Are You There?

This is a submission for a contest. Berry has just purchased a flower from a mysterious roadside florist who claims that this flower contains a capitivated fairie waiting to be set free.

"Come one, come all! Flowers galore!" a roadside florist yelled.

 

"Mistress," the florist then said to a young lady, holding out a flower in her hand, "Would you care to purchase a flower? In these little dazzling darlings contain captivated fairies that will be set free by your wishes."

 

Berry stared at the florist with her gooseberry green eyes wide with amusement. A captivated fairie? In a flower? She snickered inwardly at the thought of it. Then again, she wondered, what if? She stared at the flower, a rose the colour of pink blush. It looked positively dazzling.

 

"How much?" She found herself asking, "How much is it for one?"

 

The florist beamed at her, as if she had just hung the moon.

 

"It's a dollar for a stalk," the florist smiled, "But I'll give a discount. Half a dollar for a stalk, for the pretty mistress with captivating green eyes. This blush rose here, is to help with your love life. Not that you might have a problem with it, ma'am."

 

Berry chuckled and paid the florist.

 

"Wait," she hesitated, "How... How do I set this... capitivated fairie free?"

 

"You must make your wish from the bottom of your heart and believe that it shall come true," the florist's eyes sparkled, "The fairie will help to make your wish come true once it has been set free."

 

Berry stared in wide-eyed wonder. It was absurd beyond catastrophic proportions, she mused. She took the stalk daintly from the florist's hands, as if to be tender to the captivated fairie inside, if there was one. Then she bowed to the florist and walked off.

 

~*~

 

Berry sniffed at the rose and pondered about the florist's words. How could there be a fairie trapped inside such a small rose? Ah well, she sighed, I'll just place it in water and gaze at it everyday. What more could a flower be of use, besides decoration? She climbed up the stairs to her apartment and paused at her door.

 

"Berry darling!" her neighbour, a fortune teller by the name of Saralie, called out from across the hallway. "How are you today?"

 

Saralie's happiness was always infectious and after just a brief meeting with her could brighten up the rest of your day. Berry smiled and gave Saralie a big hug, carefully holding out the rose to prevent it from being crushed.

 

"I'm doing good," she nodded, "Thanks for asking."

 

"Ooh," Saralie gazed at the rose in her hand, intrigued, "Did a mysterious stranger present to you this rose? How romantic! It's positively beautiful, darling."

 

Berry blushed at Saralie's comment. Who, in the right state of mind, would want to court her? Berry was slightly podgy with dirty blonde hair and gooseberry green eyes, which were the only attractive part about her. She had freckles dotting across the bridge of her nose.

 

"Oh hush, Saralie." she playfully scolded her, "How could a girl like me have hopes of finding a nice guy to be with?"

 

Saralie smiled knowingly, as if she knew something Berry did not. Well, she did. She was a fortune teller!

 

"I've seen it darling dearest," she began dramatically, "No, really, I have."

 

Then Saralie paused for a moment, her eyes glancing at the rose, "Hmm... now this is intriguing. Very intriguing."

 

"What is?" Berry asked.

 

"Oh, nothing." Saralie pasted a smile on her face and hopped off, "I've got to get busy with my fortunes. I'll see you around some time soon."

 

~*~

 

As Saralie's door shut with a loud bang, Berry jumped. Goodness gracious, what was that all about? She chuckled to herself and concentrated on getting her door open. She felt a little wet nose nudging her thigh. She ignored it and went back to jiggling the key in her lock. Then the nudging became a shove; she stumbled and fell.

 

"Hey!" she protested angrily, "What's your problem, Lassie?"

 

"Is there a problem?" A masculine voice resounded from the hallway, "Biggie, get over here and stop bothering the poor woman."

 

Berry turned to stare at a charmingly rugged male striding down the hallway. Boy, was he charming. He had shaggy, slightly wavy dark chocolate hair and equally dark eyes that could almost seem black. His clothes were slightly dishevelled and messy, as if he had thrown them on quickly.

