Some Short Fae Stories

I know, I know. I should be posting more important things, but I've been ridiculously busy in the last few weeks. I feel guilty. So I'm posting some really short stories I wrote for contests.

The rules for the first one limited me to 100 words or less, and it had to be about faeries. The second had to be 200 words or shorter, and had to include mentions of Sarah Dessen, bicycles, and birthdays. Somehow it ended up being inspired by Holly Black's Modern Tales of Faerie and The Good Neighbors (<3).

I'm also writing a longer short story called Starry Messenger that was inspired by a bizarre/morbid dream I had a few weeks ago, but I'm not sure if I should post it. It is best described as a surreal futuristic zombie fairy tale. It's set in a parallel world where humans have evolved in a different and sort of scary way (they live in an illusion created by a hive mind and die twice before losing consciousness), and humans from our universe have begun to take over the galaxy. In among all this is a Curious (yes, it's capitalized) girl who is plucked from the hive mind to become a planet-hopping messenger. Unfortunately, after a life of lies she is not quite ready for reality. If anyone is interested in this, comment, and I'll try to finish writing the story (I rarely finish anything but the shorter stories) and post it.

The Faerie Mirror

Claire flipped through the pages of faerie artwork, before shoving the book aside. Reality was never perfect and beautiful. She pushed herself into her wheelchair, wheeling herself out to the gardens as she did daily. But this time she found the faerie mirror, a shimmering film in between spider silk through which other worlds can be seen, and the heart’s truest desire, which can be had if she could break through. Claire touched it, and her dream shattered, as did the world around her. Changing. Merging. She opened her eyes, not knowing she had shut them tight, and stood up.


Here's the original, unshortened-to-100-words version:

Faerie mirrors were only a story, or so the others would say… Claire flipped through the pages of fairy artwork in her book, full of dragonfly-like wings and perfection, before shutting it and shoving it aside. The real world was never perfect and beautiful. She pushed herself up from bed and into her wheelchair, wheeling herself out to the backyard gardens, as was her daily ritual. But this time she found it, a shimmering film in between spider silk, through which other worlds can be seen, and the heart’s truest desire, which can be had if the viewer can figure out how to reach it. Claire touched it, and her dream shattered, as did the world around her. Changing. Merging. She opened her eyes, not knowing she had shut them tight, and stood up.


“Fantasy”

She called herself Laura, but she was not a normal girl. She was not even human, but fae. Laura had never fit in with the other faelings. They were content to upset human lives with their magics, but Laura envied the humans. She even attempted to imitate them. It was an odd sight to anyone who saw faerie girl with too many joints in her limbs attempting to ride a bicycle in the moonlight. She spied on the curious rituals called birthday parties, and felt ashamed because she had already seen 67 years, though she was as youthful as the 15 and 16 year old girls at the parties. She even crept into one of their rooms and stole a Sarah Dessen novel, reveling in its humanity until the other faelings had plucked it from her hands and never returned it. The next day, Laura was chosen to become a changeling.


So, what do you think? Were they awful?


*Paradox*