Chapter 4
Sometimes Brooke would go with her mom to feed the koi, and the two of them would watch the lovely fish move back and forth, though sometimes it seemed that Brooke's mom was looking and smiling at something other than the fish. Watching their golden fins waving in the water always made her feel at peace. Combined with the sound of the fountain, Brooke could easily take a nap on the bench nearby.
As she approached the pool of water, she was shocked to see what appeared to be a delicate mermaid swimming with the butterfly koi. Her long, golden brown hair flowed behind her. She seemed very content to hold onto the fin of the orange fish and glide along the top of the water. The scales of her lower body glittered in a myriad of colors. When she noticed Brooke she swam to the edge of the pool and looked at her with clear blue eyes.
“Hello, Brooke.”
“You know my name!" Brooke exclaimed.
“Yes I do. Your mother tells me about you, and of course I've seen you watching the fish. You haven't been able to see me until today.”
“She tells you things? What does she say?” Brooke asked in surprise, admiring the beauty of the lady in the pond.
“Oh she tells me it's time you learned about Lismore Baile and all of us.” She noticed that Brooke was studying her closely.
“Might I ask why you look at me so? You don't find me frightful do you?” Brooke remembered her manners.
“No! I'm sorry, Miss, you are just so beautiful! Are you a mermaid?” Brooke asked softly. The lady giggled and splashed a little water at Brooke, cooling her face.
“Thank you for the compliment. Although I am a smaller relative of the mermaid, I am nothing as grand as that. Mermaids need ocean water to survive. Water nymphs just need clean, fresh water. Most water nymphs are happy with a stream.” The water nymph paused before continuing.
“Your mother has made a wonderful home for me here, don't you agree? The water never freezes and for that I am so thankful.” By far, Brooke found the water nymph to be the sweetest, friendliest being she had met so far. She remembered what Marigold had said about being gracious.
“We are thankful to you also. My mother must love your company. Can I get your name?”
“Yes, of course, Babbling Brooke. My name is Lily.” Brooke laughed, because her mother always called her Babbling Brooke when she talked too much.
“Lily is a beautiful name.” Lily splashed her tail, pleased.
“Thank you and so is Brooke, a word that reminds me of home.” Remembering that Lily had fins, she had questions about how she had ever arrived at the Murphy Farm.
“Did you come here with everyone else?” Brook inquired.
Lily began to tell Brooke about herself. As it turned out, Brooke's mother was the one that convinced Lily to come to the farm because she was worried that the stream wasn't safe enough for her any longer. Every year, there were fewer greens for her to eat and she was running out of places to hide from the fishermen. Humans couldn't see her kind without some help, and they would mistake her for a common fish.
The thought of Lily in a net distressed Brooke's mother.
From what Lily was saying, she was the last of her kind. Brooke's mother was trying to located more water nymphs to join her so that she wouldn't be lonely, but in over a year, not one was sighted. In the mean time, the butterfly koi were great company.
Lily finished her story, looking just a little sad.
“Even though I knew I would miss my stream and it would miss me, I made a decision to journey to this place with your mother in a simple aquarium. I hope more of my kind are found and someday restored to our rightful homes.” A small tear slid down the water nymph's face. She wiped it away and smiled at Brooke, trying to be strong.
“Your parents built this beautiful pond for me and my new friends here, and for that I am forever in their debt. I'm happier here with good fairy folk who remember my kind.” She splashed the butterfly koi, and they nuzzled her affectionately.
“I asked your mother what purpose I could serve here, because the others do something for the farm. She said that Marigold told her that water nymphs refresh the world with their very presence. I don't know for certain, but when I am really happy, it rains here just enough. So maybe that's what I do!" With that, Lily dived into the water and rejoined her fish friends in swimming around. Brooke waved farewell to Lily, feeling suddenly refreshed and cheerful as if she had been dancing in a cool spring rain.
“Thank you, Lily!" Brooke called out as she left the pond area.
“You're welcome Brooke, come visit and babble with me again soon!" Brooke laughed.
Brooke found the path continued on the other side of the pond, but she began to worry that maybe she wouldn't find Violet at all. Furthermore, it occurred to her that she didn't know what she looked like because she forgot to ask! Brooke began to rush a little faster down the path when she realized that the afternoon was fading. Soon, it would be evening. This did nothing to boost her confidence that she would get her task done.
The magical glasses began to slide, so she pushed them back on the bridge of her nose. Up ahead she saw some butterflies touching down on the daisies and fluttering around them busily. She almost dismissed them as regular butterflies until she looked a little closer. She could see that what she had always thought were butterflies on the farm were miniscule little fairies with butterfly wings. One of them winked at her as the other one giggled. They didn't seem alarmed by her at all, and appeared to find her presence quite typical. They kicked at the petals of the bright daisies with their feet, occasionally gathering nectar and devouring it. Clearly they were busy eating, so Brooke decided not to trouble them for directions.
As she worried about finding Violet, she began to grow concerned about not getting her parent’s permission before wandering off. Brooke continued on, feeling a little tired. It all seemed so curious, to be running errands for fairies! Brooke was sure that none of the other children she knew would believe it. She found it incredible that her parents knew.
Not only were they aware of the magical creatures living there, they had created a habitat for water nymphs on the farm! Brooke always thought of herself as rather observant, so she didn't understand how she had missed the details.
Then again, she never had a pair of magic glasses until today. It was a lot for her to figure out, but she was excited to share space with such magical creatures even if she had been taught that there was a difference between reality and fantasy. The Murphy Family Farm was special in part because of the extraordinary world of Lismore Baile.
“I am learning your secrets now, dad!" Brooke said to herself as she walked.
She was aware that she was very close to her mother's violets, little wild flowers that she had collected because she loved their colors. Stella had at least four different varieties of them. Some were white, some were purple and white, and others were lavender or purple.