It’s Friday again, and 100 word fiction time! All sorts of things have been happening. Madison has changed her site address but that doesn’t change anything about our Friday meeting of the flash-fiction “club”. The link to Madison’s story and the links to all of the other 100 word stories can be found on this page:
http://madison-woods.com/flash-fiction/damsel-fly
Here is Madison’s photo prompt and my 100 word story:
I’ve always known that there are fairies. If they don’t exist, why are there so many of them in our myths and legends? Why are there stories called fairy tales if there aren’t any fairies? These days, we tend to swat things and ask questions later. What if we’re killing fairies?
Here, behind the supermarket, there’s often perfectly edible fruit. It’s thrown out when it gets a little spot on it. Such waste!
I see the fairy in her pointy hat standing on a pebble in the puddle, her wings glistening. I fumble for my reading-glasses. I must see this up close!
Splatter 
100-word count limit is great! it’s nice to find a fellow flash fiction author here on wordpress. keep up the good work 🙂
Thank you.
T
Sorry, technical difficulty on that last comment. I loved the feel of this. Whimsy and steadfast belief, both very sweet and innocent. Nice job.
My linky: http://unduecreativity.wordpress.com/2012/06/21/puddle-jump/
I thought that there had been a problem and waited to see if you would come back. So pleased that you did. Thank you for your comment. I was going for the elderly lady or man who can’t see very clearly up close without glasses – rather like myself.
Sense of possibility, sense of waste, and then possibility fulfilled. Very nice!
cheers, Lorelei
http://www.westcoastwriters.blogspot.com
I had to un-spam you. I don’t know why you were hiding in there. Thank you for your comment. I’m glad that you liked it.
She sounded so young before getting to the reading glasses and I love that it was actually (to me, anyway) an elderly lady. I like her seeing magic in the world. I bet she’s just like the old lady from “Warning” by Jenny Joseph.
Thanks for stopping by me already 🙂
I’m here: http://mysocalleddutchlife.wordpress.com/2012/06/20/friday-fictioneers-22nd-june/
Yes, I saw her as an elderly lady (but she could be a man) with her mind jumping from one thing to another and her sight a bit fuzzy at close quarters, without her reading-glasses – hence the mistake about the fairy.
Sweet train of thought by the narrator. I loved that she just assumed she was looking at a fairy. The use of reading glasses seemed normal to me; I wouldn’t have thought to comment on it, but for the previous reviewers’ comments. Obviously, I have had presbyopia for so many years, I just “see” it as a normal part of life now! Damn.
It has become a normal part of life for me now, too. Old age has a few inconveniences. Thank Heaven for reading-glasses! Thank you for your kind comment. Just think how disappointed she must have been when she could see her fairy clearly!
For a moment, I was reminded of my childhood when I lived on fairy tales and fantasy books.
Mine: http://logo-ligi.com/2012/06/21/a-silent-moment/
I was wondering if she would be very disappointed once she’d seen it clearly. I half-don’t want her to find out that her fairy is a damselfly.
I’m sure she’ll get over her disappointment. lol
I know my little granddaughter believes in fairies. The ‘ice cream fairy’ is one of her favorites. I am that fairy 😉
It’s such a pity that our belief in them is taken away from us, now. Our belief in good fairies, anyway. It’s probably a good thing that the bad ones have gone from our lives. What does it feel like to be a fairy?
I’ve always loved fairies and fairy tales. Sounds like a lady who holds onto the magic wherever she can find it. Sweet! I’m on the list but for your other readers who might happen by I’m at http://www.rochelle-wisoff.blogspot.com/2012/06/homework.html
I think that she’s a whimsical old lady who refuses to believe that “growing up” means abandoning fairies. I’m glad that you liked her.
loved your story! the voice has this genuineness to it, and it’s really sweet…
http://writersclubkl.wordpress.com/2012/06/22/friday-fictioneers-around-the-bends/
Thank you Raina. I’m glad that you liked it.
Ha love it, a very unique take on this. Well done!!!
