Olivia (part 1)

(I apologize for all the unfinished stories. They're way more fun to start than to finish, I guess.)

Olivia met her new friend in the attic. She was digging through old trunks that had belonged to her great-grandmother and out her new friend had popped!

"Oh!" she said, staring up at Olivia from a crumple of papers on the floor. She was only six inches tall, maybe six and a half if you counted her tall hat, which Olivia did. She had long, purple hair and a twitchy pink nose, which sneezed as a result of the dust Olivia had kicked up. She smoothed her orange dress and straightened her pink tights and asked, "Who are you?"

"Olivia," said Olivia. "What's your name?"

"Felix," said Felix.

"Felix is a BOY'S name," laughed Olivia. Felix stomped her feet and sighed heavily.

"What happened to Millicent?" asked Felix. "I haven't seen her in ages."

Olivia crinkled her nose in thought and then exclaimed, "Oh! You must mean Grammy Em!"

"Can't be," laughed Felix. "Millicent isn't a Grammy, she's your age."

"Nope," said Olivia. "She's way old now. She has wrinkles and everything, plus her teeth pop right out of her mouth. How long you been in that trunk, anyway?"

"Longer than I thought," muttered Felix. She started pacing across the spilled contents of Grammy Em's trunk, stepping carefully over the smooth stones Millicent used to collect and then skip-skip-skip over the pond where she had met Felix so very many years ago.

"D'ya wanna know what year it is?" asked Olivia.

Felix shook her head and answered, "Human years don't count. I need to talk to another sprite."

"What's a sprite?" Olivia asked. Felix smiled at her and patted her on the hand. She had to stand on the very tips of her toes to do so, but she managed.

"I'll explain on the way," she said. "I need you to take me somewhere."

"OK," said Olivia. "But I'll have to wait until tomorrow, I'm not allowed outside after dark."

"How bothersome," sighed Felix. "I suppose that'll have to do. Mind giving me a lift back into the trunk? I need a bit of rest before the journey."

Olivia put her hand on the ground and Felix climbed onto it. She placed Felix gently back into the trunk, closed the lid, and raced down to her bedroom, giddy with anticipation for the next day.