He had let the garden go after she died. Erin was six when she was hit and killed in a crosswalk. She believed fairies sprinkled magic dust on the plants to make them grow.
After Jared and Paulette divorced, it had been just the two of them. Now he was alone in the backyard at night.
At first, he thought he was dreaming when he saw them. He walked closer to the stacks and got on his knees. They were little people with wings spreading dust. One came nearer, right up to his face. The little fairy smiled. “Hi, Daddy.”
I wrote this for the Rochelle Wisoff-Fields writing challenge. The idea is to use the image above as a prompt to craft a piece of flash fiction no more than 100 words long. After a lot of editing, my word count is 100.
My wife buys a lot of things at yard sales because they’re cheap. This includes a ton of children’s books for our three-year-old granddaughter. We have several books in the Pinkalicious series (no, I’m not kidding), and my granddaughter loves them.
In one of the books, Pinkalicious believes fairies come every night to sprinkle dust on their garden to make it grow, and she and her brother Peter, not only camp out in the backyard at night to see them, but build the fairies a pretty impressive little house.
That’s where I got my basic idea.
To read other stories based on the prompt, visit InLinkz.com.
Scary start, but a sweet ending.
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Thanks, Alice.
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Heart-rending.
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Thanks, Sandra.
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I teared up on this James with that last line.
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I’m glad my wee tale touched you.
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It did. 🙂
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Sad but very sweet story. Nicely done, James.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Thanks, Susan.
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A magical ending James, nicely done.
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Thanks, Iain.
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Turning sadness into magic. I love it.
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Thanks, Linda.
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Lovely little fantasy piece here, James
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Thanks, Josh.
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Such a bittersweet, beautiful story. I also love the back story. Fairies belong into gardens.
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Thank you.
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Dear James,
A magical story that tugs at the heart strings. Sweet.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks, Rochelle.
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Love girls and little fairies! This was so darling. Seems a fitting transformation.
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Thank you.
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So poignant. I agree that gardens are a natural habitat for fairies.
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Thanks, Jilly.
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Magical story.
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Thanks, Jennifer.
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Oh, James, you had my eyes prickling with tears with your last line. Well done!
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Thank you, Penny.
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A bittersweet ending.
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It is indeed. Thanks.
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Love this sweet story.
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Thanks.
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Lovely ending, I hope your character has found peace
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I hope so too, Michael.
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A beautiful story!
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Thanks, Dawn.
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Love this, James. My kind of fairy tale… wonder if Austin is one of them…
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Austin? What am I missing?
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My first-born. Sorry… I keep thinking everyone knows.
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LOL. I suppose he can be if he wants to be.
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Why not?
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Are you sure he wants to be a fairy? Poor little Erin had to die first.
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James. He already did.
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Dale – sorry to hear of your loss and you really are an inspiring woman of resilience
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Thank you, Yvette. Yes, Resilience has become my middle name, apparently… I really do appreciate your kind words.
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💜💜🙏
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🧡🧡💖
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Lovely heart
Tug!
✌️💜
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Aw, I loved the surprise ending. And so much backstory in so few words, I felt his life flashed before my eyes so that I understood him completely. One of my favourites from your stories, James.
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Thank you, Fatima. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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So lovely… and I’m sure there is a way to cope when he has seen the faeries… and I’m sure boys can be faeries too.
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She was the only one to get close enough so he could see details, but I’m sure you’re right, Bjorn.
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Heart-warming.
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Thank you.
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