I do believe in fairies... Do you?
All hell seems to break lose when Chloe's fairy-heart clashes with a spirit called Realismo... How can magic save the day?
Hi darlings, hope you're well ✨
This morning, lots of ideas were bubbling in my mind - what theme should I choose for this week's article? I let nature guide me (yep, I'm writing to you from a sunny garden).
I close my eyes and focus my attention on the sounds around me. I hear birds singing. I imagine an orchestra conductor leading them, "now it's your turn, pigeon!", "magpies, it's YOUR moment". At the same moment, a breeze, both light and powerful, tickles my shoulder blades. I realize she's the conductor 🌬
Then, I hear a refrain creep into my ear: "I do believe in fairies, I do, I do!" I remember hearing those words in a movie... but which one? 🤔
Thanks to my buddy Google, I discover that the film in question is Peter Pan, released in 2003.
In this part of the film, Peter brings Tinkerbell back to life by assuring her that he believes in her.
Ok, that makes the topic of the day a no-brainer...
I have a confession to make: I believe in magic 🪄
And yet, believe me, I've tried to resist it...
Once upon a time, there was Chloé, a little girl born in 1989 in the Kingdom of Belgium. Inside her heart was a little fairy with golden skin.
When she was born, a spirit bent over her cradle. His name was Realismo. "I'm here to watch over you," the spirit whispered. "You have to adapt to life among humans, and I'm here to make sure you do."
Like all children, Chloe didn’t think reality was fun enough, and she developed a parallel universe full of myths, enchantment and magic. In this universe, lions could talk, witches could turn rude princes into monsters, and squirrels could form rock bands. In this universe, she knew she was going to receive her letter to Hogwarts and save the world with the Fellowship of the Ring.
"Ok, I've got nothing to worry about," Realismo said to himself at the time. "Chloe only believes in magic that comes from fiction, so everything's fine." Still, feeling a little weak, the spirit decided to start working out. "You never know," he repeated to himself.
In the meantime, Chloe's parallel universe was beginning to mingle more and more with reality. As a child, her best buddy was a lizard called Cerise, and a tribe of "Babelen wolves" lived in her garden. As a teenager, she was convinced she was going to marry her favorite star, while she managed to meet a few of her idols.
"Well, it's not so bad," the spirit thought. "Chloe is still very young... It's normal for her to create imaginary worlds and to believe in absurd dreams." However, Realismo continued to build up his muscles. "You never know," he repeated to himself.
As a young adult, Chloe was admitted to a foreign university, which enabled her to live “adventures in the great wide somewhere” (🫖). A little later, she started working at... Disney (hmm), before spending several months in the country of all her (then) fantasies: the United States.
"Well... she's getting a bit old for this crap, but she seems to be down-to-earth enough," Realismo thought. "She works in a big company, she has a decent salary and her own apartment... it could be worse. Besides, I know she doesn't really believe in magic." Then again, the spirit kept on working on his muscles. "You never know," he repeated to himself.
Realismo was right: if you'd asked her back then, Chloe would have told you that she didn't believe in magic. According to her, this concept was either attached to fictional stories or to strict and simplistic dogmas.
The young woman didn't realize that she possessed magical powers. Realismo had become so muscular in recent years that the fairy in her was beginning to suffocate.
However, although less exuberant, she was still present. Despite Realismo's best efforts to silence her, the fairy was particularly reawakened when Chloe discovered coaching. The months spent training were dreamy: at last, she had found her “thing”, her calling. Still on cloud nine, she met a man she thought was Prince Charming (emphasis on the word "thought" 🤪).
Realismo knew that the young woman's love life was her kriptonite, and he saw this moment as a great opportunity to gain the upper hand over the fairy.
"You see, my dear... that this man doesn't love you! that dreams aren't meant to be fulfilled! that magic doesn't exist!" he forced into Chloe's head.
The little fairy fell into gloom, while the glitter fell off one by one from her shimmering costume.
Realismo was so happy. At last, he could take control of Chloe. At last, he could protect her.
The years that followed were tumultuous. With Realismo in control of her mind and a dimmed fairy in control of her heart, Chloe didn't know which way to turn.
She started looking for clarity and realism everywhere in order to satisfy the monarch's desires, but she systematically went back on her decisions.
"She'll figure it out eventually," the fairy thought. "I'm sending her all kinds of signals to convince her to stop collaborating with this monster.”
Cohabitation was long and arduous... until Realismo realized that his methods were repetitive and ineffective. As long as the fairy didn't cooperate with him, he couldn't achieve his goals.
After ignoring her all these years, he decided to confront her.
"Fairy, I've had enough. Let me do my job. I just want what's best for her. She lives in a cruel world, she has to adapt to it!"
"Realismo, you have to understand something: I live in Chloe's heart and I'll never leave it, no matter what. Even if I wanted to leave, I wouldn't be able to. Even weakened, I'm still here. But I have to admit I’m surprised by your words... You want to protect her? I thought you were a bad guy, but your intentions are more honorable than I though they were.”
"Of course I want what's best for her! Unlike you, who constantly endangers her with your crazy ideas. Because of you, she wants to visit super-dangerous countries. Because of you, she has no financial stability. Because of you, she's always chasing after so-called Princes Charming who are really just mirages!"
"It's my nature, it's her nature to follow her heart and make irrational decisions... And until you accept that, Chloe’s mind will be full of dilemmas. Until you accept me, Chloe won't really be who she's meant to be in this life."
"Mmmm, I must confess I don't know what to do anymore... we're at a dead end, aren't we?"
"Let me think... 🤔 What if we formed an alliance? Let me do my thing, and you can be my ally. We can even schedule a few meetings to decide Chloe's fate together. We'll drink cinnamon hot chocolate by the fire. How does that sound? Oh, and I can also share my biodegradable glitter kit with you, so we can match!"
"Uh, let’s calm down with the glitter... But I’m up for all the rest. Let's team up."
As the fairy’s and spirit’s hands touched, Chloe felt her heart glow.
Little birds started singin in her ears: "I do believe in fairies, I do, I do".
😉
PS- if you too believe in fairies, or if you'd like to believe in them again, please reply to this e-mail so we can plan a first session together. It's my job to wake up your dreams ;)