And now that I have told you all I know about this small, but charming kingdom, I believe it is time to introduce you to a fairy without which this story would not have existed.
As some of you know, the legend says that every time a child smiles for the first time a fairy is born. What I think you do not know is that every time a fairy is born, a new star appears on the sky. And though it might seem unbelievable, that star becomes the lucky star of the child. Therefore, the connection between humans and Lilyaneeks is more powerful than you can imagine.
Most fairies do not show interest for this peculiar detail, even though they are aware of it. To be honest, I have knowledge of only one little fairy who admired our world so much that she used to believe the soul of the child who created her was somehow linked to hers. Because you see, even though they belong to a world very different from ours, Lilyaneeks have souls too.
The name of this fairy was Evelyn. She was born as a Ghodianeek, in The Month of the Frost (January). Her parents were nobody else but the Guardians of Winter themselves. So, you see, there was no wonder that her favorite season was the cold one. It was not that she did not like the other seasons, because she did; especially Spring, since that was the season that looked the most charming in the Valley of Linah. The entire place was filled with the most beautiful flowers imaginable and the waters of the Ghodi River shined proudly in the sunlight. One of Evelyn’s favorite things to do was to watch the petals of the flowers from the banks of the river, as they were floating gently upon the water, right after breaking away from their home.
Still whenever winter was near her heart filled with joy and impatience. She was the first one to announce everybody that the cold season had arrived. Oh yes, Evelyn always knew that she was “a Lilyaneek of Winter”, as she so often called herself.
Winter was also the reason why she felt so proud of being who she was. Though many times she thought that maybe the origin of her parents was the main reason for her liking winter so much, Evelyn still believed that she would not have been so happy if she had been the daughter of somebody else.
Concerning her parents, they could not have been prouder of her. After all, she was not only very talented for her age, for she had an extraordinary voice, but she was also a very beautiful Lilyaneek.
She had pale skin, like most of the Ghodianeeks, but her cheeks were red, feature which she had inherited from her mother. She had white long hair, blue eyes and beautifully shaped hands with long, thin fingers. And Evelyn’s wings were some of the most beautiful in the entire kingdom, for they were transparent white and, under the sun, shined like crystals.
But there was one thing that Evelyn did not have. Unfortunately, that was the thing she wished for the most.
She had spent her life reading stories about how us, humans spend our winters, and she wished she could spend but one winter in the same way.
You see, the cause of her unhappiness was that in The Land of the Crystal it had never snowed. Every time her parents brought the cold season upon the kingdom, they did it beautifully; the river froze, wonderful winter flowers appeared on the windows and the Timmerneeks brought lots of winter plants with which all the Lilyaneeks decorated their houses. Their Christmases were always warm and charming, but though she loved them, she could never stop a sigh when imagining the crystal-white winter humans were having!