PROOF THAT FAIRIES EXIST – Flash Fiction by Phoenix

 magical forest for proof fairies exist
I am a scientist, a man immersed in analytical thought.

A man who supposedly only has regard for the physical universe, what is plainly real and, more importantly, what can be proven.

So it is supposedly out of character for me to believe in stuff like this. However, I did and I still do, more passionately now than ever.

On that day last May, when I first saw them, I had to rub my eyes and look again. I thought at first that they were my imagination and only part of the gloom and shadows of the forest, the reflection of bits of sun escaping the trees overhead.

They were dancing. And singing, ignoring me as if I were not there. Light flashed and glittered around them. Colors of brown, blue, and pink. Soft yellow. Pale green. Pastels only; nothing garish or vivid. Gossamer, diaphanous, tiny wings, fluttered like hummingbirds.

I had the strong desire to talk to them, to find out more about them. Where did they come from? I walk in these woods often. Why had I not seen them before?
I took a few tentative steps forward, hoping I looked inoffensive. There was no response. They just continued their little party on the forest floor, maybe fifty of them, women and men, all only about four inches tall.

A small breeze ruffled my hair, cooled my flushed face, and fanned the flame of my excitement as I thought, If only I had my iPhone, I could have taken a picture … Wait, I had my phone!

In slow motion, I reached into my pocket, carefully brought it up and clicked. My heart almost burst as I looked at the image. I could show the world that fairies did exist. Unlike the University lecturer John Hyatt in England who claimed to have photographed real-life Tinkerbells flying through the air in the British countryside, only to have experts debunk his find, giving explanations of merely reflections of the sun or that the tiny shapes were only fleas, or a flies, or small dragonflies.
image of fairies for flash fiction storyI remember reading the article and how surprised I was at my sharp disappointment. Had I truly wanted them to be real? I had to answer myself.

Yes. I did.

So did thousands of other like me.

I looked again at the image. No, this situation would be different than the case of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle noted for his fictional stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes. The two women, Elsie and Frances, who had convinced him with photographs that fairies existed, finally confessed in the early 1980s, fifty years after Conan Doyle’s involvement, that they had faked the photos with paper cutouts.

Ah, but now …

I took some more pictures. And stepped to more angles. These whould be good. In the viewfinder, the images were vivid and clear.

Not an insect or trick of sunshine.

No. There they were!

I switched over to the video feature and focused. God! There they were dancing and singing.

I could make all the millions of people who fervently want fairies to be real, happy. Ecstatic!

I would be like proving that unicorns were real, that their once was a place called Middle Earth, and that dinosaurs existed outside of movie animation.

I realized that I too had wanted to believe that the little people with wings existed outside of fantasy fiction. I felt a rush of need and passion. Yes. I wanted that.

And, I had proof. Oh, yes. Yes! Yes!

I felt all aglow. I backed up and watched for a while. The sun was starting to set, and finally the last ray glittered away. The fairies faded along with the daylight.

I rushed to my car and looked at the pictures. And then the video.

My heart stopped.

There was nothing there, just the forest and the rays of the sun filtering through the trees overhead. I felt my poor heart break. I sat for an hour with my head on my arms, resting on the steering well.

I finally lifted my head and looked through the windshield at the bright stars above.

Then the thought hit me. Wait. They are real. I saw them! I’ll find them again. Besides, who cares if I don’t have pictures or videos because they are not needed.

Thousands of people, like me, already believe in fairies. No proof is necessary.

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We hope you like our latest flash fiction story. Would you like to have our Flash Fiction and other Random Amusements by Phoenix arrive in your mailbox? Great! Look for Big Bad Hat on the side bar. (The kitty with the hat – he’s the most rowdy member of the Phoenix Fan Club.)

Love,

Lee and Gary Jordan

PHOENIX

Other fiction by Phoenix:
Leon’s Lair, Speculative Fiction that has it all – romance, betrayal, suspense, evil creatures, heroes, and lot’s of adventure. Amazon.com
A Whisper from Eden, Speculative Fiction based on a real Indian tribe and their ancient myths of people who came from the heavens. Amazon.com