The realm of the fairies

When I was a little girl, on the occasion of a family celebration, the adults decided that our next trip would be in the Valley of Fairies (Valea Zânelor) in Covasna County. I had never heard the name before, but it fascinated me. With my vivid imagination and my playful and loving uncle on my side, we began to imagine what the Valley of Fairies would be like.

In my imagination, we stood at the entrance of the valley, and there was a long, winding path in the middle surrounded by a dense pine forest on both sides. In order not to scare the fairies and to take a sneak peek of them later, we took off our shoes and creeped from tree to tree along the edge of the cool forest, where a few rays of light filtered in. My uncle suddenly put his finger on his mouth, this being a sign for me that we would only whisper from then on.

We had just hidden behind a tree, when I glimpsed two fairies humming softly. Their wavy and blond hair was full of daisies, their long, white dresses were gently floating, as they tiptoed to the stream to fill their jugs with water. Then, as we lost sight of them, my uncle began to tell me the legend of the Castle of the Fairies.

Szidónia Fazakas Csoma