Every Spring

For decades, the dryad Oswyn has lived a quiet and solitary life as the guardian of a flourishing meadow, preferring the company of flowers and herbs over the complications of other people or animals. His peaceful routine is abruptly disrupted when an injured rose fairy named Briar crash lands in his meadow. Unable to return home while his wounds heal, Briar is forced to remain under Oswyn's reluctant care. Bright, energetic, and impossibly clingy, Briar quickly proves to be everything Oswyn dislikes about sapient life. He asks too many questions, gets involved in everything, and seems completely incapable of leaving Oswyn alone. Determined to reclaim his quiet life, Oswyn resolves to nurse the fairy back to health and send him on his way as quickly as possible. However, as the seasons pass and Briar begins to put down roots of his own, Oswyn finds himself growing attached to the very presence he once considered a nuisance.