Tea Leaves & Pine Trees

Chapter Six

FOUNDATIONS

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The changing of seasons was so obliquely simple. So simple it was gorgeous. It offered a moment to pause, to breathe in the coming change, and accept the fate nature deemed us worthy of.

It was why we celebrated the Floral Festival, to ensure we never forgot the gift of nature, or its complex beauty.

At least, that was one of the reasons. We also celebrated the Floral Festival to honour my late-mother's wishes, yes, but further than that, and possibly most importantly to the community, we celebrated to rejoice the three fae's who found the land centuries ago.

The fae aspect of the story was, of course, mythical. Officially, three women, believed to be adoptive sisters, found the land and built Summerton upon it. But because the fauna and flora developed so rapidly, there had to be some kind of supernatural-esque magic at play.

Which was how the faeries of Lakewood came to be.

"—That was how Flora, Lilian, and Genevieve stumbled across our small piece of land," Whittlevale's eldest council member, Hunter Stevenson, was saying, using the flicker of candlelight on his face to emphasise his words for the children gathered close, and the adults hovering nearby.

I shivered from where I sat, bundled beneath a blanket with Monique. We shared a candlestick, and it added to the eerie glow around the clearing of the forest. Kamaria sat at our feet, deeply invested in Hunter's every word, as if she hadn't heard the same story every year for her entire life.

But it made sense. Every year was just as enchanting as the last, and the tale never grew old. Despite not being true, and despite the conflicting end, it was a comfort story because it reflected familial values and the power of familial love.

Two things I had little of.

"Together they combined their magic to build this perfect pocket of the world," Hunter continued, voice deep as it echoed through the clearing. "Flora, with her charm for floral entities, willed the land to flourish by reviving the dying pine, resting in the heart of Lake Lakewood, and from that source of energy, an abundance of trees and flowers bloomed across the mountain, all the way down to us."

"And—and then—and then she cast a spell to ensure the land would forever thrive!" Kamaria whispered at my feet, mostly to herself as she drew her legs tight against her chest. She started to rock forward in excitement. "I love this part."

Monique chuckled, resting her hand on Kamaria's head to silence her before her voice could grow louder. There was a restless buzz in the circle of children, a growing energy because they knew and loved this story.

I believed it gave them just as much comfort as it gave me.

"Genevieve, able to communicate with animals, encouraged the fauna of the western hemisphere to find a home within these woods, providing shelter to endangered species. The forest between Whittlevale and Summerton now contain some of the most exotic animals." Which was true, and one of the reasons tourists flocked to us in Spring was because it was the best chance of seeing Summerton's thriving ecosystem. Hunter cleared his throat before carrying on, "Which leads us to our last faerie, Lilian."

Kamaria squealed into her hand, and she wasn't the only one. A few of the adults around the clearing chuckled, and I shared their reaction as the children reacted vocally at the mention of Lilian. She was Summerton's protector, whether she was mythical or not.

At the front of the crowd, Hunter's lips twitched beneath the flicker of his candlelight. "Ah, yes. Lilian. Sarah, Donna, if you will?"

Sarah Walpole, another member of Whittlevale's council, and Donna Peace, Summerton's oldest council member at 92-years-old, joined Hunter at the front of the clearing.