Microfiction: Hope and Ease

 Hope

A young woman woke up at dawn and began gathering dew from the leaves, flowers, and grass in her garden. She put them into a small glass vial in preparation for the day’s work. She wore a white silk dress with gold embroidery and had long, braided hair. She travelled first to a woman hoping to be pregnant, and, smiling, sprinkled some of the dew on her. Next she went to a man who had been sick for many years and secretly left him a few drops. Finally, she sprinkled some on a family hoping to travel to a new country. 

Ease

A man carrying a laurel branch and dressed in an expensive suit entered a house. The mother and daughter loudly argued in the kitchen. The man stood in the doorway and moved his hands like he was giving a presentation, but he made no sound. The pair lost their anger and reconciled. The man moved to the house next door, where he made the same gestures over a man stressed out about his job. He ended his day at a church, and made the arm motions behind the silent worshipers. Each place he made an impact his presence went unnoticed.

Author's Note

These stories were inspired by characters in "The Enchanted Chamber" portion of the Faerie Queene story. Each character represented a different emotional state, like hope, fear, desire, grief, love, despair, and more. I was intrigued by Hope's vial of dew that grants wishes, and I wanted to show her interaction with humans in the normal world. My second story is about Ease and his interactions with humans.

Story Source: Stories from the Faerie Queene by Mary Macleod, with drawings by A. G. Walker (1916)

Image information: Dew on flower from Demi Kwant on Unsplash.

Laurel leaves from okeykat on Unsplash.