Once long ago, Henrietta had flown across a sky covered in millions of stars. There were so many that you could barely see the purple black of the night. Deep below the world was nothing more then shadows. For one special night Mama had turned into a brilliant ginger horse, and together they had flown through the wind, with Henrietta's tiny hands clutching onto her mother's mane. The cosmos spiralled above them like glittering snowflakes and when Henrietta listened carefully, she could hear the stars sing.
According to Mama, the stars were Henrietta's sisters. They all sounded so very sad.
Of course that was back when Henrietta had a different name, when she hadn't learned how to speak, let alone argue back. The entire world seemed upside-down now. The night sky felt empty while the dark city glowed with millions of electric lights. Henrietta pressed the button on her bikes tiny portable speakers filling the sticky warm air with music.
Humanity had long ago chipped away at the shadows, true darkness no longer existed. Henrietta flew above the snail trail of glowing cars heading down the M5 motorway towards south west Sydney.
After forty more minutes of flying, Henrietta's bike landed on an unremarkable road with a small skid. The bike gave a faint pathetic sputtering sound, dying from the lack of magic.
Every house on the street looked exactly the same.
Clay grey and chocolate brick boxes with tiny front yards.
The trees on the nature strips were all brand new but still half dying.
Henrietta hopped off the bike, her stomach churning slightly with nerves as she approached her target.
The only thing that made the house remarkable was a silver moon hung up on the front door.
Henrietta pulled the green folder out of her Tooth Fairy utility belt and flipped it open. The target was a girl named Larima Khostwal. Larima was eight years old and had just lost her third tooth. The file stated that she was the first child in her family to be born in Australia. Her mother was from Afghanistan while her father had grown up in Iran. Larima's mother had died a year before of cancer, and her father often forgot about special occasions. The files "extra notes" stated that because of this, it was important to submit the tooth to the Middle Eastern cultural department so they could throw it into the sun. Henrietta shut the file and then carefully approached the side gate. Tooth Fairies always avoided the front door.
"Open the gates and seize the day," Henrietta sang quietly and the gates flew open with a silent well-oiled whoosh.
The tiny backyard was drowning in plastic.
A child's sandpit smothered the grass.
A plastic slide dug into the straggling daisy bush.
A trampoline half covered a patch of clover. Henrietta stooped over, and even in the dark her expert eyes spotted a four leaf clover. She plucked it carefully smoothing it down with her gloved fingers, then carefully tucked it away for luck. After a moment of carefully assessing the garden and its natural resources, Henrietta pulled herself up onto the muddy trampoline and threw herself upwards, her entire body jiggling to one side.
For a brief moment, Henrietta spotted an old woman getting ready for bed before she jumped again, spinning to the right. There was a flash and Henrietta spotted a dimly lit bedroom with bunk beds and shadowy toy-like shapes. Henrietta hurled herself forwards as she jumped again, grabbing the side of the roof. When Henrietta had begun her training, she could barely run up the stairs without getting winded. Five years later she moved like a wild possum, her feet tiptoeing across the roof tiles.
In another life Henrietta could have been a witch who ran an enchanted toy shop, or a magical baker whose muffins caused people to turn into frogs.
But sometimes history took a funny turn.
Sometimes wars happened and fathers had to make hard choices.
Henrietta had been promised to the tooth fairy connection for as far back as she could remember.
Still, Henrietta mused.
It could be worse, some girls ended up having to spend their lives spinning gold or cleaning up after beasts.
All Henrietta had to do was collect old teeth. Henrietta found herself standing exactly above the child's bedroom.
Quickly and quietly, Henrietta reached into her official Tooth Fairy utility belt and pulled out a tiny bottle of reality instability powder. The powder, a potent mixture of dark matter, crushed belladonna leaves and mermaid spit could temporarily destroy a small amount of reality. Some people snorted it in order to make their brains vanish so they could see the true nature of God and the universe. Tooth Fairies used it to easily break into buildings. Henrietta carefully took the jar's stopper off and then sprinkled the sand onto the tiles. With a faint whoosh, a hole appeared in the roof. Henrietta jumped through the hole and landed straight onto an open toy box filled with LEGO's.
"Shiitake!" Henrietta swore as she sat up, her back creaking, tiny pieces of pink lego flying off her tutu.
Henrietta's Aunt Grian had cursed her tongue with the inability to swear when she was a toddler.
The blankets on one of the bunk beds shifted and Henrietta almost shrieked with panic.
"Go to sleep, and goodnight, lullaby my sweet angel," Henrietta sang and the blanket sagged with a sigh.
Crisis averted. Henrietta took a deep breath to calm herself down and carefully pulled her instructions out of her utility belt.
"Top bunk, of course it's the top bunk," Henrietta muttered as she stepped over abandoned toys and reached upwards, searching under the bunk's pillow.
After a few seconds, Henrietta located the tooth wrapped up in a tissue and she sighed with relief. There were few things more disgusting than grabbing a slimy baby tooth in the dark.
Something stirred in the bottom bunk
"I said lullaby and goodnight!" Henrietta muttered, her voice cracking with annoyance.
The blanket twitched again and began to shake.
Only something inhuman, something fueled by dark and sinister forces could stay awake after hearing the lullaby.
Or perhaps someone who had just drunk three energy drinks in a row.
Henrietta's hand hovered over the blanket as it twitched again, making a faint humming sound.
A sound like a swarm of buzzing wasps.
Henrietta knew she should just walk away and climb out the bedroom window.
Instead breathing heavily Henrietta grabbed the blanket and whisked it away.