#CreativePerspectiveChallenge Six! #writingcommunity #poetry #flashfiction @dlfinnauthor

Author D.L. Finn offers a creative writing prompt each month and I’m happy to be able to participate this month! I fell in love with this magical image. I hope you like my offering!

SILENT SENTINEL

He sits, never moving, this ancient sentinel who keeps watch over the magical forest and the fairies who make it their home. Many centuries past, a wizard cursed him, transforming him into a grotesque tree stump and sentencing him to life of imprisonment. The wizard departed with a final warning to guard the rare treasure beneath his roots.

Nothing can break the curse and moss grows around the stump’s forehead giving him an even more ominous appearance. But the fairies know his true heart and that he will not harm them. So, they make their beds in the shelter of his ever watchful gaze each night.

On special occasions, they light candles and fly in circles around him, caressing him with their lighted wings. And when intruders with evil intentions dare to enter into the realm, the sentinel lets out a magnificent roar that sends them scrambling.

Protecting the magical forest fairy friends is his mission, his purpose for existing. And no one will destroy it. Oh, and he mustn’t forget the treasure he is bound to keep safe.

One bright day on the eve of the Summer Solstice, the matriarch queen of the fairies pays her charges an unprecedented visit. When she alights atop the silent sentinel, he quivers in response to her powerful magic.

“What is it, my dear and trusted friend?” She listens with her inner knowing for his reply. “You want to live as a human again but are bound by duty to protect the forest fairy tribe?”

She waits for his silent reply. “You doubt there is any magic strong enough to reverse the wizard’s spell?” She flutters her wings and bows her regal head. “Do you trust me?”

Again, she listens with her inner ears for his reply and when it comes, she raises her tiny wand, sprinkling rare and magic infused fairy dust over him. Slowly, with labored movement and grunts and groans, he sheds his grotesque prison and morphs into human form. Tears stream down his wrinkled face and he struggles to stand on wobbly legs that have been dormant for centuries. The tiny fairies join hands and dance around him.

“I will not abandon my post,” he finally says in a gravelly voice.

“If you wish to remain here, and continue watching over my fairy tribe, I will provide you with all you need.”

He stammers. “What about the treasure I was ordered to guard?”

She lets out a melodious laugh. “Oh, my dear friend. There was never any treasure. It was a trick to keep you rooted.”

**Thank you for reading. I think sometimes in life, we get rooted in beliefs that keep us from really experiencing the wonders around us. Here’s to breaking free**

If you wish to participate in Denise’s challenge or just read all the contributions, follow this link: https://dlfinnauthor.com/2025/06/10/creativeperspectivechallenge-six-writingcommunity-poetry-flashfiction/

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