Mommy was a tiny fairy with soft silver wings. She lived in the Illusion Chamber, a round room full of friendly magic. One wall looked like a blue sky. One wall looked like a green meadow. The floor sometimes looked like a puddle, but it was dry. Mommy liked to whisper, “Hello, magic room.”
Every morning, the Illusion Chamber made bright colors. Red apples popped on the sky wall. Yellow suns bounced on the floor. Purple flowers danced by the door.
But one morning, everything was gray.
Gray wall. Gray floor. Gray flowers.
“Oh,” said Mommy. Her little voice was quiet. Mommy was kind and a bit shy. Big surprises made her wings wiggle. Still, she wanted to help.
Then Swan glided from behind a gray cloud. Swan had white feathers and a long, gentle neck. He was Mommy’s best friend. He was calm when Mommy felt small.
“Quack?” asked Swan.
“The colors are gone,” said Mommy.
A thin laugh swirled around the room.
“Hee-hee-hee!”
On the ceiling appeared Illusionist. He wore a shiny coat with too many pockets. His hat was tall. His smile was twisty.
“I borrowed the colors!” said Illusionist. “Now my tricks are the grandest tricks ever!”
He snapped his fingers. A gray rabbit hat appeared. A gray balloon floated up. A gray cake said, “Bloop.”
“That is not very grand,” said Swan softly.
Illusionist frowned. “It is grand!” He spun around and vanished in a puff of gray mist.
Mommy looked at Swan. “How can we find him?”
Swan tapped the floor with one webbed foot. Tap, tap. A tiny golden feather lay there. It glowed.
“A clue!” said Mommy.
The feather floated to the sky wall. The wall opened like a curtain. Behind it was a long hall with upside-down lamps. The lamps made silly shadows. Mommy’s shadow had seven noses. Swan’s shadow wore boots.
Mommy giggled. “Your boots are big!”
“Quack,” said Swan. He sounded proud.
They followed the golden feather. It led to a mirror pond. In the pond, Mommy saw a dragon. Swan saw a boat. But when they looked up, there was no dragon and no boat.
“Only a trick,” said Mommy. She took Swan’s wing. “We look with our real eyes.”
Behind the mirror pond was a small door. The feather flew through its keyhole.
Mommy felt nervous. The door was dark and tall.
“I can do a little fairy light,” she said.
Mommy had never made a light in a dark place before. Her hands shook. Swan stood close beside her.
“Try, Mommy,” he said.
Mommy breathed in. “Glow, glow, little light.”
Pop!
A warm pink light bloomed above her hand. It was tiny, like a berry. Then it grew bright, like a happy moon.
“I did it!” cried Mommy.
The door opened.
Inside was Illusionist’s trick room. Jars stood on shelves. One jar held red. One held yellow. One held blue. Green, orange, purple, and pink were there too. The colors bumped the glass and called, “Let us out! Let us out!”
Illusionist sat by the jars. He looked sad.
“My tricks look dull,” he mumbled. “I thought keeping every color would make me special.”
Mommy’s pink light shone on his face. She could see he was lonely.
“Colors like to play,” Mommy said. “They do not like to be trapped.”
“But I want a wonderful show,” said Illusionist.
Swan gave a gentle quack. “We can make one together.”
Illusionist blinked. “Together?”
“Yes,” said Mommy. “You can make funny things appear. Swan can dance. I can make my new fairy light. And the colors can shine everywhere.”
Illusionist opened the red jar. Red zoomed out like a fast little bird. He opened yellow, blue, green, orange, purple, and pink. The colors whooshed around the room.
Red painted a bright apple. Yellow made a sunny star. Blue made a twinkly pond. Green made a leafy crown for Swan. Purple made a cape for Mommy. Orange made Illusionist’s hat sparkle.
Then they went back to the Illusion Chamber.
Illusionist waved both hands. “Ta-da!”
A rainbow bridge appeared. Swan danced across it in his big shadow boots. Mommy floated above, holding her warm pink light. The colors swirled and sang, “Red! Yellow! Blue! Hello!”
The walls cheered. The floor made tiny golden stars.
For being brave, Mommy received a special treasure: a little lantern shaped like a flower. It held her very own fairy glow. Whenever anyone felt scared in the Illusion Chamber, Mommy could light it.
Mommy hugged Swan. “We did it.”
Illusionist bowed. “Best show ever.”
And from that day on, the Illusion Chamber was bright, silly, and full of colors again.
Mommy’s flower lantern glowed: pink, pink, pink.
“Goodnight, magic room,” whispered Mommy.
The room whispered back, “Goodnight, brave little fairy.”