Hi everybody!
Here the story I wrote for meteor_heaven project. If you still haven't read it, I suggest you to run and to read it! The authors and their stories are amazing!
It was a real pleasure and I was really honored to be part of this project.
When fluffysugarsock contacted me, I didn't imagine that writing a story for Meteor Heaven would be more than that. I met other Wattpad authors and discovered real friends in them during that journey.
Writing that story and being edited by kathartickat helped me a lot to improve my writing and my English as well.
I hope you enjoyed my fairy story and hope I met your needs and wishes.
I thank everybody on Meteor Heaven project for your help and encouragements and especially fluffysugarsock toniclomera and tigermoonbuddy
Thank you to lindaisfangirling for your beautiful cover !
And, to finish, thank to all the readers who let me comments on "every universe" and twitter. Thanks to you, I have an idea for a new chapter !
Love ya !
Zazounette
Fairies 2.0
Sunray broke through weeping willow dense leaves, landing upon the Japanese primrose and illuminating its abundance of flowers. The petals are bathed with light, revealing their vibrant deep rose color. Gems of dew slid alongside their corolla, landing on her pollen bed.
Shancai woke up with a jolt. She shook the tiny pearls of water or her tiny wings, instantly drying herself. Looking up, she saw that the sky was already filled with her fellows, whizzing around and spreading their wings towards the morning meeting area. She spotted Qinghe and LiZhen a bit further, flying together, joking and laughing. She sighed and looked at the vacant spot beside her.
A month ago Xiaoyou had disappeared. She had been infatuated by a human, Ximen, if she's not wrong. She had the audacity to follow him despite everybody's warnings. Shancai had tried to hold her back. With a sparkling eyes, Xiaoyou told her she only wanted to see him closer.
She never came back.
Sighing, she stood up and get dressed, putting on the frock she had made with a lily-of-the-valley leaf and covered her hair with a little bell-shaped flower. She hastily joined the other fairies to go to their meeting area, located inside the tallest and most ancient cypress trunk they had in the park.
Xiaozi, the crown princess, was flying nervously in front of them, her long dark hair was twirling around her as her wings quickly shook. She was waiting for the queen to join them.
The queen Jing came at last. As usual, she took Shancai's breath away. Jing wore a dress made with white hibiscus flower petals, accentuating her beauty more.
Everyone had immediately gone silent. With her digital touchpad made with deadwood plus a bit of enchantment, Jing showed a 3D map of the Shanghai Gongqing Forest Park on the screen wall.
Task sharing began. Shancai couldn't help but sigh in relief when she saw she would be sent with her team in an area far from the barbecue and various attractions. Jing gave them the signal to fan out and Shancai didn't wait, eager to begin.
On her way to her assigned area, she tried to chat with Qinghe and Lizhen. However, her two friends were too busy bickering, pulling at each other's wings and giggling together.
The little fairy couldn't help but think about Xiaoyou, feeling desperately alone without her. She missed her friend so much. She couldn't help but remember her smile, her laugh, and her constant enthusiasm which was contagious. She wished she could speak with her just one more time.
The morning was relatively calm. The park area wasn't swarming with humans and their little monsters who tended to make a lot of damage.
She went on her task, checking the trees and plants for disease or parasite attack. She had to heal a weakened chrysanthemum, help a sick bee perk up with good pollen, caulked a tree wounds because the sap was furiously leaking out, and help a late flower bud to flourish.
During the middle of the day, something caught her attention. She noticed an isolated human, hanging around on a deserted path alongside the watercourse. Without knowing why, she couldn't help but stare at him.
He was quite tall and thin. However, his defining feature was his odd hairstyle – his head was covered with spikes like a hedgehog... or maybe a pineapple.
Oh yes – it looked like a pineapple!
She was amused. But she also had to admit that he was quite good-looking. She would even say he was handsome. His facial features were well-defined – a well-shaped nose, deep brown eyes... oh she couldn't help but blush!
Curiosity made her stare longer at him. This young man seemed a bit different from other humans she usually saw around. There was something... quite not right about him.
