Lights in the Moor and other stories

Lights in the Moor

They've been on the road for some time. The two had left early on this autumn day, but the way was long and it would be dark when they arrived. Coat, scarf and hat would protect them from the cold of the night and they had also brought water and food with them, because they would not be home until late the next day. The road to the moor was dangerous during the day, and as darkness fell and under a new moon they had to be even more careful. Starting at the village they traveled over meadows and fields before they came to the edge of the forest. There they rested for a moment, and after a short while entered the forest.

There was no animal or other sound to be heard, and slowly but steadily they advanced through the dark forest. It was so dark they could barely see anything in front of them. But the two had walked this path so often in the past few weeks that even the darkness of this new moon night was no obstacle for them. They hiked on for several hours until the rows of trees seemed to thin out a little. And there they saw it, a soft glow above the ground. They had reached the moor.

They crept quietly into a nearby bush, crouched close together, wrapped themselves tightly in their coats and waited. At first nothing seemed to happen, but then they heard a noise. It was like a soft tinkle of glass bells. The sound rose a little and then fell off again, it never really got loud, but never stopped completely either.

Then suddenly it happened! Hundreds, maybe thousands, of little lights came on. In every color that ever existed, they buzzed over the moor, swarmed around each other, formed figures, divided and rearranged themselves. Hidden in the bushes, the couple witnessed one of the rarest and most beautiful miracles that exist: the dances of the moor fairies!

And what a spectacle it was: the fairies sorted themselves by color and then mingled with each other again. They modeled other beings with their glowing bodies: birds, deer, dragons, unicorns, beings that the human eye had never seen before.

They formed constantly changing shapes and patterns. They flickered, shimmering brighter and dimmer, flying in formation upon formation over the moor, and the sound of their laughing voices rang over them all, clear as bells. Because this was the sound that the two humans had heard when they arrived, and it spoke of pure joy: about nature, about the other fairies, about life.

The dances of the fairies were of such supernatural beauty and grace that no one fortunate enough to witness the miracle remained unmoved.

The human couple hugged each other tighter, tears of happiness running down their cheeks. They both had seen one of the most beautiful miracles together, which only increased their love for each other.

As the night wore on, the moor fairies fell silent, and then the dance was over. The two lovers stayed on the moor, arm in arm, long after sunrise. The spectacle they witnessed together would live on in their hearts forever and their love would last for eternity.