Babe Visits Humanity
by Connell Mathews
Once upon a time in the Forest of Destiny there was a fairy named Babe. Babe had golden hair and green eyes and a special gift called heartshine; if you were unhappy and Babe smiled at you, you would feel wonderful, at least for a little while…anyway… Babe lived on a grassy knoll under a willow tree where she hung the treasures she found in the Forest of Destiny.
One day Babe woke up very early in the morning. She had no plans, she didn't feel like going anywhere, but her wings were fluttering. Babe put on her cape and said sternly to her wings, “Calm down, take it easy-- hey what if I sing?” But something was urging her wings to flutter and fly for no matter how she coaxed them to stop they just kept waving, and waving --- lots.
Babe sighed, "Oh, wings leave me be. I don't want to go anywhere, don’t you see."
She shook out her pea pod and left opened the flaps, then tried to lie down to take a nap. But as she did, her wings fluttered, and fluttered, lifting her up, up, up.
Babe moaned, "Stop. Stop wings, don't you see, I just want to relax."
She put on her fairy glasses, they were brown with beige spots and she thought, “Hummm, I wish I were a leopard and didn’t have these wings-- I could rest on my back and have some peace.” “I wonder, I just wonder, indeed,” she said aloud as she tried even harder to make her wings settle down. Just then, there came a strong sunbeam.
She called out to Mr. Sun, "Hey, are you playing with me? Are you the one making my wings wiggle and waggle like a bee’s?"
Mr. Sun beamed back, "I don’t think so, but maybe your wings are trying to tell you something you just can’t see.”
Babe tried to lean back in her pod, ”Is there something amiss in the Forest?”
Mr. Sun looked around, “Nothing I can see, everything seems just right, not a storm, nor a sneeze. But oh no, there I see over the mountains, past the ocean, on the island of Manhattan there’s a big commotion--- It’s the humans, they’re smoking--- there’s a fire, noooo--- they’re having a fight. My oh my, this is not right.”
Babe shouted, “What is it? Can you see?” as she threw off her cape setting her wings free. “I wonder, I wonder if there is anything I can do to help those humans muddle through?”
Mr. Sun looked down at Babe, “Little one, all you can do is pray.”
Babe replied, “I think, I think, I should go see. Maybe there is something I can do to bring peace.”
Mr. Sun called to Babe as she flew with sprite, “Please don’t go, for humans, their days are now dark nights. And if you don’t have a guide, you’ll never come back, and remember that lions roam those mountains in packs.”
But Babe couldn’t stop. Now she had a mission. She packed her fairy satchel and off she flew. Through the meadows, by the king’s palace, through the deep woods, under the waterfall, she flew and she flew letting her wings guide her well, “I don’t understand these humans. Fighting--- it is hell.”
Finally, she reached the Mountains of Seperatis. All she had to do was follow the Running River and cross the Downy Peaks, there she would find the island named Manhattan and all of humanity. But as she flew by the river’s mouth and reached into the Downy Peak, the sky grew gray, smoke made Babe choke and everything seemed to fade. Babe looked for a sign, but there was no Mr. Sun, nor Mr. Moon, the stars were blackened and she felt doomed. If she crossed over the mountains without a sign, Babe might get lost and never ever be able to return to the forest. She shuttered and wondered, “What am I to do? There’s no path, there are no clues.”
Just then, from out of the smoke came a lion. Babe peered at him and all his might. His thick mane glowed with a nice sheen, and he walked around her like a breeze. Babe flew high into the smoke hoping to get away, but it made no difference, his figure stayed.
Babe said, “I am Babe and who are you?” But the lion didn’t reply he just stared in her eyes.
His remained fixed and he suddenly growled, “Where are you going? Don’t you know about the towers?”
Babe stared at him, her eyes to his, “What towers? All I know is that there was a fight, my wings were fluttering all through the night. They have taken me here, and now I’m stuck, worst of all…. alas, I think, I am lost.”
The lion shook his mane, and showed his teeth, “On the island of Manhattan there was a terrible disaster--- men used the machines they created to take life away. The people of the earth are all up in arms, and everyone, everywhere, is afraid.”
Babe cried, tears dripped from her eyes, she could feel the lion’s pain. ”I want to go there, to the land of the humans, to see for myself, to see if there is anything I can do.”
But the lion said, “Don’t you see Babe, you can’t leave. You are not human, you are fantasy.”But Babe said, “I know what I am, but I also know of man. I know that they have dreams. I also know that finding a lost hat or a falling star or a kiss on the cheek or a tear in the eye is like magic to a human heart. And, I can only imagine the human magic that is taking place on Manhattan. I’d like to see it in action, even if it’s just for a minute. Just think, maybe, maybe, after this is over, some magic will linger among mankind so that years from now they will live in peace, without anyone to finger or a human that needs the ringer.”
The lion laughed at Babe’s silly rhyme, “I’ll tell you how to get there, but it will only last a night, for when the human sun rises you must close your eyes. If you don’t, you will fade away. The sun’s rays will become your grave.”
Babe fluttered her wings, and she sat inside his ear. She fell off to sleep where she rode without fear.
It was quite a while when Babe finally awoke. She sat on the rim of a hat, amidst lots and lots of smoke. She fluttered her wings and tried to fly, but they were frozen still. She looked for her fairy satchel to get her poppy stick to ride upon, but they had disappeared. Babe felt doomed. The lion was gone, and there she was, a speck upon a man’s hat, just a bit of dust in the sun.
The man held a briefcase in his arms and wore a beard, and a frown. His eyes were bloodshot and a little bit swollen, his lips were pressed together tight, they were peeling from dryness. Babe leaned over into his sights. But he couldn’t see her. She moved back up and sat on the hat. She wondered if he knew she was there, she wondered if it was just a dream, but her wondered ceased as she saw the devastated faces on the creatures of humanity.
She was in the thick of it, among the firefighters, and police, between the FBI and the scars of tragedy. She saw how gently they lifted soot, and beams, and passed bucket to bucket like leaves falling from trees. She watched as they touched each other’s shoulders, as they passed bottles of water, as they push back their tears and their fears, looking for others. Amazed, she gazed, unable to close her eyes, she watched past midnight and into the light.
Through the watching, she forgot the lion’s warning, but when daylight broke, the hat took flight.
Babe remembered the lion’s words and closed her eyes even though it hurt. When she awoke, she was under her tree, it was midnight in the Forest of Destiny. Mr. Moon looked down upon a dusty Babe and said, “My goodness, you are filthy, you are covered with clay.”
Babe looked up at Mr. Moon. She sat up and bent her knees, “I went to the land of humans today--- it was very unsettling and very strange. Their streets of concrete and tar were cracked, their buildings were bent, crawling on the ground like vines, their sheets of glass were like razors spit and split --- there was more---- The people on the streets wore suits that disappear into soot, and I could look inside them, see their feelings long and short. I could see their hearts, blue--- and strong---weeping and strained but moving on. I could see their eyes red and torn, from fear and longing going on too long. Their minds went white with wavering emotions of anger and pain --- There was so much disbelief, but there was relief --- for among the men and women that took to the streets, there was something between them as they could touch without having to speak. They were like rain, falling, but as they hit they ground they were together, a community out, strong, without struggle, melting, mending going on. It was a gift for me to see humans at their best.”
Babe paused, “I pray that this will be their last test.” Then she looked up at Mr. Moon. His eyes were closed, and he was nodding… me too….
9/22/2001
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