Thank you, Boomie. I’m glad that you liked it.
I tried the linked in code, all of them and it tells me I am not linking back to them, so it won;t take my link. Must be on my end. Until I figure it out, here is my story for the week.
Having now slept on it, I’m convinced that it depends on your Browser. When you insert ordinary “http” links into your posts, are they automatically activated, or do you have to go through the Link icon (next to the broken link, which removes them) on the bar above the post (I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s where you find Bold and Italics, etc.)? If you have to do this, you’ll most likely have to do the same thing when you insert the Inlinkz code at the end of your post. I have two Browsers, Internet Explorer and Firefox. IE activates “http” links automatically as soon as I finish typing them in. FF doesn’t and I have to use the above-mentioned Link thingy. Now that I’m a whole day older, therefore wiser (?), I now know that whenever I want to insert a link – any sort of link – in the future, I’ll use Internet Explorer because it’s a lot simpler. However, I also know how to do it via Firefox – if I really have to. As I wasn’t going through the Link icon above the post when trying to do it with FF, it was removing the first half of the code every time that I clicked Update on the post, so the Inlinkz icon couldn’t be activated.
I hope that this is able to help you. I know very little (almost nothing) about technology, so can only tell you of my own experience. Also, don’t forget to click on HTML on the Edit page of your post before trying to enter the code (at the top, on the right-hand side, just above your post, you’ll see Visual and HTML – another thing that I’ve only just learnt.)
Oh, by the way, the right code for your blog is Code No 2, which is the third one on the list, as Madison said.
Hope she wasn’t TOO disappointed when she put on her glasses on. Delightful story. http://www.triplemoonstar.blogspot.com
I hope so, too. I didn’t want to find out, so I stopped the story there. Thank you for your kind comment.
Hi,
Fantastic short story, I loved the idea of the fairies, and the ending was priceless, well done.
Thank you, Mags. I’m very glad that you liked it. I had a bit of trouble with it this week. It took me ages to fix the ending.
There are far more things in heaven and earth than we give credit for and we are discovering new everyday so it’s perfectly feasible. I shall think before I swat next time 🙂
Here’s mine too: http://womanontheedgeofreality.com/2012/06/22/friday-fictioneers-gramps-and-me/
Good! I’m glad to have incited someone to think before swatting! (I think that you’re allowed to unthinkingly swat female mosquitoes when they’re carrying eggs, because it’s only the females who feast on your blood, and they only do it when they’re “with egg”) I’m sure that we’ll discover that fairies really exist – or existed – one day! Thanks for visiting.
But how do you tell a female from a male .. in the midst of being bitten 😦
Easy! Only the females bite! If you’re being bitten, it’s a female. They only do it to feed the eggs that they are carrying. Males just ignore us. Females do, too, when they are not “pregnant”.
Ah, so I shall now swat those particular nasties quite happily then – thank you 🙂
Interesting information from the dialogue bnetween you and Linda. I believed in fairies throughout my growing up years until recently. I actually believed they existed. I attribute this to my over fertile imagination. Thank you for sharing this. Mine is here and linked as well. http://readinpleasure.wordpress.com/2012/06/21/fridayfictioneers-the-omen/
It’s my teaching impulse. I come from generations of teachers, although neither my father nor my mother went into that profession, and I can’t seem to resist sharing what I’ve learnt with other people. It’s probably very annoying, but Linda was encouraging me, so this time, it’s her fault.
I think that we should believe in fairies. They mightn’t be the way that we think they are, but I’m sure that they exist – or have existed in the past. Perhaps they are creatures from another dimension who used to visit us regularly until something happened and closed the passages between our dimensions. Who knows? Could some of them have been trapped here?
Nice take on the prompt. If only we could all hold on to beliefs like that throughout our years. Sadly, many don’t.
Thank you for your kind comment. It is true that many don’t, but some still do. For now.
