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‘I’ve had several [experiences] but I decided to choose one. The majority of my fae experiences happen in dreams, whether I was around the fae or I was one (those are rarer but they do happen occasionally). The first ones that I ever had, though, still sticks with me. I was in my dad’s house. I can’t remember which one. We moved a lot when I was a kid. One was surrounded by the woods, but I can’t tell you if I had one of these dreams there. Now to be perfectly candid, I’ve not had a good childhood. My father was physically abusive, and I don’t remember anything about the experiences except for when I woke up in the morning. I felt as though electricity was coursing through me. These dreams were recurring, and they always were the same. My father would drop me off at a house, which honestly inside was more like a cave. The walls were rock, and a slimy substance dripped from the ceiling. Inside were the same two trolls every time. He’d leave and the three of us would be alone. It’s been so long I can’t remember what we did or talked about. You’d expect a small child to be afraid of them. Most would consider them quite ugly. Even I did after I woke up. But while I was dreaming, they seemed normal. They felt safe. The dream would always end with my father coming back and me begging them to keep me. But every time they’d tell me: ‘No. It’s time to leave’. I’d cry, he would take me away, and I’d wake up. I was moved around five houses when I was really young, and I was only truly safe in one. I was in desperate need of an escape, and as a young child of only four or five, I got one. Since, I’ve had several dreams about the fae, dreams about deep caves and rich forests, dreams of them on my family’s properties. You can imagine my shock when I heard about the crystal city and how I’ve had dreams of that place for years. And outside my bed I’ve always felt a yearning to be in the mountains in my town, I’ve always felt safest in the woods. Although sometimes I’d get an energy that I instinctively knew wasn’t safe for me to be around in which case I’d leave, find a safe place. And since starting witchcraft, I’ve put out offerings to the fae and in return my plants have miraculously lived even after I presumed one dead after an insecticide had a bad reaction. For months I hadn’t watered it, but before I got around to getting rid of it I realized it was alive. In return, lights that had gone out fixed themselves, every time brighter than before. I’ve learned to always be careful around them, out of simple precaution and knowing they are tricksters more often than not. But what’s been helpful is I’ve been around them since I was a small child. They’ve been everywhere in my life for the duration and have offered me a safe place when I’ve lived in danger.’ ‘The fairies I’ve seen throughout my lifetime have been across the board. But in the dream, they were trolls (I think). They were greenish brown with wrinkly skin. Their feet and hands had four fingers. One was stubby, one had claws. One was taller and slimmer, though still very burly. One was shorter and squatter, though still the size of a full-grown man.’ ‘I think it was a fairy experience because since I’ve experienced several other kinds of spirits including more of the fae and the fae have a specific feeling to them. The same feeling, I felt all that time ago.’ Fairies are ‘nature spirits/guardians.’ ‘I don’t know how much stock you take of dreams. I’ve also had experiences with them in person and I can say the dreams I’ve had feel just as real and complex as the experiences I’ve had my whole life.’