The Girl With The Iridescent Wings

The marigold fields in the Valley of Bileagan-Fidhe. That’s where Kalen first saw her: the girl with the long golden hair and dainty iridescent wings.

Kalen had always loved plants, but he especially adored the fiery petals of marigolds. They were one of the few colorful things in his monotonous village. Ever since he was a child, he’d eagerly waited for the summer months that would turn the valley various hues of fiery yellow, orange, and red. Almost every day was the same for him: wake up, help mother with various house chores, tend to his uncle’s animals and crops, and many more tedious and boring tasks. Whenever he found himself with nothing to do, he would go down to the meadow to read or take a nap. Other times, he would make garlands and flower crowns out of the orange flowers to give to his younger sister and mother.

Today was Kalen’s birthday, so his uncle let him off of work early. It was a sweltering summer afternoon, so he grabbed his book and a couple bottles of violet liqueur from the cellar and made his way to his favorite spot: under the large olive trees at the edge of the clearing. It was about noon, so there was still a few hours before his friends, Alston and Calla, would show up. He sat under the olive tree ‒feeling the coolness of the dirt, listening to the rustling of the leaves‒ and began to read.

Not long after he opened his book, a faint glint in between the clusters of orange caught his eye. Curious, he made his way to the mead. When he got closer, he realized what had caught his attention: the iridescent wings of a fairy. There was a fae village nearby, so Kalen had seen his fair share of fairies. As he approached her to introduce himself, he tripped and fell face-first into the sea of flaming petals. The fae girl saw everything, and rushed over to help him. Kalen took her extended hand and was about to thank her, when he looked her in the face and froze. He had seen a lot of pretty girls in his life, but they were nowhere near as beautiful as her. He knew he shouldn’t fall for her, since he would be leaving for medical school in a distant city in half a year’s time. Despite knowing this, he couldn’t stop himself. Everything about her entranced him: her big doe eyes, as bright and green as the Northern Lights; the brown freckles on her glowing tan skin, which seemed as numerous as sand on the beach or stars in the sky; her plump lips, which were tinted the most stunning shade of coral pink; her wavy golden locks, with two braids pinned behind her head, while the rest cascaded over her shoulders and back. After some time, she finally said, “You’ve been staring for quite some time. Are you alright?”

Kalen snapped back from his daze in an instant. If his face wasn’t already red from the fact that he tripped in front of a stranger, it was definitely red after he realized he was caught staring.

“I- uhh, yeah, I’m alright, thanks,” he managed to stutter out, now looking at the ground. After a few seconds, he collected himself enough to introduce himself. “I’m Kalen. I live in the village just up the road,” he said, as he gestured to the path a few meters back. “What’s yours?”

“Lilia. I live in the fae village nearby,” she replied, pointing to the opposite side of the path. “What brings you to the meadow?”

“It’s my birthday today, so I’m just waiting for a couple friends to come here for a birthday picnic, though they won’t be here for a while,” Kalen said, a soft smile forming on his lips.

“Oh! Happy birthday!” Lilia exclaimed. “I’ve got just the thing!” She reached into her bag and pulled out a tin of chocolate crinkle cookies, handing them to Kalen. He took the tin, which was still a bit warm, and thanked her.

“Why don’t you come wait with me under the tree?” Kalen asked, secretly praying to the gods that she’d go with him. After all, there was nothing better to do, and he wanted to get to know her better. He knew Alston and Calla wouldn’t mind if there was an extra person; conversely, they might enjoy her company.

Lilia happily accepted, and they both made their way to the shady olive trees. They sat there and talked for hours, making flower crowns, exchanging their favorite book titles, and talking about anything and everything. They had so much in common: their love for strawberries, both having younger sisters, their extreme dislike for pickles, and how when they can’t sleep, they go outside and stare at the stars until they do.

Even though it had only been a few hours, Kalen was already head over heels for Lilia. He fell for the way she laughed, the way her eyes lit up and wings fluttered when she talked about food, the various faces she made while making her flower crown. In that short amount of time, he fell for all of her, even the hand motions she does when she talks. He teased her for it, but he absolutely adored it. Kalen noticed that, although she never said it, Lilia began to take a liking to him as well. He noticed the sparkle in her eyes when he talked about things he was passionate about, even though it was apparent that half of what he said didn’t make sense to her. How her smile would widen and her laugh grow louder whenever he tried balancing various knicknacks on himself, only to have them topple to the ground. They were both so entranced with each other that they didn’t notice that Alston and Calla had arrived.

“Are we interrupting something?” Calla said, smirking.

“No!” they both yelled, jumping back a bit because Calla’s sudden appearance startled them.

After everyone sat down, Kalen introduced Lilia to Alston and Calla, and Calla and Lilia got along almost instantly. They both had a love for all things beauty, exchanging tips and tricks for makeup, which eventually ended with both of them making daisy bracelets. Alston and Kalen talked about their favorite books the majority of the time, as they are both book worms. Eventually, the sun went down, and they all had to go home. Lilia left first, then Calla, leaving Alston and Kalen alone.

“You like Lilia, don’t you?” Alston said, a sly grin creeping on his face.

“What- no I don’t!” Kalen retorted, his face growing red at the thought of her.

Alston could tell he was lying. He saw how Kalen looked at Lilia like a lovesick puppy when she talked. Plus, Kalen was notorious for being a horrible liar. After some back-and-forth bickering between the two, Kalen finally admitted that Alston was right.

“Wait,” Alston said, stopping abruptly, turning to face Kalen. “How is that gonna work? You’re leaving in half a year!”

“I don’t know,” Kalen said, frowning a bit as those words of uncertainty rolled off his tongue. “We’ll figure something out.”

“Alright, just don’t do anything stupid. I would hate to see both of you get hurt” Alston replied, patting Kalen’s back as he spoke.

They both arrived at Alston’s house, waving goodbye at each other as they parted. When Kalen tried to go to bed that night, he couldn’t sleep. He was so preoccupied with the thought of Lilia and how he’d tell her he was leaving, if he should even confess his feelings at all. How if they did end up together, they’d have to be apart for many years, with letters as their only form of communication. He knew he couldn’t bring her with him; she had a family to take care of, and he didn’t want her to leave everything she’d ever known just to be with him. Another reason he couldn’t take her was because the city folk didn’t particularly like fairies. The humans and fae folk surrounding the Valley of Bileagan-Fidhe learned to live harmoniously with each other, but they were treated as less than human in the city of A ’deàrrsadh. Eventually, He climbed onto the roof and stared at the stars, wondering if Lilia was doing the same.