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Once upon a cloudy day, I was wandering around the forest, trying to find the perfect spot for my picnic. You see, my uncle just borrowed me his antique Chinese-tea picnic set and it's adorable! It must have been at least fifty years old and I love the red flowery pattern all over it.
Previously, it was a tea set for two, but the other cup just broken and now there's only one teacup and one teapot inside that picnic bag. For a strange unexplainable reason, my uncle place several marbles inside the blank space instead of replacing the broken cup. Curiouser and curiouser I kept asking why, but he soon hush me away and set me a boiling Autumn tea, put them inside the basket ("it keeps them warm", he said), and suggest me to find a solitary spot deep in the forest to enjoy my tea. His oddness puzzles me so I just do what he told me to do: tea-picnic on the forest.
The air was cool and moist; the grass was soft and lush. I wonder through the pathless wood, get lost in the chirping sound of the bird and the soft trail of the butterflies. Ah! The butterflies remind me of my fairy friends at the center of the forest. There's a patch of the meadow where the fairy ring took place. I believe that my dear friend, Lueia, loves Autumn Tea very much. So I rush to the center of the forest and found them there. Lueia, Bendlynn, Pailette, and the twin Flote and Forst were there. They invite me to enter the ring (otherwise, you couldn't find the location yourself). We share the autumn tea (for they only need a few drops) and they told me the latest stories about the wood (the oldest daughter of Mrs. Owl just had her babies; the rabbits has several new holes for their enlarging families; Miss Lilyya the porcupine just had a little accident and Flote-Forst are helping her out with her housework; and many more amusing stories).
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A minute later, another bell rings and Lady Marienkafer is approaching. She is the lady of the forest fairies and she just got back from her daily inspection of the pine trees. She is a nice little lady fairy but she's a bit stiff and was too prim-and-proper as a forest fairy. Just before joining our little tea party, she told me that next time I should really put on a flower crown every time I want to enter the ring. It is one thing I keep forgetting but it's impolite not to wear one. So this time, I promise them it will be my last time entering the ring without my flower crown on. Lady Marienkafer is pleased by my promise and later she shows an interest on my picnic basket in particular. She simply loves to sit on it with the warm smell of the autumn tea.
"The thing is, I don't know how to make a flower crown, Lady Marienkafer..", I told her shyly.
"Oh, that's easy, my child.. You can ask Mr.Palm to teach you. He's a gifted craftsman and surely, he'd love to help"
"How can I find him, my Lady?"
"Now..now.. That’s the problem. He lives miles away from here, my child..", replied Lady Marienkafer
"But My Lady, look! She has the White Marbles, you see.. We can always teleport her using the power of the White Marbles", suggest my dear Lueia.
"Brilliant! Do you really want to go and learn, my child?", Lady Marienkafer asked me.
"Yes! Please do, you can use as much White Marble you need. I know my uncle wouldn't mind. I'd really like to learn", I replied.
"Ohoho.. don't worry, dear.. one single White Marble is strong enough to transport you anywhere", replied Bendlyyn.
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Out of the mid-wood's twilight
Into the meadow's dawn,
Ivory limbed and brown-eyed,
Flashes my Faun!
He skips through the copses singing,
And his shadow dances along,
And I know not which I should follow,
Shadow or song!
O Hunter, snare me his shadow!
O Nightingale, catch me his strain!
Else moonstruck with music and madness
I track him in vain!
(Oscar Wilde- In the Forest)
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Mr. Palm is sweet gentleman who lives with his palm family and a chatty baby-toad pet called Edel, who lives inside a plastic glass. Mr. Palm flatters me in a sweetest way imaginable and allows me to sit on the rock in front of him. That's where everyone learns his famous crown making technique. He has made a promise to only craft flower crowns for the fairies and that's why the only way I can have mine is by learning from him.
As a return, I gave him one of my White Marble that I thought would be beneficial for him. You see, he simply can't go anywhere and the fairies are his only hope if he wants to travel all around the forest. Now with the power of the White Marble, he can move from one place to another rather easily. We spend the next several hours chatting and learning the step-by-step of flower crown making technique until the sun almost set and it's time for me to go home.
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Another White Marble used for the fairies to transport me straight to the edge of the forest. That way, I will be home on time. As soon as I got home, my uncle checks his marbles and he smiles.
"No wonder you get home on time", he said.
"But..You know?", I asked.
"Psst.. it's our little secret. I'm a grown up. I shouldn't believe in such nonsense. But in fact, I've used them myself too when I was younger", he replied.
And now I share you the little secret, my dear reader. Pssst.. Please don't tell anyone, will you?
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Miy
Black Dress / Garage Shop
Chinese Picnic Teaset / Joyo Antique Shop
Black Sandal / My Sister's
The Fairy Tea Party was photographed by Bentar Sadani
Mr.Palm series was photographed by Dito Yuwono
Stories by Miy*****
*Autumn Tea Recipe*
Put 2 individual tea bags in 2 cups of boiling water. Cover and steep for 5-8 minutes (depends on your favorable strength of the tea). Add 2 cups of apple juice (preferably the fresh one), 1/2 cups cranberry juice, 1/4 cup of lemon juice and 1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or spekuk. Stir evenly. Add sugar if you like.
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