I was pacing back and forth in my dorm room, trying my best to stay calm as I told my parents what had happened earlier. You know, without sounding like a crackhead. I met another fairy with the brightest pink hair and a shapeshifter who wore a suit as if he were the CEO of all social media platforms. Yeah...I sounded like I was losing my mind. No wonder my parents didn't believe me at first.

"She called you her sister?"

"Well, she said I'm like her sister. Because...well you know."

"Imani, I can guarantee you right now that you are an only child," my mom began to say. "Unless your dad has something to tell us."

I could tell she was looking over at him suspiciously. I didn't have to see them in person to know.

"No-mom-there's no way we're related. Other than the fact that we have curly hair, we have nothing else in common. I don't think she's seriously even a student here...I think she just put on the right clothes so that she could just fit in."

"Maybe she's your cousin."

"She's not my cousin, mom."

I was about to say more until I heard the door beep. Adri. She gave me an odd look as she walked in.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"I wish I did."

"Huh?"

"Sorry-on the phone with my parents."

"Oh great, can I speak to them? I want to know the next time your mom hosting dinner. She said sometime next month, right?"

"Uh-yeah. Actually, I'll let you know as soon as I figure things out. I promise."

"Alright girl...but are you okay? You seem kinda off."

"I'm fine. I just...I need a breath of fresh air. Today has been weird. Very weird. Extremely weird."

"Wait, has today been weird for you?"

"Very funny," I laughed, giving her a little nudge. "I'll be back soon. I'm just going to take a walk around the area. Maybe I'll walk across the entire campus."

"The entire campus is crazy. You must have a lot on your mind if you're doing all that."

"I do. But I'll see you later, alright? If I'm not back by tonight then feel free to call the police."

"Gotcha."

I let out a deep sigh the moment I walked out of our room. Fresh air was what I needed. I just needed time to process. My wings made me miss out on a lot during my childhood. While I was learning how to properly use them, I spent most of my time inside. I didn't go out to the playground much. And, whenever I did, the kids preferred to stay away from me since they thought I was sick with something. That's why I decided to stay homeschooled until college. But still...if I had known for years that there were people out there in my exact same situation, I probably would've felt so much better about myself. How come I'm just now finding out about all of this?

"Hey, bestie!"

I dropped my phone after hearing Candy yell that. My poor parents. They'll be fine, though. I was about to hang up on them anyway. I couldn't help but wonder, though, how did she even get in the building? How did she figure out my room number? And what in the world was going on inside her head? She was nothing but all smiles. Cute, yes, but also a little creepy.

"...Hi...?"

"So? Have you made your decision yet?"

"It's literally been thirty minutes since you guys told me about all of this. I need time to process."

"Okay. How much time were you thinking? Like an hour or two?"

"More like a week or two."

"Jeez. Well, what are you about to do now?"

"Just...walk around. Maybe go back into the forests and do a little flying."

"Mind if I join you?"

"I guess not."

I was a little curious to see what her wings looked like.

"You said your wings were big and feathery, right?"

"Right. When I made my wish, I was inspired by the angel Christmas tree topper my mom has kept throughout my childhood."

"Oh, so you made your wish when you were a kid too?"

"Yeah, I was like...seven or so. I wanted wings like that tree topper has. Hers are so beautiful and white..."

"So yours are white too?"

"Pft, no. They're purple."

"You must love the color purple, huh?"

"A little bit. Oh, and before we go flying, I brought you this hoodie."

She held up the same Camelbridge hoodie I was already wearing.

"I-"

"Before you say you already have that hoodie, I know. But you don't. You know how you have to take your shirt off whenever you go off for a fly?"

"Yeah, it kinda sucks. I get cold."

"I know, right? I used to have to do that too. But then I accepted my invitation to the Castle of Wishes. There, they have so many tailors who are truly gifted at what they do. They can make clothes for anyone, including us fairies. I don't know what kind of fabric they use...some kind of magical fabric, perhaps. But we can have our wings out with it. I'd change into this if I were you."

"Wow...okay yeah, thanks! I'll try it out."

It only took me a quick minute to change my hoodies out. I left the hoodie I had on previously hidden behind a trash can. Hopefully, the janitor wouldn't pick it up. The nature trails on campus were only a ten-minute walk from our dorms, so I continued asking Candy questions about how her life was when she first got her wings. Her back pain was way worse than mine, which made sense since her wings were big. She spent her years homeschooled up until high school. Even without her wings she still stood out because of her pink hair, which was, in fact, natural. After she made her wish she said her hair slowly began turning pink. She told me that she hated how it looked at first, but over time she learned how to become confident with it. With all the talking we did, it seemed like we made it to the forest in less than five minutes, let alone ten.

"I like to take a look around before-"

"No wonder you come here often!"

I didn't even get a good look at her before I felt a big whoosh. I couldn't see their exact shape, but I could see the wingspan for sure. Her wings were huge. Mine couldn't even compare.

"I guess the coast is all clear," I muttered. "Let's give this new hoodie a shot."

I soared up like she did, doing a little spin just for fun. Though her wings were much bigger than mine, I was able to reach a higher altitude more quickly. I followed her through the clouds, the trees of the forest becoming the size of the tiniest ants when I eventually caught up with her. Her wings were like an eagle's, the way they moved so freely. Every now and then, a purple feather would fall with every flap she made. Her wings were interesting to compare to mine.

"It's so peaceful."

