“A stunted fairy like you will never make it,” Carn snarls bitterly. “Your wings can’t take you that far.”

I glare at him, tired of the constant criticism. A squawk resounds below the tree.

“They don’t have to.” Without breaking eye contact, I leap from the limb, hoping my speculation is correct.

Only when I feel the feathery mass beneath me do I let out my breath.

Carn fumes as the flock of migrating birds takes to the air, unaware of a stowaway on their flight. I’ve never flown this high before. Bursting through the autumn leaves, my heart soars.

McKenzie Richardson lives in Milwaukee, WI. Recently, her work has been featured in various anthologies through Black Hare Press, Iron Faerie Publishing, Dragon Soul Press, and Eerie River Publishing. She has also published a middle-grade novel, Heartstrings, as well as a poetry collaboration with Casey Renee Kiser, 433 Lighted Way.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mckenzielrichardson/

Blog: http://www.craft-cycle.com

Selected by the editor as a featured submission, February 2021.

With a yelp, Cassandra put her finger to her mouth, tasting the blossom of blood from the needle’s sharp point. Sewing had always been more of a chore than an enjoyable pastime, the brief pain the most recent reminder.

She wrapped a scrap of cloth around the wound as to not stain her latest project. Her vision for her first Autumn Festival dress was very precise.

Leaves of dandelion-gold fluttered under her touch as she adorned the collar with dark seeds. Satisfied, she hurriedly dressed beneath the remaining rays of sunlight before racing off to dance away the ever-lengthening night.

McKenzie Richardson lives in Milwaukee, WI. Recently, her work has been featured in various anthologies through Black Hare Press, Iron Faerie Publishing, Dragon Soul Press, and Eerie River Publishing. She has also published a middle-grade novel, Heartstrings, as well as a poetry collaboration with Casey Renee Kiser, 433 Lighted Way.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mckenzielrichardson/

Blog: http://www.craft-cycle.com

She dances on the surface of the lake, toes kissing its ripples. Hair whipping in the cooling breeze, she pirouettes through the shower of falling seeds, raining down promises of life as the trees curl up to sleep.

The little ballerina twirls in a dress like tangerine fire, caught between the heat of summer and the chill of winter’s breath. As she spins, the greenery fades to bronze and honey, deepens to scarlet and currant. Clinging ivy bursts with flowers, final treats for bees and butterflies that swarm the yellow-green swellings.

Still, she spins on. She dances and autumn comes.

McKenzie Richardson lives in Milwaukee, WI. Recently, her work has been featured in various anthologies through Black Hare Press, Iron Faerie Publishing, Dragon Soul Press, and Eerie River Publishing. She has also published a middle-grade novel, Heartstrings, as well as a poetry collaboration with Casey Renee Kiser, 433 Lighted Way.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mckenzielrichardson/

Blog: http://www.craft-cycle.com