Walt Disney's Peter Pan and Tinkerbell ignited a spark in me, a stubborn childlike belief that they were more than just characters in a story. Their timeless charm made me imagine a world unseen to most. Back in my home province, amidst the lush greenery, I stumbled upon whispers of that magical world.

A monstrous balete tree loomed near our house, its gnarled roots and twisted canopy casting an ominous shadow. My parents painted vivid pictures of an invisible monster lurking within, tales of a creature with an insatiable appetite for lost children. Yet, even fear couldn't keep me away entirely.

One day, armed with fishing poles, my father, brother, and I ventured to the shadowed river basin cradled by the balete's roots. The silence was otherworldly, broken only by the whisper of leaves and the eerie creak of branches swaying in the breeze. Tiny birds danced and chirped overhead, a burst of life in that somber place. Suddenly, a glimmering, leaf-like object spiraled down, catching the sunlight that pierced the dense foliage.

But this was no ordinary leaf. On closer inspection, I realized I held a tiny, pointed wing—nothing like the rounded wings of the dragonflies I used to chase for my pet spider. Intrigued, I showed my father, but he dismissed it with a frown, urging me back to our fishing. I tossed the strange wing aside, watching it tumble and twist in the current, and as if on cue, my fishing line jerked violently!

That day by the balete tree is etched in my memory, a flicker of my childhood wonder. Though time has passed, I still cling to a whimsical belief in fairies. I've even had other encounters that seem to hint at their hidden world, but those are stories for another time. Imagine if they were truly among us, whispering secrets on the wind. We might take flight alongside them or discover a realm of pure, forgotten magic.