"Well, I'll be," Mr. Hamstead said as he approached the bridge railing. Pants were always a problem for the big-bellied gentleman, and he tugged on his now until they were hoisted back over his gut. Satisfied, he leaned on the railing and soaked in the view. The girls noticed his eyes well with tears.
Daphne rushed to his side and wrapped him up in a hug. "Don't cry, Mr. Hamstead. You'll make me cry."
"They're happy tears, Daphne," he said. "I never thought I'd see this place. I've been trapped in Ferryport Landing for a long time."
"You're going to love it! The city is the best! There is so much to do and see and eat! Oh, I can almost smell the hot dogs from here."
"Hot dogs!" Hamstead cried as his nose morphed into a runny, pink snout. Hamstead rarely slipped out of his human form, but when he got very excited his true identity as one of the Three Little Pigs was revealed.
"What did I say?" Daphne whispered to Sabrina.
"Hot dogs are made from pigs," Sabrina whispered back.
Daphne cringed. "I mean, uh, I would never, uh, eat a hot dog, you know… they're… uh, gross. What I meant to say was pepperoni pizza!"
The little girl looked at Sabrina for reassurance, but Sabrina could not give it to her. "Pepperoni, too."
It is?
Sabrina nodded.
Daphne cringed, again. "I mean broccoli. I can't wait to get a big piece to chew on. There's nothing like walking around the city with a big ol' head of broccoli."
"Oh yeah, New York is famous for its broccoli," Sabrina said.
Daphne stuck her tongue out at her sister.
"Wolf, you should see this!" Hamstead said, shaking off the girls' culinary suggestions. Mr. Canis joined him at the rail and gazed out at the marvelous city.
"Look at what we've missed," Hamstead whispered.
Canis leaned forward in wonder.
The two men stood in silence. The significance of the moment became clear to Sabrina. The whole world had kept on spinning while the Everafters were stuck in Ferryport Landing. Cities had risen, diseases had been cured, men had walked on the moon, and Canis and Hamstead had missed it all.
"Wait? Why are we here? I thought we were going to Faerie to save Puck," Daphne said.
"We are, liebling.
The fairy kingdom is in New York City," Granny Relda replied.
Sabrina felt her face grow hot. The pavement seemed to shift and she fell forward. For a moment there was nothing but blackness and then she was on the ground looking up at her family.
"Liebling, are you OK?!" her grandmother cried. Mr. Canis lifted Sabrina back onto her feet but the girl still felt dizzy and slightly nauseated. "You must have fainted."
"You didn't tell us there were Everafters in the city!" Sabrina said as she struggled to stand on her own.
Granny frowned. "Sabrina, Wilhelm's barrier didn't go up until twenty years after the Everafters arrived in this country. Some of them moved to other--"
"How many?" Sabrina demanded.
"How many what, child?" Granny Relda said.
"How many Everafters live here?"
"I don't know, Sabrina," the old woman replied, turning to Mr. Hamstead.
"Probably ten fairies and maybe five dozen others," the portly man said, after a long pause. "When Wilhelm was alive we kept in better contact with them but…"
Tears gushed out of Sabrina's eyes and froze on her cheeks. She prided herself on being strong, not a weepy girlie-girl, but she couldn't help herself. This was a shock. Ever since Granny Relda had taken them in, she had imagined that one day Daphne and she would return to the city with their parents and resume their old lives. They would look back on their time with the Everafters as a bad dream. Now she knew there was no escape from them.
"Sabrina, what's the matter?" Daphne asked.
Sabrina said nothing. Instead, she turned away from her family and stared out at the city skyline. The initial joy at seeing her home had disappeared. Now it seemed alien to her.
"It must be all the traveling," Granny said, rubbing Sabrina's back affectionately. "You girls are hungry and exhausted. We need to get you something to eat. Maybe some hot soup would help."
There was an uncomfortable silence among the group until Mr. Canis spoke. "First we must find Puck's people. Where is this Faerie?"
Granny sighed. "Unfortunately, the family journals are a bit thin on the Everafters that settled here. I do know Faerie is hidden somewhere in the city." She fished in her handbag and pulled out an envelope with some writing on it. "And a contact I have sent me this years ago."
Daphne took the envelope and read aloud, stumbling over some of the words.
Mrs. Grimm,
I'm sorry for your loss. Basil was like a father to me. It breaks my heart that I cant be there for Henry or you, worse that I am partially to blame for the tragedy. I hope you know that Jacob and I never believed that my escape from Ferryport Landing would bring anyone harm. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.
I've found Faerie, which is hidden in the Big Apple. I've been invited to stay until I am settled. Oberon is very busy with his kingdom, and Titania, well, I'm sure you've heard the stories about her. Once I've found work and made a little money I'll be off to explore this big world. Until then, if you are ever in
New York City, drop by the park and tell Hans Christian Andersen a knock-knock joke.
Love,
G