Elowen
Elowen sat upon her mossy hillside with her wings folded softly behind her. Morning light drifted through the forest canopy, scattering gold across the Mosslight Path as it wound through the trees.
She watched the path often. Every traveler carried a story. Some arrived searching while others fled from something. A few wandered without knowing why.
On this particular morning, a man appeared carrying a heavy pack. His boots struck the earth with determined steps. His eyes remained fixed upon the trail before him. He never once looked at the forest.
Elowen tilted her head. The path curved beside a patch of blue bellflowers. The traveler walked past them. A rabbit emerged from a fern and sat beside the trail. The traveler passed without notice. A sunbeam broke through the canopy and illuminated a cluster of amber mushrooms like tiny lanterns. Still, he never looked up.
Elowen frowned. The forest had worked very hard on this morning. With a mischievous smile, she slipped from her hillside and fluttered through the trees. A single white feather drifted onto the path ahead.
The traveler stepped over it.
Elowen moved farther ahead. She guided a butterfly with sapphire wings to rest upon a branch beside the trail.
The traveler walked past.
The fairy folded her arms. This was becoming a challenge. She whispered to a nearby breeze. It carried the scent of wild mint and pine needles across the path.
For the first time, the traveler slowed. His gaze lifted slightly. Then he continued walking.
Elowen followed. At midday she discovered an acorn lying beside the roots of an old oak. It was no ordinary acorn. Tiny spirals marked its shell like carvings made by nature itself. Carefully, she placed it in the center of the path.
The traveler nearly stepped on it. At the last moment, he paused. His brow furrowed. He crouched and picked it up. For several moments he simply stared. Then his eyes wandered beyond the acorn. They found the moss growing along the roots. The shafts of sunlight between the trees. The birds weaving songs through the branches. The distant sparkle of a stream. The traveler slowly stood. A smile touched his face.
It was small, but Elowen saw it.
He slipped the acorn into his pocket and continued along the trail. This time his gaze wandered often. He noticed flowers. He listened to birdsong. Once, he even stopped to watch a squirrel balancing upon a fallen log. By evening he disappeared around a bend in the path.
Elowen returned to her hillside. The forest seemed brighter somehow. Perhaps it always had been. The traveler had simply remembered to see it. The fairy smiled and settled back among the moss.