Ally ran her finger along the rough edge of a dry, brown cardboard box. The box sat in the corner of her bare bedroom, stacked on top of the other packages filled with clothes and memories. She stared across the barren wasteland that was her room. Her gaze fell upon an ancient mahogany dresser embellished with carvings of fairies around the mirror and across its drawers. Above her head in the attic she could hear her father dragging old trunks across the worn wooden floor. Ally sighed a long and heavy sigh as she slowly walked across the squeaky, floor. She stood in front of the old dresser, and immediately wrinkled her nose as the smell of musty wood hit her face.

Ally examined herself in the mirror. Pale freckled skin, long curly brown hair, and murky green eyes; the norm. She turned around and examined her oversized moth bitten pale blue sweater over her ripped jeans. Ally then slugged towards the side of the dresser. She placed her delicate hands on the surface of the drawer being careful to avoid the splintered areas in the wood. This was the last piece of furniture Ally must pack up before moving back to Montana.
“Last one, and then I’m done,” she whispered to herself. With a loud grunt, she attempted to shove the 200-pound drawer out the door of her room. Just as she was about to push the drawer out of her room, something caught her eye. A small white door, no more than 6 inches tall, had been hidden behind the dresser. She cautiously walked over to the peculiar door and sat down in front of it. Perplexed, she tilted her head to one side and furrowed her eyebrows. She slowly grasped the tiny rusted doorknob between her thumb and forefinger and twisted it. The door clicked and creaked open. To Ally’s amazement, a teeny blue gift box with a fancy pink bow on top was sitting inside the secret compartment hidden behind the peculiar door. As Ally was examining the bizarrely pristine wallpaper lining the miniature room, she noticed a faint white light peering through the lid of the gift box.
Like every other 12-year old, of course Ally was compelled to open it. She grasped the base of the gift box in the palm of one hand, and slowly lifted off the box’s lid with the other. Peering inside the little package, she discovered a 2-inch tall fairy staring back at her. “Don’t you know any better than to interrupt a fairy’s beauty sleep?” shouted the tiny winged creature. The box flew out of Ally’s hands and onto the floor as she scrambled to get as far away from this strange being as possible. The petite fairy dusted off her jet-black wings and fluttered out of the box. A path of black glitter trailed behind her as she landed on top of the cardboard box nearest to Ally.
In the blink of an eye, a miniscule note card appeared in the fairy’s hands. She cleared her throat, flipped back a strand of curly black hair from her face and read from the card in a monotonous voice, “My name is Jesse and since you’ve chosen my box, I am now obliged to give you one, and only one, wish. Once you’ve received your wish, I will no longer be bound to my gift box.” Frozen in the moment, all Ally could do was gently nod her head. Many thoughts darted through Ally’s head as she struggled to pick just one wish. Jesse crossed her pale arms and tapped her foot, “Hurry up slowpoke!” she yelled impatiently. Suddenly, the perfect wish popped into Ally’s mind.
“I wish for money,” Ally whispered. “Money? Is that the best you can come up with? I’m sorry, but I can’t just simply grant you money,” Jesse scoffed as she rolled her piercing blue eyes. “Please, my father just lost his job and our house is being foreclosed… Jesse, we only need enough to tide us over until he can find another job,” Ally replied while intently staring at Jesse. There was a long pause as Jesse tried to avoid making eye contact with Ally. Finally, Jesse uncrossed her arms and stamped her foot. “Fine! Now don’t go around telling any-fairy I did this for you, I can’t be seen as a goody-goody,” Jesse uttered as she waved her arms sending a black spark shooting out of her finger.
Suddenly, Ally could hear shouts of disbelief and joy coming from her father in the attic, “Ally, Ally come quick! You’ll never believe what I just found!” Jesse stretched her limbs and ordered, “Now be a dear and pop open that window over there, I’ve got places to go and fairies to see.” Ally scuttled towards her old, grimy window and strained to lift it open. Pop! The window slid open and her skin felt the warmth of the warm outside air. Ally peered outside the window at the lush green grass and the long green-leaved tree branches swaying in the breeze. Jesse glided over to the open window and took off. Ally winced at the bright sun and let out a, “T-thank you!” as she watched Jesse float away into the cloudless sky.