After a long walk through the woods next to his house, Johnny sat on a fallen tree that had a trail of carpenter ants going over it to the rotten crab apples that had fallen the week before. Mushrooms of different kinds covered the fallen tree. Ahead, there were giant trees with several birds perched on their branches. Some trees were so old and gnarled that they had large holes in their trunks. He would use these holes to hide some of the food his mother had cooked him for dinner. He hated the way his mother cooked, and he thought Dad did, too. Every time he hid the food, he'd come back a couple hours later to find it gone. He thought it was the bugs and birds that ate his left overs. He got up and walked as silently as he could so he could see the creature that took the food before it hid from fear. "Ah, oh my God! What is that?!" He screamed, startled by what he had discovered.

"Ha, ha, ha! I am a fairy, Johnny. You can call me Lilly. I was sent to watch over you and prepare you for your future, which will undoubtedly be a very peculiar future." She said, holding the piece of burnt potato in her small hands. He stared at her for a long time, not aware that his mouth was wide open and his eyes were unusually large. "Catching flies?" She laughed, referring to his open mouth. She seemed to enjoy tossing her long golden hair out of her face.

"Johnny, do not tell anyone about me, okay," she said, fluttering her blue transparent butterfly wings behind her tiny toothpick-like body.

"Fine, nobody will know!" He said, a bit reluctantly. Those were the first calm words he had spoken since he first saw her. He was in awe of her. She totally wrecked his sense of truth. He had never believed in anything that he hadn't seen with his own eyes. He had never believed in the fairy realm or anything of the unknown. Now, he didn't know what to believe. If fairies are real, are elves and centaurs and mermaids and unicorns or aliens real too? How could he even be sure that he wasn't dreaming at this moment? No, it couldn't possibly be a dream; it looked, felt and smelled real.

Lilly was the largest fairy Johnny had ever seen, he measured her once, most fairies you see on TV stand about 3 inches in height, but Lilly stood almost up to Johnny's knees! Another thing he thought was strange was that her eyes didn't match the color of her wings. Her eyes were a silvery purple, her wings were swirled with blues, yellows, greens and reds. They almost looked like miniature rainbows. Suddenly, a thought hit him... Everything he had heard and known about fairies did not apply to this fairy.

Ever since that day, they were best friends.

Two years later, they still played hide-and-seek. This game was Lilly's favorite because she always won. Johnny had a hard time finding her because she could hide almost anywhere, being as small as she was. "Ready or not, here I come!!" He yelled, looking from side to side. "Tell me if I'm getting closer to you, please?" He yelled, searching from tree to tree.

"Closer, even closer! Oh, you will never find me now!" She says and her voice seems to be emanating from every direction. She adjusted her bug skin shirt to her comfort. Johnny heard stifled giggles coming from a branch above his head. He looked above him and Lilly jumped playfully into the air and glided down to sit on his arm. They laughed for many minutes and walked into the clearing. Johnny had pitched a tent there a few weeks ago, since summer had begun early that year. He began to walk toward it and stopped a few paces away from it. He was exhausted from their little game and sat down on a thick patch of grass.

"Whoa! Heeellllp!!" He hollered, startled almost to tears from falling unexpectedly down a hole that wasn't there a few hours ago. His arms flailed about, trying to grab onto something that he could possibly hold onto to keep from falling deeper into what seemed to be the never ending hole.

"Ouch," he cried, as he fell into a musty smelling old mattress that his neighbor had thrown out months ago. "Where am I?" Around him was what seemed to be a very brightly lit forest. In the forest were some of the various creatures Lilly had told stories about, as they became friends. There was a short elf with pointy ears and bright, red curly hair. His green eyes looked warm and welcoming as he waved happily at the little disoriented boy whose arms, legs and face were mud covered with little dribbles of blood here and there where the jagged rocks touched his skin.

Next to the hairy elf was a male centaur. His muscular arms were folded across his bare chest. His copper hair brushed gently against his shoulders as he gave Johnny a smile that could make the most depressed person be happy again. The horse part of him had shiny white fur with tan specks on it.

Johnny stood up boldly and gave a curious smile. His dark brown ear lengthed hair was as disheveled as his thoughts from his crazy travel here. He gave a cordial wave back at the elf. There was music in the air as they all stopped to stare. The music was like nothing he had ever heard before. It sounded like a mixture of soft drawn out bells and flutes or something airy.

