Dark Faeries

This is my attempt at some fiction, some thoughts I tried to put into an entertaining, readable little story. No, not really a story, just a little advice for all you garden owners. Please take note!

At least that was the idea. But as it happens, there is more than should be in a short story, so maybe it will one day be a whole novel. Let’s see were it takes me!

A Case for the Dark Faeries

I

Everybody knows flower faeries – if you have a garden you probably have seen them on a sunny day flitting above the most colourful flowers, with a sound like whispering bells or butterflies with wings of glass. You will have smiled and watched a while, see them work the flowers and do their jobs. You might even have waved and were rewarded with a tiny smile back – they can be very friendly. Or if you tried to catch one you might have been bitten and had to nurse that painful little wound for weeks. But have you ever been in your garden deep at night, when it is darkest and all but the most secretive creatures are asleep in their nests or burrows? When only the sly fox or the very quiet owl are on their way to the next kill? Have you? Have you heard then the strange little sound on the wind, the sound of a black, silent bell rung by a moth wing? That will have been the dark faerie on its way to the next bit of work.

(Contrary to popular belief the dark faerie is not a thing of evil. It does not lay in wait to tempt you into doing bad stuff; it will not do unspeakable things to you. Those are demons, creatures of hell, employees of the devil. Faeries are plant spirits, creatures of your gardens and meadows.)

The dark faerie is a wondrous little thing, miles removed from the flitting colourful pretty flower faeries we know and love so much. Wearing a tight, darker than black bodysuit, a funny little black top hat, black wellies over thick black socks and sporting rather small dark batwings it does not make it easy to be loved by us humans, who need beauty and light to feel affection. The eyes of the creature are dark pools with a tiny glint deep down that enables them to see at night when their work is to be done; the fingers are long and slim so they are able to reach into dark crevices to tend to the moss and algae in even the tiniest spot. And it has no hair – working in the damp most of the time made hair rather impractical and so the faerie cuts it off quite regularly (with a bit of flint if you must know). This special garden dweller  is only about 2 inches high, any taller and it would not be able to squeeze into woodpiles, fit into small opening of hollow trees or tend to the moss below your decking by the house.

Its home is very often underneath a woodpile at the very bottom of the garden, well past the flowers, the grass, even further down than the compost heap and the little crooked tree.

The Woodpile at the Bottom of the Garden

Damp soil makes the floor of its dwelling, rotting leaves the carpet,  there is a bed made of spider web and old caterpillar silk nests in some corner and if the faerie is lucky it will have a butterfly wing to act as wallpaper. There even might be treasures – maybe a beautiful red button with two holes in the middle,

Looks Like a Red Button

a long white sign saying “mange tout” found in the vegetable patch in the top garden and a smooth round shiny black pebble from the pond. And although the button is very beautiful, a dark faerie will always like the pebble better, it is after all black, and black is its only colour.

But of course a proper dark faerie has not much time for treasures or the search for them – looking after the health of mosses, fungi and algae is a lot of work and keeps it busy all night and the day is there for sleep.

Dark faeries always work alone; there is not much need for company.  They sometimes come across another of their kind but the night does not lend itself to merriment and laughter, so it’s normally just a short nod, an acknowledgement of each other’s existence before parting again and disappearing into the night, each on the way to their own part of the garden. Working at night is dangerous for such a small creature – bats and mice are both interested in a nice little bite to eat and even owls are equally known to catch a dark faerie now and then.

We very often think of anything living in darkness as evil, but that is not what darkness is. It means loneliness and longing, very often sadness and tears. Though there are a few good times for the dark faeries, for example when the moon is round and the stars shine, when the moths fly and the jasmine sends its scent through the garden or in winter, when the moon light is reflected by the snow – then suddenly the world is beautiful and everything is ok. But generally these faeries are very lonely beings, longing for the sun they very rarely see – maybe on their way home on a summer morning, when the sun rises at 4am – but there is never much time to enjoy the warmth and the light.

The work of a dark faerie is much more difficult than you might think – looking after moss is very stressful – blackbirds would constantly pull it up to find hidden delicacies like woodlice and worms underneath, but on the whole the faeries manage to look after it properly and they will be rewarded with the most unusual and beautiful moss blossoms.

Flowering Moss

The tending is hard because the moss has to be replanted after the birds ripped it out, it needs watering, wants to be kept dark and wet at all times. And a single footstep of one of us could put all the hard work of a dark faerie in jeopardy. The fungi are a bit easier. Most of them are small and only need a very occasional look and maybe a slug removed from their shiny cap, but on the whole they do well enough on their own.Birds are not interested in them and the sort that grows in our gardens is of no interest to us and anyway, usually they grow in very dark little corners, so we don’t even know they are there. Now algae are a different matter. They do die if not properly looked after and especially in summer the dark faeries have a very hard time running around to keep them nice and wet and slimy. That’s what the wellies are for, because working with algae is a very wet job indeed.

So, you ask, why are these faeries not out during the day then if they crave sunshine so much? Why are they not tending to their plants during a hot summers day, when moss and algae need the water most? I will tell you: it’s the flower faeries.

