Mary McCune Author

THE BATTLE FOR MRS. HENDERSON’S GARDEN

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Dec 30, 2019

Something had been nibbling at the lavender and heather in Mrs. Henderson’s garden. She examined the delicate teeth marks, before exploring the honeysuckle. A #cocoon dangling from a blossom split open. Mrs. Henderson’s worst fears were realized. “Fairies!” she hissed. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Dec 31, 2019

The fairy stared balefully at Mrs. Henderson, their dislike mutual. She soared into the sky as soon as her wings dried, looped the loop and stuck out her tongue as an #encore. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 1, 2020

The empty coffins of abandoned cocoons littered the honeysuckle vines. “#Charlatans, all of you!” Mrs. Henderson cried, hair tangled into elf locks. An ominous humming assaulted her ears. The fairies were swarming. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 2, 2020

The fairies manipulated human emotions to #obfuscate their strategy and keep their foes off balance, but Mrs. Henderson was immune. She’d let a fairy into her heart years ago-she’d never make that mistake again. Her garden was her shield. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 3, 2020

The fountain still whispered the #unicorn‘s name, the shadow of its mane and horn trapped in the falling water when the fairies spirited it away. Mrs. Henderson’s watering can filled from the fountain’s basin, poured a memory over the flowerbeds. The plants drank it in. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 4, 2020

The unicorn’s #latent hoofprints rose to the surface of the flower beds, punctuated by the intermittent marks of fairy feet, which set down on the earth for a moment before flying back into the sky. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 5, 2020

“You see why we must fight!” Mrs. Henderson said. The flowers nodded in the breeze. The #disinterred memory of the unicorn inspired them all. The deafening hum of the fairy swarm assaulted their ears. “Prepare your weapons,” Mrs. Henderson ordered. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 6, 2020

Violets readied seeds for launching. Nettles waved their stinging hairs. Pitcher plants rotated their mouths toward the oncoming swarm. Mrs. Henderson nodded to the grey tree frogs, who #yipped a signal. The dragon lilies, first line of attack, unleashed their stench. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 7, 2020

The swarm broke formation as they fled the dragon lilies’ odor. Mrs. Henderson had timed the attack perfectly. Fainting fairies fell into brambles, captured by thorns that #obviated the need for a prison. The Garden had won the first battle. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 8, 2020

Just as the Garden paused to celebrate, the fairies #usurped the momentum. Those still airborne circumnavigated the dragon lilies and reunited into a single squadron. Tongues sticking out, they dove straight towards Mrs. Henderson. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 9, 2020

The #kinetic fairies flickered in and out of sight like quantum particles, each reappearance a new insult, their tongues dangling from their mouths. When they came in range of Mrs. Henderson, they spit out streams of glitter, then pulled up to reload for a second pass. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 10, 2020

The Garden held its breath, #inquisitive. The glitter hit its mark. Mrs. Henderson’s eyes drifted shut and a smile crossed her face. A mortal wound! #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 11, 2020

Formerly faded with age, Mrs. Henderson’s spirit grew #lively– her feet started tapping. Waltzing to music only she could hear, her rhythm infected the Garden. The plants swayed with her. #vss365#sunthing

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 12, 2020

As the dance ends, a strange #languor spreads over the Garden, except for the nettles. Their hairs continue to gyrate, biding their time, as Mrs. Henderson slumps against a trellis, dreaming. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 13, 2020

Mrs. Henderson’s eyes turn #opaline as they gaze inward. He’s hidden there in her memories, riding on the unicorn, playing his flute. His song winds around her heart and pulls it to him. She follows. The nettles inch closer. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 14, 2020

Choosing their moment, the nettles strike. Their hairs brush Mrs. Henderson’s ankle; their #fibrous roots rake through the soil, creating a subterranean shockwave. The Garden rouses. Mrs Henderson remembers. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 15, 2020

“It wasn’t my heart the fairy stole, it was the unicorn,” Mrs. Henderson recalled. Their work done, the nettles withdrew with a last #flourish of their hairs, just as the next wave of the fairy attack swept over the garden. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 16, 2019

When Mrs. Henderson finished digging, she noticed the bulbs shivering. “Don’t worry, it’s warmer in the ground.” The bulbs protested. “Oh, you’re afraid of the dark?” She fetched a flashlight. “No monsters!” She gave them a gentle #push and tucked them into the dirt. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 17, 2020

The unicorn’s horn swept the fairies aside; its tail created a #riparian boundary they could not cross. The fairies hurled glitter and stuck out their tongues from the far side until they tired, then flew away, colliding like bumper cars, blinded by the rainbow. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 18, 2020

The water fell back onto the garden in a #muddle of puddles, each reflecting a scene from the unicorn’s life. Mrs. Henderson walked from one to the next, reading them like a story. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 19, 2020

In the last puddle their eyes met. The unicorn’s gaze #articulated its grief. Mrs. Henderson took a seed from her pocket and dropped it into the water. The reflection opened its ripples to swallow it whole. #vss365

M. P. McCune @MPMcCune2 Jan 20, 2020

A plant sprouted and grew a lifetime in an instant, from seedling to flower to pod. A scent of #jasmine presaged its demise. When the seed vessel split, a unicorn burst out. “Welcome home,” Mrs. Henderson said. #vss365