Bird: Chirp.
Liberti makes her way down to the lake, her little bird friend fluttering along beside her.
Liberti: Still tryin' to cheer me up, eh?
Liberti: But I'm alright, really. Just give us a moment. I'll be right as rain in a tick.
Every child has their own secret hideaway, and whenever Liberti feels the urge to slip away, she finds her way here.
Many legends surround this spot. The grown-ups warn of the dreadful Jenny Greenteeth, who drags careless children into the lake to meet a watery end.
They also say mischievous fairies roam the area, stealing prized possessions from unwary children. They also say ...
As she thinks about it, Liberti realizes she's never actually encountered any of these creatures. Maybe they're nothing more than scary stories dreamt up by adults to keep their kids from straying too far away.
In which case, this quiet little haven really is all hers—a place no other children would try to claim, where Liberti can spend her time in peace before heading home for supper.
Liberti sits by the lake, pulling out the shopping list her father gave her, then ...
Liberti: Look. A little fold here, and it's done!
Liberti: Look at that, a little bird just like you! Like lookin' in a mirror, it is!
Bird: Chirp, chirp!
Liberti: I want to be like you, then I could fly, fly off somewhere else.
Liberti: Might be somewhere else. There's an exciting adventure waitin' for me, far away from all these worries.
Liberti: Could you take me there?
Bird: Chirp, chirp?
Liberti: Fair enough, s'pose that's askin' a bit much from a little thing like you. I was only teasin'.
Liberti: Remember me sayin' I wanted to introduce you to Ollie? He's a bird too. Just happens to be a rooster, that's all.
Liberti: See, people ain't too keen on Ollie's crowin' and wakin' 'em up in the morning, so I keep with him down in the cellar.
Liberti: Ollie always wakes me up bright and early, and then I go ahead and wake everyone else up, tappin' on folk's windows with a pole, right when I'm supposed to ...
As she reaches this point, Liberti's voice falters. Her hands slacken, and the little paper bird sags in her grip, feeling weight again as her energy wanes.
Liberti: But let me tell you a little secret.
Liberti: If I'm being straight, I don't really need Ollie to wake me up. Kippin' with him in the cellar just makes me feel more like home, y'know?
Liberti: Mum, Dad, and even Sarah. I know they love me, and I love 'em too. But sometimes, they're just, well, they're like what you saw.
Liberti: I don't get it. Why we can't all have a good laugh together now and then? We might not have much, but we could still be happy with what we got, couldn't we?
Liberti: What d'you reckon? Eh?
Silence settles around her. Liberti's new friend has vanished without a trace.
Liberti: Oh, well, cheerio for now. Coulda said a proper goodbye first. Wouldn't have killed ya.
Liberti: So, back on my lonesome again.
Liberti stretches out her arms and legs, sinking into the soft grass.
Feeling the breeze drift across her cheek, she imagines herself as a paper page, ready to be carried off by the flutter of the wind.
Liberti: Hang about. What's that?!
High among the tree branches above her, there is something lurking, hidden in the leaves.
Liberti: Yah. Oof!
A gust of wind lifts her skirt, and Liberti lets go of the branch, landing softly on the ground.
Liberti: You were tucked right outta sight up there. Good thing I don't mind climbin' trees! Let's have a butcher's ... What've we got 'ere?
Liberti: A pouch? Someone must've left it up there. It says ...
Liberti: ...
Liberti: Oh! I gotta say, this is proper clever.
Liberti: 'Cause I figure if it just said "Open Me," well, then I'd never open it. That'd be too obvious.
Liberti: If it said "Don't Open Me," I'd still think twice. It's a bit on the nose, innit?
Liberti: But this ...
Liberti: "Don't! Open Me" ...
Liberti: Nicely done. I'll bite.
???: Hello! Are you alright?
???: Why are you sleeping here? Wake up!
Liberti: Mmm, mornin'. That was a lovely nap.
Liberti: Oooh! Hold on, when did I nod off? Is it nighttime already?
Still drowsy, Liberti wakes herself up, springing up from the soft grass and glancing around in a daze at the girl standing beside her.
Girl: I do apologize. I hope I'm not interrupting. But, this isn't the safest spot for a nap, you know? Hasn't anybody ever warned you?
Girl: People say crafty fairies wander about out here, waiting to swipe your most precious possessions when you aren't watching.
Liberti: It's you.
The girl is one of the few children she's seen out in these woods. They've waved in passing before, yet never even told each other their names.
Liberti: I didn't think anyone who comes out here would believe all that.
Girl: But they're all real! Bluecaps, Jack Frost, the Girt Dog, Pistosaurs, Black Annis ... every one of them.
Girl: Though most of them aren't nearly as nasty as they say, you do get the odd troublemaker. You might wanna have a look if you're missing something.