They are indeed beautiful. Twice as tall as a dark faerie, hair in the colour of their favourite flowers, beautiful silky skirts, bright butterfly wings, a sound like a thousand tiny bells, voices like angels – they even smell like the flowers, of honey and sun. They work, they play, they dance and sing and – well, they do eat flies, so sometimes you better look away. And a very long time ago, centuries rather than decades, they decided that only the most beautiful things should be warmed by the sun. They started with the moths, slowly drove them deep into the night. You must have noticed how much a moth wants to be in the light – they have not forgotten that once they belonged to the day.

Flower faeries are real bullies and they started with the dark faeries pretty soon after the moths were gone into the darkness. They insulted, laughed at and pushed the dark faeries; they stole their treasures and kicked their plants, ripped off the moss blossoms and upturned the fungi, threw the little top hats into the ponds and laughed! What else could the dark little things do then crawl into the night?

But, I hear you ask, why do we want dark faeries anyway? You don’t care about moss and algae and that funny little brown fungus in the beech hedge! Ah – but have you ever really thought about it? A fungus is not just the little thing in your hedge; a fungus is also – yeast! And if you had the choice between a slice of fresh bread with marmite accompanied by a glass of beautiful ale or a pretty bouquet of flowers, what would you choose? Well, there you go then, one big fat point in favour of the dark one.

You are surprised at the behaviour of flower faeries. But you should have known. I ask you – eating flies? Come on, you must admit that that is not right. (…and by the way: a dark faerie eats ripe elderberries and bindweed roots) And that bite you got last time you said hello to one of them – did that not tell you something? A pretty face is not everything!

So, I hope that next time you go out into your garden at night (and you really should) spare a thought for that tiny creature. Have a listen at the woodpile, shine a torch underneath your decking or look into the hole in the tree – you might just catch a glimpse of that hardworking dark faerie.

That Might be a Dark Faerie.Not sure.

And if you do be friendly, a nice word has the same effect as a ray of sunshine. And if you ever come across one of the flower faeries, don’t be nasty, just don’t be too nice, they do have the sun and the colours and that is more than enough.

II

You might wonder why I refer to the dark faerie as an “it”, considering they are looking fairly humanoid and seem to be capable of speech, laughter, emotion and all the other things humans can do. The “it” is not meant in any way disrespectful or belittling, we just do not have the right word in any of our languages. Dark faeries (all faeries really) have no gender, they do not have offspring or anything even related to our courtship, love and sex business. They all exist as singular entities with no need for partnerships. Of course they meet and talk and sometimes have something close to a party, but they don’t feel our longing for companionship.

So, you ask, if they don’t have children, how did they arrives on this earth?

Now that is something I cannot answer truthfully, all I can do is speculate. As you know, long before time began there were beings you might call gods and goddesses on the earth, doing whatever needed doing and they deemed necessary. (We don’t fully know who they were – grown from the planets soil maybe or from faraway galaxies)

All things evolved as we know, but I am sure nature got a little push now and then in one or other direction, because to be honest, gods are known to meddle with the natural order of things. And at some point one or two of them must have missed the beauty of the earth’s flora in the caves, under rocks and in the dark depths of forests. And they probably coaxed a few of the flower faeries into a different direction, making them tend to these dark and hidden places. Of course flowers wouldn’t grow, so the faeries developed mosses, fungi and algae. And crawling underneath wood, into caves and hollow trees made the need for colourful wings and hair pointless, so the little things “darkened”. And were the original race of faeries came into being – I don’t know. They don’t seem to be of any of the known species on this planet, so maybe they did come with the “gods” from somewhere in our universe.

All that of course makes the faeries very vulnerable. If one dies, there will be one less, never to be replaced. And die they do, caught by hungry owls and other predators who have an appetite for those small, tender things. And then there are us humans, always ready to test and prod and cut open in the search for more knowledge. And so of the millions that must have been working the dark corners of this earth there are now only a few thousand left.

In the beginning any faerie roamed the planed in its natural state: naked. There was no need for clothes, they weren’t even known. It was only when human beings, covering their hairless bodies with all sorts of made up garments, started to become aware of the tiny creatures that the faeries started dressing. Their nakedness was seen as sinful by us and many of them died for this “sin”. To start with they just covered themselves in bits of plants, leaves and seeds, but later they learned to make fabric and sew clothes. The dark faeries did not put a lot of effort into making beautiful dresses – working underneath rotting wood and in wetlands does not do pretty clothes any good. But the Flower faeries started experimenting with silk and dyes and learned to weave the most fragile fabric to be made into beautiful shimmering garments. That was the moment when we humans started to love these flower creatures, because we do fall in love so easily with pretty things. And so the flower faeries started taking the love humans gave them for granted and became proud and arrogant. They quickly learned about our need for beauty and our dislike of anything dark and hidden and imitating that they started bullying anything not as pretty as themselves, mainly little things like moths and the dark faeries.