I love the name of your blog, Lady Marilyn! Also really enjoyed your story, because I’ve always wondered about fairies, too. 🙂
–Jan
The name of the blog was supposed to conjure up the idea of drops (the posts) falling wherever they land, with no particular planning of subjects. They are all things that interest me but are in no particular order. My mind has its own logic. I’m glad that you liked my story. Thank you for reading.
As Linda said, who knows for sure? I really like that you left it there. Not everything can be answered, solved or explained. Good job, I really liked it.
http://www.lazuli-portals.com/flash-fiction/damselfly
You were in the Spam. Don’t know why. Yes, thankfully there are still a few mysteries left. In this case, I think that the old lady (or could be a man) just mistook the damselfly for a fairy, but who knows? it might have been a real one… I’m glad that you liked my story. I wanted to leave my character before she looked at it with her glasses – just in case!
Lovely story. I do like your reasoning on the existence of fairies. I hope it also applies to dragons.
For your readers here’s mine
http://tollykitsjourney.wordpress.com/2012/06/22/damselfly-fridayfictioneers-flashfiction/
Ah, well we know that dragons really existed – even the fire-breathing ones. They used hydrogen taken from something that they ate – can’t remember what – I only remember the interesting bits – and used it to fly (they mated in the air, like eagles) and used it to defend themselves and, for those living in cold mountain regions, to keep their eggs warm. Males and females hatch at different temperatures – cooler for males than for females. Some of them (mostly the tropical ones) returned to the sea, where they no longer needed their fire-breathing abilities (and probably couldn’t find the stuff that they ate to maintain the hydrogen levels) and the ones who came back onto land no longer breathed fire. I saw a documentary about them a few years ago. Some frozen bodies had been found blocked in a cave in Europe somewhere. They didn’t breathe fire until they were adults, which was very wise of Nature. And that ends today’s lecture on wildlife. Are you still awake?
That was wonderful 🙂
Hmmm never thought of fairies living among us. Maybe they do exist but we just don’t really see them as ‘fairies’. Perhaps they are dragonflies..or damsel flies…or maybe they are regular house flies! 😉 Very sweet story! For those that might have missed mine, here’s the link. http://mahjira.blogspot.com/2012/06/last-warning.html
You just never know. (I think that we can count the house flies out – they are usually associated with the Devil!) I’m glad that you liked my story.
fairy…great imagination
You were in the Spam. I’ve had to fish two people out of there today. Thank you for your kind comment.
I think it is wonderful what you have done, it is so important not only for us as story tellers but also for every day people to really see the potential in the things that children believe in. Love how sweet and warm the story, specially coming from an “older” person believing in the fantasy of fairies.
Thank you. What a lovely thing to say! Children see the world as wonder. Adults often forget to do that. I’m so glad that you liked my story!
You are very welcome 🙂
oh sorry here is mine
http://vsichalwe.wordpress.com/2012/06/22/friday-fictioneers-3/
There is art and magic everywhere. And no doubt tiny beings everywhere are putting on their glasses to get a closer look at us!
I love this story – such an incongruous place to find such an unexpected creature!
I agree that art and magic are everywhere and you could be right about those tiny beings. I’m so glad that you liked my story. I just hope that the elderly lady isn’t disappointed when she puts on her glasses.
Very interesting twist.
Mine is here: http://erinleary.wordpress.com/2012/06/22/flash-friday-fiction-6/#entry
Thank you. I’m glad that you found it interesting.
Sweet. No more swatting things and asking questions later! – what if they are Fairies? 🙂
I had been by earlier, no time to comment then. I like the simplicity of your story, and how your character shares her thoughts. (I think she is a woman because she believes in Fairies 🙂 )
Nice picture of you by the way 🙂
I thought she was a woman, too, but some people could have seen her as a man. It is true that the fairy thing is more a feminine trait than a masculine one, but it could just be that men hide it. I’m very pleased that you liked my story. (The photo was taken at Christmas in 2010 – my hair is a lot longer now and has more visible white streaks in it.)
