please?” Elizabeth
begged.
Her mom looked hesitant and bit her lip. “Oh, honey. Are you
sure you want to risk it getting dirty? You wanted to wear that to Emma’s
tomorrow, didn’t you?”
Elizabeth felt a little pout form. “Yes, but I want to wear
it today, too. I feel pretty in it.” Ever since her parents had signed her up
for ballet classes, she had wanted to wear her dance clothes all the time.
“Pixies are not known for being neat,” her mom warned one
last time. “But it’s up to you. If you get food on it, you may not be able to
wear it tomorrow.”
Elizabeth smiled up at her mom. “I’ll clean it if it gets
messy. Pinky promise,” she said, holding up her right hand with her smallest
finger extended.
Honor accepted her daughter’s promise, and they shook on it.
“Be careful of those pinky promises,” she warned. “Aunt Emma and I used to do
them all the time. We take them very seriously.”
“I do, too, Mom,” Elizabeth vowed. She hung up her coat and
backpack and raced upstairs to get dressed in her leotard and bright
pumpkin-colored tutu. She couldn’t wait to see Suki, Radish, and all her other flying
friends.
Chapter 2 – Leaves of Gratitude
Once dressed for the party, Elizabeth scrambled down the
steps. She paused as if waiting for her cue and then leapt across the living
room and into the kitchen. Elizabeth spotted a flash of pink by the sliding
glass doors and knew it was Suki. “Can I let them in, Mom?” she asked as she
danced and pirouetted around the room.
Her mom held up one hand. “Let me get the cupcakes onto the
table,” she warned. “Pixies can be a little,” her voice trailed off as she
tried to think of the right word.
“Rambunctious?” Noah supplied.
“Reckless?” Elizabeth asked with a giggle.
“Flighty,” Noah added.
Honor bit back her laughter as she put the plate of tiny
cupcakes on the table. “Yes, all those things,” she agreed. She stepped back as
she checked to make sure they had everything ready. With a twist of her
fingers, she added rainbow sprinkles. “Okay. Let them in.”
Elizabeth slid back the door, and four impulsive fairies
flew into the kitchen and flitted around. They carried with them the scent of
the cold November wind. “Brr,” Elizabeth said as she slid the door shut. She
looked at Suki and the other fairies. “Where are Oberon and Tati?”
“It’s just us tonight,” Radish said. “And we are under firm
orders to behave.” He wagged his finger in a decent impression of Oberon. “Don’t
break anything, don’t fly into the adults’ faces, and whatever you do, don’t
play keep-a-way with Elizabeth.”
Honor’s smile grew tight. Having four very curious fairies
in the backyard did come with a few pitfalls. “Welcome to our celebration.
Elizabeth told me that you helped her fill out some of the leaves on the
Thankful Tree.”
Drake puffed his chest up a little bit. “I gave her the most
ideas,” he bragged.
Elizabeth felt a sick sensation in her belly as she looked
at the brightly colored paper that made up the leaves of the tree. In school
when the teacher asked what they were thankful for, students gave answers like
their moms and dads. Sometimes, they were grateful for ice cream or a toy, but
there were almost always weightier answers, too. Elizabeth was unsure how her
mother would take some of these answers, especially the ones Noah picked.
Her mom let each fairy select a petit four-sized cupcake
while Noah and Elizabeth took their seats. Her mom had practiced weeks to
perfect the timing on the tiny treats. Elizabeth grinned, thinking how even her
dad, who loved sugar and all things sweet, had grown sick of eating the trial
batches.
Noah rose to get the special fairy-sized cups her mom had
purchased. “I’ll get the milk, Mom.”
“Thanks, honey,” Honor said as she put the Thankful Tree on
the table. It was just some twigs her mom spray painted white. Colorful tags in
red, yellow, and brown decorated it. Each autumn-colored leaf had neat printing
outlining what a person was thankful for.
“These are perfectly fairy-sized,” Suki said with a twitch
of her iridescent wings. She smiled with happiness as she took her seat. “Thank
you.”
“You’re quite welcome, Suki.” Honor grinned at the
pink-haired fairy as Drake, Silver Frost, and Radish sat in front of their
plates. Their gazes darted between Elizabeth and her mom as they waited to see
what to do next.
“Can I read the first one, Mom?” Noah asked, chuckling as Elizabeth
groaned.
Their mom frowned and looked between her children. “I think
since this is Elizabeth’s party, she should go first.”
Elizabeth closed her eyes and made a silent wish for one of
the leaves to not have something Noah wrote. She opened her eyes and selected
one. “I’m thankful that Elizabeth has a friendly laugh,” she read. Elizabeth
blushed a little but preened at the words.
“That was mine,” Silver Frost said in a stage whisper.
“Thank you. You have a lovely laugh, too,” Elizabeth said.
Radish plucked a leaf while the other fairies dug into their
special treats. The gardener read out, “I’m thankful that pixies like to play.”
He winked at Elizabeth. “We like playing with you, too.”
As each of the other fairies picked a leaf and read it,
Elizabeth felt her shoulders begin to relax. Maybe Noah had only been teasing
her. The leaves all had perfectly normal things to be thankful for.
Drake was jotting things down in his notebook. His job was
as the flutter’s storyteller, and Elizabeth was sure he was describing the
event for future generations to learn about the holiday. One day Elizabeth
wanted to hear Drake’s stories.
“Toilet paper,” Sukie read out. Noah snorted with humor and
Elizabeth rolled her eyes.
“Yes, I can see that,” their mom said with a carefully
hidden smile. “A toilet paper shortage would be terribly inconvenient.”
Elizabeth giggled, but not too much. She didn’t want to encourage Noah when he
was in that kind of a mood.
As Elizabeth relaxed into the celebration, it was Noah’s
turn to read a leaf. “Corn,” he said with deadpanned inflection.