Or right, she couldn't decide yet.
But she eventually declared the young man's behavior as worrying. He seemed irritated, aggressive, and unaware of the beauty of the place.
Shancai violently startled when she saw him suddenly kick a tree. She was one with nature so her body screamed with pain with the action. She flew as fast as possible toward the victim and saw splinters on the ground. She hastily healed the tree, allowing it to quickly recover from his attack. However, she advised the tree to consult fairy Yu, who were specialized in matters of the mind if he has some nightmares.
Then she turned toward the human who was leaving as if nothing happened. She followed him in order to make sure he wouldn't commit other fraudulent acts.
Much to her horror, she witnessed him break another flower, the petals falling to the ground. He was muttering unintelligible words while frowning and staring at nothing. She wanted to scream at him to stop but it was hopeless – he didn't hear and see her. And the damage was done.
The human walked away again, and she helplessly stared at the quartered flower corpse lying in front of her. Tears ran down her cheeks, her heart bleeding for the unfortunate flower. She tried to make her tribute then she went and comforted her sisters native from the same plant who just couldn't accept their loss.
She did all she could to heal the broken stalk, offering a worthy burial to the poor flower, then thought again about the human. She was integral part of the nature, she could feel every crack, every gust of wind, every moment of delight, of pain, of joy and of sadness that all nature elements could feel. If a plant, an insect, an animal was dying, a part of her was dying as well.
She lived this flower death, she felt it in her guts, in her heart. She felt her pain, her hurt... while he – he just went away as if nothing happened, unconcerned by 'an inert thing'.
Intense fury shook her fairy tiny body, and a red aura appeared around her. She frowned, clenched her fists. "I'm going to make him pay!" She declared.
Then she soared, reaching treetops, and began to search for the human with the pineapple hairdo.
She quickly spotted him. He had stopped at the lakeside. There was a soda can and an empty potato chips packet on the ground near his feet – whereas there was a bin two meters further.
Coming closer, she felt horrified as she saw him take a flat rock, harshly throwing it to the water and ruining the lilies and lotuses which floated on the surface. Petals flew, leaves were ripped, and it was too much for Shancai!
With barely controlled anger, she rushed toward the pineapple-head human, like a bee ready to bite and she forgot to be careful.
He didn't see nor hear her when she started to insult him in a way that would cause shame to her deceased parents, assaulting him non-stop. She wished for horrifying things to happen to him, mundane things that showed her anger like him being kidnapped by aliens or the hair in his nose growing upside-down and coming out from his head.
The human had only this unpleasant feeling to be harassed by a mosquito or a fly... and not seeing his attacker was making him even more irritated. Thinking this insect was attracted by water because riversides, lakesides and waterhole sides were often infected by mosquitos and midges, he decided to go away and sank into the forest again.
Blinded by her rage, Shancai followed him. She didn't really know what she wanted – making him go away from the park? Making him fix his mistakes? Or simply making him pay his crimes? – but she couldn't let him go like that! She didn't even notice leaving the area where she was assigned.
Forest progressively was giving way to a large glade where Shanghai inhabitants were lolling or began to prepare their barbecues. A little further, they heard shouts and exclamations coming from some attractions.
But Shancai eyes never left the human's black-haired spikes erected with hair gels. She couldn't hear anything, but the sound of his footsteps on the grass and his irritated groans when she flew around his head nonstop. She was howling in his ears. But to him, it only sounded like an irritating buzz.
It was too late when she saw the hand fall on her and she found herself surrounded by total darkness. He heart was furiously racing, panic invading her whole body as she was utterly frozen with fear.
She couldn't even manage to know if she was hurt or not, her mind seemed to have stopped working. Did her wings were intact? She tried to shake them but it was impossible, she was trapped in that stupid hand!
Oh, Spirit of nature, what had she done?
She knew it was dangerous to come near a human or to follow one. Hasn't she learned anything from Xiaoyou? How could she be so stupid? Why hasn't she been careful enough? She didn't know what was going to happen to her, if she could live longer or if it was already the end. Angry and frustrated tears began to flow along her cheeks.
