A Dandelion for Tulip

Grad student David is in love with Tulip, a kind and unusually quiet fairy. David is happy to be Tulip’s friend, but never risks more because he doesn’t believe a fairy could love him, and Tulip has never tried to “keep him”—as fairies refer to relationships. Everyone in their social circle knows Tulip doesn’t date humans, even if no one knows why. David is content to pine until, exhausted and more than a little tipsy at a Christmas party, he makes his feelings too obvious for Tulip to deny any longer.

Fairies are drawn to David, describing his great “shine” –a quality only visible to fairy eyes but which signifies something about a person’s character, but David knows only too well how quickly fairies can forget humans. He can’t see his own brilliance, or understand how desperately Tulip wants him, even if Tulip won’t act on it.

Because of a past heartbreak involving a human, Tulip is convinced someone as shiny as David could never want a “silly, stupid fairy” in his life. But from the moment they met, Tulip has wanted David’s shine for his own. Now, if he wants to keep David, he’ll have to be as brave as his shiny, careful human.

Being(s) in Love:

Magical creatures known as beings emerged from hiding amid the destruction of the First World War. Since then they’ve lived on the margins of the human world as misunderstood objects of fear and desire. Some are beautiful, others fearsome and powerful. Yet for all their magic and strength, they are as vulnerable as anyone when it comes to matters of the heart.