Of Snails and Fairies

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Of Snails and Fairies

Larry the snail yawned and stretched. He peeked out from under the rock where he and his wife lived in the garden.

"Look, Mabel, it's raining! Let's take a romantic slither and enjoy the spring flowers."

"A lovely way to spend the evening," she agreed, waggling her antennae to test the humidity in the air. "Let's try to get lost and retrace our slime paths to return home!"

"It's hard to get lost when you're a snail," Larry chuckled.

He and Mabel set out across the smooth, damp rocks, heading in a slow, easy circle around their little pond. Raindrops plattered gently on the water's surface, sending out rippling rings that lapped against the stones. They passed the molehill where their friends lived under the oak tree.

Wisps of fog descended with the sunset. Crickets chirped spunky tunes. A line of ants marched steadily back and forth with bits of food. Larry and Mabel slithered along side by side, admiring the peaceful environment.

Time seemed to go almost as slowly and quietly as the two snails did. Bits of moonlight shone through the mist as the rain tapered off.

Then, crying echoed from a tuft of grasses. Larry and Mabel slipped between the blades to see what it was. A tiny blue fairy sat on a toadstool, wings drooping and shoulders shaking.

"Why, what's wrong, little magical one?" Mabel approached and lifted her neck up closer.

"I'm lost!" She sobbed. "I flew too far, and it started raining, and now I'm too wet to fly and I don't know where I am and it's dark."

"Where are you from?" Larry asked.

"I live with my family in the big old oak tree by where the moles are."

"That's just the other side of the pond from here," Mabel said, pointing one antenna towards it. "We live there too. Come with us and we'll lead you right back."

"How will you know where you're going?" She sniffled and wiped her eyes.

"We follow our slime trails, hon." Mabel smiled. "It's impossible for a snail to be lost, right, Larry?"

"Yep! Let's go."

Larry led the way back along the slippery rocks. Mabel and Senya the fairy meandered behind him, chatting. Senya's wings were sodden wet and heavy, and the laid-back pace suited her tired feet.

As they approached the old oak tree, multicolored lights twinkled in the mist.

"It's my family!" Senya skipped ahead. "They must be out looking for me." Her wings began to glow a bright blue.

A larger fairy appeared, her lavender wings casting a soft light on them, and hugged Senya. Soon all the fairies were reunited, and they danced joyfully in midair, painting streaks and dashes of lights like rainbow fireflies. Some of them played bright, lilting refrains on flutes.

"Join us," Senya invited the snails. "We love company "

"We'd love to, but we can't fly, nor even dance," Mabel replied. "We're only slow, humble snails."

"Would you like us to grant you fairy wings?" Senya waved her hands and shook a twinkle of magic dust into the air.

"Thank you kindly, but no, we're quite happy the way we are," Larry said. "If we flew with pretty fairy wings like you, we wouldn't leave nice slime trails to find our way home. Then what would we do?"

Instead Larry and Mabel sat up into the wee hours of the morning, watching the fairies put on their show.

"Oh my, it's almost sunrise," Mabel yawned. "Time to sleep, Larry."

"Goodbye and see you tomorrow!" Senya hugged her new friends and waved as they slipped away to bed under their cool, moist rock.

Word Count: 606.
Written for 48 Hour Media Prompt Challenge

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