Page 10 of Folds
“Who can help you?” I ask, reaching out to take his tiny hand between my thumb and forefinger. “What can I do?”
Selvanar looks up at me with his brilliant, glittering eyes, and smirks. He still manages to have a little arrogance, even when he’s sick as a dog.
“Are you worried about me, Trisha?” he asks in a self-satisfied voice.
“I am! Tell me how to make it better.”
“I thought time would be enough, but it only seems to be getting worse,” Selvanar says. “It feels as if my skin is coming off.”
Oh, that sounds terrible.
Finally, annoyed at the distance between us, I lift the roof off the dollhouse and set it on the floor to one side.
“Can I pick you up?” I ask, and all Selvanar can do is nod. I scoophim into my hands and carry him over to the bed, where I put a pillow on my lap and set him on it. The red bumps cover every square inch of his body, and I have never felt so miserable.
I did this to him. I need to fix it.
“Here,” I say, bringing over the chunks of aloe plant I’ve let sit for a few minutes. “This should be safe for you. Aloe will at least help with the pain and the itching until we can do something else.”
Selvanar casts me a wary look, but I break off a piece anyway and squeeze the thick leaf, which squirts some aloe gel on my hand. I offer it to him, and cautiously he takes some in his tiny fingers, then rubs it on his arm.
His eyes close and he sighs with relief. I suppose it’s helping.
I break off more pieces of the aloe to replenish, and Selvanar rubs it all over his body. After a few minutes, the rash looks less angry, but it hasn’t gone away.
“Thank you,” he says, lying back on the pillow. “That feels a little better.”
“Good. But it’s not a long-term solution if the rash doesn’t go away.”
Selvanar sighs. “There is someone who may be able to help. Back at my hive, we have a healer who has some experience with human poisons.”
I sit up abruptly. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
“I can’t return to my hive right now.” His injured wing flutters as if to emphasize his point.
My brain works quickly. If he can’t get back to his hive on his own… then there’s just one answer.
“I’ll take you.” I fish my car keys out of my pocket. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. I can drive you home, right?”
Selvanar gives me a pitying look. “The hive is not simply a place a human cango. It’s hidden by magic.”
“Magic? Then how do you get there?”
“Well, I’m a fairy. The spell will let me in.”
I puzzle over this. There must be a way.
“What if I got you close?” I ask, feeling desperate. I can’t watch him suffer. “Could you get back then?”
He thinks for a moment. “I suppose that might work. Somehow.”
“I want to try. Can you show me the way?”
“I’ll do my best,” Selvanar says. “I only know it by wing.”
“That will just have to do.” I stuff the car keys back in my pocket and fetch my purse, loading it with soft things to create a makeshift bed for him. Once Selvanar is inside, I put the purse over my shoulder and head for the car.
I’ll do whatever I have to do to save my little fairy.
