In the interests of being fair, I offer up to you my own submission to The Fairy Ring Writing Contest. I can’t win, of course, but I wanted to share my humble effort as I believe all writers are in this together. I hope you enjoy.
Violets by Anna Meade
“I want a man who’ll twine violets in my hair.”
I wrote this sentence and then doodled violets in the journal margin. My whimsy would be the death of me. My days were spent on the outskirts of the woods behind my parents’ home, sprawled under a tree on a faded blue-check blanket, barefoot and hair-tumbled and romantic poetry-addled.
I rolled onto my back, staring at the late summer sky. My too-long skirt tangled round my legs, so I sat up to extricate myself. The shadow fell over me then.
He smiled and put a finger to his lips. His step barely stirred the grass. He took me by the hand to his bower, where we supped on honeysuckle and blackberries.
“Every day I am with you feels like a year,” said I, idly leaning against his shoulder.
He smiled, so tenderly, and wound flowers through my curls.
His hands were gentle and his kisses were poignant. I stayed awake as long as I could, but my traitor eyelids fell. I slept so heavy, filled with ambrosia and dreams, and when I woke all the forest was in the chill grip of autumn.
I shivered and hurried back towards the edge of the woods, back to my parents’ home. I ran to the door and pounded, “Mother! Father! I’m back!”
The door opened and a startled wrinkle-raisined face peered back at me. “Are you looking for someone, child?”
I stumbled backwards and ran towards the forest, heedless of my way. I found my tree and beneath it, mostly buried in the dirt, I unearthed the smallest fragment of paper. It was weather-faded and nearly illegible, but I knew what it said:
“I want a man who’ll twine violets in my hair.”
Painting by John William Waterhouse; Photography by Andrew Kuykendall
That just made me sigh….ahhhh lovely!
Thank you Angie! I seem to have failed in my objective of ominous creepy, though. *wads paper, scribbles*
Oh so beautiful! I want to run out a buy some lavender now!! <3
Thank you Ruth. I do love the smell of real lavender. It has a faintly nostalgic whiff.
Beautiful. It’s a shame you can’t win. 😉
I much prefer one of the other excellent entries. I just wanted to put my entry on the firing line alongside theirs 😀
Wow – love this! Nice work Anna, slightly chilling but also lovely 🙂
Well there was that little TINGE of creepy…LOL! Seriously, loved it! Great visuals.
Oh, I so love this. I’m so happy that you decided to throw your story in! You have such a wonderful way of setting a mood and, yes, delightfully wistful and frightening!
I love it, Anna. Love the tricks of time you used.
Lovely! So sweet but sad!
How the time passes when you’re having fun! Wonderful 🙂
This is so lovely and so true to the beauty and cruelty and otherworldliness of faeries. 🙂 Loved it.
I’ve always find the time stealing aspect of faery fascinating – instant conflict!
Anna! This is awesomely sweet and sad! I love it!
So bittersweet and lovely, it’s a great story. I’m a big fan of the vagaries of time when interacting with the Fey.