But she found herself suddenly blinded by light. When her eyes recovered, she looked up and saw two huge deep brown eyes looking down at her, deeply surprised.
"But... what is it?" asked the human, his mouth agape.
Shancai tried to shake her wings again, but she realized with horror that one of them was broken. She could repair it, of course, but she'd need some time, like a few weeks. And she needed to act now!
"I'm done!" She desperately sobbed.
She felt the human's huge finger brush her head and she was afraid he would smash her like some of her fellows was.
"But it's not an insect!" The human sounded incredulous. "It looks like... a bird? No, it doesn't look like that either..."
She was surprised when his fingers delicately caught her, placing her in the warmth and comfort of a hoodie pocket. Shocked by all these strong feelings, Shancai let herself be enveloped by this sweetness and she fell asleep.
A few hours later, she woke up. She looked around, taking in her surroundings and realized with horror that the light around her was coming, not from the light of the day but from an artificial lamp.
"Oh! My nature spirit! I'm in a human habitat!"
She was sitting on a hard surface, a... table? She touched the wood panel and couldn't help but think about the tree that was cut to made this piece of furniture. She started tearing up again.
"I hope he was already dead." She whispered, which was useless because nobody could hear her.
She was standing up with difficulty, her damaged wing making her lose her balance when the human decided to reappear.
He leaned towards her so much she almost could touch one of his spikes. However, when the man's smell wrapped around her, she was utterly bewildered.
It was a human's smell, but there was a hint of spice and fresh grass intermingling with the original smell. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and breathed it in, savoring it and allowing it to relax and reassure her.
How could such a disrespectful person could smell like this? Why this fragrance was so dizzying for her?
The man seemed to examine her from every angle, narrowing his eyes to try to see her better.
"I would never manage to observe this creature with only my eyes." He concluded. "I need..." He thought while looking around him then victoriously brandished an object. "... that!"
Shancai recognized a smartphone, a human smartphone. She remembered she had a fairy smartphone made with bamboo leaves pouch with her, but she lost it while she was following the human. It was impossible for her to contact her fellows now.
She sighed as the man adjusted his smartphone camera, zooming it toward her.
« This is better... » He muttered. He moved the screen toward her, finally seeing her more clearly and gasped. "No! It's not possible! Am I hallucinating?"
He looked at her from every angle, mouth agape, then collapsed on a chair, still staring at the little creature.
"It's not possible... It's not possible..." He couldn't stop to repeat. "You can't... You can't be a... a..." But he never managed to finish his sentence.
Shancai remained motionless, numbed. What should she do now? The rule was to stay invisible from humans. What was going to happen to her?
Panic invaded her body, her breath was caught and she began to shake. She was betraying her folk, her education, and all the things she was believing in because she allowed fury and anger take control of her body.
"What are you?" The human asked her.
She opened her mouth to answer him but her voice was so tiny it couldn't be heard by him.
Suddenly the human got up. Obviously, he had an idea. He took his phone again, adjusted something, then put it next to Shancai. He showed her a little hole that would be a microphone and he told her:
"Speak in it, please."
Curious, she complied and almost fell to the ground when she heard a stranger's voice coming out from the phone, repeating what she just said:
"My name is Shancai. I'm a nature patroness fairy. I'm taking care of Shanghai Gongqing Forest Park."
Overwhelmed with joy, the man jumped into the air, shouting and laughing. Shancai was mesmerized. When he smiled, his face lit up, giving him a childlike appearance which was quite compelling.
Her heart began to race, she blushed, but she remembered what he had done and instantly berated herself for being distracted.
"I knew that this stranger language translation application would be useful one day! Oh my god, fairies do exist, it's stunning!" Shouted the young man. Then he knelt down in front of the little fairy. "My name is Daoming Si, AhSi to make it shorter! Can you speak again? I'm really curious."
He didn't expect her next words would be so violent.
"Daoming Si! You pineapple-head! You nature attacker! Bring me back to the park right now!"
