Growing up in Fairyland

Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved fairy tales. She didn't just love them though, she lived them. Each day was a new adventure as she became a princess, or a pirate, or even a mermaid. She saw fairies in the grass and bushes beside her house and she was terrified of the creature she was sure lived in the swamp. Life was full of magic and surprises and she was very happy. Every once in a while she would come down from the clouds, or out from the pages of her books to reality. But not very often. Along with her sisters and best friends, she created elaborate fantasies and built castles in the air. Together they fought dragons, kidnappers, evil witches and black knights. They built fairy houses in the back yard, and discovered an island in the swamp that became their hide out.
                  
Then a funny thing happened. The little girl started to grow up. It happened gradually, and slowly over time the games she used to play seemed silly and childish instead of magical. Make-up, clothes and boys suddenly became much more interesting than fairies, mermaids and swamp creatures. And the other little girls began to grow up too. Soon there were no more fairy houses, or pirate battles or trips to the little island in the swamp. Things like piano lessons, dance classes, and sports took the place of reading and make believe. The little girl hardly ever saw fairies in the grass anymore.
                  
Sometimes she longed for her Fairyland, where things were much simpler and you didn't have to care what people thought about you. And every once in a while she could still catch a glimpse of fairies dancing in the grass. Well, the not-so-little girl continued to grow until she became just a girl. Her dreams were full of boys and dances and parties. She still had her imagination, but it was used less and less, until it was hardly used at all. She read "realistic" books, and watched "grown up" movies, and played flirting games rather than fantasies. Then she graduated from high school and got a summer job, and started to prepare to take the leap into young adulthood.
                           
After a particularly stressful and "realistic" day she was sitting out in the back yard, trying to relax and forget about two certain boys who had somewhat complicated her life. As she sat there, she could almost see five little girls in dress up clothes playing in their Fairyland. The memories flooded back, and she had the strange sensation of wanting to cry and laugh at the same moment. For a small moment she was back in her childhood Fairyland, and everything was right in the world. Then, as all moments and memories do, it passed, and the sky began to grow dark. As she went inside she paused, and looked back one more time.

The sun had set, and out of the corner of her eye she could barley see a single fairy, dancing in the grass.