A Tiny Feast

Some spoilers ahead.

This short story ripped out my heart and tossed it out of the window. This was a dark, happy, and sad story all rolled into one. It is about love, loss, confusion, humanity, and compassion. I don't normally like cancer stories, but this one captivated me.

In this masterpiece we meet the King & Queen of fairies and their sick human son. After one of their many fights, King Oberon gifts Titania with a human child as a pet. Titania and Oberon grow to love the child and we see how the modern world mystifies them. Queen Titania in particular does not understand why humans get sick and we see her struggle with that. I don't want to give too much away because you should go read it but, the language used throughout the piece is intriguing, and vivid. Obviously the story is unrealistic but, the topic of losing someone you love is not and this story tackles it marvelously.

Unfortunately, it is never really addressed why the King & Queen love the boy so much. They have had other pets before so I do not understand why the boy is different. Is it because he is sick? Is it because he slept in their bed? Regardless of that, I still give it 5 stars.