He looked at her with his eyes widened, touched his hair and... burst into laughter, irritating even more the little fairy.
"Pineapple-head? Nature attacker? Oh my god, Shancai! You're as funny as you are small and cute!"
Blushing when she heard him describe her as 'cute', Shancai tried to not be flustered by him. She clenched her fists and she burst out:
"Yes, you nature attacker! Do you realize the damage you had done? You destroyed a tree who could bleed plentifully with his sap if I didn't immediately heal him! You killed this unfortunate flower who just bloomed, tearing her petals apart! You destroyed some water lilies and some lotuses when you threw a rock on them, hurting them! You left your trash scattered around when there was a bin nearby! Don't you have some respect?"
But he continued to roar with laughter, making her blood boil. Furious, Shancai wanted flew from the table, forgetting that she has broken wing. Powerless, she felt herself falling. Once again Daoming Si's hand caught her, placing her on the table with caution.
Shancai stayed motionless and AhSi became worried. He took his phone again and looked at her through the screen. Then he noticed she was crying, sobbing bitterly, tiny tears flowing down her ivory cheeks.
She just wished she was already dead, she thought. She couldn't bear to be so powerless.
This sight touched Daoming Si's heart and he hardly gulped. He looked at this tiny little being, her delicate face looking like a fragile china doll, her dark hair looking like silk. She looked so vulnerable and so precious at the same time. Every sob was like a stab in his chest and he wanted to protect her without knowing why.
"Hey! Little fairy! Shancai?" He said as gently as possible. "I'm sorry, ok? I wasn't aware of the damage I did. You know, I always thought that the flowers and trees were motionless so they couldn't feel pain... From now on I would pay attention, I promise! » He hesitated, running a hand through his spiky hair. « I... I admit I was feeling bad, today. I needed to... release my aggression. But these plants didn't deserve it. Actually... I just had an argument with my mother. She wants me to go to London. But I'm happy here! I have my dearest friends. I'm going to an university I like. I don't want to leave! Do you understand? But I will never do that again!" He leaned a little more toward the little fairy. "I learned my lesson, so please don't cry! As it's late now I'll bring you back to the park tomorrow, is it ok for you?"
Wiping her tears, Shancai nodded. He took a box of matches, emptied it, put a handkerchief in it and gave it to her.
"Does this bed suit you, little fairy?"
She nodded, waving her tiny hand in gratitude. Daoming Si smiled.
"Really too cute..." He whispered to himself, but Shancai heard him and it confused her. It made her feel odd things. Her tiny fairy heart beat faster while her hands became instantly sweaty and her throat became dry.
All the night, both of them tossed and turned in their bed, unable to fall asleep.
The little fairy was sad and frustrated. She couldn't stop thinking about the park, the flowers, the trees, queen Jing and Xiaoyou. Did the same thing happen to her?
Her thoughts went to the human who slept a little further from her – his smell, his gaze, and his smile which disturbed her.
What was going on?
As for Daoming Si, he couldn't believe he had discovered that fairies exist. He watched the video of the fairy, admiring her thin wings, her little graceful body and her delicate face. He couldn't believe he had met such a lovely creature.
All his worries seemed to have disappeared when she caught his eyes, through his phone screen at least.
What was going on with him? She had a special effect on him like she was bringing some light, joy and color in his life. It was so weird. They just knew each other for a few hours, after all!
The next morning, he woke up from his short night, wondering in an instant if he didn't dream all of that.
That only thought tightened his heart.
Then he saw the box of matches on his desk, the tiny form lying in it. All of that was real. A sigh of relief escaped from his mouth and he felt like his life was being painted with colors again.
He came closer to her. Still, with the help of his phone screen, he admired her. She slightly moved and stretched before opening her eyes, meeting Daoming Si's stare.
She instinctively smiled then he saw her stiffen, wrapping the handkerchief which covered her. At first he didn't understand what was bothering her until he realized she was staring at the leaf dress made which laying next to her bed.
"Oh!" Stuttered AhSi before turning back in order for her to dress up, his heart racing without knowing why.
