Magical storyteller Maria Sertova helps children grow wings

In today’s pragmatic world of logic and tangible realities, one Bulgarian woman living in Ireland has chosen to become a fairy of sorts, bringing a touch of wonder into children’s lives. “The greatest magic for me is to immerse children in a different world - the world of fairy tales - where they can understand their own needs, confront their fears and learn to believe in themselves and in their dreams,” she says.

Maria Sertova sees life as a great miracle that each of us has the power to create. Through her stories, she hopes to pass that sense of wonder on to children. Economic circumstances brought her to Ireland in 2015, a country where parks are filled with fairy trails, tiny magical figures and whimsical little doors hidden among the trees. Having written her first fairy tales in Bulgaria, she carried her enchanted world with her to the island nation, where she went on to establish what she describes as Ireland’s only school for fairies.

“I created it to offer something that ordinary schools often cannot: a place where children can develop their imagination, creativity, and critical thinking,” explains Maria Sertova. “A school for fairies is playful, but it also sparks curiosity. The idea was embraced very warmly, perhaps because fairies are still deeply woven into Irish culture.”

At the school, we use many of my original stories through which children learn important values. We discuss what is right and wrong, and what is good and evil. And, of course, we also do magical things, such as making fairy dust. The children make it themselves from different kinds of glitter and decide what powers it should have. They then take it home in tiny bottles, believing it will help them. Ultimately, it's all connected to the subconscious, to our thoughts and emotions — and that's precisely what we're trying to work with.”

Sertova says that while she was still living in Bulgaria, she once “received” a story she wanted to tell her young son. “It came to me complete — I simply had to sit down and write it,” she recalls. In A Tale About Dreams, she explores the concept of limiting beliefs: our fear of being different, our self-doubt, and our anxiety about how others may judge us. Through the story, she tries to break those stereotypes. Since then, the inspiration for her more than 30 fairy tales has come from both imagination and life itself.

In Ireland, she says, she discovered a mission — to make the world a little brighter and more beautiful through creativity and educational projects. One of the messages she hopes to pass on to children is that they should express themselves freely and continue to see the world as a beautiful place, even when it may not always seem so.

“The world has many different sides,” says the writer, “but children should never feel powerless. On the contrary, they need to know that, like little magicians or fairies, they can create wonderful things, as long as they understand how.”

Maria Sertova’s latest project is a spring series of nature-themed fairy tales designed to encourage children to become more curious about the world around them.

“Connecting with nature is a way to find not only calm and balance, but also a better understanding of ourselves,” says the author, sharing another of the life lessons woven into her stories.

“Once upon a time there was a little caterpillar who lived peacefully until a ladybird told her that the world was far bigger and more beautiful than she had ever imagined — but that to see it, she would have to fly. One day, after finally climbing high enough to realise her dream and gaze out into the vastness beyond, she was given wings...”

But does every caterpillar become a butterfly? Do all dreams come true? Maria Sertova gently suggests that the answer is no, returning us to the fragile world of human hopes and aspirations. It is a realm we should enter carefully, because stories and words can reopen old wounds — but they can also offer a glimmer of hope to weary souls.

Edited by Desislava Semkovska