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Fairy Lane

 

    While on a scenic bike ride on the Waterford Greenway trail, I came across what could only be described as another world. Greenery incases you from all sides and branches with low hanging leaves sway above you. The world smelled fresh and a sense of calm and beauty just fills your soul. You truly couldn't help taking long deep breathes to fully emersed yourself in its beauty. As you venture further down this path, it becomes even more whimsical as little fairy doors start popping up along the walls. Faires have long been a part of Irish culture as they are depicted as guardians of nature. These beings are playful but troublesome as they interact with humans in unexpected ways. In Amercian culture, we depict fairies as playful, nice creates as we related them to movies like Tinkerbell. Lovable creatures, filled with magic and determination love but fear humans all the same. 

    When I was little, my grandma and I bonding over my very own fairy garden. Every Memorial Day weekend, my family has our garden day where we plant all of our flowers and get our yard decked out for the summer. So, when all the flowers were planting and the mulch was spread out, I would finally get to pull out my box of fairies to spread them around different parts of the garden. My grandma and I always did this part together. She always helped me find the right spot for everything so the fairies that came always had a nice relaxing spot to rest their wings.

    As I was biking though this enchanted forest, my mind started to wander back to James Stephen's story The Crock of Gold. In his novel, he depicts fairies are not just mystical beings but representatives of the Otherworld. This is a place beyond the mortal realm that is full of magic and strange laws. The Otherworld is references many times in Stephen's story as his
human characters sometimes cross over to this world or have their own lives altered by fairies.

  

Faries are mysterious and unknown as they represent forces of nature and the unseen world.  Fairies pop up in Irish mythology embodying the romantic and mysterious elements of the complex relationship between humans and the supernatural. To me, the doors are mere pieces of wood humans placed along the tree line. To fairies, they are portals to another world or a place to relax and call home.

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