‘Here we go, éna dýo tría!’ The seven colors of the rainbow chortled transforming into fairies. Laughing they flew off towards the forest.
As they landed daintily on the terra firma, a whiff of air laden with the sweet aroma of alyssum welcomed them. It was a rare phenomenon when the fairies visited the woods. Only the centuries old oak tree perched on the cliff could vouchsafe of their existence. Rest, all thought they were just lore.
The fairies ran from one end to another touching everything; breathing in fresh color to whatever they touched.
‘Don’t forget the reason why we have come,’ Kitrino, the yellow hued fairy said. ‘We have to collect the stardust. Remember*Asteria’s promise?’
‘Yes, we will not let her down,’ other fairies said in unison and moved towards the crater in the middle of the dense forest.
Asteria, the night queen had been ruling the shooting stars. Of late, one of her favorite shooting star, *Perseid had landed on Earth’s surface and turned into dust.
Asteria was petrified when she got the news.
Each night the celestials would gather, twinkling and shimmering to please her. But her heart sank thinking of Perseid.
She knew of a way to bring him back to life. But for that, she needed to get the stardust before*Zeus, the only person who could illumine Perseid with life.
She wanted to get Perseid’s remains herself. But when she tried to go to Earth, she was stopped by Earth’s guarding angel, Atmosphere.
‘Behold Asteria! Dare you enter my domain. I shall turn you into dust.’
Asteria was too broken to fight with Atmosphere. She pleaded with him to let her go and collect the stardust, but Atmosphere stood strong, holding his guard.
For a minute Asteria thought to show her strength. She knew that the Atmosphere would not be able to hold her energy. But her compassionate heart did not want to hurt the beings thriving on Earth.
The seven colors of rainbows were hanging in the welkins witnessing all this. They heard Asteria lamenting for Perseid. The rainbow cried too hearing her longing for the star.
They came forward to help her.
‘Milady, if we get the stardust for you, will you take us on a tour to the universe.’ They requested innocently.
Asteria was more than pleased to hear this.
‘Get the stardust before the nightfall. I shall make you discover all the space between heaven and earth.’ She promised them wiping her tears.
The color fairies had witnessed Perseid zooming towards Earth. Happily, they alighted in the forest to collect the stardust.
Perseid was reduced to dust, but there were sparks of hope in Asteria eyes for his life.
Lore is that now once in a year Perseid comes to thank the fairies. He puts a grand show in the sky in gratitude and takes them for a ride to explore the universe.
Glossary:
Asteria: Greek goddess of shooting stars
Perseid: name of meteor showers
Zeus: King of Gods in Greek mythology
Thank You to Sonal for proofreading.
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Photo By: Alice Alinari
This is an entry for Five00-9, #Vintage. Find all the entries here: https://writers.artoonsinn.com/category/five00/five00-9/
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