 

"Your dog..."

 

"He's not mine," the man said, "He goes wherever he wishes. Biggie's like a cat, never staying in one place for too long."

 

She then stared at the furry creature hiding behind the man's leg. It was huge in size, almost up to her chest. It had a glossy black fur coat, dotted with white markings. Its eyes were mesmerising, like a Husky's, but they were... silver, like mercury. Wow, Berry mused, that is one fine creature.

 

"Sorry about that," the man scrubbed a hair through his hair, "Biggie's a bit unpredictable. I'm Gerry, short for Gerard."

 

Berry got up and look around for the rose she had bought. She gasped. It was slightly bent at one angle. She must have fallen on it when Biggie was nudging her. She picked it up and smoothed down its petals, gently cooing, as if it were alive.

 

"I can compensate you for that." Gerry said.

 

Berry shook her head. I should probably set the fairie free sooner rather than later, she thought, it could get destroyed so easily. If there even was a damn fairie.

 

"It's alright, I don't think the florist is selling 'em anymore." she said, almost sadly, "I need to be off."

 

Gerry stared. He looked a bit astonished at her sudden briskness.

 

"Will I," he asked, " Will I see you around?"

 

Berry smiled teasingly, "Maybe. It's all up to Fate now isn't it."

 

Then she walked out of the apartment building, and she could not help smiling all the way.

 

~*~

 

Berry stared up at the trees in wonder. The forest was serene and quiet; nobody could disturb the peace. She could hear the sounds of trickling water from a stream up ahead. She approached a small mushroom ring in the middle of the evergreen wonder. The trees surrounded it in a a full circle, letting light shine on this small patch of mushrooms. It looked almost ethereal.

 

Slowly, she made her way into the center of the ring and clutched the rose tightly in her palms. She wished for a happy life. Nothing. Hmm, she wondered for a moment, from the bottom of my heart. She shuddered.

 

She closed her eyes, bowed her head and whispered, "In this everglade, I set you free. Fairie of the Flower, I set you free. Grant my wish of happiness and love, go on free, free my dove."

 

The flower glowed and dazzled in the sunlight; yet it seemed to be giving off a light of its own. Berry kept her eyes squeezed shut, afraid of looking. Then as suddenly as it came, the glow from the flower faded. The light shining down on the patch of mushrooms disappeared. Berry opened her eyes at the sudden absence of light.

 

Seems like the florist was wrong, she thought disappointedly.

 

She sighed, dug a small hole in the ground and planted the rose. She stared at the blush pink of the petals and wondered if her wish or the fairie was real. Then, slowly, Berry navigated her way out of the forest. The skies opened up and poured on her as she exited the forest. She draped her jacket over her head and ran towards the nearest shelter, a cathedral, to escape the rain.

 

In her haste to get out of the rain, she bumped into a wall, a clothed wall. It was Gerry.

 

"Running for shelter, sweetling?" he asked.

 

She smiled and nodded and then ran off, as if daring him to chase her. Gerry grinned, looking almost, wolfy, as he sped off in the same direction.

 

~*~

 

The rose stood alone, seeming out-of-place in the mushroom ring. It glowed and the water droplets sparkled as they slid off the blush pink petals. A tiny fairie with electric blue hair, popped its head out from behind a petal and then flew off. As it spiralled up into the sky, a wet nose came sniffing at the remnants of the rose. Without a care in the world, it munched on the petals and bulb, then stalked off.

 

~*~

 

Author's Note

It's a bit rushed but I hope it actually make sense. My brain doesn't function well in the night. I hope that I got all the grammar, somewhat, correct. Do comment on the randomness of the story. :D

Reviews

[deeps]

Wonderful story here. I like this and the way you ended it. This is very descriptive write here.

[Micco Gibson]

Good story, and yes, it is random, lol. Did you purposely leave off the story on a cliffhanger to let the reader decide the ending for themselves? Anyway, good write, it's a different story and I enjoyed reading it.

[Sophia]

Very good! I loved how you described things. Very beautiful.