My dear readers, the story that I am about to tell you it’s a magical one, so if you don’t believe in magic please be so kind not to read it. But if there’s at least one tiny part of you that tells you, you might like my story then you should allow me to guide you into the magical world it belongs to.
Everything began in a small kingdom that was so far away from the ordinary world we live in, that most people don’t even know it exists. Perhaps not even you know about its existence.
This kingdom was called The Land of the Crystal, and it was populated by the most little, but adorable creatures that God ever created. A person who has at least a little knowledge about the magical world, would call these creatures Lilyaneeks, but to the rest of us, they’ve been introduced as fairies. They have been populating The Land of the Crystal since ever and I am sure they still do it today. And because their kingdom is unknown for almost everybody, people have not spoiled it, like they’ve done with other corners of the world. And how could have they? This kingdom would have seemed so small to the human eye that even if they would have gotten to it, humans had probably not even seen it. And that is a shame for this small country is nothing less than enchanting.
Its secret borders are guarded by a grand waterfall whose thick curtain of water has hidden the Lilyaneeks’ homeland for ages. After you pass it, you find yourself in a mysteriously beautiful tunnel where gorgeous purple flowers grow into the cracks of the rocky mountain. And if you look really close you can see tiny little drawings on the walls of the tunnel. But then again, they are so small that most people would probably ignore them.
The drawings announce you that you are about to enter into The Land of the Crystal, and if you follow them, they lead you to a little wooden gate whose hinges are made of gold. The gate is nothing less than the entrance itself to the Lilyaneeks’ land. Its hasp has a little creature with butterfly wings drawn on it. And if you truly believe in magic the only thing you have to do is pull the hasp and the door will open for you, to let the most wonderful sight delight your eyes.
The Land of the Crystal is bordered on the west by the Twilight Sea, an expansion of water which stretches far beyond what the human eye can spot. And right over the horizon line, snow-white seagulls are caught in their own cheerful game: you are only permitted to catch a glimpse of them before they dart into the sea just so they can raise out of the water the following instant.
The Lilyaneeks who live on that part of the kingdom are called Aquaneeks or Water Fairies if you will. They spend their days collecting pearls from the sea or catching a type of small fish whose name I can’t specifically write nor pronounce.
Their houses are made of corals and are placed right on the beach, very close to the calm waves which caress the shore.
On the south border we can see the beautiful Ebony Mountains with their peaks bathing into the sun. For the Lilyaneeks they are immense, but for us they would not seem any larger than average hills.
They are covered by the thickest forest imaginable, with trees that grow higher and higher, always stretching towards the sky, as if they’d wish to touch it. On the soil, beautiful plants and flowers of all colors are free to weave for the timber a bright and perfumed carpet.
Here, as all over The Land of the Crystal, the Lilyaneeks live in harmony with the animals that surround them. And there are lots of animals in the Emerald Forest, but the ones that enjoy playing with the fairies the most are the butterflies; beautiful butterflies with large colorful wings. Sometimes they even compete in beauty with the Lilyaneeks who in this part of the country are called Timmerneeks. What they do all day long is take care of their main home, the forest; they collect the dead leaves, spread the plants’ seeds and help the animals in need.
Their houses are built up in the trees and are, naturally, made of wood.
Then there is also the Eastern part of The Land of the Crystal, the Valley of Lynah. Here live the most praised of the Lilyaneeks, the Ghodianeeks. They are the ones who create all the four seasons in the kingdom, in the same order that they succeed each other.
The Ghodianeeks live in gorgeous castles built on both sides of the Ghodi River, which is in fact merely a thin band of water that wriggles throughout the country, before finally rendering its waters to the Twilight Sea.
Even though there are only a few people who know about the Lilyaneeks’ existence, don’t be confused in thinking that they haven’t heard about us. Oh no, our presence on this planet has not been hidden from them. Some have even seen us. Of course, we aren’t aware of it because nowadays the ones who bother in admiring the small details are rare. In spite of this, the fairies have not spotted the flaws of the human mind; as a matter of fact there are those who even admire us.
Believe it or not, for the Lilyaneeks even the most ordinary person could be fascinating. They look up on the wonders we’ve created, such as the Sphinx, and also on the manner we organize things in our world. And isn’t it just marvelous how in spite of their great admiration for us, they have not wanted even once to make their homeland a little more like ours? Well, I find it spectacularly beautiful that a spectator can limit himself in being just that; a spectator.