by

Woodland #Writephoto

My husband and I head out in our hiking boots when the dawning sky slides from lavender to blue. He treks up the hill ahead of me, and we squint when the sun twinkles through the trees.

“Stop!” I shout, too late.

My husband shrieks and bolts behind me. “What?”

“Oh my God, you stepped on it.” I suck a breath through my teeth.

“On what?” Nature boy peers over my shoulder and then checks the soles of his boots for dog turd or deer duds. But poop isn’t the problem.

I creep forward and squat down for a closer look. The thing is squashed, imprinted with his zig-zag tread, opalescent wings mashed into the pine needles. I poke it to see if it’s alive.

“What is it?” he asks from a safe distance.

I look up at him, the horror of our situation congealing in my chest. “We’re in such big trouble. You stepped on a fairy!”

“A what?” He inches forward as if the fairy’s going to leap up, whip out a wand, and shrink him into a toad. “Is that bad?”

“Of course, that’s bad!” A wing flutters, and we share a glance. “It’s not dead. We have to do something.”

“Throw it in the bushes.”

“No! We have to help it.” I gently scoop the fairy onto a fern, and we head downhill. “We need to call someone for advice.”

“Take it to the vet,” Mr. Helpful suggests.

“The vet?” I shake my head. “I’m calling Colleen Chesebro. She knows about fairies.”

“The swamp-fairy whisperer lady?”

“She doesn’t live by a swamp anymore. I think her fairy knowledge has expanded.” We push through the screen door, and my husband fills a shoebox with toilet paper as if he’s adopting a gerbil.

“Really?” I blink at him. “Toilet paper?”

“It’s soft and fluffy,” he explains.

I rest the fern on the soft, fluffy toilet paper and call Colleen. With the phone on speaker, we chit chat our greetings and get to the issue at hand. “Colleen, my husband crushed a fairy and—”

“He what?”

Hubby jumps in, giving me the skunk eye. “I stepped on it by accident.”

“Anyway,” I say, “It’s still alive, but it’s sort of squashed, and we don’t know what to do.”

“First thing,” Colleen says, “leave it in the woods where you… squashed it.”

The hubby and I wince in unison and look down at the shoe box. “Umm…” I say into the phone.

Colleen sighs. “Okay, scrap that. New first thing, bring it back to where you found it and leave it there.”

I grimace at the phone. “That doesn’t seem very compassionate.”

“Fairies are magical,” Colleen explains. “Trust me.””

“What if the raccoons get it?” my husband asks.

“The raccoons won’t bother it?”

“Cougars?” he asks.

I worry he’s going to list off the entire contents of the animal kingdom, and apparently, Colleen does too because she nips that recitation in the bud. “Animals don’t harm fairies. Nature is symbiotic. You probably have a forest fairy, part of the same ecosystem as the ferns, moss, and trees. The Earth will heal it or transform it.”

“Oh,” I say. “Well, I guess that makes sense. Are you sure?”

“If I’m wrong you’ll only be cursed for life.” She chuckles. “Just kidding.”

Great, a comedian, but I have to ask, “How will we know if you’re right?”

“We won’t be cursed,” my brilliant husband replies.

“You’ll know.” Colleen smiles through the phone line. We give her our thanks and hike back up the hill with the shoebox. The sun shoots spears of warmth through the evergreen, and we gently rest the fairy and her fern a little to the side of the path. The least we can do.

The next morning, coffee in hand, we climb the leafy path to check on our charge. The fairy is gone, but the forest is alive with butterflies.

pixabay images

Thanks to Sue Vincent for her Thursday #Writephoto prompt, and to Colleen for letting me insert her in my story.  I hope you enjoyed my fairy tale.

198 thoughts on “Woodland #Writephoto”

  1. notsomoderngirl says:
    September 17, 2018 at 8:38 am

    You have such a fantastic blog 🙂 Do you have any advice for a much smaller start-up blog? 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  2. America On Coffee says:
    March 14, 2018 at 11:18 am

    Coming to the aid of a little creature goes beyond humanitarian-to angelic! Nice share!

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Cloud Walker says:
    February 25, 2018 at 11:10 am

    neat one!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Sean P Carlin says:
    February 10, 2018 at 3:58 pm

    What a delightful little story, Diana! I always love reading these little prompt-inspired episodes you dream up! I adore your Romantic view of earth and nature, and the way you find and celebrate the magic in it. Nicely done.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. patriciaruthsusan says:
    February 9, 2018 at 1:45 am

    A darling story with humor, Diana. Your poor husband, having him stepping on a fairy. That’s a great ending. 😀 — Suzanne

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Antonia says:
    February 8, 2018 at 7:08 am

    Awesome! I read the story before I looked at the pictures, so I was not expecting that he stepped on a fairy. Love this!

