The Fairy Godmother Part 10

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“She sorted that little problem out, very quickly,” said Enid, the Head Fairy, before the Head of the Fairy Council could say anything.

“Yes,” the Head Fairy agreed. “But not quite in the way that we were expecting.”

“How else was I supposed to do it?” I asked, not wanting to be left out of the discussion.

“You were supposed to help Santa, not the store manager,” the Head of the Fairy Council replied.

“But which Santa, there were two of them,” I replied.

“The real Santa, of course,” the Head of the Fairy Council replied.

“And which would that be?” I asked, trying to look innocent, but I think I was failing.

“Explain it to her,” the Head of the Fairy Council said to Enid, the Head Fairy.

“Santa is there for the children, so there are certain things a real Santa doesn’t do,” Enid explained.

“Like getting drunk?” I asked.

“Yes, like getting drunk,” said Enid.

“Well, he got the sack,” I explained. “And the other Santa, the one who didn’t like his beard set a light, he got his job back.”

“I’m not entirely sure about that Santa,” said the Head of the Fairy Council.

“He only complained to the Store manager about the children’s behaviour,” I said. “He didn’t say anything to the children.”

“OK, your right about that,” the Head of the Fairy Council agreed. “We shall have to think about it, meanwhile, we have another test for you.”

“Do I have to go as well?” asked Enid. “I am the Head Fairy, I do have other things to do.”

“We could always appoint another Head Fairy,” said the Head of the Fairy Council.

“That wont be necessary,” Enid replied quickly. “I’m sure my team can handle things whilst I am busy.”

“That’s settled then,” the Head of the Fairy Council replied waving her wand.

“Where are we now?” the Head Fairy muttered.

“Up another tree,” I replied. “A conifer of some kind or other.”

“There should be an envelope,” Enid sighed.

“Here it is,” I said pulling it out of the branch above me.

“So what does it say?” asked Enid.

“I’ll just open it,” I said.

Remember the story of the Pied Piper.

In this case someone has got the local

kids caught up in a virtual reality computer game,

they think they are travelling with him somewhere.

In reality they are all sitting in their rooms, not eating

or sleeping, just playing this game.

Parents have tried turning the computers off,

but the children just flop and appear lifeless

till the game is restarted.

“Shit,” I muttered.

“Do you know much about computer games?” Enid asked.

“Like when do I have time for them?” I asked.

“Do you really want me to go through all your internet history?” Enid asked.

“OK, so I’ve played the odd game, occasionally,” I said, looking down to the ground to see how far away it was, not that I can’t fly or anything, it’s just useful to know how close the ground is. It was further away than I thought.

“I’m not trying to pry,” said the Enid. “It’s just that it would help if one of us had some idea as to how these things work if we are going to tackle this problem.”

“We need to see the game,” I said. “Get some idea as to how they have got so entrenched in it.”

“Are you suggesting we play it!” said Enid looking rather shocked.

“We have to find a way to get them out. Sounds like their parents have tried, but it didn’t work,” I said.

“Yes, the children collapsed,” said Enid looking at the card.

“So we need to join in the game so we can see what they are seeing and find a way out for them,” I replied.

“I don’t like the sound of this,” said Enid.

“Can’t say that I’m all that happy with the idea, but I can’t see an alternative,” I replied.

“So who goes into this game?” asked Enid.

“I think I’d better,” I smiled.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” said Enid. “Now all we need is a computer and one of those face mask things.”

“See that bedroom window over there,” I said pointing.

“I try not to look in bedroom windows,” Enid replied, looking away from the building I was pointing to.

“There is a little boy in there who is obviously playing the game,” I replied.

“How do you know he’s playing it?” asked Enid.

“Something about the way in which his Mother is standing next to him crying,” I replied. “She needs her Fairy Godmother to come to the rescue,” I added jumping off the branch and heading towards the window.

“What!” screeched Enid, following after me as quickly as she could fly.

The window was slightly open, so I flew in and sat on top of the computer monitor.

“Hello,” I said smiling at the woman.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I am your Fairy Godmother,” I replied. “And I am here to help you.”

“Can you get my son off that, thing?” she asked. “I’d turn the machine off, but,” she sobbed.

“I know,” I said. “I need to get into the game, there has to be some way of turning it off or finishing the game.”

“People have tried and they got stuck in it as well,” the woman cried. “My husband tried.”

“So you’ve got two people stuck in it?” I asked.

“I’ve lost count of how many in this village are in that blasted thing,” she replied.

“Is there any literature about it?” asked Enid, appearing next to me.

“Who are you and how did you get in here?” asked the woman.

“I am your Fairy Godmothers supervisor,” Enid replied. “She’s not been in the job for long.”

“Right,” said the woman, her face fell.

“But that doesn’t mean that I can’t sort this out,” I replied looking at the computer. “It might help if we could see what he’s seeing,” I added, tapping a few keys. Nothing happened for a moment and then we got a message.

“Do not stop the program.”

“Not helpful,” I muttered as the woman started to dry louder.

By Janice Nye © 2019