Donella and Alston saw from miles away that something was different in the Valley of Linah. Usually, from the sky, what they saw every year was a brown spot, just like in the other parts of the land. But that time they saw, in the middle of the brown spot, little white dots here and there. They looked at each other confused, and before opening the winter globe for the last time that year, they went down to see what was happening.
I cannot tell you how big was their surprise to see that the Ghodianeeks had prepared a celebration for the arrival of winter.
When they saw them, all the Ghodianeeks started cheering, anxiously waiting to see if they had done their job good enough. But the Guardians of Winter did not look happy when they approached the ground, but rather confused.
-What a surprise you had given us! –Donella said, looking a little frowned at them, without intention.
The cheers slowly faded at hearing those words and all the Ghodianeeks lowered their heads, imagining that the guardians did not like the way they had arranged things. Everybody except Fae , who looked a little too desperate and scared.
-Well, we are very sorry that you do not like our festival! – replied one of the Summer fairies. – We have tried hard!
Evelyn’s mother then realized she had offended the fairies, and turned away ashamed of herself.
-No, we do not mean to say we do not like it! – explained Alston. – But we had no idea you were planning such a beautiful celebration for us. We are both amazed and happy to see such a thing.
Before Alston finished what he had to say, a whisper started growing thicker and thicker among the Ghodianeeks, as they looked at each other confused. Evelyn’s father frowned, not understanding what was going on, and Donella turned around, feeling that no one would look incriminatory at her anymore. The scene lasted quite long, because nobody understood why the guardians were not aware of the festival. But instead of asking them, which had been the most normal thing to do, they were asking each other. Obviously, nobody had an answer. Finally, Fae’s father decided to speak up:
-How can that be, Alston? We were told you are the ones who wanted to make a Winter Festival.
The Winter Guardians passed from amazement to an even larger amazement. They looked at each other and replied back.
-We have not thought of such a thing. Ever!
That was the moment Fae had feared the most ever since her friend told her about the festival. It wasn’t the celebration of winter her biggest fear, but the moment when every single Ghodianeek who lived in the Valley of Linah turned towards her asking for explanations. So when she saw four hundred eyes fixed upon her, she swallowed dryly, and not even realizing it she pointed next to her and yelled:
-It was Evelyn’s idea!!
When she realized what she had said she covered her mouth with her hands, as if like that she could justify herself for telling on her best friend. But to her surprise she heard an even greater whisper, and when she turned towards the direction she had pointed at, she realized Evelyn was not there. As a matter of fact Evelyn was not anywhere in the crowd.
Her mother approached her and gently asked her:
-Sweetie, where is Evelyn?
But Fae could only shake her head, trying to explain she did not know, because the shock she had when she heard herself blaming her best friend was too big. Seeing that Evelyn was not to be found, Laila turned towards Alston and Donella and told them to bring winter upon the valley, while the rest of them look for their daughter.
The Guardians of Winter raised themselves up in the air, and started doing their job. Now, that gesture would seem irresponsible; a real prove of lack of parental love, but the truth was that Evelyn’s parents were neither worried, nor upset. They did not mind that Evelyn had organized a festival all by herself, and they understood why she had used them to do it. It was because otherwise the Ghodianeeks had not listened to a fifteen years old fairy. And they were not worried because they thought she was probably just hiding somewhere, afraid of what had happened.
But the harder they looked for her, the surer the Ghodianeeks down below were that Evelyn had really disappeared. They searched everywhere; in every single castle, in every single tree, under every single bed. Still, there was no sign of her.
-We cannot find her anywhere and Fae says she does not know a thing. – said Laila when Alston and Donella came down from the sky.
It was in that moment that the Guardians of Winter started to feel worried for their daughter’s sake. And though the answer to what had happened to her was lying before their eyes, nobody realized it. Not even Fae made the connection; she, like every other Ghodianeek, was too caught up in Beatrix’s story. And because it was just a story, she did not give it too much importance, just like almost every Ghodianeek hadn’t.
Only half aware of the mess she created by leaving without notice, Evelyn was heading towards the Gate. She had to see it; she had to make sure that what Beatrix had told them was not just an old legend, but a fact. She did not know how she was going to prove that to herself, because she did not expect for the gate to be very easy to open. But easy or not, that was her plan.
“I am going to try and open it; in the North it is already winter, so it must be winter on the other side too” – thought she.
With that thought in her mind, she kept on flying north. She tried not to think about her parents’ reaction when seeing the festival, or about the confusion which would take place, until somebody explained things. She was also afraid about what Fae would think of the fact that she left her alone with all the Ghodianeeks, but that was a feeling she tried to avoid too.
The distance from the Valley of Linah and the North Gate was not a small one, so at half way Evelyn started to feel cold, because she was only wearing a sleeveless brown dress. She tried to warm herself by fluttering her wings more powerfully, but every time she did it a cold breeze hit her in the face. Eventually she gave up trying to warm herself and tried her best not to think about the weather, but to admire the landscape above which she was flying.
When she finally reached the Northern Gate, it was already dark. But despite this, the Gate could be very clearly seen because of the tapestry Evelyn’s parents had sewed around it. And also, at night, the golden hinges and hasp were glowing. The little fairy stopped some meters away from it, amazed.
To her it looked like a huge door, but to us it would not have looked larger than a normal seize window. She had never seen the gate before, not because she would not have wanted to, but because she never came close to flying to this side of the land. Before she heard of Beatrix’s story she had always imagined the gate as an unnecessary border of the Land of the Crystal. Now, she was seeing it as a magical thing, made with artfulness. She even started wondering if the world from the other side was more beautiful than theirs.
The moment of glancing at it ended when she realized it was really getting dark. So, without thinking it twice, Evelyn hurried off at the hasp and pulled it. But the hasp did not move an inch. She gathered all her strength, and tried it again. But the same thing happened, or should I say, did not happen. She went off and tried it a few more times, before starting desperately to cry. She had flown all that way for nothing.
“Perhaps the guardian’s story was just that; a story!” – thought she.
While she was thinking about what a fool she had been to believe in some stupid legends, she heard a noise. It sounded like someone stood really close to her; someone who had been still and suddenly moved. It was a rustle. She turned around to see if some fairy had come after her, maybe her parents. But there was no one behind her and, like I said before, the sound was not that of fluttering wings. A little scared, she flew in circles to try and spot something. But around her everything was dark, and the light the tapestry made was not strong enough for her to see very well. Then she heard it again, only this time it was more powerful. Really by accident, she looked down.
In one corner of the gate there was an animal which was all amassed, probably trying to protect itself from the cold wind. Its fur was white, so it looked like a little white hank. Evelyn went down and touched it. The animal raised its head and the little fairy saw its blue eyes, its sharp ears and its rather big mouth. It was a baby wolf, but it did not look ferocious at all; it looked quite scared. Then Evelyn took it in her arms and said:
-Do not worry I will take you home with me, where it is really warm.
Then she raised herself in the sky and, looking once more with regret at the Gate, flew away. Lucky for her, the moon had shown itself on the sky, so it was not hard to find the way back to the Valley of Linah. But she soon found out that it is not easy to fly with an animal in your arms, because the little wolf kept on turning from one side to the other, causing her great fear of dropping it.
-Stop sneaking around! – said she, then with a look which said she had just discovered something, continued. – I will call you Sneeky! How do you like that?
The animal did not make any gesture to show he did not like his name, so Evelyn decided that from then on he would be called like that.