At first nothing could be seen. Then the barest twitch. The petals peeled slowly back as the newborn faeries emerged from their flower cradles. Heads, shoulders, torsos in unnatural colours of milk white, pitch black, verdant green, and deep rose. The four faeries yawned and stretched as their eyelids fluttered open to take their first look at the world.
And what a beautiful world it was!
A velvet carpet of lush moss covered the ground, the perfect pillow for a little faerie head. There were smooth stones to sit on, bright flowers to hide among, and a cool pond to dip their toes on hot days. They frolicked in the moss and slept underneath the broad umbrella of a mushroom.
The rose pink faerie awoke in the early light of dawn. She left her sleeping sisters to seek out if there were other faeries nearby. Why had their mother not come to collect them on their hatch day?
She flew over the mushroom field and past a fallen branch to strike face-first into something hard. She pulled back, holding her aching nose. Her curious hand connected with an invisible barrier, smooth and hard. There did not seem to be any way through.
On the other side of the glass, the scientist peered into the terrarium and made notes on his clipboard as the faerie discovered the limits of her world.
If you like faeries and flash fiction, check out Switched.