    Liked by 1 person

  7. reocochran says:
    February 7, 2018 at 5:48 pm

    This was enchanting, Diana! The way husband handled it was both sensitive and reminiscent of how boys and girls find things in the woods and choose shoebox full of toilet paper or tissues.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Denzil TheBookOwl says:
    February 5, 2018 at 12:08 pm

    Super story Diana. You grabbed my attention right from the start.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Hugh's Views and News says:
    February 4, 2018 at 4:50 am

    Love, love, love this, Diana. What a magical story. If it’s a true story, then I hope you’re both safe. I’m sure you will be. After all, it wasn’t an evil fairy you squashed, was it? 🤔

    Liked by 1 person

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      February 4, 2018 at 10:10 am

      I’m hoping the fairy recovered, Hugh. I’m a believer that intent is super important, and our intent wasn’t to harm the fairy. Colleen was a wonderful sport about playing along. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, my friend. ❤

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Miss Gentileschi says:
    February 4, 2018 at 4:01 am

    What a wonderful and funny story, Diana! “Throw it in the bushes” totally cracked me up! 😄 And I’m so glad the fairy survived – in a way. Transforming it seems so naturally magical – great idea! 😊💜

    Liked by 1 person

  11. leighannschneider says:
    February 2, 2018 at 11:53 am

    Loved this!

    Liked by 1 person

  12. authorsinspirations says:
    February 2, 2018 at 8:31 am

    loved the husband.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. JoAnna says:
    February 1, 2018 at 8:33 pm

    This delightful story will help me be careful where I step. But if I should ever have an accident, It’s comforting to know the Earth will heal or transform.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Jay says:
    February 1, 2018 at 5:11 pm

    I really like this, and I was really worried there for a minute!

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Laleh Chini says:
    February 1, 2018 at 4:42 pm

    Surely wonderful 🌸

    Like

  16. Sophie @ Blame Chocolate says:
    February 1, 2018 at 3:41 pm

    Loved this, Diana! Such a great magical realism shot ❤️ I’ve begun to enjoy the genre so this was absolutely delightful. I adore faeries and the humor in this!

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Bel says:
    February 1, 2018 at 11:18 am

    I had to read it again – I felt this is one of your stories that really happened – and, yes I do believe fairies exist. Love your writing as always 😊

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Teri Polen says:
    February 1, 2018 at 10:12 am

    This was fun, Diana – “Take it to the vet’. Lol.

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Khaya Ronkainen says:
    February 1, 2018 at 9:18 am

    Wow, love it! What a delightful write. It helped put a smile on my face after such an exhausting day; battling snowstorm and traffic jams. Thank you. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  20. shutterbug says:
    February 1, 2018 at 7:50 am

    Magical! Had me smiling throughout and left me feeling.. well, magical!

    Liked by 1 person

  21. thebookwormdrinketh says:
    February 1, 2018 at 7:26 am

    Just letting you know that I’ve nominated you for a Sunshine Bloggers award because you’re so wonderful!! Fee free to check it out!
    https://thebookwormdrinketh.com/2018/02/01/sunshine-blogger-award/

    Liked by 1 person

  22. Julie Holmes, author says:
    February 1, 2018 at 6:11 am

    OMG, love this, Diana! I’ll be sure to watch carefully for fairies the next time I take a walk in the woods 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      February 1, 2018 at 6:36 am

      Thanks, Julie. It’s a bit on the silly side and my poor husband took the brunt of it, but when I saw the prompt the story just had to be told. 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed it. Hope your writing is going well!

      Liked by 1 person

  23. lynne hoareau says:
    February 1, 2018 at 2:07 am

    Ahh, I love your fairy tale ❤ Have a wonderful day Diana 🙂 .

    Liked by 1 person

  24. Otto von Münchow says:
    January 31, 2018 at 3:33 pm

    What a great read. A true fairy tale.

    Liked by 1 person

  25. roughwighting says:
    January 31, 2018 at 3:12 pm

    I believe every word of this story. Delightful!

    Liked by 1 person

  26. Chelsea Owens says:
    January 31, 2018 at 12:06 pm

    At first I was reminded of the fairies in the movie “Labyrinth.” I love the bit about the butterflies at the end.

    Liked by 1 person

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