Freesia's Dance, a flash fiction story.

Freesia’s Dance

Freesia lived in the gardens of Olympia square along with her faerie den. Her lovely pink droplets caught the early morning dew and the evening moonshine. Many colors of the freesia plant, which she was named for, grew in the garden along with magnolia and poppies. Part of the terrace walkway traveled around a rose garden while cherry trees flanked the water fountain.   

            During the day Freesia fled from the human caretakers of the garden through the portal. At night, when a concert played in the open shell shaped building nearby the faeries hid from the humans who passed through the garden on their way to listen to the orchestra. Once the humans had settled in with their backs to the garden Freesia ventured out. She was so adept at the human music she could name the instruments.

            “Violin, flute, piano,” Freesia said, naming the familiar tones. Lifting her chiffon dress in shades of green and pink she twirled rapidly into the air. Her butterfly wings fluttered so quickly their shades blended into a rainbow behind her back.

            With toes pointed, Freesia danced just above the plants that bore her name. She skipped to the beat of drums and summersaulted in mid-air along with the sweet notes of a flute.

            Many faeries traveled from neighboring gardens to watch Freesia dance. Her delicate moves inspired faerie artist and even the local faerie council adjourned their meetings early to attend Freesia’s performance. But…Freesia’s smiled belied her lonely heart. If only she could find a faerie male who loved to dance as she did.

***

Far away in the river bend lived a male faerie who was named for the moss that covered the rocks near the water’s edge. His hair curled all around his head I shades of green. When rain fell, his hair grew unruly and a visit to the faerie barber was in order. Other faeries in his den tended the tall grasses of the plains or grew mushrooms from the decaying roots of trees. Wild flowers were abundant and all the female faeries were named after them. However, Moss wasn’t content with his faerie lot. He didn’t want to tend the green plant that spread from rock to tree trunk. He wanted to dance.

In the summer when the cricket’s chirped and the meadow lark sang his song, Moss would dance above the river. He skipped over the rocks and dove beneath the water to ride a rainbow trout as it leap into the air after a fly.

Many of his male counterparts laughed at Moss. But the faerie females would often clap and cheer for joy at his achievements.

Once a human pulled their car up alongside the river and it was then that Moss heard human music for the first time. He longed to travel to a city where he might hear more music.

On a full moon Mosses den had a visiting faerie who spoke of a beautiful faerie girl who loved to dance. When Moss learned of her he packed a change of clothes and caught a ride with a dragonfly. They traveled over plowed fields of corn and wheat. Cottonwood trees lined the riverbanks. Large boulders sprang up and a weeping willow swayed in the breeze dipping her skirts in a pond.

Moss arrived late one evening, drawn by the most beautiful music he’d ever heard. He settled beneath a magnolia and watched with rapture as Freesia danced, He couldn’t help himself, he had to join her.

His wings were gossamer white, his clothing as green as his curly hair. He skipped on a magnolia petal and twirled in mid-air joining Freesia as she threw her arms wide and pointed one foot.  

***

Freesia stopped dancing when the stranger flew to her side. She backed up holding herself airborne and covered her mouth with her hand.

            “I am Moss.” He bowed. “I love to dance and when I heard of you and this place filled with music I had to come.” Moss began to dance to the swell of the orchestra. His face lit with pleasure as he twirled. Freesia smiled. A moment later she joined him. Delight sprinkled their faerie dust on all the flowers beneath them.

            As the evening grew long and the music became silent, Moss took Freesia’s hand and they flew to a private place near the water fountain.

            “I was born for this,” Moss said.

            “You dance beautifully,” Freesia said.

            They spent the remaining hours before dawn sharing their life story. Every night they danced. Their laughter filled the garden. The rocks near the fountain grew moss on one side. Fireflies joined dragonflies to light the plants and walkways.

            When autumn came and the music grew silent Moss remained. Winter soon covered the plants with a white dress. Spring brought the renewal of life and the flowers stretched their green leaves. Summer brought warmth and music once more to the garden and Moss led Freesia in her dance.

            On mid-summers night eve, Moss married Freesia beneath the cherry trees. “Now our dance will never end,” he said and sealed his love with a kiss.

Word count: 857

For those of you who are new to flash fiction, it is traditionally 1,000 words or less. This amount of words forces the author to tighten the story and often doesn't allow a long plot or in depth character building. I do hope you enjoyed my faerie tale. I’ll be posting new stories on the 20^th of each month.

Nancy