Precious Little Things with Wings

Entrez s'il vous plaît dans le salon de thé...



and take a dainty cup of tea



and a lemon macaroon



or a peanut butter and chocolate version



and get comfortable because story time has begun.



Dedicated to M.M. - You quietly tiptoed into my life and have inspired me beyond words



As I sit with pen in hand

I'm thinking of a distant land

A distant land unknown to me

perhaps not ever meant to see

but hope to me, a promise brings

of Precious Little Things with Wings. - Castles Crowns and Cottages



The smoldering orange embers were gasping for their last breath before they extinguished themselves in the pile of ashes from soirées past. It was a memorable evening in my humble little warren, with roasted apples by the fire, music and an occasional guffaw from the bucks, which was subsided by uncontrollable yawns- evidence that we had exhausted the night itself.



Long farewells lingered at the foyer like the scent of our sweet apples, as friends reluctantly shuffled out to leave the warmth of the evening, facing the bitter cold along the path to their own cozy nests, to put to rest the events of the day.



My thoughts however, danced with images of her last letter. I was determined to fight my fatigue to relish every word by the flicker of candlelight, for the main character in her work, "The Adventures of the Great Gesundheit" had set in motion an avalanche of events that required my immediate attention. For 10 months, I have exchanged wild escapades of imaginary characters and a special friendship with Doortje, who lives across the sea, and whom I have never seen. Daily, to my delight, I receive a new adventure



and I return another adventure in kind.



Tonight however, the post did not come by its usual way



but rather by way of A Precious Little Thing With Wings.



I opened the letter and cherished every image and word. But as soon as I looked up, the winged creature had disappeared leaving a trail of wind throughout the star-pocked sky, and as fast as she had flittered off, so did Doortje's letter, following the messenger like a long and elegant plume. The instructions were to look out of my window for there would be a rabbit-drawn coach



that would whisk me away through the streets



to the shores of my world, where a great bird would meet me, to lift me over and across the waves of the sea of dreams.



And after a moment of timelessness, I became a child, and on the other side of my world at the shore, there she was.



It was Doortje, my friend.



She was more gracious than I could have imagined; we welcomed the sunrise together and weathered the storm under a canopy of laughter, hope and trust. "I must tell you my name" said Doortje. For months I had only known her by Doortje, a name befitting such a being, for it means, "Gift of God." What other name could describe such a friend?" After countless dawns and sunrises, I learned that her name was Aleydis, meaning "of a noble sort" in her native tongue. Aleydis was in fact, a queen.



A beautiful queen, indeed. "Smashing! This is TOPS! I can't believe this...my friend is a queen!" I bellowed. My childish enthusiasm worried her for she feared that upon my return to my side of the world, her identity would be compromised. But what she feared most of all, was that I would not understand our friendship. "My dear", she whispered, as her eyes smiled into mine, "You must keep your word. You must never tell anyone who I really am."



I did understand.



Our worlds were an ocean apart, but our imaginations were one. To betray her confidence would be to betray myself. As I began to see her more clearly, I began to fade away from her world, awakening from my wildest of dreams...to meet my friend whom I had never seen.



The End.

In your wildest of dreams, do you hope to meet the kindred spirits that have touched your lives in blogland? I do. I believe in Precious Little Things with Wings, for "Hope is the thing with feathers..that perches in the soul..and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all." *

May your dreams come true!

Photo credits:

Georg Jensen Bird Brooch

Beatrix Potter Illustrations of Peter Rabbit and Friends

Grant D. Fairley Fairy Tales for Life

French Interiors from the beautiful blog Trouvais

Macaroon images - The Wandering Eater

Queen Blanka - Albert Edelfelt
* "Hope" from the blog, The Dutchess