Liberti: Let's have a look then, purse, shopping list ... yep, all here. I've not lost nothing.
Girl: Isn't this yours?
The girl pulls a very familiar pouch from her pocket. Its label dispels any lingering doubt.
Liberti: That? No, I found it up in a tree.
Liberti: Hang on, I remember now! It was right as I opened that pouch that I got all drowsy.
Girl: Erm, but doesn't it say "Don't! Open Me" on it?
Liberti: Yes! And who could resist openin' a bag that says "Don't! Open Me"? Come on now!
Girl: I suppose you have got a point.
The girl hands over the pouch. Liberti takes it.
Girl: But this is so ... curious.
Girl: It's the perfect sort of trap a pesky fairy would leave. Are you absolutely sure nothing's missing?
Liberti: I ... don't think so.
Girl: Well, alright then, if you say so.
Girl: Don't you think you ought to get back? You're always home before sunset, but it's well past that now.
Liberti: You're right. I've still gotta do the weekly shop, and I'm in for a proper earful tonight. But, wait, how'd you know that?
The girl clears her throat, looking somewhat bashful.
Girl: I always sneak a peek at you when you come around here, 'cause you can do "that" too, can't you?
Liberti: "That"? You mean ...
It takes only a second for Liberti to comprehend what the girl is talking about.
Sarah's scolding echoes in Liberti's mind, yet the strange girl looks at her with such expectant eyes.
Liberti: Wanna see?
Girl: Really?
The echoes are gone the next second.
Liberti: Of course!
Liberti: This oughta do.
Though her little blue bird friend is nowhere to be seen, the paper bird Liberti made remains close at hand.
She lifts it gently from the grass, resting it in the center of her open palm.
Liberti: Watch carefully.
Liberti: Hah!
Liberti throws the paper bird into the air.
At that moment, the wind rises.
A gust ruffles Liberti's dress and dances lightly through the girls' soft hair.
The little bird flies upward.
Girl: Wow! You called up the wind, just like that!
Liberti: Yes, but it only works on paper or cloth, an' only with light stuff. I can't budge nothin' heavy.
Girl: So, you're saying you never lifted yourself up and tried to fly?
Liberti: That's the long and short of it. I can't fly. Least, not yet.
Girl: That's a shame.
Girl: Still, though, what you can do is impressive all the same! Just think—there's probably no one who can throw a paper plane further than you!
Liberti blinks a few times as she mulls over the notion.
Liberti: Got a point there. Never thought of it like that. We'll have to try it next time!
Liberti: But promise me you'll keep mum about this, alright? My sis don't want me doin' "this" in front of people.
Girl: Of course. I'll keep quiet. But what's the fuss, anyway? We were just flying a paper bird.
Liberti: I reckon it's 'cause she's worried I'll end up in trouble.
Liberti: I don't get it, to be honest.
Liberti: "There's no why," Sarah said. Maybe she's right.
Liberti: Since there's no answer, there ain't no point stressin' it. The grown-ups sussed that out ages ago, so that's why they don't bother askin'.
Liberti: Maybe it's time I grew up a bit, stopped thinkin' so much 'bout all these silly little things. Be sensible, eh?
Liberti gazes out over the calm lake in the distance, letting silence briefly rule this small, secret place.
Liberti: But I still don't get it.
Liberti: Why's it "There's no why"?
As Liberti's question hangs in the air, a fleeting moment follows, the only sound a gentle whisper of the breeze over the lake.
The girl opposite Liberti blinks as at last a smile spreads across her face.
Girl: "Why's it there's no why"? A bit of a tongue-twister that is. Still ...
Girl: I might just know someone who could answer that question.
Liberti: What? Really?!
Girl: Of course. I know someone. Everyone calls her the Administrator, and she knows the answer to everything. Maybe we could ask her someday.
Liberti: The answer to everything?
Liberti: Sounds a bit dodgy. How does she pull that off? Do you reckon she knows what I had for supper last night?
Girl: Of course, she does! One time, she even told me the fifth letter on the third line of page twenty in my favorite book!
From fairies snatching away belongings to a mysterious woman with all the answers, Liberti's new friend seems to live in a world full of fantastical marvels.
Liberti: Well, I have to say I'm intrigued. What do ya say we meet up here tomorrow after school?
Girl: You're on. I'll be here right on time.
It doesn't take long for the two of them to agree on their next adventure.
Lamplighter: They call me Lamplighter. What should I call you?
Liberti: Me name's !+?%&#.
She begins to speak, yet the words stall in her lips. The sounds, poised to come to life, simply fade away.
Lib?%&#: The name is ... !+ ...
!+*?%&#: Wait.
!+*?%&#: What is my name?
Lamplighter: Oh, no! This isn't good news!
Lamplighter: Now we know what those pesky fairies stole after all! They stole your name!
