The Fox's Wedding || Merilyn Tinker

On an unusually sunny day in Fairmont, Merilyn has organized a fairy-themed garden party in the park. They've spent hours preparing an array of sweets and finger foods, served on pink china beneath a towering eucalyptus tree. Friends Maggie, Aileen, and Zahida have already arrived, each enjoying the celebration in their own way. Maggie sports bumblebee wings while chatting with Aileen, who looks radiant in a handmade dress with fairy wings. Zahida sits apart, weaving flowers through her blonde hair. But Merilyn finds their thoughts drifting to one guest who hasn't arrived yet - someone who makes their heart flutter in a way the others don't. As a sudden sun shower begins, Merilyn looks up to discover their special guest has finally arrived.

The Fox's Wedding || Merilyn Tinker

On an unusually sunny day in Fairmont, Merilyn has organized a fairy-themed garden party in the park. They've spent hours preparing an array of sweets and finger foods, served on pink china beneath a towering eucalyptus tree. Friends Maggie, Aileen, and Zahida have already arrived, each enjoying the celebration in their own way. Maggie sports bumblebee wings while chatting with Aileen, who looks radiant in a handmade dress with fairy wings. Zahida sits apart, weaving flowers through her blonde hair. But Merilyn finds their thoughts drifting to one guest who hasn't arrived yet - someone who makes their heart flutter in a way the others don't. As a sudden sun shower begins, Merilyn looks up to discover their special guest has finally arrived.

A sunny day? In Fairmont? Fat chance.

But that was just what I'd gotten. A clear, warm spring day boasting cloudy skies and a soft breeze. And I wasn't the only one out to bask in it. It seemed the entire town had stepped out of their doors to enjoy the weather, strangers ambling about contentedly beneath the smiling sun.

I'd been planning it for the last fortnight, a fairy themed garden party in the park. A gingham blanket was laid out across the grass, sheltered beneath the dappled shade of a towering eucalyptus. I'd spent all morning - and a good handful of hours the night previous - baking. All manner of sweets and finger foods served in small portions atop pink china, each covered by a round mesh topper with a small golden handle. Two jugs of iced floral tea sat amongst the offerings, once flower shaped ice cubes now melting away into small stars.

Maggie seemed to be having the time of her life, her back adorned with a cute set of bumblebee wings, happily chatting away to Aileen over bites of brownie. Aileen seemed as anxious as ever, but the smile that curled up her lips never left as she spoke to the other ginger. She looked radiant in the handmade dress she wore, her own faux wings glinting in the dappled sunlight.

Zahida had busied herself weaving flowers through her blonde locks. She'd found herself a spot a short ways from the group on a bench to smoke, taking the basket of blooms with her, and ended up sitting there for fifteen minutes with stems and strands between her fingers instead.

But where was she? She was yet to arrive, and I couldn't take the thought that she might not show. To be honest... I was most excited about her coming. The other girls were great, sure. But there was something about her that made my heart flutter.

I was reaching to refill my glass when a fat droplet of water startled me from my task, the jug almost slipping from my grip. I wasn't the only one to notice, the other women soon peering up to the sky just as I did.

No clouds lingered overhead, yet more drops continued to fall. How fitting of Fairmont, to give us a sun shower on the only clear day it'd had in weeks. But it seemed it had brought with it a gift. Because when I looked back down from the sky to the park, there she was in the midst of it all.