short story #26: The Enchanted Forest

Preface:

Today, I offer you a glimpse into the adventures of our in-house magical couple – Uncle Albert and Aunt Rosie. You mind remember them from my short story #13: A Cup of Love. Click on the link to read the story. 🙂

Though this short story can be read as a stand-alone story too, I would suggest checking out the other stories in this series as well, if you haven’t read them already. This is the sequel to the short story #25: An Unexpected Invite.

Uncle Albert and Aunt Rosie were overjoyed to be in the presence of Merlin, the greatest wizard of all times! They stood rooted to their spot with their mouth agape and hearts beating wildly. Merlin cleared with throat with a sly smile.
“Earth to Albert and Rosie. Do you copy?”, he said in his booming voice.
That got their attention.
“It’s an absolute honour to meet you!”
“I am so honoured that you invited us!”
They blurted out at the same time. Aunt Rosie even seemed to be half-way into what seemed like a curtsy!
Merlin wasted no time in treating his guests to a scrumptious meal. Once they were well fed and even happier than before, Merlin gave them a tour of his majestic castle.
They were able to set eyes on the fabled “Sphere of Life” that always alerted Merlin to the issues that desperately needed his intervention.
From his castle at the top of the mountain, the scenery was breathtaking, even more, beautiful and magical than they had ever expected.
Merlin led them down the mountain and into the dense forest that surrounded them. Merlin told his guests that to a non-magical person, the forest would appear to be an almost barren land with hills covered in clay and with a very sparse, scattered vegetation, mostly consisting of fir trees. Were it not for his spell, the majestic creatures would have been hunted to extinction. Uncle Albert and Aunt Rosie had been to a lot of Enchanted Forests but now was as enchanted as this one. Golden apples hung within plucking distance, diamonds that adorned the abodes of many creatures glittered in the sunlight, fairies, and pixies danced about in the air spreading fairy dust. Mermaids lined the shores of the stream that flowed through the heart of the forest. Aunt Rosie shot a withering look to the enticingly beautiful mermaids as they battled their eyelashes at Uncle Albert! Dragons, Centaurs, and Hippogriffs basked in the sunlight. Unicorns watched them warily from a distance, ready to gallop into the woods at the slightest hint of danger. Aunt Rosie had never set sight on so many magical flowers that could put even roses to shame, with their beauty and fragrance. Aunt Rosie finally got the chance to refill her depleting supply of fairy dust. Merlin even gifted them a bottle of Phoenix tears!
Encouraged by Merlin, Aunt Rosie and Uncle Albert drank in the lovely sights and gorged on the magical, sweet fruits that the forest had to offer. When they were so full that their stomachs were threatening to burst, they returned to the castle where they had a good night’s sleep.
Early morning the next day, they took their leave and thanked their gracious host for his hospitality and generosity. Invigorated by their magical trip, Aunt Rosie and Uncle Albert seemed happier than usual to their regular customers at “A Cup of Love”.

This post was written in response to Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #75. Thank you, Fandango for hosting this challenge. The challenge is to use the given picture prompt to write a flash fiction piece or a poem inspired by the photo. There are no style or word limits. For the visually challenged writer, the image shows a landscape with scattered fir trees growing on dirt and clay-covered hills.

Image courtesy: Google Hub Photo Frame.

Click here to read all my other short stories. 🙂

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