Moon Fairies

My son has the sweetest little imagination. He's 4-1/2, and just as cute as a button. Big brown cow-eyes and the brightest smile. Last night, after his bath, he came up to me with this look of wonder on his face. He had something in his hands. "Mama, come see!" he whispered.

"What do you have?" I asked, intrigued as to what could be so wondrous and awe-inspiring.

He held up his little hands and in them was a wadded up, dripping wet baby-sized pink washcloth. I must have looked perplexed, because he quickly unwrapped the soaked bundle to reveal a small, plastic Fisher-Price Little Person, which is part of his baby sister's dollhouse set. He then launched into his story of what, exactly, I was looking at.

"She's a moon fairy," he whispered reverently, cradling the tiny, wet doll in his hands. "Her name is Luna, like the big moon, and she came down to me in her pink popper-moon, from where she lives in the blue sky with all the stars and the other fairies."

Now, I don't know what a popper-moon is, nor did I realize the moon fairies lived amongst the stars (I thought they lived in the bushes across the street - that's what he told me last week), but he was just so damn cute, standing there with a wet cloth and a plastic doll, which in his mind was a fairy who came to visit him.

At that moment, I simply could not for the life of me envision how anyone could find it in their hearts to hurt a little child, to abuse a small boy like this, to call him names or treat him like a dog. All too soon he will be a big boy, past the imaginings of fairies and popper-moons and baby-dolls. What will he be like, how will he turn out, if he continues to be treated as though he was stupid and insignificant by the only male authority figure in his life?

I hugged my little boy last night, and wished for him that he somehow manages to always stay this sweet and innocent... and I wished for some vision to come into my head of how I can save him and his sister from this mess I've gotten us into. My gentle little man deserves better.