Believe

Copyright © 2011

All rights reserved – Allyson L. Giles

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the permission, in writing, from the publisher.

Strategic Book Group

P.O. Box 333

Durham CT 06422

www.StrategicBookGroup.com

ISBN: 978-1-61897-182-1

Book Design: Rolando F. Santos

H
eartfelt gratitude and thanks to my editor and agent Keren Kilgore. I will be forever grateful for having found you. Thank you for your guidance and support; you made me and this book better. Thank you to Carolyn Ferris for connecting me with Keren. Thanks also to Dee Berryhill for helping me discover my passion for writing. Thank you to Steve, my brother and illustrator, for believing in my dream of Faye long before it became a reality. Thanks to my family and friends for your support and inspiration. Many thanks to everyone at Strategic Book Group. I appreciate your decision to give me and my story a chance. Most of all, I thank Strategic for making this journey an enjoyable one. And, of course, mad love to all my elemental friends and guides for allowing me to share in your magical world.

Elementals, Nature spirits:
Nature spirits, which include fairies or elementals, are believed to be various types of beings or spirits that inhabit nature. Nature spirits usually abide in trees, rivers, plants, mountains, and minerals. They are believed to exist as the life force in all living things.

Blueprint:
A detailed outline or plan of action.

Prophecy:
The foretelling or prediction of what is to come; something that is declared by a prophet, especially a divinely inspired prediction, instruction, or exhortation.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Preface

And the fairies jump and dance and play.

Deep in the grass and bushes and trees,

Fairies will do as they please.

They are in touch with the beauty of land.

The soil beneath your feet is nothing more than a fairy treat.

H
earing a loud knock, Sam opened the creaky front door of the cottage he called home and froze in shock. It was unusual for a visitor to make his way this far out in the Irish countryside without notice, but Sam was a spontaneous fellow and enjoyed surprises. Little did he know that he was opening the door to the biggest surprise of his life: a basket containing a teeny, tiny, smiling, giggling baby with wide eyes that looked up at him from beneath a blanket and bonnet of pink wool. A large pink ribbon was tied to the basket with a note sealed by purple wax. Sam's name was handwritten in calligraphy on the front of the note. On instinct, Sam picked up the basket, took the baby inside, and sat down by the fire. Before anxiously opening the envelope, he noted the
F
marked in the wax seal. He read the note aloud:

A riddle, a riddle, a riddle you say.

Perhaps you weren't expecting baby.

A rhyme, a rhyme, a rhyme it is.

This child is yours and ours to live.

You are not alone, but keep her you must;

All I can say is in Faye you must trust.

A father, a father, a father you are—

A man who will father the blueprint and star.

Sam looked down and saw several tiny, winged beings sitting around the basket. They were oooing and aaawing over the child. Sam shook his head in complete confusion. Without another word, Sam got up and made himself a cup of hot cider in the kitchen, hoping that the hallucination would pass. He sipped the hot drink before making his way back to his favorite fireside chair. Rubbing his eyes, he then turned toward the basket and opened them quickly.

“What in heaven's name? Fairies? They are still here, but now there are seven!”

Their silver, gold, and rainbow-colored wings sparkled like the wings of a dragonfly, and the fairies were remarkably small with pointy ears. Some even had pointy feet. Some were bright in color, others were translucent, and some just seemed to glow. Still fixated on the tiny beings surrounding the mysterious baby, Sam tossed back his cider.

The fairies began to whisper to one another in a high-pitched buzz with tiny squeaks every once in awhile. Then one fairy draped in a long, green, velvet gown with gold embellishments and long, curly, blonde hair stepped forward from the group.

“I am Elvina,” she said in a soft, soothing voice. “I am the child's spirit guide. I will help you raise her, Sam. I will always be with her and will help and serve her in every way.”

“I'm sorry. Did you just talk?” Sam knew what his eyes were seeing and what his ears were hearing, but his mind couldn't grasp it. “This just isn't possible or logical or….”