By then all the gods and goddesses had left the planet (or were hiding deep in the dark) and there was nobody taking up the defence of the little creatures and the flower faeries were free to drive anything they did not like into the night. And over the centuries there were many sightings of this flower spirits by us, we made drawings and wrote reports and later we even tried to take photos. But never has there been a recorded sighting of a dark faerie. We know they are around, there are tales and legends, but usually in misrepresentation.

But I am convinced that now is the right time to introduce these night workers. We know that darkness does not belong to the devil, that darkness just means the sun is on the other side of the planet and gives us some rest. We know sounds in the dark are mice and other night animals, not demons and monsters. They only exist in hopefully well made horror films.

III

Some of you are very clever and ask if all above findings are valid everywhere on our planet. No, of course not. A faerie with wellies and a little body suit would not survive for very long on Antarctica. Yes, Antarctica. There are mosses growing on the rocks. Growing very slowly, admittedly, but still, they need just as much looking after as the mosses here. Or even more, due to their fragility.

As you know, down there in the furthest South we have very rarely a hot summer and nearly always a very cold winter. That has been so for centuries, millennia and probably even longer. Therefore the little faeries had to do something to protect themselves against the frost. Considering that nothing (but moss) grows there and human industries are very few (if not none) the faeries had to do something very efficient: they evolved. From the naked, hairless, slim little creatures they changed over time into furry, slightly rounded things with big wide webbed feet and leathery small wings. On Antarctica faeries don’t really need to fly, the few mosses grow so slowly that they have more than enough time to walk from plant to plant. The big feet stop them from sinking into the snow and the little wings do help more with a high jump then with flying. Here they eat fish which they get through a little bit of trickery from the penguins. These birds are kind and want no faerie harm; they don’t worry about the odd fish taken by those little creatures. One fish can sustain about 100 faeries for a good week or two. Oily fish is preferred, it gives a layer of fat to the bodies: for insulation! They live in caves made out of snow, like a slightly primitive form of igloo perhaps. Treasures like our faeries collect are not to be had here so their rooms are very bare. During the long nights the faeries hibernate and exist nearly without sleep during the long days.

All this new information off course leads to more questions. Yes, dark faeries like everything else on this earth have evolved in different directions, depending on the environment they are living in.

Deep in the rainforest they are still naked, the high humidity making clothes very impractical. Their wings are very similar to those of dragonflies enabling the faeries to change direction of flight very quickly.  Their skin is hard as elephant leather, a natural protection against stings and bites of poisonous animals which are quite common in this jungle. Here among the trees dark faeries have sharp long claws to be able to climb up where the leave cover is too thick to fly and moss grows even on the highest of branches. Faeries in rainforests, be it the dark or the flower one, exist on small insects; I guess it is the practical solution for an environment full of creepy crawlies. Here they live in the trees themselves, the higher up they are staying the safer they are. Out of leaves and fibre from the barks the faeries sort of weave their beds, like birds nest, but they do not have a “house” with rooms as such. The climate does not make that necessary.

In the deserts the few faeries working there have very dark skin and no wings (desert winds will push this little beings easily and they developed a skilful system to get blown in the right direction), but very big hands to dig in the sand where they are building burrows to survive the sandstorms and driest months. They are asleep most of the time, considering that rainfall is next to nothing and plant life extremely rare. Here the bodies have adapted to the very dry and hot climate and they can survive for several years without water or food. Dry plant matter will suffice should they need food and the occasional rainfall (maybe once a year) will give enough water.

High up in the mountains (like the Himalayan) where moss and algae can only be found deep in caves and crevices the faeries are very white (due to the lack of light pigmentation cannot develop), smaller than their counterparts down on the earth and have very large eyes. They need to see with very little light. Since their time began they have never encountered the sun or the night sky, they stay forever in these caves. I am sure there are not many of them, because plants up there are very rare indeed. Their wings are like those of a swallow – they are experts at flying – and their hand and feet have the tiniest spines so they can climb the cave walls better. They build no nests, rooms or houses, they sleep where they feel tired. The water in the caves is their food, it is high in minerals with is nutritious enough for the faeries.

In large swamp areas faeries developed gills, but kept their lungs so wherever they work they can breathe. Their skin resembles snake hide to protect from the constant dampness and their wings would suit a fish – they are very similar to fins, making flying slightly difficult but swimming very easy. Their live is probably the most endangered on this planet considering that they are a delicacy for most swamp creatures (snakes, alligators and such). To counteract these dangers nature has moved their eyes to the sides of their heads so they can watch out in more than one direction at once. They live on trees like their rainforest relatives, in “nests” woven of bits of liana and again live of insects.

So wherever in this world a dark faerie has to work, nature has given it the best possible armour to deal with everything they could possibly find themselves against. Every region has its own dangers and every creature living there has been equipped with the most efficient tools to survive. Their digestive system has adapted as well, some of the faeries are vegetarian, some live entirely on insects – depending what the area offers.

In most of these extreme areas, be it through climate or location, the dark faeries work during the day. It is in the highly “civilised” regions of the earth that the faeries have been pushed into the night. Only where humans live have flower faeries been held in such esteem that they could grow proud and arrogant. Everywhere else the dark and the flower faerie live side by side and work each in their own field but equal in their value.