The Head Fairy

By Sean McMains

Sally was 5 years old when she first noticed that her head was loose. She was certain that it had been on tightly the previous morning, but there was no denying it; by placing a hand over each of her ears, she was able to wiggle her head an inch or so farther in either direction than it would go yesterday.

"Mommy! Mommy! Come quick!" she shouted, equal parts excitement and concern.

Mommy, who always slept later than Sally, entered the room looking fondly at Sally through half-closed eyes. "What is it, dear?"

"My head's loose! Look!" She demonstrated how far her head would go back and forth. "See? Why is my head coming loose? What's wrong with me?"

"I do believe you're right! Nothing's wrong with you though, sweetie. Don't you remember how I told you how everyone loses her baby head when she's young and grows a new one? Well, it looks like it's time for you to lose yours!"

Sally was visibly comforted when she remembered the wonderful stories Mommy had told her about losing her head, the discussions she had with her friends at school, daydreaming about how exciting it would be, and wondering who would be the first to experience this transition into a wonderful, older world. None of her other friends had lost their heads yet, even though some of them were a few months older than she was. Well, she knew who would be the first now!

After chatting excitedly with Mommy for a few minutes, she rushed off to school to show her friends. They were all as excited as she was, and she gained several minutes of fascinated attention on the playground as she demonstrated how far she could wiggle her head back and forth. As she eagerly discussed all of the aspects of losing one's head with her schoolmates, something her friend Mary said brought her up short: "Are you going to get a visit from the Head Fairy?"

"The Head Fairy?" Sally asked, mystified.

"You know, silly! When you lose your head, if you stick it under your pillow when you go to sleep at night, the Head Fairy will come and take your head and leave you a dollar where your head was."

"No, no," corrected Matt, another of Sally's friends, though not a very good one since he was a boy. "The Head Fairy leaves more than that! My older brother lost his last year and got five dollars."

"No way! My cousin only got a dollar for her head!"

"Maybe you get more money for a better head," Matt suggested.

"Shut up, Matt! The Head Fairy wouldn't even take your head!"

The argument raged on while Sally considered what she had learned. The Head Fairy! She'd never heard of her before, but if Matt and Mary both knew people who had visits from the Head Fairy, she must be for real. She decided to ask Mommy about it when she got home after school.

That afternoon, class seemed to drag on forever. She kept wiggling her head back and forth until Mrs. Thompson finally said "Sally, will you please stop playing with your head and pay attention?" The other children laughed at Mrs. Thompson's scolding, but Sally didn't care - all she could think about was how loose her head was and when it would come off and the Head Fairy and how wonderful it was that she would be the first among her friends to lose her head.

When Sally got home, she her head was full of questions for Mommy. "Is there a such thing as the Head Fairy?" she shouted as she opened the door to her house.

"The Head Fairy? Where ever did you hear of that, sweetheart?" Mommy was baking cookies, and brushed the flour from her hands as Sally came charging into the room.

"At school! Mary said her cousin got a dollar from the Head Fairy, and Matt said his brother got five whole dollars! But I've never heard of the Head Fairy before, and I knew that you'd know if she was for real, 'cause you know everything. So, is there really a Head Fairy?"

Mommy considered for a moment. "Well, sweetie, I've never heard of the Head Fairy before. When I lost my head when I was young, my parents kept it in a box to give me when I got older. Wouldn't you like to have me keep your head so that you can have it when you grow up?"

"No! I want to leave it under my pillow for the Head Fairy!" Sally was disturbed that her mother didn't believe in the Head Fairy, but wouldn't allow that to discourage her. She just knew that the Head Fairy was real!

Over the next several weeks, Sally's head grew looser and looser. The first thing her friends did when they were let out for recess was to rush over to Sally and have her show them how far her head would wiggle today. "Ewwww!" said Mary one day. "I can see into your neck! Ick!" Sure enough, when she pushed to the side, a small opening appeared between her head and neck as they began to separate.

"Let me see!" "No, me first!" "Cooooool!" (That was Matt, of course. He liked gross stuff.)

That afternoon, Sally's class was in the library. She was reading a book and absently wiggling her head back and forth when suddenly it fell from her hands onto the floor and rolled under the table. "Mrs. Thompson! Mrs. Thompson! My head fell off!" All the children scrambled to their feet, pushing each other to see. Sally ducked under the table to retrieve her head, which she found after a few moments' search among the legs of chairs and other students. She scampered out from under the table and held it up triumphantly.

"See, see?" She waved her head around gleefully. "Now I can get a visit from the Head Fairy! Hooray!"

"That's very nice, Sally," said Mrs. Thompson calmly. "Let's go back to the classroom, and I'll give you a bag to keep your head in until you get home." The children followed excitedly after Mrs. Thompson and Sally, talking about how exciting or disgusting they thought Sally's head was. A few of the other children's heads had begun to get loose too, and they wiggled their heads enthusiastically on the way back in hopes that they would be able to share Sally's glory.

After placing Sally's head in a bag, Mrs. Thompson dismissed class. Sally rushed home to show Mommy her head. "That's lovely, dear! You certainly have a fine head, and I'm sure your new one will be even better." Mommy took several pictures of Sally holding her head up proudly, saying that she would send them off to relatives so they could see how cute Sally looked with just the stump of a neck on top of her shoulders.

Sally played with her head all afternoon, occasionally putting it back on her neck. It would, of course, fall right off again, but Sally thought it was neat that it still fit. Finally, bedtime approached, and Sally carefully wrapped her head in a napkin and laid it beneath her pillow. She climbed into bed after it, but her pillow was too high to use. It's a good thing she didn't have to put her head on it that night!

Mommy came in to turn off Sally's light. "Goodnight, sweetie," she said reaching for the light switch. Her hand stopped as she noticed how high off the bed Sally's pillow was sitting. "What's under the pillow, Sally?"

"It's my head, Mom! I'm leaving it there for the Head Fairy."

"I already told you that there's no such thing as the Head Fairy, Sally. Why don't you just let me keep your head for you?"

"No! I know you don't believe in the Head Fairy, but I do, and I know she'll come! She will, she will, she will!"

Mommy sighed. "Ok, sweetheart, you can keep your head under the pillow if you like. But there's no such thing as the Head Fairy, and I don't want you to be disappointed in the morning when you wake up and your head is still here." She gave Sally's hand a squeeze, turned off the light, and wished her a reluctant good night. Sally tossed and turned for an hour, still disturbed and frustrated by the fact that Mommy didn't believe in the Head Fairy. Finally, exhausted, she fell into a fitful sleep.

When she woke early the next morning, the first thing Sally noticed was that her pillow wasn't sticking up the way it had the night before. Had the Head Fairy really come during the night? She was almost afraid to look, savoring the excited anticipation. Mary's cousin had gotten a dollar for her head, and Matt's brother had gotten five. She wondered how much her head was worth. Gathering up her courage, she reached under the pillow and pulled a ten-dollar bill from the hollow where her head rested the night before!

"Mommy! Mommy! I was right! The Head Fairy came! Come see! She's for real!" Her mother, for some reason already up, came smiling into Sally's room. "See! The Head Fairy left me ten dollars! I must have had a really good head! This is the greatest! Yippie! I've got to go tell my friends!" She quickly pulled on her clothes and ran out the door. "Bye, Mom! See you later. I love you!"

"I love you too, Sally," her smiling mother called quietly after her dearly loved, headless little girl.

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