When it was done, she persistently stared at him.
"You want to come back home, don't you?" He asked her.
She nodded. Strangely, he felt a lump in his throat with the thought that this lovely creature was going to leave. He admired her for a moment, wanting to remember every detail of her face and her figure.
Eventually, he noticed she was trying to talk to him.
Blushing, he took the phone camera off, opened the translation application and put the phone next to her so she could speak in the microphone.
"Why are you staring at me?" She asked. "I have to come back home as soon as possible!"
Once again, he remained speechless. He realized he didn't need a screen anymore to see her. His eyes got used to her microscopic size and he began to see every detail of her face.
His heart raced... What was going on with him?
The little fairy became impatient.
"What's going on? Is there a problem? I have to work!" She complained.
Eventually he opened his mouth, "I would like to kiss you." He blurted out.
Shancai's eyes widened and she stared at him, frozen. He shouldn't do that! It was too dangerous! Contacts between humans and fairy is prohibited as nothing good could result from that kind of act.
However, she was mesmerized by what he did. She saw him placing a finger in his lips and she couldn't take her gaze off him. She hasn't really stared at his mouth before, but now that those lips caught her eyes, she started to wonder if they were as soft and warm as she thought.
He kissed his finger and he gently reached it out to Shancai. Without realizing what she was doing, she leaned over this piece of skin where the young man's lips had been posed and she kissed it in turn, her heart racing, odd feelings traveling in her body.
What happened next was quite strange. She felt dizzy, like she was losing her body like a butterfly going out from his chrysalis or a snake losing its skin. When she came around, she didn't recognize the place where she was...
The first familiar thing she saw was the matchbox where she had slept this night. Why was it suddenly so tiny? Then she turned toward Daoming Si who was watching her, with his mouth open. Why was he suddenly smaller? Her head was at his chest level when yesterday he slid her in his pocket...
Then she began to realize what had just happened. Frantically, she looked for her wings in her back but it had disappeared.
"Oh no!" She moaned. "A human... I became a human !!"
Desperate tears flowed down her cheeks. It just couldn't be true! It might be a nightmare. She wanted to be a fairy, she loved to be a fairy. She wanted to be one with nature, she wanted to fly in the air, she wanted to be free... to be simply herself.
She looked at her new body with despair. How could she survive?
She turned again toward Daoming Si who was still in a state of shock. The man was staring at her body... and it was then that she noticed that her dress made with lily-of-the-valley leaf was on the ground, still tiny. The little bell-shaped flower stayed glued on her hair and was miserably hanging.
Shancai screamed and turned around, hiding her body as much as she could with her arms.
"Daoming Si!" She exclaimed. "You pineapple-head! Stop staring at me like that and give me some clothes!"
The young man seemed to wake up from his trance. He handed her a bathrobe then hastily went out of the bedroom. Shancai felt weak in the knees so she collapsed on the bed, burying her head in her hands.
How could she pull through all of that? That was already difficult with a broken wing but now she hadn't wings anymore!
A few minutes later, Daoming Si hastily came back to the bedroom, giving her a pile of clothes.
« It was my sister Zhuang's clothes. She doesn't live here anymore so I think you can borrow it from her. I'm sorry, it seems she's a little bit taller than you."
Nodding, Shancai hastily dressed up while he wasn't watching.
Daoming Si couldn't believe it. Yesterday he had discovered the fairies' existence... And now, she transformed herself in human and he... he saw her naked body.
His throat became dry. She wasn't the loveliest little creature in the world anymore, but rather a true goddess! His heart couldn't stop racing, he never felt like that in his life. He never had felt so alive... Could he be in love?
However, his happiness stopped when he turned back and discovered Shancai crying. "What shall I do?" She sobbed. "Spirit of nature, what I have done?"
He knelt down in front of her and gently took her hands. Her hands were soft and warm and he felt his heart skipping a beat. He gulped and tried to keep some composure.
"I'm sorry." He said. "We'll find a way, I promise you, little fairy!"
