Chapter 2: the Fairy the mushroom and the Medicine Woman

The Fairy, the Mushroom and the Medicine Woman

by Marc Archambault

Copyright.  All rights reserved.  No copying without permission, etc. etc. 

If you haven't yet read chapter 1, go here: Chapter 1: Home


Chapter 2: Surprise!

Gwen's parents were overjoyed to see her when she finally arrived back at their cottage after collecting the medicine ingredients.
"Welcome back Gwen!" they said through large smiles. They embraced her warmly and kissed her on both cheeks. Gwen was happy to see them too, but she had work to do. She explained to them about George's mother and the medicine she had to make.
"Yes, of course," said Gwen's father. "We heard that Annia had taken ill. The table is cleared. You can work there. Is it all right if we watch you make the medicine? We're so very proud of you. We want to see what you've learned."
"That would be fine, Father." Gwen sat down at the table and began unpacking her mortar and pestle and her medicine bag.
"Is there anything I can get you?" asked Gwen's mother.
"Could you put a kettle on, please, Mother? I'll need to steep the medicine in hot water to make a tea." Gwen went through her medicine bag, examining each of the ingredients she had collected in turn. When she came to the mushroom, a puzzled look came over her face.
"This is very odd," she said to her father, who was watching her work. "There are holes in the mushroom that appear to have been cut." She looked closer and her father leaned in for a look as well. Gwen saw through a tiny round hole that there was a room inside the mushroom. There was a bench along a wall and a doorway leading to another room which could be seen through another small hole on the other side of the mushroom.
"It looks like a little cottage has been carved inside the mushroom," Gwen explained, looking at each of her parents. "What could it be?"
Gwen's mother came over to the table to inspect the mushroom herself. "Fae," she whispered. Gwen's father gave a deep sigh and leaned back in his chair. "I'm afraid, my child, that your mother is right. What you have there is a fairy dwelling."
"A fairy dwelling!" Gwen was shocked. "I've picked a fairy's home from its place in the forest? Oh, no!"
"It's bad luck," explained Gwen's mother. "You must beware. Fairies are tricky folk. The fairy will be angry and will seek revenge on you. It may torment you your whole life." She twisted her apron nervously.
"This is very bad indeed," agreed father.
"But I meant no harm," insisted Gwen. "I must make amends!"
Before her parents could protest, Gwen put the mushroom back in her medicine bag and fled into the woods.

Celia gave a last great sob and then sat quietly. She was numb, not feeling anything any longer. She just sat near the stump of her mushroom. Her fiery green eyes were rimmed with red from crying. Her face and hands were wet with tears. She was exhausted and could do no more. She lay down on a patch of moss, curled herself into a ball and started to drift off. Just as sleep and peace approached, she opened her eyes. A sound. She had heard a sound. Footsteps. Quickly, she hid inside a hole in one of the fallen branches and waited. She saw a young human woman, not much more than a girl, approach the mushroom's stump. She had long brown hair and bright green eyes, not unlike Celia's. Pretty... for a human. She sat on the ground beside the stump and opened a bag that hung at her side. She brought out an object in her hands and placed it gently on the stump. It was Celia's mushroom! Celia's eyes narrowed. She felt her little fairy heart race like a hummingbird's and heat rose inside her. She was angry, she thought. But it didn't make sense. Why would a human pick her home and then bring it back? She waited and watched, suspicious. What's that? Tears? The human was crying. A drop fell from her cheek and dropped onto the mushroom. As it splashed, it split the moonlight like a crystal, casting motes of rainbow light for a brief moment.
"I'm so sorry," the human said. "Please forgive me, forest spirit. I meant no harm. Truly I did not. I am a medicine woman. I was gathering ingredients for a medicine to help a friend’s sick mother in the village and I needed a mushroom like this one. I did not notice that it was your home until it was too late. Please forgive me. I don't know what I can do to make it better. Perhaps you can use your magic to fix it. I'm so, so sorry, dear fairy." The young woman sobbed again, more tears splashed onto the mushroom. Celia thought for a moment, then made up her mind and marched out of the hole to stand in front of the girl.
"Well, not only did you tear my mushroom from its stalk, but now you're getting it all wet and salty. It really won't be any good to me now!"
The human's eyes went wide, she opened her mouth to speak, but Celia cut her off by flying up and hitting her on the nose with her tiny fist.
"What kind of a medicine woman picks a mushroom without checking it first?" she demanded.
"I... I'm sorry," stammered the girl, rubbing her nose. "I have only just finished my training and I've just returned to my home village this very night. My teacher never told me that fairies might live in such mushrooms. I..."
"Well, now you know!" Celia interrupted angrily. "Who are you anyway?"
"My name is Gwen, dear fairy. What is your name?"
"A fairy does not give her name, except to her friends. You may call me fairy."
"I hope we might be friends," Gwen said softly.
"Friends with the stupid girl who ruined my first home before I could even move in? I think not."
"Please forgive me, I didn't know. I would never do harm to such a gentle forest spirit as you. Not knowingly."
Celia harrumphed and flew into the boughs of the great evergreen.