The Long Way Home
Josephine was a one hundred and sixty two year old fairy. Quite young, compared to some of the other fairies in her tree village who were three to four hundred years old, and practically a child compared to the village elder, who was well over seven hundred years old. Yet she was the most respected blessing fairy in all the forest.
For those unfamiliar with fairy culture, a blessing fairy is, well, pretty much what it sounds like. Their duty is to fly around their forest, blessing various animals, trees and flowers. Any living being blessed by a fairy will grow stronger, not get ill and have good fortune for some time, but the amount of time depended on what exactly was being blessed, coupled with the skill level of the blessing fairy. Some fairy’s blessings lasted for days or even weeks; Josephine’s blessings had been known to last for months.
On a Thursday morning like any other, Josephine was giving her blessing to a poorly looking rose bush she had found. This rose bush was growing in the shade of a great oak tree, only getting just enough sunlight to survive. She blessed it, enriching it with a concentrated dose of sunlight. As she was doing this, a fox ran past her. It startled her, causing her to lose her balance (even though she was hovering in the air) and she fell awkwardly on top of the rose bush, one of its thorns tearing a hole in one of her delicate little wings. She cried out in pain, but managed to land on the ground without injuring herself any further.
She looked at her injured wing. On either side of her back she had an inner and outer wing, but it was the right side outer wing that now had a painful hole in it. She tried to fly, but she only got a few feet off the ground before the pain was too much for her and she had to come back down. She knew she had to make it back to her village – their healer could certainly help her – but she wouldn’t be flying there. On foot, it might take her until nightfall to get back, but it would not at all be a safe journey. She was only five inches tall and frail, in a forest full of animals – many of whom were dangerous predators who wouldn’t think twice about trying to catch her for their dinner – so she would have to be very careful. She began her long hike home.
What dangers might Josephine encounter on her long walk home?
How will she survive those dangers?
Will she find any help along the way? She has, after all, been blessing the inhabitants of this forest for many years…