Their mother frowned in confusion. “Corn? Just corn? Because
you like popcorn?” Honor guessed.
Noah chuckled. “Of course, corn, Mom. You can see it in your
poop!” The fairies stared at him for a moment before dissolving into giggles. He
lifted the leaf in front of Suki. “And then you can use toilet paper to wipe
your bottom.”
“Fine. Corn,” Honor interrupted him with a groan, as she hid
a smile behind her hand.
After that, and much to Elizabeth’s astonishment, the
suggestions on the leaves got sillier. “I’m thankful for bubble gum,” Suki said
while Honor shuddered. “If Elizabeth hadn’t coated me in bubble gum, her mom
wouldn’t have given me a bath and freed my wings.”
“I am certainly not thankful for gum,” Elizabeth said with a
moue. Pixie-giving had taken a hard left turn and was way off track. “I’m
thankful for the day we lost power in August.
“Why that day?” Silver Frost asked.
“Oh, it was so hot,” Honor said as she thought about the
day. “We had to open all the windows, and we all got bitten by mosquitoes.”
“True, but you and Daddy pulled out flashlights, and the
fairies used their shadows and acted out stories for us. That was the best,”
Elizabeth explained. When Silver Frost and Radish agreed, Noah only shrugged
and said it had been “okay.” Elizabeth’s annoyance with her brother grew.
“Okay. Last one,” Honor announced. She plucked the leaf and
read. “Pumpkins.”
“You can spit the seeds,” Drake said as though announcing
something quite meaningful.
“And, if you eat them, they also appear in your,” Noah said
with a cackling laugh
“Stop!” his mother interrupted. “Do not say it, Noah Spencer.”
Suddenly, it all felt too much for Elizabeth. This was not
how Pixie-giving was supposed to go!
Chapter 3 – All the Things
Elizabeth stood on her chair to make herself the biggest
thing in the room. “Stop,” she shouted, wanting to stomp her foot but knowing
that would be far too childish.
Noah stopped, lifted his brow in shock, and looked at her.
“What’s the matter, Lilibet?” he asked.
“No one is taking this seriously,” Elizabeth said, feeling
her eyes burning with unshed tears.
“Elizabeth?” She felt a slight tug on her skirt, and
Elizabeth looked down to see Suki hovering near her. “We are taking it
seriously. We do like spitting pumpkin seeds. Pixies love games.”
Noah shrugged. “Okay, maybe I was being a little silly, and
I’m sorry that hurt your feelings but come on, Lilibet. It’s Thanksgiving. Why
can’t we be happy for the funny things, too?”
“But what about dance and mom’s baking? Or Dad getting
better when he got sick? Or being thankful that this year we get to spend the
holiday with Aunt Emma and Uncle David when last year, we couldn’t go out?”
Elizabeth was on a roll and pushed forward. “There are big things to be
thankful for. Like, having pixies to play with or a brother who isn’t mean to
me. Having Mom and Dad home every night.” She spread her hands across the
fallen leaves with their various answers. “How does that compare with corn?”
Honor came and picked her daughter up before sitting down
with Elizabeth in her lap. Elizabeth cuddled into her mom’s warmth, forgetting
for a moment how angry she was. “Honey, that’s great that you’re thankful for all
those things.”
Radish approached. Last year, he’d had a hard time
understanding the meaning of Thanksgiving. “You and your family taught me that
this time wasn’t just about turkey and gravy. You taught me to look at the
world differently and to see all the good things that exist in spite of the bad
stuff.” Elizabeth sniffled and snuggled further into her mom’s warm embrace.
“I love watching you dance,” Suki said as she flew to meet
Elizabeth’s gaze. “Almost as much as I love flying.” The pink-haired pixie
twirled in the air, and her braids went flying around her.
Elizabeth’s dad came into the kitchen carrying two large
pizza boxes. “I thought we would carry on our tradition of take out on the
Wednesday before Thanksgiving,” he said. Spence looked around the room. “Did I
interrupt Pixie-giving?”
Honor set her daughter on her chair and stood to give him a welcoming
kiss. “We’re just going over what everyone was thankful for this year.”
Spence put the pizzas down and tugged his wife closer for a
hug. On cue, Noah and Elizabeth groaned even though Elizabeth secretly loved
that her parents were so affectionate. “What are you thankful for, Dad?” she
asked, trying to spare hers and Noah’s embarrassment at seeing their parents
kiss.
Releasing his wife, Spence glanced at some of the answers
scattered on the table. “Pumpkin seeds?” he asked.
“For spitting,” Drake pointed out.
“And growing more pumpkins,” Radish added.
“I see,” Spence said, holding back a grin. “Corn?”
“Because you can see it in your,” Noah began.
“Noah Spencer, enough,” Honor said, burying her face in her
hands while Elizabeth and the fairies dissolved into collective giggles. Maybe
her friends were right, Elizabeth thought. It was okay to like the silly
things, too.
Spence chuckled. “Yeah, I can see how this night went.”
“You have no idea,” Honor said. She picked up the pizzas to
put them in the oven to warm them.
“But Dad, what are you thankful for?” Elizabeth asked again.
After ruffling Noah’s hair and dropping a kiss on
Elizabeth’s forehead, Spence stopped. “I am most thankful for my family. So,
the thing I’m most thankful for is that your mom agreed to go out with me all
those years ago.”
Ignoring her parents’ mooning at each other, Elizabeth
thought for a moment. “So, it’s okay to be thankful for big things and little?”
“Exactly,” Honor said as she handed her husband dinner
plates.
“Then I’m thankful for my family, too,” Elizabeth said.
“Including the pixies.” She smiled around at everyone, and no one minded at all
that they had their dessert before their dinner.
