Jewel Of The Jungle

“Come on, Julie, let’s go!!!”
I groaned. Mum was going on one of her boring treasure-seeking jobs again.
Now, don’t go thinking my mum’s just like Indiana Jones or Lara Croft. No, she isn’t. Her job’s a bit less exciting. All she does is travel around the world, collecting jewels for the boring, dusty little museum she works for. Last time she went, I asked her where does she go to look for the jewels? She told me she mainly digs in caves and temple ruins, but she isn’t like Lara Croft, even though they share the same last name, because she never meets man-eating tigers or living mummies. She always leaves me at home with my dad whenever she goes of on one of her jaunts, but this time she was taking me, because Dad was going off on business trip off his own. Even though it was going to be in France, where I’ve always wanted to go to Disneyland, Dad thought I might enjoy myself with Mum instead.
Mum came into my room. “Oh, Julie,” she sighed, when she saw my packed to the brim suitcase. “We are going to the Amazon Jungle. Where do you think you’ll be cleaning your teeth? And where is the electricity you’ll be using to straighten your hair?”
She took out my toothbrush and my hair straighteners. She also resorted my clothes, leaving behind a couple of t-shirts and a couple of pairs of shorts.
“We’re only going for the weekend,” Mum argued, when I protested about my lack of clothing.

In two hours time, we were travelling down the Amazon River in a canoe. It wasn’t just us two; we were joined by a man called Ian Powell. He had sat next to Mum on the plane and they’d got talking. She told him she was a treasure seeker. Who collected jewels for a sleeping little museum she worked for. He told her he was also a treasure seeker, but he didn’t work for a sleepy museum, he just did it for the exhilaration. He said he was on his way to the Amazon Jungle because he’d heard of a legendary collection of crystals that was supposed to bestow magic upon the owner, and would we like to join him? I had hoped Mum would say no. I didn’t like the look of this Ian Powell at all. He was a smarmy git, and right now he had his arm draped around Mum’s shoulder like they were a couple. There was something about him I just didn’t like.
I was glad when Powell decided to set the canoe upon land at last. I jumped off immediately. Mum and Powell followed.
“Now, Julie, Ian and I are going straight for that cave over there. Would you like to come with us?”
She looked up at Powell with such an adoring look, I nearly puked. I didn’t fancy going into a cave with that slim ball, thank you very much.
“No thanks,” I replied. “I’m going to explore outside.”
“Okay, but be careful of mosquitoes.”
The jungle was so full of wet, green trees, and big, brown rocks that it all looked the same to me. I felt sure I was lost now, and that I wouldn’t be able to find my way back to Mum and Powell.
I kicked a stone really hard in my anger. And I got a surprise. As I kicked the stone, it flashed purple. I bent down and picked it up. It was still glinting purple, but it also flashed other colours in the sunlight. Then I noticed other stones, and picked them up as well. One glinted blue, while another glinted red and yet another one glinted green.
“I wonder if I’ve found the magic crystals?” I thought out loud.
“You’re right!!!” Sais a voice. It was so soft and fluttery I wondered if I’d heard properly. I looked around me, but couldn’t see anyone.
“Down here,” said the voice.
I looked down. All the stones I was holding started glowing, and then I dropped them because they suddenly burnt my hand. But instead of dropping directly to the ground, the stones hovered in the air. I felt sure there was magnets involved somehow. The world was then filled with a bright, white light. When it subsided, I saw a group of floating fairies looking at me.
I rubbed my eyes, eager to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. And they were still there, real as real. They were tiny little people, with wings. Just like Tinker Bell. One was wearing a purple dress, and the others wore, red, blue and green dresses.
“We are the Amazonian Fairies,” the one wearing the purple dress said. “We protect the jungle from evil doers. We mainly disguise ourselves as crystals. I’m Amethyst. And these are Sapphire, Ruby and Emerald.”
I cleaned out my ears, feeling for earwax, but there wasn’t any. I really was listening to a fairy in a purple dress talking.
“Are you alright?” The fairy called Emerald asked.
“Yes,” I answered. “Uh, my name’s Julie. And I’m here with my mum. She’s a treasure seeker, you see, and she looks for crystals and jewels to display in this boring museum she works for..”
“You mean Abigail Croft is here? Here, in this jungle?” Amethyst asked.
“Huh? You know her?”
“Yes. Your mother’s famous amongst us Jungle-Dwellers. Jungle-Dwellers - and Cave-Dwellers as well - all over the world have helped her look for crystals and jewels for the boring museum she works for.”
“Wow!!!” I exclaimed. “She never told me that!!!”
“Well, would you have believed her if she had?” The fairy called Sapphire asked.
“Well, no, I suppose not,” I admitted, remembering how two minutes ago, I thought I was imagining things.
“So, where is the famous Abigail Croft right now?” The fairy called Ruby asked.
“Well, right now, she’s exploring a cave with another treasure-seeker. He’s called Ian Powell, and he’s a real smarmy git…”
All the fairies gasped.
“Did- Did you say Ian Powell?” Amethyst asked.
“Yes. Why?”
“He’s another Human who famous amongst us Jungle-Dwellers - And Cave-Dwellers. But for bad reasons,” Amethyst explained. “Like your mother, he knows about us. He travels around the world, looking for us, when we are in our crystal form. Then, before we change into our fairy form, he crushes us up, so there’s nothing left except for our Essence. That’s like death to us fairies. Then he rebuilds us into soulless crystals, and sells the soulless crystals on for hat he calls a Great Profit.”
“That’s terrible!!!” I exclaimed. “I thought there was something about him I didn’t like. Can’t we do something?”
Sapphire shook her head. “We fairies are too small to be a match for him.”
“But I’m not!!!” I insisted. “I’ll stop him.”
“Well, okay,” Amethyst agreed. “There is an incantation that you, as a human, can say.” She flew right up to my ear, and whispered the incantation.
“Right, got it,” I said. “Now, change back to your crystal forms immediately!!!”

