Woman spent months pretending to be a fairy to bring joy to lonely child

By Brelaun Douglas via SWNS

A young Californian woman spent months pretending to be a fairy to bring joy to a four-year-old( at the time) girl who was feeling lonely during quarantine.

In April 2020, while out on a walk through her Culver City neighborhood, Kelly Kenney stumbled upon a fairy garden created by a kid named Elaina who was feeling lonely during quarantine.

“I had gone for a walk late at night and found the garden and immediately wanted to be part of it,” said Kelly, a professional photographer [who declined to give her age].

“I have always been passionate about children's creativity and keeping that spark alive for as long as possible.”

Kelly decided to leave a note for Eliana, pretending to be a fairy named Sapphire.

“I saw a part of myself in Eliana's note and I knew if she was magical enough to want to make a fairy garden, she might find some magic in getting a note from a fairy,” she said.

She also left a note for Elaina’s parents with her name and number so that they could contact her.

She spent the next months getting to know Eliana through letters the pair would leave each other at the fairy garden.

Kelly would also leave Eliana presents of magical dice, stuffed animals, plants and photos of herself as Sapphire and Eliana would leave her drawings, a book she wrote her and other trinkets in return.

While she was glad to bring some joy to Eliana, the interactions also helped Kelly to overcome her own issues.

“All of this is just as much about her helping me as it is about me doing something special for her,” she said.

“It reminded me that even though I was depressed, I was still worthy of love,” she said.

“I had lost parts of myself and she was helping me bring them back and reminding me what it was like to feel that kind of excitement, joy and childlike curiosity again.”

Eliana’s mother Emily also told Kelly that since meeting her, Eliana’s creativity, imagination and confidence had all improved.

When Emily told Kelly that the family would be moving, they decided that it was time for Eliana and Sapphire to meet in person.

Both sides were COVID tested then Kelly, donning an elf costume and a mask, was purposely “caught” by Eliana leaving a gift at the fairy garden.

Even after the family has moved away, Kelly and Eliana have managed to remain in touch and plan to keep doing so.

“I will be in her life as long as they want me to be, and hopefully one day she can find out I'm not technically a fairy but still someone who loves her and wants her to always find the magic in life and will always be someone she can talk to and get support from,” Kelly said.

“She's equally as magical and I think one day she might even be inspired to be a fairy for someone else.”