She smiled through her tears and an odd warmth spread in his chest. At that moment, somebody knocked at the door and a domestic came in.
"Master, your friends are here."
He extended his hand toward her.
"Come." He kindly told her.
She nodded and followed him.
Upon arriving at the living room, she stiffened, stunned at who was standing in front of her.
"Xiaoyou?"
"Shancai!"
Her friend rushed toward her and hugged her.
So Xiaoyou had become a human! Shancai couldn't believe it. She was aware everyone was staring at them but she didn't care. Unexpected happiness invaded her body, her heart jolting with joy. She missed Xiaoyou so much. She thought she'll never saw her again!
Then Xiaoyou introduced Ximen to her and Shancai discovered the same thing had happened to her friend: after a kiss, she had been transformed.
"But the enchantment can't be reversed?" Shancai begged her.
"I don't know." Stuttered Xiaoyou. "I love Ximen and Ximen loves me... so I didn't want to leave."
Shancai nodded then she had an idea. Turning toward Daoming Si, she took his arm and dragged him out of the room. Surprised, he let her do. Once alone, the ex-fairy stood up in front of him:
"Kiss me." She said.
AhSi's eyes widened. Shancai impatiently sighed.
"I have been transformed into a human because of a kiss, maybe we have to do the same to reverse the spell!"
The young man stared at her, hesitating, skeptical. Xiaoyou and Ximen often kissed and she never became a fairy again! Unless it didn't work because she didn't want to leave Ximen, is it?
Impatient, Shancai caught his T-shirt collar and pulled him closer to her, their lips a few centimeters away.
"Kiss me!" She said again, couldn't believe she was doing that, her heart racing when she felt his breath near her face.
Daoming Si gulped. He didn't want her to leave. But her lips...He was mesmerized by her lips, he wanted to touch it so badly. At first he shyly captured her lips, kissing her softly. Then he became bolder and deepened the kiss, delving into her mouth more passionately, putting his hands on her, on her shoulders, on her back, on her waist. They delightedly sighed, feeling a multitude of feelings crossing their bodies. After a while, he pulled away.
"I... I'm still human?" Stuttered Shancai.
Daoming Si kissed her again.
"I don't want you to leave." He said. "Stay..."
She hesitated, her heart racing, feeling dizzy. He captured her lips again. What was this feeling? She was lost.
But she found herself melting under his kisses, and she surrendered in his arms.
She felt alive, her life painted into colors.
She felt at... home.
***
The park was blooming, nature coming to life again after a long winter.
Shancai was now a forest ranger in Gonqing Forest Park. She delightfully smelled the pure air and felt the cold breeze. She didn't see them, but she felt fairies around her, hearing their wings rustle and sometimes even their voices.
She hoped they'll be here today, on her wedding day. She had insisted for the ceremony to be celebrated here, in this park which had been her home. With the Daoming family being affluent, her wish was granted.
Xiaoyou stood by her side being her bridesmaid while Daoming Si waited for her at the end of the aisle, eyes filled with love. Her dress was quite simple - it was pure white similar to a lily-of-the-valley's petals. Some lilies, which had fallen from the plant and hadn't been murdered, sprinkled her hair.
She didn't regret her choice and was happily moving towards her future.
With the lights flashing all around her, she smiled. This moment will forever be immortalized in pictures. She would be sure to view all the photos once she got them. She would see all the fairies lined up as she made her way to the altar. Maybe she could recognize the venerable fairy Yu or Qinghe or LiZhen or even the princess Xiaozi and the queen Jing... because she knew they never left her and they would never leave her.
Before taking Daoming Si's hand and becoming his wife, she threw a last glance to the weeping willow. She could spot the Japanese primrose under it, which she had slept at on so many nights.
Unexpectedly, she felt no regret or melancholy.
She turned toward the deep gaze and the radiant smile of the man she loved and said « yes » without hesitation, signaling the start of a colorful life she would have with him.
"Now, we will never part, little fairy!" Her husband tenderly said to her.
And he gave her a kiss full of promise.
To be continued...