Hailing from the frozen wastelands of Rhinelander, WI, Madison was born into this world for a single purpose: to slay the hodag. Unfortunately, she accomplished this task at the age of two when she audited the beast for missing tax filings. The hodag, unable to make the payments, soon found itself six feet under. With her life’s purpose fulfilled, Madison had to find a new direction for her life, so she moved on to studying Economics and Business Administration at St. Norbert College in the hopes of catching other beasts not paying their fair share to Uncle Sam. A stone cold businesswoman on the surface, Madison is secretly a child at heart. “Magic Garden” hopes to capture that childlike wonder through the genre of fairy-tales. - Samuel Joski
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who loved playing by the garden in her backyard. The garden was filled with hues of red, pink, orange, and yellow. The vibrant colors popped against the otherwise green yard. Her favorite time was to dance around the floral scent with the summer breeze behind her. With a crown of flowers around her head, she would play fairy for hours. The young girl liked more than just playing fairies; she was infatuated with the little creatures. Hours on end she would sit within the garden whispering secrets to the blooms. The only thing she wished more than a reply was to see one with her own eyes. She was not the only one infatuated, the fairies were intrigued with her as well – although they did not show it. One summer night, the young girl was in her yard to find some other flying creatures. Mason jar in hand, she flew around the yard trying to trap the small lighted creatures. After about an hour of frolicking around, there was finally a sign of light in the jar.
“Mama! Look, I caught something!” the little girl squealed.
“That’s nice dear,” her mother replied.
Excited with her catch, the little girl went to her room taking the jar with her. Placing the jar on the nightstand, she placed an eye on the jar to get a closer look. Much to her surprise, it was not the little lightning bug she was expecting to see. In its place was a small glowing human-like figure. It had magnificent wings that fluttered in the prettiest spectrum of colors. The little girl looked in astonishment at the floating figure before her.
“Are you a real fairy?” she whispered, unsure if she could believe what was right before her eyes.
The tiny figure before her gave a slight nod. With this gesture, the girl was filled with excitement. She actually saw a fairy! Nervous that the fairy might fly away should she open the lid, she made sure to close her windows and doors. Once free from the jar, the little fairy flew around the little girl. Her nose tickled from the pixie dust coming off her new friend. The little girl played with the fairy for what felt like hours until she became too tired.
“Good night, Annabelle,” the girl murmured, drifting off to sleep.
When the girl woke up, she looked all over the room for her friend. Much to her dismay, she could not find the fairy anywhere. Wanting to see Annabelle again, she headed out to the garden in hopes that she might find her there. Unfortunately, she could not find her fairy. Feeling sad, she sat in the flowers chatting her sorrows away. While talking with the flowers, she felt a breeze hit her face. Upon looking up, the breeze did not belong to nature but rather the wings of her friend.
“Annabelle!!” cried the girl.
A smile lit up the face of the fairy as the young girl was overwhelmed with happiness. The little girl spent the whole day frolicking with her friend all over the yard. For the first time ever, she did not have to play her games alone. Her new friend continued to visit her every time she visited the garden. Every once in a while, a new face would pop up. To ensure that her new friends would continue to visit, the little girl created small fairy houses. The fairies enjoyed her gift and kept visiting the girl. The magic lived with her over the years, and she passed the gift of believing on to her own daughters. To this day, the fairies appear to them while in the magical garden the girl fell in love with long ago.