A Fairy's Guide to Disaster by A W Hartoin

my stomach. It didn’t seem possible. We’d found Gerald. I feared that if I blinked he’d disappear.
    “Is that him?” asked Soren.
    I nodded ever so slightly.
    “Matilda, you should go to him.”
    “He’s not moving,” I said, searching for any sign of life.
    Soren lowered his head beside mine. “He’s breathing. We can hear him.”
    A whoosh of breath came out of my lungs and I wobbled a little with relief.
    Soren tilted his head closer to mine. “You can’t hear very well, can you?”
    I nodded and, for once, I wasn’t embarrassed. My hearing didn’t matter. I’d found Gerald and he wasn’t dead. I wasn’t the worst babysitter ever in the history of the world, only moderately terrible, and I could live with that.
    Then a flash of anger passed through me. “I’m going to kill that little stink fairy.”
    Soren laughed. “That didn’t take long.”
    “He made me worry so much. I’ll just… I don’t know what I’ll do.” I was so relieved, so mad, and so altogether exhausted I felt loose and limp.
    “You’re happy.” Soren wrapped his arms around me and squeezed.
    “Happy? I’m not happy. He’s a jerk. Look at all the trouble he’s caused.” I stomped my feet on the metal, making little clinking noises.
    When I said “jerk,” Gerald stirred. He raised his head as I was stomping my feet. His eyes grew large and wandered around, looking at the dryads. I stopped stomping and put my hands on my hips. What did he mean by running away and causing so much trouble? Stink fairy. Worthless know-it-all. I spread my wings to fly over, but as soon as I did, Gerald shuffled out of sight back between the paper boards.
    “Oh, no! Gerald!” I yelled.
    I zipped over and landed between the boards myself. I looked down the narrow passageway he’d run into and could make out some movement, but, of course, couldn’t hear anything. The last thing I wanted to do was walk down that long corridor in the dark without knowing what might be at the other end. On the other hand, it was my chance to snag Gerald. That stink fairy wasn’t going to get away if I had to walk through a tunnel filled with cats.
    “Gerald. It’s me.”
    He didn’t materialize, so I crept into the tunnel. I ran my hand over the paper wall to my right. After my eyes adjusted, I could make out a picture on the wall of humans holding instruments and grinning like lunatics. At the end of the passage, Gerald appeared, or a form about his size. He was standing with his wings up. It was just like little Gerald to try to be intimidating, despite his shaking wings. When I got closer I could see that his whole body was shaking, too.
    “Gerald, it’s me. Matilda.”
    Gerald didn’t answer, but backed up a step. He looked as if he wasn’t sure whether to run to me or run away.
    “Gerald. Come here this instant.”
    I sounded like my mother on a bad day. I don’t know why I used that voice or why it worked, but Gerald stopped shaking and stomped his foot.
    “Don’t order me around,” he said.
    “Don’t be an idiot,” I replied.
    “I’m not an idiot. You’re the stupid one. Stupid fairy.”
    “Stink fairy.”
    With that, Gerald ran to me. He flung himself into my arms so hard we fell to the ground.
    “I wasn’t sure it was really you,” he said.
    “What convinced you?” I asked, sitting up.
    “Nobody else calls me Stink Fairy, except your fat sister.”
    I rested my head on Gerald’s. “Stop calling Iris fat.”
    “Stop calling me Stink Fairy.”
    That was a tough one, since he was a stink fairy, and I sort of enjoyed calling him that.
    “If I must,” I said, standing up and pulling him to his feet.
    “She is fat, you know,” Gerald said.
    “Why does it matter?” I took his hand and led him back down the corridor toward the dryads.
    Gerald shrugged. “It doesn’t. I’m just saying.”
    “Well, don’t.”
    Gerald shrugged again as we came out into the light to face the dryads on the water fountain. They cheered,