678 June Road

I wrote this story because some of the neighborhood kids and I are particularly afraid of this abandoned house on our street. I thought we were probably just getting the wrong impression of it. Now that there is a happy story about that house, we don’t have to be afraid of it anymore (especially when walking past it at night). I changed up the address of the house a bit, just to protect the identity of where I live. 😉

Well, I have to start this story with once upon a time, don’t I? It’s the rules. See, the thing here is, I am not one to follow the rules. I am a rebel. And that is why I will start my story differently.

It all happened about fifty years ago. I was excited, because we were moving to a new house. I loved the pictures of my bedroom, and was overjoyed to finally get to see it in person. I had to memorize my new address, but it wasn’t too hard. 678 June Road was pretty easy. I burst in the front door, ready to have some fun. But unpacking and setting up and overall getting settled in wasn’t fun at all. So I went on a walk.

It wasn’t until I was almost home that I realized how dark it was. And then I saw her. A girl my size and age. With wings. Real wings. I stared at her, dumbfounded. She danced a block away from my house with nothing but the moonlight and a streetlamp to show her. She seemed to sense my presence, and turned to look at me. Then she beckoned me over. I barely managed to take a few stiff steps in her direction.

“My name is Clarity,” the girl whispered. “I understand how confused you must be feeling right now, but right now you really should be getting home. The werewolves are coming.” I almost believed Clarity. Almost, but not quite. Maybe she was referring to a sibling of hers?

“What werewolves?” I asked.

“Haven’t you noticed?” said Clarity. “Tonight is a full moon.”

“I know that,” I spat. “I’m not stupid. But werewolves don’t exist.”

“They do,” Clarity argued.

“Prove it,” I sniffed, nose in the air. Clarity made no movement, except for her mouth. She said, “I am not human.” And I just got it. Of course she wasn’t human. She was magical. That meant magic was real. That meant werewolves could be, too.

“Then what are you?” I asked.

“I am a Lafavender,” said Clarity.

“A laugh what?” I asked.

“Lafavender,” Clarity pronounced clearly. “Lafavenders are only girls and are pretty much like human-sized fairies.”

“So… werewolves are bad?” I asked, feeling I already knew the answer.

“Well, yes, but they won’t hurt you if you hum a tune,” Clarity smiled. “I’d explain more, but I don’t have time. I’ll meet you outside your house in the bushes tomorrow morning at 11:00 sharp.”

“Okay,” I said, and turned to leave. “But wait-” I turned back. Clarity was gone. How do you know where I live, I thought. I hummed all the way home.

I tried to put my clothes away in my closet that night, but it wouldn’t open. There was no keyhole. It was simply locked. I didn’t think much of it at the time.

At 11:00 sharp the next morning, I scrambled into the bush in my front yard to find Clarity. She explained all about the magical world, and most of it sounded like the stuff out of fairy tales. The only difference was, to keep away any bad, hum. The louder you hum, the more protective your “spell” will be. And if you dance to your humming, it is even more protective. The most powerful protection is to hum and dance along to a song you are listening to.

Months passed by, and Clarity became my secret best friend. One night, on the way walking home, I forgot to hum. There was a rustling in the bushes, and I glimpsed two bright eyes. Werewolf eyes, I thought. The werewolf came closer and closer to me. My brain froze. I couldn’t remember what to do. Then, as the werewolf charged me, I remembered. I whipped out my music listening device Clarity had given me, and started blasting music. I hummed and started dancing just as the werewolf, five feet away from me, pounced. A bubble formed around me, and in midair, the werewolf hit the bubble and bounced off of it. I was safe! I ran home, dancing along the sidewalk all the way.

A month later, Clarity came to me with bad news.

“Is there a closet in your house that is locked?” she asked me.

“Yes, in my room,” I said.

“Oh, dear,” Clarity muttered to herself.

“What?” I asked, alarmed.

“That is the entrance to the magical world. It has been missing for a while now, but now that it has been found, I’m afraid you’ll have to move out,” Clarity explained sadly.

“What? No! I love my house now!” I exclaimed.

“I will convince your parents of it,” said Clarity. “They can sell the house to the creatures of the magic world.”

“You wouldn’t do that to me, Clarity,” I exclaimed.

“I’m afraid I have no choice,” said Clarity.

The next day, my parents told me we were moving as soon as the house sold. I payed a visit to Clarity later that day.

“How could you?” I screamed at her.

“I had to! For the magic world’s sake!” Clarity screamed back. We fought until finally, I stormed off. Tears streaming down my face, I ran home.

Two weeks later, I still hadn’t talked to or seen Clarity. We had decided to sell the house to a rich man for a lot of money. I thought about Clarity that day I found out. That night, I found a note on my nightstand. It read:

I’m sorry. I need you to do a favor for me. Convince your parents to move out, but to not sell your house. It is too hard for us magical creatures to compete with the folks with so much money.

Signed,

A friend

I knew it was from Clarity. Even though I was mad at her, I convinced my parents to keep the house but move out. It was a lot of tough work, and I had a feeling Clarity was helping me with her magic. I had to make sure the house seemed abandoned so no one would go inside it and discover the magical world, but I also wanted to keep it looking at least a little bit nice for the magical creatures. Clarity even wrote me a letter to thank me and tell me that she will always watch over my old neighborhood because of my good deed. Even now that I am an old lady, I still send people back to mow the lawn for me, and do a little bit of cleanup. No one ever suspects a thing. I’m glad I’m friends with Clarity again. And every now and then, I go back and pay the magical creatures a visit.