Daily Flash Fiction

The Missing Melody

Willowwisp clutched her acorn lantern, its glow swallowed by the ancient oak's hollow. The Minister of Autumn, Periwinkle fretted about a missing moonbeam, vital for the Moonrise Festival. Amidst tangled roots and forgotten trinkets, Willowwisp searched.

Rustling shadows startled her. "Flitterbug? Is that you?"

A mischievous giggle answered. A pixie with wings like stained glass shimmered into view, eyes wide with feigned innocence. "Me? Steal a moonbeam? Never!"

Doubt crossed Willowwisp's mind. Flitterbug, notorious for pranks, seemed duller, like spilled moonshine. "Is anything missing?" she whispered.

Flitterbug's wings twitched. He revealed a luminous bubble, a captured moonbeam, then tossed it in the air. It burst, showering him in shimmering dust. His wings pulsed, then dimmed.
Panic choked Willowwisp. The festival needed the moonbeam, but Flitterbug, trembling and small, needed help too.

Willowwisp found a silver acorn, its cap etched with stars. Placing it on Flitterbug's head, she chanted a starlight song. Flitterbug's wings glowed, releasing the moonbeam, shaped by the acorn into a perfect beam. Willowwisp held it aloft, illuminating the hollow.

Periwinkle chuckled. "Tonight's festival will be brighter than ever," he said. "Though perhaps next time, practice with fireflies."

Flitterbug winked, his wings shimmering with moonlight and mischief. "Maybe," he chirped. "But who knows what the stars have in store for a pixie with a moonbeam heart?"

The forest bathed in silver radiance, the pixies buzzing with anticipation. And Willowwisp, watching Flitterbug flit through the moonlight, knew even the smallest mistakes could shine the brightest, with a little help from starlight and a friend.

WORD COUNT: 255 Words
WRITTEN FOR: "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge"  | "Winner for 1/20 and prompt for 1/21"  
PROMPT: Write a story that includes the line: “Is anything missing?”