“Sam,” Elvina chimed in, “don't listen to your mind. Listen to your heart. You have had one wish your entire life: to love and to experience true love in return. Until today, this wish has been unfulfilled. This is your purpose, Sam: to be open to the love you have wanted for so long. We are not a figment of your imagination; we are very real indeed, and we live among you, right outside your back door and in your home. We are—and always have been—everywhere. We tend to your animals and plants, work with Mother Nature, and help humans like you who have a deep connection to the land. This child is half-human and half-elemental, meaning she is one of us. She is half–fairy.”

Sam raised an eyebrow, perplexed. He had always been in touch with nature, and there was nothing he enjoyed more than
being a fisherman and spending time out on the boat at peace with the wind and the water. He suddenly remembered an experience he'd had as a child and gasped. He had thought he'd seen a fairy hovering above a bluebell one day. In his innocence, he eagerly told his parents and friends, but they laughed at him and endlessly teased him. After that, he didn't believe, and he never saw one again. Until today.

A male fairy came forward dressed in a brown cap; a blazer; shorts that revealed a slim, beige body; and brown, pointy-toed shoes. He looked very much like a newsboy. His wings were buzzing, and he looked rather excited.

“I'm Tatum! The fairy you saw as a child, 'twas me. I did try to come back to ya, but you were never open to me again after that. 'Twas a shame,” he said sadly as he removed the cap from his head and bowed slightly. “Happens all the time. It's funny; a human can tell you something bad, and wham bang you believe it. When they tell you something good—like seeing a fairy—they think you're crazy!”

Tatum and the fairies started to laugh loudly. Then he placed his brown cap back on his head and kicked up his pointy-toed foot on the edge of the baby's wicker basket, and the little winged beings started to dance around it. Even the baby watched happily and waved her hands in the air every so often as if to join in. Sam had no idea where the music came from, but it was suddenly there and unmistakable. It was like Irish folk music, and it didn't take long for the fairies to kick up their heels and make themselves at home.

The night wore on in celebration, as did the ensuing months and years with daily visits from the fairies.

• • •

Sam continued picking dandelions for Deliah. She danced and spun in the grass as he wove them together, making her one of his famous dandelion crowns. He placed it on her head and declared her a true princess.

“You have a gift, my dear. A bright light shines in you, and you will be someone and mean something to this world. You bring out the best in people and make them want to believe in the good. People would follow you, Deliah, wherever you would lead them,” Papa acknowledged.

She curtsied, enjoying every moment of make-believe and then began running to the riverbank.

“Come on, Papa! Let's skip rocks.”

Sam jogged behind her, and after arriving at the riverbank, they began searching for the perfect flat rocks. Having found several handfuls, they stepped on to the worn dock and began skipping them, taking extra care not to skip them in the direction of Papa's fishing boat. When they were done skipping all the flat rocks they could find, they headed back to the cottage to have a picnic. After making their favorite peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, they went back outside and sat in the middle of the grass, enjoying their picnic in the warm afternoon sun. They continued to tell each other stories, always trying to be more creative than the other. When their picnic was finished, they decided to pick blueberries and raspberries from the bushes behind the cottage. They both relished in their love of nature and enjoyed any time spent outdoors among the flowers, trees, and animals. Often, Deliah would find a stray cat or a wounded bird and bring it home. She and Papa would heal these animals with secret help from the fairies and then set them free. Sam always admired Deliah's caring nature; even at the age of ten, she was already giving back to the world in her own special way.

When it got dark, they would have bonfires and roast marshmallows, and Papa would tell make-believe stories about fairies while they stared at the stars. It was a special treat when they managed to glimpse a shooting star. Sam and Deliah always liked the same things, so it was never a struggle to have fun or entertain each other.

• • •

Sam became very close to his numerous fairy friends, and he felt privileged being in on the world's best-kept secret. But along with Deliah, his little girl who appeared on his doorstep that fateful night, the fairies were his family, and they gave him the best memories of his life. Whenever he felt he didn't know how to handle a situation or wondered if he was raising Deliah properly, Elvina remained true to her word. She was always there to guide Sam and assure him that he was doing just fine. Although she made him promise to never tell Deliah that she was born of a different realm (the fairy realm) and that she was part-elemental
and part-human, Elvina's words would echo over and over in his mind:
She will know, Sam. Do not fear. When the time is right, she will see us here.

