Alma the Puff-Haired Fairy
written by: Author B.A. Rose
Alma lived in the Fairy realm with her family. Everyone had long blonde or black hair, but not Alma. Her hair grew in a puff, and her siblings used to tease her. “Hey, cotton head, when is your hair gonna grow normal? You have to be adopted.”
This upset Alma very much, and she would flitter away to hide in a cave, crying with her head on her arms. Why was she so different? Why couldn’t she be like her siblings? Sometimes, she would stay there until her family fell asleep and then slip into her bedroom, falling asleep, tears staining her face.
One morning, she awoke to a commotion. “Where is she? Where is your daughter Alma?” Jumping out of bed, Alma ran to see who was making this ruckus. A big male fae stood there. He towered over her parents, and his cheeks were flushed with anger. Staring at him, her eyes widened, for his hair looked exactly like hers! She had never seen anyone similar to her. Curious, she walked up to him as her parents stepped aside. The man looked down at her, and his face changed instantly. No longer angry, his eyes twinkled with happiness.
Alma looked at her parents, who stood there quietly. Finally, the man looked at her father, who walked over to Alma, and he sighed. “Um, Alma, this man is your real father. Your mother thought he had died in the Fae war. Not long after, we met and married. We decided to raise you as mine since we figured you needed a father.” Her mother began to cry and wipe her face. “Oh Alma, I just wanted you to belong. I am so sorry.”
When Alma looked up at the other man, she smiled. “Finally, I know why my hair looks like this. What is your name, sir?” The man smiled down at his daughter. Her hair was exactly like his. He touched her face gently. “My name is Timothy Greythistle, and you are my eldest daughter, Alma Greythistle. I will tell you everything, but it is time to go home, child.” She looked at her mother and the man whom she thought was her father. “Do you want me to stay, Mother?” Eyes red from crying, her mother shook her head as she looked at the husband whom she thought had died all these years ago. “No, my sweet child. You belong with your father’s clan now. I love you and always will. I hope we can see each other from time to time, but you deserve to know who you truly are. I will miss you.” She looked at the man who was taking her daughter. “Forgive me, Tim. I thought you were gone forever. Please treat her well and let her come visit me.”
Timothy looked at the woman who he had loved at one time and nodded. “I will, Maeve. If Alma wants to visit, I won’t stop her. Now we must go. She needs to meet her other family and learn more of who she is.” With tears, Alma packed her things and, seeing her siblings still asleep, said a silent goodbye. She walked out to see her mother standing there and went to hug her tightly. Kissing her cheeks, Maeve walked her over to Timothy and gave him her hand. “Be blessed, my daughter, and I hope you find your place. Take care of her, Tim.” The large man nodded, and they walked out with him holding her belongings.
A year later, Alma was sitting on a tree branch singing. She smiled, thinking about what her father told her after coming to live here. Once they left her mother, he had taken her to his home, Trennigan Thicket, where she met his wife and children. They all had the same hair as her, and she felt accepted for the first time in her life.
A few days later, her father told her that he had, in fact, gone to war and left her mother, knowing she was pregnant, and not expecting to be gone very long. He fought for five years and got badly injured. Once recovered, he tried to get back home to her and her mother. Alma listened intently. Timothy continued. “I looked everywhere for you and your mother. She had moved from our home. When I finally found her address and went there, I saw a bunch of children and a man. The same one I met a year ago. I didn’t see you with those children. I thought Maeve had lost you. She was with another, and I realized she had thought I died and moved on. I decided it was best to leave things be.”
Alma took her father’s hand. “Then what made you come back if you thought I didn’t exist?” Timothy touched his daughter’s face, her eyes shining with unshed tears, and smiled warmly. Love in his eyes. “It seems fate stepped in. I saw an old friend from your town visiting here one day, and he said a girl there named Alma lived there, and that she looked like me. When he described you, I knew then that Maeve had birthed you and you lived. So I came straight away to claim you. I wanted to have my daughter, my flesh and blood, my eldest, with me. Are you angry I took you away, love?”
Moving into her father’s arms, tears fell freely now. “No, I will never be angry at you. You finally made me whole. I know who I am now. I would still like to visit ma once in a while if that’s okay.” Timothy chuckled and kissed her puffy head. “It will be fine, Alma, so long as you come back to the family you have here and me.”
Alma moved back to look into the same face as hers. A smile touched her lips. “I will always return. I am finally home.”
The End
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