THE REALITY FAIRY

Amelia was having a wonderful time at Fairy Land.  The music played a perpetual song about magic and friendly dragons.  She’d had her photograph taken with Princess Jasmine and was wearing her Rapunzel dress.  One moment, she was following Mummy and Daddy, the next she’d lost sight of them.

Amelia found herself alone in the park.  Her first instinct was to cry, but she remembered that she needed to approach a Fairy Land Friend, recognisable by their red jumpers and show them her armband.  There were no red jumpers, just a sea of pink as girls her age queued for rides.  Amelia wandered until she saw cheerful looking yellow booth, she was sure there would be a Fairy Land Friend in there. 

The smell inside was malty and stale.  A tired looking man in a red jumper sat behind the desk with a small brown drink and a crystal ball.

“I’ve lost Mummy and Daddy,” Amelia told him.
“Not yet,” he replied, “not until you’re in your forties.  Give me your armband and sit down.”
Amelia obeyed.  He snipped the armband off and dialled the number on it, putting the receiver down after a brief conversation.   “They went down to the security gate, they’ll be some time.  What’s your name?”
“Amelia.”
“What would you like to be when you grow up?”
“A princess.”
The man sighed deeply and consulted the crystal ball; “You’re going to get an office job and make money for people richer than you while being paid very little yourself, despite having a university education.”
“I’m going to marry a prince,” argued Amelia.
“You move in with Darryl from Mansfield who already has two children by two mothers.  All the money you earn goes towards his kids and alcohol habit because he can’t be arsed to get a job.  You’re pregnant and feel you have to stay.  Then he leaves you with his screaming brat of a child and no support.  You struggle for years bringing this kid up and then you find love.”
Amelia’s look of confusion became one of relief; “A prince?”
“Sean from Milton Keynes.  The rush of passion you both feel is unrivalled in those first days.  Then you buy a big house to live in happily ever after.  Interest rates go up and you struggle to afford it.  The good times disappear.  You work all hours and hardly see each other or your child.  Do you have an idea what a passion killer a mortgage is?”
“What’s a mortgage?  What about magic?”
“Have your parents been filling your head with fairy stories?  It’s all a lie.  They should be reading you stories about negative equity, interest rates, untrustworthy men and dead end office jobs.  That’ll prepare you much better for your future,” he lowered his voice, “Sean can’t take the daily grind.  He has an affair ...”
Amelia started to cry.
At that point Mummy and Daddy arrived and she ran to them.
“Hi,” the man said, “I’m John, the Reality Fairy.”
“Everything’s all right now,” Mummy cuddled Amelia and looked at John; “thank you.”
“Just doing my job.”
“Reality fairy?” Daddy enquired.
“It’s law now that all these parks have them.  Setting proper expectations for a life in a modern world,” John answered.

“I want to go home!” cried Amelia, once outside.

Mummy and Daddy looked at each other, they’d paid a lot of money - the admission fee, the parking, the over-priced food ...
Amelia put her hands on her ears; “Don’t like the music.”
It was the same loop - friendly dragons, magic, handsome princes ...

Mummy and Daddy took Amelia home.  There was garden waste to burn, Daddy made a bonfire, then went indoors to help Mummy.   A short time later the smell of burning plastic wafted through the kitchen window.  Mummy and Daddy hurried outside, just in time to see Amelia throwing the last of her Disney dresses onto the fire.