Sam knew that Deliah was part of a bigger plan and that she would find out on her own when the time was right. He also knew she would have the opportunity to serve the fairies and Mother Nature. He couldn't wait until Deliah was old enough to know all about the fairies. He never told anyone—not even his mother, even though she helped him raise the baby girl without even asking a question about her mysterious appearance.

• • •

The rain fell hard, and the lightning crashed. It was the worst storm Sam had seen in years. He was trying to get back home to Deliah to celebrate her eleventh birthday, but this storm was raging a fierce fight. He held on to the boat's wheel, first spinning it hard right, then hard left, trying to keep her steady. He held on tight as
Little Lady,
his pride and joy, rocked back and forth, waves crashing down on her from every angle. Sam remained grounded and focused despite the chaos whirling around him. He had grown up fishing, observing, and learning from his father, the fisherman he most admired. He knew not to let his nerves get the best of him; it was about remaining calm and working with the water, not against it. Sam began talking to the storm as he often did. It was a trick his father had taught him when he was a wee lad.

Raising his voice, he shouted out into the dangerous downpour, “Come on now! Ya know I've got a little lady to get home to. You wouldn't keep me from my daughter's birthday, would ya?” Another bolt of lightning clapped in the air, causing him to jump.

He chuckled and said, “All right, all right, you're not in the mood for a chitchat, I gather.”

One of the sails came undone and began flapping furiously in the wind. The boat was losing control, and Sam hung on to the wheel with his right hand while reaching far behind him with his left for the tail end of the rope. His feet slid, and he lost hold of the wheel but quickly managed to tie the sail back down. He was trying to get back to the helm, but his galoshes were heavy and had no grip against the soaked floor of the boat. The boat
continued to sway, and when it began to tilt forward, he stepped out and was just about to take hold of the wheel when he saw it….A large tidal wave was about to come crashing down on top of
Little Lady.
Looking in horror, he tried to brace himself, but the wave caught him first, and he was thrown. The back of his head hit the wheel hard.

“Deliah,” he mumbled as his world faded to black.

• • •

“Where's Papa? He should have been here an hour ago,” Deliah asked for the seventh time in ten minutes.

“He'll be back, Deliah. The storm is just holding him up awhile. Don't you worry. He'll be home soon, my dear,” Grandma replied, trying to mask the concern in her own voice.

“Well, let's go wait for him on the dock,” Deliah urged.

“Deliah, your father would not want you out in this storm. He'd want you to stay put, safe and sound,” she said with authority. Deliah picked up her and Papa's favorite book and stomped off to her room. “Where are you going, Deliah? Would you like me to read your book to you?”

“No,” Deliah answered curtly, slamming the door slightly for extra effect. She sat on her bed pouting when she decided that if Grandma wouldn't take her to the dock to wait for Papa, then she would just have to go herself. She crept quietly out of her bedroom and snuck down the hall past the living room, where her Grandma sat sipping tea and staring into the fire. As quietly as she could, Deliah made her way to the back door. On her tiptoes, she managed to pull down her raincoat and hat from their hook. She slowly slid out the back door, feeling proud to have made it outside unnoticed.

Outside, she was taken back by the scary storm. Nevertheless, she ran as fast as her legs would allow to the dock to see if she could see Papa's boat coming in. She could almost hear Papa whisper “Happy birthday, little lady” as she imagined him running up the riverbank to greet her. She stood, getting pounded by the rain, searching the dark sky for….

“Papa!” she shrieked. She saw the boat not far from the dock; it was tipped over and bobbing slightly on its side. Deliah felt sick but ran to the end of the dock.

“Papa!” she screamed over and over toward the boat, her voice a mere whisper in the wild wind. It was foggy and dark except for a couple lights on the dock.

“Papa! Papa!” she screamed, clinging to the end of the dock.

On her knees, she scanned the water with her eyes. She cried in horror as she saw something float by. It was Papa's raincoat…. It was….

She stood, turned, and took off running. She slammed into her grandmother, who appeared right behind her. Grandma took one look at the body in the water and hugged Deliah so tightly that Deliah thought she might break. She couldn't tell if it was tears or the rain streaming down Grandma's face. Deliah wiggled loose. Gripping the dock tightly, she reached out for Papa.