Leilani-Fae

Sorry, Alice! I just couldn’t resist…..
My entry for this month’s contest is a short story in poetic form.

Long ago and far away in a kingdom by the sea
lived a Fairy band quite different than the fae are thought to be.
These tiny folk lived only to help and guide mankind,
but because of others not like them, they were oft maligned.
Their Queen was quite a beauty. Her name was Leilani-Fae.
With wings as sheer as sunlight she flew by night and day.
While on a good-will mission to free an en-dangered child
a wicked ogre grabbed her and tortured her a while.
He told her he’d destroyed her band of fairies fair.
She was the last one that remained. Her life would not be spared.
The ogre kept her locked up for many days and nights.
She died a death of pure despair; of hope she had lost sight.
He took her lifeless body and threw it in the wind,
where butterflies then bore it to her fairy kin.
But, alas, it wasn’t written. For her return was naught.
The butterflies in full funeral flight were in a net soon caught.
A budding young collector, a lepidopterist,
needed new fresh specimens with Latin names to list.
He took the insects’ bodies, and placed them under glass
including Queen Leilani-Fae. “A new specimen at last!”
Many moons and suns have passed since all of this took place.
The glass resides in a small shop amid treasures and displays.
The shopkeeper’s name is Alice. Her shop is down the street.
Its shelves are filled with oddities and some exotic treats.
There’s a small ship in a bottle, and a lovely golden harp,
a pile of plastic soldiers with knives, pointed and sharp;
seashells and a journal, an old dreamcatcher, too;
a hair comb and crystal ball that long ago was new.
Her cat is her companion. He wanders round the store.
He looks at all who dare to enter through the shop’s front door.
So, if on the occasion, you happen to pass by
on a whim, just go right in, I promise time will fly.
You’ll find a new dimension awaits you, when you stop
to visit this unique place called, “Alice’s Curiosity Shop.”

358 words