This has been a rough year with many people struggling with isolation due to lockdowns and social distancing caused by the pandemic.
People took on all kinds of new hobbies and searched for all sorts of things to keep them occupied and entertained.
Eliana’s family decided to create a fairy garden outside their Los Angeles home in order to help the 4-year-old feel a little less lonely by bringing some cheer to others.
And it worked because Eliana ended up making a magical new friend.
A real-life fairy!
Well, not exactly but a total stranger, whose name is Kelly Kenney, decided to leave notes to Eliana pretending to be a fairy just so she could lift the spirits of a child.
In turn, it helped the Los Angeles photographer to get through the tough time she was having.
Kenney came across Eliana’s fairy garden when she was in the throes of her COVID blues.
“At the beginning of the pandemic I went through some painful personal stuff and would often go out at night for long walks because no one was around and I couldn’t sleep anyway,” Kenney wrote on Twitter.
“One night I was walking down my street and noticed that someone had set up a few little objects in a tree planter and upon closer inspection, I realized it was a fairy garden with a little note about the 4-year-old girl who felt lonely in quarantine and wanted to spread some cheer.”
So, Kenney decided to leave a note for Eliana pretending to be a fairy named Sapphire.
Sapphire said she saw that Eliana set up the fairy garden so nicely that she decided to live in the tree.
Over the next nine months, Eliana and “Sapphire” became friends.
Sapphire would leave tasks for Eliana to complete, like say five nice things to people you love and do three helpful things for someone in need, in exchange for gifts from the fairy.
Eliana has gifted some special dice and by coincidence, she and her family had started playing a child’s version of Dungeons and Dragons.
So, she now had a use for the special die her fairy friend left her.
The two would write each other notes back and forth and looked forward to each other’s exchanges.
Kenney made sure to leave a note for Elliana’s parents with her name and phone number “so they could contact me and know I wasn’t some creep leaving notes for their small child.”
Eventually, Kenney found that the friend was having a powerful effect on her.
“Doing this every night gave me purpose in a horribly painful and lonely time,” Kenney said explaining that it helped her to look forward to her days again.
“I didn’t even realize at first how much it lifted my spirits. … Once I realized that I was coming home with a purpose every night and started doing this, I realized it was actually doing a lot for me also. And I was like, I had things to look forward to. I was excited to do something,” she told Good Morning America.
Well today, their moving day, after a pic.twitter.com/aBtff6OhWN
— kelly victoria 🪐 (@saysthefox) December 12, 2020
Eventually, Eliana’s family closed on a house and were moving and had to leave the fairy house behind.
Eliana was having a tough time with is so Sapphire made sure to let her know that she also was going to move and that Eliana wasn’t alone in her feelings.
Eliana’s mom was so grateful for this and said it helped her daughter significantly, but she really wanted her daughter to get a chance to meet Sapphire in person before they moved.
And Sapphire wasn’t going to let her down.
So, Kenney got herself COVID tested and Eliana’s parents did the same along with their daughter.
She wrote to Eliana saying she had one more gift for her and that she hoped she wouldn’t “catch her” leaving the gift.
We plan to keep in touch/write letters to each other from time to time. She’s changed me forever and the things her mom has said about how her self-confidence, her kindness towards others and her creativity have skyrocketed since meeting me make me feel like I made an impact too. pic.twitter.com/UNkhkrEcR7
— kelly victoria 🪐 (@saysthefox) December 12, 2020
Kenney got herself some elf ears and a neutral-toned outfit and let Eliana “catch” her since fairies turn human-sized when they have to move.
“We got to sit and talk for about an hour and she asked me a million questions about what life is like as a fairy, some I had prepared and others I hadn’t,” Kenney said.
In addition to spending time together, they got to give each other a long-awaited hug.
“It was incredible and one of the most important and impactful afternoons of my life thus far. I hope one day when she’s older she can understand that I truly needed her as much as she needed me these past few months,” Kenney said.
And the two are still friends today! Check out the entire thread of Sapphire’s story below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
I think everyone could use a lighthearted/happy story right now so here goes:
At the beginning of the pandemic I went through some painful personal stuff and would often go out at night for long walks because no one was around and I couldn’t sleep anyway. One night I was walking
— kelly victoria 🪐 (@saysthefox) December 12, 2020
