When Children Hide Their Hurt: Zilphia – Episode 6

Sometimes the questions children struggle to answer are not the hardest because they are complicated—but because they are connected to moments that still hurt. A gentle question, asked with kindness and patience, can become the beginning of healing. When children know they are safe, they often find the courage to share parts of their story they have carried quietly for far too long.

As Zilphia's journey through the Glimmerwood Kingdom continues, an innocent question begins uncovering a memory she has hidden for years. But before she can find the courage to answer, the mystery surrounding the black feathers, the crow, and the strange warning begins to close in once again. Some secrets are difficult to tell... and some mysteries are determined to be found.

 

Eron noticed Zilphia was very quiet. Unusually quiet … even for her. He watched and studied her every movement. She kept fidgeting with her hair. That was new. She hadn’t done that before. In the soft glow of the flames, he saw a tear glistening in the corner of her eye.

“Zilphia, I need to gather more firewood. Do you want to help?”

“Sure,” she sighed. Her voice cracked softly.

They climbed the steep path to the cave’s opening. Zilphia was amazed by the green moon’s beauty. It made the dew-covered rocks shimmer like emeralds. Fog formed a thin canopy covering the forest floor the further they walked. The dense foliage gave Zilphia an eerie feeling. She couldn’t explain it, but goosebumps covered her arms.

“Eron, why are we going so far away from the cave?”

“The best burning wood is near the creek. It’s the hardest. Why? Is something wrong?”

Zilphia looked around. It was getting harder to see through the trees. “No… I just have a bad feeling.”

“I saw you talking to Kyron and you looked uncomfortable.”

“He asked me a question I didn’t expect.”

Eron stopped to look at her. “What did he ask?”

Zilphia started fidgeting with her hair again, twirling it around her fingers. “He asked me why I always wear my hair up.”

Eron chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” scuffed Zilphia.

“I thought it was something important. I saw how uncomfortable you were. I even thought I saw a tear in your eye. But you were just being a silly little fairy.”

Eron laughed out loud and started walking again. Zilphia didn’t.  A black feather drifted through the trees and landed on the ground beside her. She didn’t notice it. Eron was almost out of sight when he realized she wasn’t behind him. His laughter faded the moment he returned and saw her beautiful green eyes were filled with tears. Even though she turned her head to hide them, he knew something was terribly wrong.

“Zilphia, I know we just met, but I would never intentionally hurt you.” He placed his hand under her chin and gently turned her face back towards his. “We’re friends and anything that hurts you, hurts me. So please tell me why you wear your hair up.”

Zilphia wiped her tears away slowly and looked at the ground. She hesitated before speaking, “One day we were playing at school. We were racing to see which fairy could fly the fastest. My hair is very long, and when it was my turn… it flew in my eyes. I couldn’t see where I was going. I bumped into the other fairies, and they fell to the ground. I fell too, but I landed in a sticker bush. I was covered with thorns, even in my hair. My hair was sticking up everywhere because of the twigs and thorns. My classmates teased me for months. It was painful getting the thorns out of my skin and hair. But the pain of them teasing me was unbearable. So, I decided to always wear it up.”

Eron could see Zilphia’s pain was deep by the expression on her face. “You know Zilphia, words can be powerful. But you can control the type of power they have. Pinning your hair up during a race makes sense… but not always pinning it up. You’re giving their words too much power. You’ve given them the power to control who you are and how beautiful you are because…” Eron looked her straight in her eyes. “You’re hiding!”

Zilphia stepped back. Before she could say a word, a large caw pierced through the trees. The leaves shook and started falling like rain.

“What was that?” whispered Zilphia. She looked down and noticed the feather for the first time.

“It sounded like a crow. But crows aren’t allowed through the portal.”

“If they aren’t allowed, how did you get the black feather? And where did this come from?”

Eron took the feather and looked up through the darkness. “I don’t know, but I think we better go.”

“What about the wood?”

“Ahh, we have plenty of wood. I just wanted to get you alone so I could talk to you away from Kyron.”

“You brought me out into these spooky woods just to talk?” Zilphia looked around the forest. It was too quiet. It made her skin crawl.

“Yes, it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“CAW!”

The thunder of flapping wings filled the air as a dark shadow circling above the trees blocked the dim moonlight. Zilphia started shaking. Eron grabbed her hand and held her close trying to comfort her, but she could feel him shaking too.

“CAW! CAW!” The piercing sound was deafening.

“What are we going to do, Eron?”

“I don’t know. But I would like to know what he wants and why he left a feather for me… and one for you.”

Eron guided Zilphia to crouch down behind a large log. Zilphia cried silently to herself, as they covered their ears and watched the circling shadow.

“Zilphia,” whispered Eron as he pulled her close. “We’ll get through this together.”

 

Thank you for visiting the Glimmerwood Kingdom, one of the many magical places within the Starlight Realm, where every adventure helps courage, kindness, and imagination grow.

Join us next week as Zilphia's journey continues in Episode 7...

 — Written with care by W. L. Shaw, creator of Fanciful Tales