I found the cave in quick time. As I got close to it, I spotted Mum and Powell emerging from it.
“I’m sorry we didn’t find your crystals, Ian,” Mum was saying. “Maybe in the next cave, yeah?”
“I’ll be delighted for you to join me, Abs,” Powell was smarming. “I feel like you’re the crystal already.”
‘Yuck,’ I thought to myself, as I watched the slime ball plant a wet kiss on Mum’s cheek. I took a deep breath, and came walking towards, as though I hadn’t been watching them for the past couple of minutes.
“Oh, there you are,” Mum smiled, as she saw me. “I was wondering where you was.”
“What’s that in your hands?” Powell asked, lunging for me. He grabbed the stones off me, looked at them, and gave a hoot of excitement.
“Oh, my God!!! These are the crystals I was telling you about, Abs!!! I can’t believe I found them at last!!!”
“What, those things?” Mum scoffed. “They look ordinary to me.”
“They’re fairies in crystal form,” I said. “And this man,” I pointed at Powell. “Is a fairy killer. He crushes fairies when they are in their crystal form, rebuilds them into soulless crystals, and then sells them for huge profits!!!”
Mum had been listening to all of this with growing horror. She looked at me as though she thought I’d lost my mind. She turned to Powell for reassurance.
“Tell me she’s joking, Ian.”
“Of-Of course she is, Abs. A child’s imagination.” But his voice was coming out wobbly, and his face had gone a milky white.
Mum got the message. “I can’t believe it, Ian. How could you? And to poor little fairies as well!!!”
I looked Powell straight in the eye. And yelled out: “MEMORIOS REVERSIUS!!!”
A brilliant flash of white light came out of nowhere, and knocked Powell backwards. He landed with a dull thud on the wall next to the cave. He was unconscious. Mum stared at him. The crystals all started hovering, and reverted back to their fairy forms.
“Please?” Mum asked. “Is he still alive? I mean, I know he was a pig, but I don’t want to have witnessed his murder.”
“It’s okay, Mrs Croft,” Ruby reassured her. “He’s had his memory wiped. When he wakes up, he’ll love fairies.”
Mum breathed a big sigh of relief.
“We would like to thank you, Julie, for saving our lives,” said Amethyst. And you are now a true Human Fairy. You will become famous among us fairies for your act of bravery. And your story will be passed down fairy to fairy, for years to come. I am now going to tell you your name.”
“But my name’s Julie,” I told her.
Amethyst shook her head. “No, that’s your Human name. I shall be telling you your Human Fairy name.”
She fluttered up close to my ear. She whispered one, solitary word. But it was enough to sound magical and special.

“Jewel.”