P art O ne
Maíra stared at the creature in front of her in growing confusion and disbelief. There was no possible way that what she was seeing was real. It couldn't be what she thought it was. She was taking a different anti-anxiety med now, so maybe she was allergic to them. Or she'd hit her head. Whatever the cause, she was definitely seeing things.
She took a hesitant step forward and reached out her hand.
The unicorn waited patiently for her to make contact, not moving away or drawing closer. Large blue eyes surrounded by ridiculously long silver lashes blinked at her, watching Maíra's hand waver in front of her.
Maíra couldn't bring herself to actually poke the unicorn, but it finally said, "I'm real."
Maíra squeaked loudly and threw herself backwards onto the bed behind her. The bed bounced wildly, throwing small, decorative, lacy pillows in every direction. Maíra grabbed one and held it up in front of her like a shield, peeking out from behind it at the unicorn, which hadn't moved, but was giving her what appeared to be an amused look.
"How did you get in my room?" Maíra asked, looking around. "My door is closed, my window is closed and the front door is closed and locked."
"I'm magic," the unicorn said, as if it were obvious.
Well, if it really was a unicorn, it obviously must be magic. Not that it should have occurred to Maíra, because unicorns weren't real .
"Why are you here?" Maíra demanded, still hiding behind the pillow.
"You called."
"I didn't!" protested Maíra, looking over the pillow to glare.
"Yes, you did. You've wanted a unicorn since forever," the unicorn argued. "I shouldn't even need to say this, since the room we currently occupy speaks for itself."
It was true. The whole room was painted a whimsical lilac and periwinkle, and had a decidedly fantastical motif. Sure, there were also fairies and mermaids, but the decorations around them mainly reflected unicorns. There were unicorn posters, unicorn figurines and unicorn-embroidered pillows. The shelf behind Maíra held the entire Unicorns of Balinor series and several other books featuring unicorns.
"So I like unicorns, but I haven't seriously thought that I could have one since I was five," Maíra replied. "What makes you think I need you now?"
"Because you have finally fallen in love," the unicorn said magnificently, closing its cornflower eyes with a pleased look.
Maíra threw her pillow at its face and the unicorn danced back and snorted. To Maíra's surprise and shock, the impact of the pillow threw up a glowing cloud of sparkles that drifted down to the ground and settled in a pile of rainbow glitter.
The unicorn sneezed, and it sounded like a dozen chiming silver bells.
"I'm not in love!" Maíra said, crossing her arms.
"Of course you're in love," the unicorn said, matter-of-factly. "We would know. Unicorns are made of love. We are drawn to love in all its forms and expressions."
"I'm not in love," Maíra insisted.
"We'll just see about that!" the unicorn said. "What was her name? Karen?"
"Carol," Maíra said automatically. "Shit."
Before she could say anything, the unicorn turned around, the door to her room opened, and in a silvery flash of light, the unicorn was out the door, down the stairs and rushing out into the street. Maíra jumped up and looked out her window. The unicorn reared up when it saw her, then made its way down the quiet suburban street in the direction of the mall.
"No, wait!" Maíra said, but the unicorn did not stop.
Maíra shoved a pair of her gym sneakers on her feet, threw a hoodie on over her pyjamas and ran to follow. Could anyone see it? The unicorn was magic, so it was only logical that the unicorn could make itself visible to only those that it wanted. No one else was out on the street, as it had just finished raining, so hopefully it would remain unseen.
The unicorn had stopped at the first stop sign where the crescent Maíra's place was on joined one of the bigger roads. It waited
Maíra stared at the creature in front of her in growing confusion and disbelief. There was no possible way that what she was seeing was real. It couldn't be what she thought it was. She was taking a different anti-anxiety med now, so maybe she was allergic to them. Or she'd hit her head. Whatever the cause, she was definitely seeing things.
She took a hesitant step forward and reached out her hand.
The unicorn waited patiently for her to make contact, not moving away or drawing closer. Large blue eyes surrounded by ridiculously long silver lashes blinked at her, watching Maíra's hand waver in front of her.
Maíra couldn't bring herself to actually poke the unicorn, but it finally said, "I'm real."
Maíra squeaked loudly and threw herself backwards onto the bed behind her. The bed bounced wildly, throwing small, decorative, lacy pillows in every direction. Maíra grabbed one and held it up in front of her like a shield, peeking out from behind it at the unicorn, which hadn't moved, but was giving her what appeared to be an amused look.
"How did you get in my room?" Maíra asked, looking around. "My door is closed, my window is closed and the front door is closed and locked."
"I'm magic," the unicorn said, as if it were obvious.
Well, if it really was a unicorn, it obviously must be magic. Not that it should have occurred to Maíra, because unicorns weren't real .
"Why are you here?" Maíra demanded, still hiding behind the pillow.
"You called."
"I didn't!" protested Maíra, looking over the pillow to glare.
"Yes, you did. You've wanted a unicorn since forever," the unicorn argued. "I shouldn't even need to say this, since the room we currently occupy speaks for itself."
It was true. The whole room was painted a whimsical lilac and periwinkle, and had a decidedly fantastical motif. Sure, there were also fairies and mermaids, but the decorations around them mainly reflected unicorns. There were unicorn posters, unicorn figurines and unicorn-embroidered pillows. The shelf behind Maíra held the entire Unicorns of Balinor series and several other books featuring unicorns.
"So I like unicorns, but I haven't seriously thought that I could have one since I was five," Maíra replied. "What makes you think I need you now?"
"Because you have finally fallen in love," the unicorn said magnificently, closing its cornflower eyes with a pleased look.
Maíra threw her pillow at its face and the unicorn danced back and snorted. To Maíra's surprise and shock, the impact of the pillow threw up a glowing cloud of sparkles that drifted down to the ground and settled in a pile of rainbow glitter.
The unicorn sneezed, and it sounded like a dozen chiming silver bells.
"I'm not in love!" Maíra said, crossing her arms.
"Of course you're in love," the unicorn said, matter-of-factly. "We would know. Unicorns are made of love. We are drawn to love in all its forms and expressions."
"I'm not in love," Maíra insisted.
"We'll just see about that!" the unicorn said. "What was her name? Karen?"
"Carol," Maíra said automatically. "Shit."
Before she could say anything, the unicorn turned around, the door to her room opened, and in a silvery flash of light, the unicorn was out the door, down the stairs and rushing out into the street. Maíra jumped up and looked out her window. The unicorn reared up when it saw her, then made its way down the quiet suburban street in the direction of the mall.
"No, wait!" Maíra said, but the unicorn did not stop.
Maíra shoved a pair of her gym sneakers on her feet, threw a hoodie on over her pyjamas and ran to follow. Could anyone see it? The unicorn was magic, so it was only logical that the unicorn could make itself visible to only those that it wanted. No one else was out on the street, as it had just finished raining, so hopefully it would remain unseen.
The unicorn had stopped at the first stop sign where the crescent Maíra's place was on joined one of the bigger roads. It waited
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