"Yeah. Sometimes I like to fly up here with my MP3 player and just...chill."

"That sounds nice."

"Right. Listen, um...I'm not sure if you know the answer to this or not, but how exactly do people like us get our wishes granted? Is it just a random occurrence?"

"Oh, I'm not sure. Arthur wouldn't know either. But you know who does know?"

"Who?"

"The queen."

"There's a queen?"

"There's a castle, isn't there?"

"So is there a royal family?"

"Yeah, but there's no king. Oh, and all of the princes and princesses of the castle consist of people who have wished to become royalty."

"And how many princes and princesses are there?"

"Um...I think a little over five hundred? Including everyone, that is."

"What in the world-"

"I know, I know. It sounds like a mess. But everything is very nice, you'll see. Every wisher has their own bedroom inside of the castle, including me. You'll get one to once you accept your invitation."

"...Candy?"

"Hm?"

"What if...I choose not to accept. What if I like things the way they are now? What if I just...pretend like there isn't some secret society trying to recruit me?"

"....I understand what you mean, Imani. I was unsure too when I received my invitation. I was a sophomore in high school. Some people I've never seen in my life came up to me one day, explaining how they were just like me. I didn't want to believe them at first. But...being part of the castle is like being a part of a support system. We all look after each other. In this world, we're considered to be the abnormalities. We'll never be fully accepted into this society, let's just be honest with ourselves. That's why we've built one of our own. If you don't join, then that's fine. I'll still visit you sometimes if you'd like. Arthur too. But it won't be the same as being able to go to that home away from home, trust me. Plus, we have dragons, so that's pretty cool too."

I laughed at the dragon part. She's right about the dragon thing, they are pretty neat. Maybe she was right about going to the castle too.

"Okay," I said, letting out a small huff. "Let's go. But I need to be back soon, or else my roommate is going to call the cops for me being missing."

"Oh, you'll have plenty of time to get back. Do you still have that envelope?"

"I put it in my hoodie pocket."

When I took out the invitation, which had glowy, golden lettering, I read the instructions out loud just so I did everything right.

"This here is an invitation to the Castle of Wishes, for your eyes only and no others...please read the words at the bottom of this invitation out loud, three times." I looked towards Candy for some sort of reassurance. She simply nodded her head. "Okay. Here goes nothing. Uh...birthday wish alive come true, birthday wish for me and you? You have got to be kidding me."

"It's cheesy."

"Very. There's no way I'm saying this out loud three times. What if I summon something?"

"Imani, what would you even summon? The birthday ghost of 1926?"

I rolled my eyes.

"You said yourself that..."

"I know, I know. And fine. Just two more times then, right?"

"Right."

"Birthday wish alive come true, birthday wish for me and you. Candy, I feel so stupid right now."

"Just one more time!"

"Ugh-birthday wish alive come true, birthday wish for me and you. There."

We waited a second. Then a minute. Then a few minutes. Nothing happened.

"What a joke."

"Imani."

"Is there actually a castle, or is it just made up like this invitation?"

"There is a castle, believe me. I don't know why it's taking so long to suck you into the portal but-"

"What portal?"

"Um-"

"What. Portal?"

"...The one right above you."

I looked up. There was a portal above me, she was right about that. A really big one, too. I could see some mountainous lands through it, but not a castle. "There's no way I'm going through that."

"You have to!"

"No. I don't. I'm black."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Black people don't go through portals. We don't jump from planes. If we hear a random noise, we don't investigate. That's your best bet for staying alive in a horror movie."

"But this isn't a horror movie, this is real life. Take a chance, Imani. You already said the words."

"You're going to have to push me in that thing."

"Do you want me to?"

"No."

"Then we're just going to stay here, then? Because that portal is going to close eventually."

"Just-oh gosh, I can't believe that I'm doing this."

"You're going to go?"

"I guess. What do I do, just fly in?"

"Just fly in. Here, I'll even do a countdown. Fly away to the castle in three...two..."

"I have to pee!"

"ONE!"

She pushed me in. After I felt her shove, I felt this intense tugging sensation at my skin. A pulling. Like I was inside of a vacuum. I could tell that I was being pulled into a different world. Maybe even a different dimension. But I couldn't bear to open my eyes until the feeling stopped and everything was completely still. Silence filled the air. But wait. Birds were singing...? I think I heard laughter in the distance too.

"You can uncover your eyes now, Imani."

I didn't even realize that I had covered them. I felt her hands take mine and opened my eyes to see her bright smile once again.

"Imani?"

"Yes?"

"Do you still have to pee?"

"...No...not really."

"Good. Feel like flying again?"

"...Sure."

We spread our wings. I didn't know where exactly we were- there was no way of knowing. But the sun's warmth from wherever we were felt nice compared to the Indiana sunshine.

"Just around this cliff."

"What's around the cliff?"

"You'll see."

I did. Once we got around the cliff, I laid eyes on the most beautiful, glimmering white castle sitting on top of a massive waterfall. The sun shone so bright against it that it was almost blinding to gaze upon. It was something out of a fairytale. And we weren't the only ones heading towards it. She was right, there were dragons. Massive dragons. But there were also other fairies. Shapeshifters. People young and old. And I think I saw a T-Rex somewhere in the mix. It was a strange, wild, ridiculous mess. But it was...oddly comforting in a way. I couldn't explain it.

"Welcome home, Imani," Candy giggled. "This castle is very much real. Just like that invitation."