The elf walked toward him and gave him his hand. Johnny took it with caution and hopped down from the mattress. The elf led him away from the brightly lit forest and into a dim hallway. "Where are you taking me? Where is Lilly? What is this place?" Johnny asked the elf who rubbed his red beard as if he was thinking.

"I am taking you to your room. Lilly is waiting there for you. As for what this place is, I can't answer that question for you, you must answer it for yourself. I know that's not the answer you wanted but it's the only answer I can give you." The elf explained calmly.

"YOU'RE KIDNAPPING ME?" Said Johnny, getting a bit frightful. He was just beginning to like this cozy place.

"Oh, no, my dear boy, we are just borrowing you for the night. You will be home tomorrow, or in your time, today at dinner!" Chuckled the small elf, leading him through the sudden brightness of the giant room.

The room was very bright, considering it had no artificial light. It was as if every object gave light to the room. There were white shining walls and a grassy floor. The ceiling was sky blue with fluffy clouds here and there. At the door was a small wooden raft in a stream tied to the floor. They climbed onto the raft and untied it. Johnny bent down to look deeper into the clear water and found a trail of goldfish following them. The fish brushed against his hand as he put it into the cool ripples. He noticed a garden of his favorite fruits and vegetables as the raft floated along slowly. Halfway to the other side of the room is a tall and thick tree. In the tree was carved a house (with a bedroom and a bathroom). Inside, he found a small television and Nintendo 64. On top of the comfortable looking bed were a pair of fluffy pillows and a thin blanket. "All this for one night?" He asked a little unhappily.

"Ha ha! We know you will be taking many trips down that hole (which by the way will not be so dangerous or painful)," replied the friendly little man, "you should get some rest. You are exhausted from all this excitement. I will be here when you awake."

Johnny and Lilly finally fell asleep after an hour of video games and food. Why did they want me here? I don't think it was so they could spoil me... Was it? He asked himself as his hazel eyes began to droop. He didn't want to wake Lilly, she had just fallen asleep and it would be rude to do so.

When he awoke, the elf held his hand and strapped a small machine over his head. "What are you doing? What IS that thing? You're not going to hurt me, are you?" Johnny yelled, backing away from the elf. What a way to wake a kid up!

"Relax, I'm not trying to hurt you. This machine is going to help you understand our language which is called Sunsorala, this is very important for where I am going to take you in a few minutes." The elf explained, letting his hands drop to his sides.
"And where exactly are you going to be taking me?" Asked Johnny, getting frustrated.
"To the Great Tree of Wisdom! Our leader, the magnificent tree of all wisdom and power." The elf replied, raising his arms high above his head. "It is time. Come, boy, you are wanted."

Back in the bright forest, the centaur was waiting for their arrival. "I shall take you to the Great Tree of Wisdom." The centaur said, folding his arms over his tan chest. "C'mon kid, we haven't much time, hop on!" The elf held out his arms to help Johnny up onto the centaur's back.

"Do you guys have names?" Johnny asked, looking at the centaur's long hair as it flew back to smack Johnny in the face.
"Oh, yes, of course we have names! My name is Tony. He's Lance. Now hold on, we don't want you to fall." Said Tony, gaining speed.
"Fill your mind with love. Try to think of nothing but love. The Great Tree of Wisdom will be very impressed by this. Are you ready?" Lance said, jumping off of their friend. This time it was Tony who opened the heavy door and led the way.

"John Richardson, step forward, please," the ancient looking, gigantic tree bellowed, "you shall now receive the gift that you should have had since you met Lilly. You will begin noticing changes in vocabulary and your understanding of other languages of every kind, including those of animals and nature. You will get great use of this when you are old enough to completely understand your mission. You may go entertain yourself until the morning, I expect you to come back here early tomorrow."