Yes… you’re right, definitely could be male. I imagine your hair looks much brighter now 🙂
I quite like the white streaks!
🙂
This was the perfect story the morning after my overtired nine year old reminded me fairies aren’t real. Thanks for this!
Kathy
How sad! A boy or a girl? And who dared to feed such “information” to a nine-year-old. It’s not true! It isn’t! I won’t have it! Fairies have to be real! Talk to him/her about parallel universes and the beings who live there and sometimes visit our time/space (or should that be space/time, I never remember?). Scientists are looking into this as we speak. No fairies, indeed! What is the world coming to? Oops! That should be “to what is the world coming?” English, Marilyn, English!
HAHA! This one’s my girl, and normally she’d never have said this but it was late and she was sad and overtired and had just lost a ponytail holder so there was nothing good to be seen in the world. Normally she’s the fairiest kid around (you should see her bedroom!). But you know, we do have a lot of conversations about parallel worlds, quantum mechanics, the trouser legs of time and so forth.
I love thought provoking, “what if” questions. I guess all writers do, since that’s where stories are born. Why are faries depicted as tiny and feminine? Why can’t they be fat, bald, and bearded? Is that not loveable? Your story has created a boiling cauldron of ridiculous possibilities in my mind, and I thank you! 🙂
Good questions. Fat, bald and bearded evokes a gnome rather than a fairy. Tiny and feminine probably goes better with flying in our minds. All that stuff about grace and dancing. Some fairy godmothers are not very loveable, though. They can be rather nasty. The Irish refer to fairies as the “little people” so there must be some basis for fairies to be small. They probably live in a parallel universe most of the time and just visit us occasionally. I’m glad that my story has stimulated your creative thought. I wonder what will come out of it all.
Wow. I’m seeing damselflies and fairies in a new way. The setting also challenges my preconceptions. I love that! Great shift in perceptions.
I think that the elderly lady was probably looking at a damselfly but couldn’t see it clearly until she put on her glasses. But it might really have been a fairy. Who knows? I’m glad that you liked my story.
An enjoyable story.
I know how she feels. I’m now at an age that, if I lose my glasses, I can see all sorts of strange things at the bottom of the garden.
Same here! Glad you enjoyed the story.
Hi Lady Marilyn,
Love that hat. Your story was a very fun read. It reminded me of a funny commercial on TV here in the U.S. In the commercial, a woman calls to her cat, trying to get it to come in the house, but lets a raccoon in because of her poor vision. This was a very clever and different take on the photo. Thanks for reading and commenting on my story.
The hat is a bit of a postcard sent during WW1 from my great-uncle to my grandmother, his sister. He bought it in Maesteg (Wales) where he was visiting family while on convalescent leave. His father had run away from home at the age of seven to leave on an English sailing ship as cabin-boy. He settled in Australia at the age of twenty-six. The postcard is in a private War Museum in Belgium, now, but I still have the scans of it. The complete image illustrates my first post on this blog (11 December 2009) if you would like to see it.
I’m glad that you liked my story and my whimsical old lady. Thank you for your kind comment.
the questions you raise cannot be denied. we shoot first and maybe we’ll ask questions later, if at all. we squash what we don’t understand or what to be true. as for fairies, i’m going with peter pan on this one.
You surprise me, Rich! I thought you’d scoff – politely, of course, but scoff nonetheless. You have risen another notch in my esteem. If this continues, you might actually take off and start flying, yourself! In a very none-fairylike way, of course! (she adds hastily).
i’m surprised that i surprised you. no, really. what i mean is, why did you think i would scoff? maybe my posts make me seem to turn my senses away from fairy worlds and such like that? i’m always curious how others perceive me.
I just made a very lengthy reply which suddenly disappeared from the screen, right when I was about to hit reply, so I’ll have another go.
It’s a bit like the way that we think that we know actors from watching them play their different characters. We don’t really know them at all. We only know the roles that they have played.
