CIA= Contest Improvment Agency. Actual contest found here
*Edit* Okay, I have edited this, but I still think it needs help. I'll keep working on it.
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Jessica stirred when sunlight filtered through her curtains and landed on her closed eyes. She yawned and got up, her head still spinning from her dream. She hadn’t dreamed like that in ages. Not with actual characters and voices, usually her dreams were just jumbles.
She was still puzzling over it as she went to get the mail. When Jessica opened the front door, there was a bagful of hundred dollar bills on the front step. Her head spun again. She gripped the doorframe for support. Who had done this? Why was it there?
Getting over her shock, she took the money inside before anybody saw it was there. The bag must have been left recently, or else somebody on the street would have seen it and taken it.
Jessica rushed the bag up to her room and left it by her bed so it would be away from windows and prying eyes. Until she figured out what to do with the money, she didn’t want anybody to know it was there.
She looked through the bag with trembling hands, trying to put the ends together. There had to be at least ten thousand dollars in there. All of the bills she could see were hundred dollar ones. Jessica tapped her head, trying to get her brain to work. Where had she seen such wealth before?
Her dream.
It was still fresh in her mind, just as fresh as any memory. But maybe it hadn’t been a dream. Maybe, it had actually happened.
Jessica remembered walking home late, grumbling about her college prof and the work he assigned, and the dean that insisted she take Fine Art even though the class wasn’t part of her major. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t for how darn far the building was: an hour by bus, and it always stopped three blocks away from home unless she ducked through the woods, like she was doing now. Her backpack was loaded with homework assignments; Jessica knew she could kiss fun goodbye this weekend. Homework came first, and this load was enough to claim second and third place as well.
Walking down a small trail that would shave a few more minutes off her walk, Jessica paused when she heard music coming from the woods just beyond the trail. Curious, she ducked through the underbrush to see—people. The woods were usually abandoned at dusk, people fearing the night. But these people had lanterns to light the clearing with a soft yellow glow. They were dancing through the clearing—each doing their own thing yet coordinated with the others. Some had flutes, triangles and drums. They too danced in and out with the rest, while still able to keep perfect time. The woman wore long skirts and the men formal jackets. Jessica mostly saw a blur of pinks, teals and blues as the people wove around each other, laughing and singing. Their voices were like wind-chimes, their faces wrinkled with smiles.
She watched, soon becoming entranced with the music. Jessica stepped out of her hiding place then, surprising some of the people. They quickly got over their shyness though, and soon were inviting her to dance. The glow of the lanterns soon overpowered all light from the sun or moon. She couldn’t remember how long she had spent with them. Maybe it was a few hours, maybe a few days. All Jessica could keep track of was the beat of the music that spurred her to laugh and dance. Sometimes she found herself singing, her voice rough as always. The people hadn’t minded though. They had simply joined in.
After some time one of the older people, a man with a long white beard, give her something. A drink. He’d given her a drink. Jessica took it, and as soon as a few drops touched her throat things became a blur. She’d passed out in the woods, and when she’d woken up again, she was in her own bed.
Just as Jessica came out of the bathroom, still debating what to do with the money and wrestling with her dream, the phone rang. She grabbed it, ignoring the flash of new messages, and answered.
“Hello?”
“Jess? It’s me, Steve. Where have you been? I’ve been trying to call you all week!”
Her eyebrows shot up. She faked a cough. “Um, I was, sick. Really sick.” Jessica faked a cough again. “Just been able to answer the phone now.”
“Oh, sorry,” Steve said apologetically. “Get better soon, then. I’ve got the notes from the classes you missed, if you want them.”
She smiled. “I’d love them! Thanks!”
They said goodbye and hung up. Feeling slightly more awake Jessica checked the number of messages. Seventeen. It looked like she would be explaining herself to a lot of people. She sighed. How could she explain something without sounding like a nut?
At the thought of explaining things, Jessica’s mind wandered back to the money. How would anybody believe that she had just found this much money on her front step? Nobody in the block was that rich. Most people here, herself included, were just trying to find a place to live that was near the rez. They’d probably think she’d stolen it. That was the only explanation they would be able to find believable.
Jessica went back to the bag, wanting to see just how many bills she was dealing with.
Only leaves were inside.
Her jaw dropped. Jessica was sure there had been money inside before going into the bathroom. She reached in just to make sure the leaves went right down to the bottom of the bag. Not feeling any crisp edges of hundred dollar bills, she pulled her hand out.
Jessica grumbled about what dreams could do to her head as she took the bag of leaves and scattered them outside. She put the now empty bag beside her door, wondering if she had taken anything that might cause her to be seeing things. She could only remember taking Aspirin, and that certainly didn’t cause hallucinations.
Just as Jessica was about to turn away, something caught her eye. She looked inside the bag again and saw a gold coin at the very bottom. She picked it up, just to make sure it was real, and looked at it in the morning light.
Remember…
She heard the word somewhere between her ears and her brain, no louder then a whisper.
A smile spread across her face. She only knew of one group that could change money into leaves. Jessica laughed, realizing who the people in the woods had been.
Fairies.
She chuckled and slipped the coin into her jeans pocket. Maybe they had just given her that to play a joke, maybe just to prove it had really happened.
Jessica went outside and stretched her arms, feeling the wind pick up. Her smile broadened. The joy of the time spent with them came back, the feeling of release while dancing, her headache melting away after only a few minutes of having fun. Sheer ecstasy welled up inside of her, and she twirled in the wind, letting her hair blow in front of her eyes and her feet get damp from dew. Jessica laughed, knowing that was the reason she had seen them. Now, she realized, she needed to have fun. Or else, nothing would work.
The wind began to die down and she stopped twirling. “I will remember,” she whispered to the breeze. “I promise.”
I quite enjoyed it and the use of fairies, I like fairies. As you know by all the fairy books I buy lol
