Day 5, Forty Day Writing Challenge "A room full of details"

In Los Angeles, as a child, I had my own bedroom. But I often preferred to sleep with my Nanny, Insi Dosing. I loved Insi because she talked to me and took care of me. She was my friend in the daytime when everybody else went to work or school. She would give me a bath and dress me up and take my picture. She allowed me to take a picture riding a horse in our back yard. Sometimes we went out. I thought she was very pretty. She'd wear nice pants with a top and a hat and sunglasses and sandals. Sometimes a man would come over and talk to her. The man would call her Dolores. I didn't know if they had prearranged the meeting or if they really met just then. I didn't know as a child that many times Filipinas worked overseas as maids hoping to marry an American who could give them a good life. I don't even know how old Insi was when she took care of all of us in Los Angeles. This was way before the OFW days. On those days when we went out, we'd always get back home before others in the family would. Insi also had her times of being angry, the way all people do, but at night she'd tell me stories before we'd go to sleep, usually about a man she was in love with. I remember at least two boyfriends that she loved very much. One came after the other.

I loved Insi's room. It was an attic room, very snug, and perfect for a child like me. I suppose she liked it too because she was poor and she would never be able to afford to live in a house like ours and sleep in such a lovely attic. I don't remember the furniture but I remember that I was always happy sleeping with Insi.

Sometimes she'd fall asleep before I did. At other times I'd wake up in the middle of the night. That was when I would see lights in the room. Little dainty lights like fireflies, only they were fairies. Usually, it started with just one fairy. Then there would be two, three, and more. They would dance for me, their lights blinking of different colors. Then there would be so many of them. They were like a carousel for me. I loved how they put on such a lovely show. They danced silently but beautifully. Today, I would compare them to a scene in Beauty and the Beast when the dishes danced for Beauty singing, "Be my guest". Only, the fairies never interacted with me, they performed for me. One time I woke Insi up in the middle of the night. "Look", I said. She awoke briefly and I pointed at the fairies. She said "There's nothing there" and went back to sleep.

But I knew they were real. I still know that they are.