I don’t really know you at all. I only know your writing and one or two other things about you. The impression that you give me is of someone who has both feet firmly planted on the ground. A person who has suffered and has built a layer of armour around himself so as not to suffer again. You have a writer persona that you try to project but which I suspect is not the real you because it doesn’t ring true to me. Then there is the teacher, who seems solid, perhaps even a bit stolid. And the father, who is someone different, again. I have only had glimpses of these last two.
The biggest part of my impression of you comes from your writing itself, and you write some rather dark stuff. Your fiction deals a lot with the ugly side of humanity. In some of it, you try to teach and that is sometimes a bit too obvious, but that was in your earlier work, if memory serves me, so you’re probably more subtle now. Then there are your posts on different subjects which give an image of you which is irritable, impatient sometimes, other times witty but sarcastic. There’s the enthusiastic sports fan, too.
Like most people, there are different facettes to you, but the dominant one for me is the slightly sarcastic, determined writer of dark psychological studies that he calls horror but which I find more interesting than that. The writer who wants to teach through his writing and has chosen this genre within which to do it. Someone who has no time for dreamers who persist in seeing the world bathed in the sweetness and light – and definitely does not believe in fairies.
So you see, my image of you is obviously very wrong somewhere.
I’m going to hit Reply before this disappears for a second time, which means without re-reading it. I hope that I haven’t said something that I would have deleted. I’ll change it afterwards if I have. Please don’t hate me. You asked.
Love the sentiment of your story, it runs along the lines of “What if God was one of us?” We should never discount those among us or their potential power! Nice job with the fruit allusion as well!
Thank you, Monique. I’m very pleased that you liked my story. My elderly lady was almost, but not quite, talking to herself. I sometimes talk to myself in private (it’s best to avoid it in public). I find that it’s often the only way to have an intelligent conversation. Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment.
Fairies do not need to look like little people, I enjoyed your take on it. Thank you for visiting my site and the kind comments.
Here is mine http://yaralwrites.com/?cat=9
I think that the elderly lady might have mistaken the damselfly for a fairy. However, you could both be right. It could be a fairy. Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment.
darn reading glasses! Never right at hand when you need them. Wonder why fairie people are so tiny?
Don’t know the answer to that. There seem to be different sorts of fairies. Some appear to be human-sized, like fairy godmothers for example, and others are the Little People, as the Irish call them. The lady in the story was probably looking at a damselfly, but it could have been a fairy. I left her before she found out. Just in case she was disappointed.
A very inventive way, by making the allusion to swatting flies, that we may well be destroying the magical, natural beauty around us in just as cavalier a way. Nicely done
Thank you, Jeffrey. You are the only person to have mentioned that, although a few people have said that they will think twice before swatting in the future. So that could be a reference perhaps. I’m glad that you liked my story.
Dear Lady Marilyn Kay Dennis,
I love the glasses. I wonder, did they help or hinder. Of course faeries are real, they can usually only be seen with our mind’s eye…
Lovely story.
Aloha,
Doug
I’m rather afraid that the lady might have been disappointed once she saw her fairy more clearly. She might have discovered that it was a damselfly. On the other hand, she might have been right. It could have been a fairy. I left her before she found out. I’m glad that you like this flight of fancy. Hers and mine.
Excellent thoughts here. I feel connected to the fairy world when I’m viewing fireflies, well, maybe I feel more connected to my grandfather, but I still have a sense of awe and wonder. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you. I’m glad that you like my story. Wonder is all around us, I agree.
Sounds like the start of a much bigger piece. Very curious to learn the correlation between the fairies and the rotting fruit! 🙂
There is no direct link. The connection is the elderly lady who pops around the back of the supermarket regularly because she knows that she can find edible fruit there. She’s thinking about fairies, then about the fruit, then thinks that she sees a fairy – which is probably a damselfly, but perhaps really a fairy. She is just more or less talking to herself. It’s not really a properly plotted story – just a glimpse into the old lady’s world.
Good to know. 😀
You probably have to be an elderly lady for this story to “speak” to you. Or an elderly man?