The Faerie with Red Lips

A love story told in two short vignettes

Leila stretched out in the grass, closing her eyes against the sunlight streaming in through the leafy canopy above her. The morning carried the promise of more oppressive heat later on, but for now she was more than content to enjoy the cool breeze and the dampness of the morning dew.

A loud thud sounded, jolting Leila to her feet. Her gaze searched, searched, and locked on to a figure laying in the grass. She opened her mouth to cry for help, but before a word couple come out of her head, the figure leaped up and barreled straight in to her.

Leila was left laying back on the ground, looking up in to a face that wasn’t quite human. The eyes were a bit too sharp, the lips a bit too red, and the teeth looked sharp enough to cut through bone like butter.

The figured tilted her head, and Leila saw the tip of a pointed ear before the figure kissed her nose and jumped up, dashing off in to the forest with all the grace of a gazelle.

Leila was on her feet and running after the figure before she quite realized what she was doing.

The figure glanced back and stopped so quickly Leila slammed in to them. They didn’t seem affected at all, only wrapped their arms around Leila until she had her feet back under her. The pair stared in to each others eyes until the figure leapt up, caught hold of a branch, and swung away from Leila’s sight.

Leila stayed for a long moment, staring at the spot where the figure had been just a moment before. Finally she tore herself away and walked back towards her house and responsibilities, sparing a more than a few glances back in to the forest.

*****

The next day Leila felt drawn back in to the forest. She sat by the creek, letting its waters taste her toes. She listened to the gossip of the creek and the birds and watched the spaces between the leaves, almost hoping for a familiar face.

To her surprise, she found it. Leaf green eyes stared at her, and the figure from the day before dropped lightly to the forest floor on the opposite side of the creek. It beckoned, and Leila leapt across the shallow waters. She followed it to a hollow where mushrooms sprouted like weeds and the air was thick with spores.

Leila stared in wonder at the thick carpet, then lifted her eyes to the figure, which was gently herding a frog away from the mushrooms. The figure caught her eyes and tilted its head. Words seemed to harsh for the mushrooms and the still air and the lithe figure, so Leila simply lifted her fingers in to a heart shape. The figure crossed to her in two quick strides and matched the gesture, then leaned in until their noses were almost touching. Leila closed the gap in to a kiss, and it was sweeter than any summer day.