Beep-beep-beep-beep
“All your plants are here, you know. We brought them all for you to see. I… I know how much you love your flowers.”
The sounds of various monitors and life support equipment were audible above the sounds of consoling words and the muffled sobs of two young parents in a hospital room, at a little girl’s bedside. The girl’s skin was pale and clammy, and her cheeks looked sunken. Even opening her eyes was an almost impossible task for her. She had a weak smile on her face, seeing the many plants from her garden.
“Little one… we know you’re tired. If… if it hurts too much… it’s ok for you to go. We just want you to know that we love you, and you’ll always be our little girl.”
Beep--beep--beep--beep
It was hard for them to tell how much time passed before the girl’s eyes slid shut and a flat tone came from the monitors, followed by a wail and the choking sobs of the parents.
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In another place
Two large, dark eyes sprang open and took in the world for the first time. Filled with childish wonder, they gazed around at all the vibrant colours that filled their vision. A small humanoid shape, nearly 15cm tall, revealed a slender figure and somewhat angular features and hazelnut skin as her wings unfurled from around her and she sprang into the air in excitement. If one were to look at here, their first impression would obviously be Faerie.
She fluttered from flower to flower, plant to plant, examining all that was around her, before looking further overhead and noticing the massive trees towering overhead. Every time she would pass by a plant, they would bend in her direction as if drawn in by gravity.
The place where she awoke from was a lotus blossom that grew in the middle of a small spring in the midst of a glade perhaps 20 meters across. The spring water glowed with unknown power, and fantastical and seemingly magical plants could be seen throughout the area. Surrounding the glade on all sides was dense jungle, filled with the cacophonies of life. Everywhere one looked, insects could be seen bustling about, and the calls of various birds and animals punctuated the living soundscape.
Seemingly unconcerned with anything at all, the tiny faerie danced around and sang to the flowers near the spring, and all around her, the plants appeared filled with vigor. Approaching the small spring, she looked at her own reflection, and only now seemed to notice her own nakedness, not that she minded much. But how could she not want to be draped in colour!
She shot off, searching around the glade for something to wear, not knowing what it was she was looking for until she came across a small spider’s web in a tree. She sang to the spider, not with words, but with melodies that seemed to carry her every emotion, and the spider obliged by spinning her some silk. With its’ nimble legs, the spider wove the silk into cloth and formed an immaculate backless dress for Faerie that looped over her neck and came down to just above her knees.
Through Faerie’s magic, an ordinary spider became a clothier in an instant, all while Faerie herself remained blissful and unaware of how absurd and fantastic the entire situation was! After receiving the dress from the spider, she held our her hand to it, singing a short tune that called to it, and seemed to resonate in its’ heart. After a brief moment, the spider scuttled along and crawled up her arm to perch on her shoulder as she flew peacefully back towards her spring.
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Feeling thirsty after her day’s activities, Faerie came to the edge of the glowing spring, and scooped some of the water between her palms. Taking a deep drink, she felt quite refreshed, and after scooping some more to offer her spider companion, she fluttered over to the lotus she had emerged from which arranged its petals into a bed on which she could sleep. Smiling softly, she curled up with her new companion beside her and drifted off to sleep. As she slept, the lotus gently closed its petals, offering what protection it could while she dreamed.
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The next morning, as Faerie awoke, the lotus unfurled itself, and she glanced over at her arachnid companion. Seemingly overnight, it had grown, and grown considerably. Originally small enough to rest on her shoulder, (bearing in mind our faerie is quite petite at 15cm) tall, the spider was now three times its original size, and its chitin and hair had begun to turn white.
Faerie, however, was completely unconcerned with this transformation, and rather her face lit up with a brilliant smile as she lunged over to lift the spider into a hug and carry it to the shore of the spring. Once they had landed, she scooped a handful of the glowing water, feeding it to the spider, before she scooped up another for herself.
Having slaked her thirst, she set about dancing and singing, making a point to stop by all of the flowers in the glade, each of which was larger and more vibrant than the day before. As she approached the edge of the glade, she noticed that some of the flowers were damaged, seemingly a large animal had torn through the glade in the night.
A serious look came over Faerie’s countenance for the first time since her emergence, and as she sang to mend the flowers, she considered what she might do. Would other things come to harm her garden? These plants and flowers were her friends, as could be seen by how she greeted them at the start of her day. While magical, Faerie was more or less simple in her thinking, and didn’t know quite what to do.
At a loss, she flew over to the new companion she had made yesterday, the spider, and sang to it of her worry. In response, the spider scuttled and danced, making gestures with its’ legs, and like this, the two conversed for a time. After the spider finished offering its’ opinion, Faerie grabbed its’ two front legs and danced in a circle with it, singing in joy, before releasing it and bolting off towards the edge of the glade in search of a particular plant.
The search didn’t take long, and she discovered some vines, just past the edge of her glade. She sang to them, beckoning them closer, asking for them to follow her. Inexplicably, the several vines uprooted themselves. She sang and moved along the edge of the glade, urging all the vines to gather with her, before weaving themselves into a web along the edges of the glade. After hours of singing, she looked at her handiwork, and smiled at the vines that formed a woven wall, now stretching a meter high, helping to protect her beautiful plants.
She sang the vines one last tune conveying her wish for them to protect the glade and all her precious friends from harm. After this, she flew back towards the spring to drink and rest with her spider companion. While she had been away, the spider had seemingly grown again. Its’ body was now roughly 8cm long, and 3cm tall. It appeared to have spent its day weaving all sorts of things from its webs, including some soft silky pillows for Faerie’s bed.
Because the spider was now a bit too large for Faerie to carry over to the lotus, instead, she sang to the lotus, asking it to move to the shore. After boarding the lotus, the spider began arranging the curtains, pillows and sheets it had made for her, and they faerie once again laid down to rest, feeling delight at her new bedding. As she and the spider drifted off to sleep once again, the lotus once again closed its petals, though it left some gaps where the curtains hung from it, and returned to the center of the spring.
Having answered Faerie’s plea for protection earlier, along the edge of the glade, all across the outside of the vine wall, thorns sprouted, while the inner side of the wall became adorned with white blossoms.