"My mission? What is my mission? I don't understand what my gift is." Johnny whispered as soon as the wooden door shut with a clunk. The three of them walked slowly down the wide hallway. There was a cool breeze as if there was a large, invisible fan on to imitate the way the wind blew in the spring time. There was a flowery smell all throughout this underground world. Everything smelled fresh like springtime. There were even hummingbirds and goldfinches resting in the branches of the large trees or fluttering by the bright flowers that lined the hallway. The beautiful wisteria climbed the walls and hung above their heads in a pleasant way. Bees busied themselves with the wide variety of flowers that swayed gaily in the breeze. As with everything else, these flowers seemed to have the light emanating from them. Johnny wondered these things could happen below the Earth's surface. He asked, "What is this place? It is more beautiful than anything I have ever seen in my entire life. How can these plants and animals have light in them that pours out to help everything grow? And where is that breeze coming from? This is the most unusual place I have ever been to!" His eyes looked around in wonderment at the beauty of the world he had stumbled into. It was better than the woods he and Lilly played in every day.

"This is the astral plane you have come to. The astral plane is a lot brighter than the physical plane you are use to. I'm sure you'll grow use to the astral the same way you are use to the physical. Here, everything is more pronounced than that of the physical... There is no pollution, no littering in the gardens, and not as much negativity as in the physical. You will understand soon enough." Said Lance as he walked slowly beside the other two with a grin on his face. He found Lilly laying on her belly on his pillow. He gently moved her to the end of the bed (fairies are deep sleepers). He ate a few grapes from the grapevine and went to sleep. It seemed like in only a few minutes it was morning and he had to appear in front of The Great Tree of Wisdom a second time.

He sat up in his bed and realized that the machine that had been strapped to his head was now gone. He smiled and woke Lilly with his pinky finger. She smiled back at him and stretched her arms. "Well, would you like to join me this time?" He asked her, yawning. She nodded and fluttered around his head. He giggled and walked around the stream to the door.

He found his friends in deep conversation in the bright forest. "I thought we already settled this, we aren't to tell the boy of his mission, he must find out for himself. I doubt that It would like it if we told him. He's a smart boy, you saw that in the readings from the machine... You ought to know that. Remember the last time we told the human child what her mission was, she didn't want any part in it? Well, I don't want that to happen again!" Tony whispered. His hands rested on his hips as he watched Johnny and Lilly make their way over to them. "Come on you two, let's go, hop on." Said Lance, waving his arms toward Tony so Johnny might quicken his pace. Johnny got onto Tony and wrapped his arms around his waist so he wouldn't fall off. Lilly flew next to them until Johnny jumped to the grassy ground. Then she sat on his arm the rest of the way. Johnny took a deep breath and entered the room.

Inside the room there were many different species of flowers and bushes. There were purple, yellow, and white daisies, roses, tulips, chrysanthemums, morning glories, purple hyacinths, irises, and more dancing around The Great Tree of Wisdom. The light shone brighter in that room than any of the other rooms. He had to shade his eyes with his hand and squint a little. After what seemed to be a half-hour, Johnny and Lilly walked slowly out of the room, careful not to step on the flowers. When he knocked on the door for Tony to open it for him, he was immediately asked what It had told him.

"He only told me that my gift was to understand languages. Even the languages of animals and nature! I can understand what the flowers are saying and what the birds are saying to the bees. It's amazing to have this ability. Although, It never told me about my mission. All I know is that it has something to do with speaking to nature. Why I was chosen for this task, It didn't say. It told me though, that I have to go back to the physical plane. It must be time for dinner now. But... How do I get there from here?" Johnny said, excited of his new ability.

"Just close your eyes and imagine you are back in the woods and you'll be there." Lilly explained. He did as he was told and he was, indeed, back in the cold dark woods of the physical plane. "You'll get use to it again," said Lilly, giggling at the look on his face.

He rubbed his eyes and said, "Gee, everything looks like it's covered in smoke! I don't like this at all. I want to go back now." His eyes were wide with sadness and he picked up a dull yellow flower and took a sniff. "It doesn't smell good."

That night he ate all of his dinner and cleaned his dishes. When he finished that he went into his small room that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months. He stared out the window wondering what would happen tomorrow. His eyes fell upon the area where his tent lay, and saw Lilly among the daffodils, speaking to them with gentle words. He decided to go to bed early that night so he might dream of his home away from home in the astral plane. Sure enough, that's what he dreamed about. He finally realized what his mission was, to help the Earth become more like the astral plane. It was a lot to ask of a ten year old boy, but he knew he could do it. He had the ability to talk to nature.

age = 13-16