Alexa's Discovery LbNA #45674

This box is a gift from Blackvelvetrav. The location is somewhat of a puzzle. The walk is less than a mile.

It was a beautiful day, and Alexa got permission from her mother to go out and play. As she entered the peaceful garden of international significance, she walked in the direction that the young lady beckoned. She stopped to drink from the fountain, then went into the gazebo in India’s garden, to lay down on a bench and listen to the lovely song of a bird. She waved to Ghandi, and looked to the huge tree on her right for the bird. Alexa suddenly noticed a quick flicker of light. At first she thought it was a ray of sunshine peaking through the tree branches, but she looked again and saw a tiny flicker of purple light. It looked like a firefly, but that couldn't be. A firefly’s light isn’t purple, and they don’t live in Utah.

Alexa glanced toward the bottom of the tree and noticed a small hole. It looked as if it were going straight down into the ground. Her Mother had read a story to her about tiny enchanted caverns that exist on the inside of hollow trees. These caverns were said to be the home of the fairies. Alexa loved to hear fairy stories -- tales about small feathery-light creatures ... tiny beings who spent their time fluttering among the flowers and dancing in the trees. Sometimes, in the glow of a full moon, they had been seen standing tiptoe on windowsills sneaking glances through open windows. She had never actually seen a fairy, but Alexa was always on the lookout for one.

All of the sudden, the light came rushing towards her. Startled, she stood up and jumped away. Whoosh ... a flash whizzed out and flew up into the branches, then back into the gazebo.

Alexa closed her eyes tightly, rubbed them with her hands, and slowly opened them back up. She thought she was imagining things, but there it was, dancing in the trees. In an instant, the light stopped buzzing and stayed in place, but it was still floating in the air. When it was just a few inches from her face, Alexa realized the light was a living being with a tiny little face and body and delicate white wings. "It's a fairy!" Alexa thought to herself. "It's a real live fairy."

With the purple light flickering, the fairy began to jump and frolic and move around Alexa in a circle. "She’s dancing", Alexa thought to herself. All that could be heard was the fluttering of her wings. Alexa clapped her hands, and happily followed the fairy down the steps. The 2 dragons guarding the entrance to the Chinese Garden began breathing fire, and the fairy led her westward on the gravel path to go behind the dragons. As she skipped with the dancing fairy, a hill with trees was to her left, and a small bridge with red railing on her right. Alexa’s laughter echoed through the garden, and she thought she heard a faint giggle from the fairy. They came to a hill with a stone “bench” on top. They walked on past it, to the row of arbors, and sat on the wooden bench of the arbor, next to a pond. A mermaid was sitting in the sun, and greeted them with laughter. Dolphins splashed in the water.
It seemed as though the fairy had carried her off to a faraway enchanted land, scattered with colorful flowers. Sparkling silver castles sat on the high lofty mountains set in clouds, far beyond the gardens. From where she sat, Alexa saw the 2 lions sitting at the entrance to Vietnam.
The fairy beckoned Alexa to follow her down the arbor isle through Denmark, to the paved path. They went left (S/W) and passed Finland on the right, where unicorns grazed on the green grass. At the Japanese garden, groups of elves in their little red caps, were gathered together whispering near the bridge, and water pixies were skipping across the Jordan River. Taking the path left, from the bridge, Gnomes were polishing the plaque between the 2nd an 3rd tree along the river, for babies who had died from SIDS. This was all more beautiful than any story Alexa had ever heard. It was a dream within a dream. The stories in her fairy books would never again sound the same and she wanted to stay forever.

They approached the fluffy pine tree on the other side of the path from the plaque, and to the right of the light post. Then the fairy fluttered on past this tree, to the Juniper tree and entered a “hole” in the branches about 4 ft. up from the ground. She slipped into a black pouch resting in the upper left branches.

"Wake up, Alexa, it's time to go inside!"

Alexa slowly opened her eyes. She felt dizzy, and she rubbed her eyes. She glanced around the garden, and realized that she was lying in India’s gazebo.

Sitting up, she saw her mother walking towards her. "Wake up, it's dinner time," Momma said.

"Dinner?!" Alexa exclaimed.

Alexa quickly looked around to see where the fairy was, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Where is she?" she asked.

"Who?" Momma replied.

"The fairy! Where did she go?"

Momma smiled and said, "Oh, Alexa, you were only dreaming. Come on, let's go home.

Alexa rose from the ground and began to follow Momma to the house. Before closing the door, Alexa looked back at the magic garden one more time. She didn't see the fairy nor the flickering light. But she knew that she didn't imagine it. She had seen the fairy and knew that she was still there. Perhaps she had flown back into the tree when she heard Momma calling. Fairies are very shy, you know.

"Tomorrow," Alexa said to herself. "Maybe she'll come back and we can play again tomorrow."

Please be sure to zip all bags and rehide well, being careful with the tree.