Margaret could not seem to stop crying. Just as she would start to feel better, she'd think of another reason to be sad. First, she tried to think about the play to cheer herself up. But of course all of that fun was ruined now. She would have to disappoint her mom and her dad and Mrs. Ford. She had no interest in being in that play anymore. She saw her little red bookbag hanging on her door and thought about how miserable school was going to be on Monday. Worse than ever. Now she couldn't sit with Jessica at lunch. She didn't really have any other friends at school. What if Jessica told everyone about how their party had ended? What if Jessica had been making fun of Margaret the whole time? It was all just plain rotten.
Margaret heard a car pull into the driveway. She heard the front door open and close and knew this all meant that Jessica was finally leaving. Margaret got up and stood on her chair to look out the window. Her mom and dad were leaning into the car to talk to Jessica's mom. Margaret couldn't hear what they were saying. It didn't seem like her parents were really mad at Jessica. It didn't seem like she was in trouble at all. That made Margaret sad and mad all over again. Why did her parents think that she was the one who was acting badly when she had been called a munchkin by her friend? That was almost as bad as being called a midget.
Suddenly, Jessica's mom, from the car, seemed to look right up to where Margaret was standing. Margaret forgot that she was standing on her chair, and in trying to hide she ended up falling off and thudding on to the ground. She heard running coming up the stairs. Her mom had come in just before Margaret fell and heard the thud. Margaret heard footsteps in the hall. Then, just before the door opened, Margaret saw a little yellow light flying over her desk, near the window she had just been staring through. It looked like a lightning bug, but that couldn't be right, could it?
Margaret was so confused and distracted that she had stopped crying altogether. Her mom ran over to her. "Are you okay? Were you standing on that chair AGAIN?" Her voice was a mixture of fear and a little bit of frustration.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Mom, I saw a lightning bug in my room!" Margaret thought her mom would be excited about this strange discovery.
"Oh God, you probably have a concussion. Let me get your dad to take Isaac and then we're going to go to the doctor, okay? Don't fall asleep!"
Margaret was completely confused at her mom's reaction. First of all, what was a concussion? Second of all, why did seeing a lightning bug mean a trip to the doctor? And don't fall asleep? Parents were sure weird sometimes.
Margaret's mom carried her downstairs, strapped her into her carseat, and off to a big hospital they went. Margaret had thought they were going to see her regular doctor, Dr. Cleck, but it turned out she didn't work on Saturdays.
"Why am I going to the doctor, mom?" Margaret wanted to explore her room and see if she could find that little lightning bug.
"You hit your head pretty hard when you fell, and sometimes when we hurt our heads, we get hurt really badly. You probably didn't see a lightning bug. Um, it's kind of like in the cartoons when a character gets bonked in the head and then sees stars for awhile."
"I didn't see stars, Mom. I saw a lightning bug! It was flying over my window!"
"I know, well, I just want to be sure you're okay. OK?"
The doctor that Margaret didn't know did different tests on her. A bright light was pointed right into Margaret's eyes, and then she was asked to follow it around without turning her head. The doctor felt her head and said, "Yep, you've got a pretty good goose egg back there, but I think you'll be fine." This doctor had very friendly eyes, but Margaret still liked Dr. Cleck better.
"Your daughter just bonked her head. Keep an eye on her but she definitely doesn't have a concussion," the doctor said to Glenda.
Before starting up the car again, Glenda called Gary on her cell phone. "Hey. Yeah, she's okay. Just a bump on the head. I don't know. Well, we'll see. Yeah, hold on."
"Margaret, your dad wants to know if you still want spaghetti for dinner."
Margaret and Jessica had especially requested spaghetti for dinner.
"Yeah, sure," Margaret said grimly. Her dad made the best spaghetti. She was kind of glad Jessica wouldn't get any.
After dinner Margaret was anxious for bedtime. She watched some cartoons with Isaac and colored in her coloring book for awhile, but she shocked her mom and dad when she said, all on her own, that she was ready for bed. Usually Margaret always asked to stay up a bit longer. Her parents looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders at the same time.
"Don't forget to brush your teeth, babe," said Glenda.
Margaret brushed her teeth carefully then went into her bedroom. She closed her door and kept the light off for a moment to see if she could see the little lightning bug that way, but she wouldn't be able to move if it stayed that dark, so she had to turn the light back on.
"Hey little lightning bug," Margaret whispered in a sort of sing-songy way. "Where did you go?"
Margaret looked up at her ceiling, then down on her floor. She looked over her desk where she had seen the little light before. She looked on her bed and under it. But she didn't see the little light anywhere.
"Maybe mommy was right," Margaret thought to herself as she put on her PJs. "Maybe I just bonked my head and saw lights like in the cartoons."
Margaret climbed into bed, making sure that Lamby was well within reach, as usual. Lamby always ended up on the floor every morning somehow, but she always started in bed right by Margaret's side.
Margaret thought about what a weird day it had been. It had started so well and then it had gotten really awful, but it had gotten pretty okay again by the end. And she had a mystery to solve, too!
Just as Margaret was about to close her eyes, she heard a voice. "I am NOT a lightning bug, by the way," said the voice. It was high pitched and sounded like crystal would sound if it could talk.
Margaret sat straight up in bed. "Who said that?" she whispered.
"I did, of course. Who else would it be?" the voice said in a merry way.
Margaret looked at Lamby. It didn't seem to be coming from her. Margaret heard the same voice laugh. It was the prettiest, most happy laugh Margaret had ever heard.
"I'm not your lamb, you silly girl. Here, look up towards your window. Does this look familiar?"
Margaret looked up and there she saw the same little light that she had seen earlier that day. But it was talking! Now Margaret was worried that she really did have whatever a concussion was. Maybe that new doctor had missed something.
"Don't worry, you're not hurt or crazy, Margaret," the voice said kindly. "Here, maybe this will help."
The little light flew away from the window and landed on Margaret's little nightstand. Suddenly, Margaret saw that the little light was not a lightning bug at all. It was a little tiny fairy! Close up, Margaret could see that the fairy had long brown hair and brown eyes, just like Margaret did. The fairy's little wings were clear but seemed to sparkle a little. She wore a tiny pink silky dress, and her bear feet rested on the edge of the table.
"There, that's better, right?" the fairy asked.
Margaret couldn't talk. Not just yet. She nodded her head though.
"My name is Cassielane, and I have been watching over you for some time now," the fairy said. "You had a pretty hard day today, didn't you?"
Margaret nodded her head again. Her eyes got a bit teary.
"That's what I thought," Cassielane said. "That's why I thought I'd introduce myself to you and tell you some very good news."
"What kind of good news?" Margaret was now too curious to stay quiet.
"Ah, right to the point now, huh?" Cassielane laughed her magical laugh again. It was such a happy sound that Margaret found herself smiling!
"To find out the good news, I want you to close your eyes and put out your right hand," Cassielane said.
Margaret was not too sure about this plan. "I don't want to close my eyes," she said with some hesitation. "I mean, my mommy and daddy always say I should be careful around strangers. They are probably going to be really mad if they find out I'm talking to you even."
At this, Cassielane burst into such a big laugh that she actually fell off the table and had to fly her way back up again. "Oh, you are such a smart girl, Miss Margaret. Very wise indeed! Alright, how about this then. Hold out your hand, but you can keep your eyes open."
Margaret nodded and put out her right hand. Suddenly, Cassielane snapped her fingers. Magically, out of nowhere, Margaret saw, in the palm of her hand, a perfectly round, bright white pearl.
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