The Colony
A story about fairies and magic, and the hurt that accompanies fraternizing with humans.
Part 1 can be found here.
Part 2
Maverick walked about halfway back to his apartment before looking for someplace to take a quick stop. He tried enjoying the sights as best he could, but his thoughts were riddled with questions that had no answers.
A small rustic-looking flower shop caught his eye, and he decided to stop in, get a few flowers to brighten his apartment. Maybe to remind him of the home he could never enjoy thanks to his father, or maybe to take his mind off of Daisy. A light melody of a bell played as he pushed the glass door open. Maverick nodded to the tall, blonde woman behind the counter, and looked around the quaint store.
Bright white petals caught his eye, and though he hated to admit it, they were beautiful. He turned to the woman at the counter, “Hi, can I have a dozen daisies please?”
She nodded sweetly at him, her name tag read Jen, “Of course, sweetheart. And will that be all for you today?”
“Yes, please. Just the daisies. Thanks.”
Jen shuffled her sandaled feet over to where the daisies were and carefully picked the prettiest ones. She shuffled her way back to the counter and typed in a few things on a calculator. “Alright,” she wiped her hands on her apron, “That’ll be $23.67, please.”
Maverick handed her $25.00, told her to keep the change, took the daisies, and walked out the door. The small bell tinkling behind him as Jen called after him to have a nice evening. He pulled his t-shirt down again, ensuring that his wings were still carefully tucked. Lost in thought, Maverick walked the remaining ten minutes back to his apartment.
Was there a way for him to get out of this agreement with Daisy without getting turned in to be executed? He did still wanted to see Daisy, she was fun to be around.
Maverick tended to distance himself from humans so that there would be no slip-ups. He would go to his office job, sit in a chair all day wearing a heavy sweater, no matter the weather. He wasn’t sure how to even call this living, being alone all the time. But Maverick knew one thing for sure. It was definitely better than being in the colony.
Slowly, he made his way up the stairs to his apartment door, where just a few hours earlier he had met Daisy. One could argue she ruined his life, but Maverick had come to terms with the agreement. And who knows? Maybe they would become friends.
Unlocking the door, he pushed his way into his apartment and locked the door behind him. He slipped off his dark converse before walking further into the space. Maverick flipped on some lights and scuffed his way into the bathroom on the left, opening the bay window by the white bathtub to let some air in, he emptied the dead flowers from a vase on the counter, replaced them with the new daisies, then proceeded to wash his face with water. He propped himself up on the sink by his elbows and looked into his own eyes.
He got lost in his own eyes, pretty narcissistic isn’t it, but we can all relate. It had been a complicated day for Maverick. Picking up his backpack that was strewn across the floor from when he had returned home the first time, he fished out a bottle of nectar and took two big gulps. Granted, these bottles held only about eight ounces each, so it didn’t take much to finish one-off.
Pulling his bag open wider, he fished around, counting the number of bottles left. Eight. He really did not want to go back to the colony, but it looked like Daisy will be having him doing magic for her almost every day.
It didn’t make sense. It’s magic. How much could a person want to see? It’s really only useful if you need something done quickly or need something done you can’t do yourself. If Daisy ends up using Maverick for random crap like what he did today, he figured he would turn himself in.
Shaking his head to rid his thoughts, he picked up his backpack, walked to the fridge, and shoved the bottles into an empty drawer. The fridge was almost empty, he would have to go shopping soon. But for now, he grabbed a pre-made sandwich, unwrapped it, and ate his dinner.
It was getting dark and work started up again tomorrow so Maverick decided to head to bed. Conveniently, his bed was located in the same vicinity as his kitchen so he didn’t have to go far. The windows were open, and Maverick was certain people could see in, so he waved an arm, shut the windows and curtains, then stumbled into his bed exhausted. The single pillow on his bed felt like a cloud, and he fell asleep. Fully clothed, with his glasses on.
Maverick awoke with a start. He frantically sprawled his hands out on his bed, looking for his glasses. After he had found them he clicked his phone on, 9:37. He was late.
“Agh, curse you, Daisy,” he said breathlessly as he half-ran, half-walked into the bathroom to jump into an ice-cold shower.
Not bothering to dry off, Maverick ran, in a towel, to his dresser, right outside the bathroom door, and grabbed the first outfit he could find. He was halfway out the door, wearing blue jeans, old dress shoes, and a t-shirt before he remembered he was a sprite.
“My wings! Gosh, darn it.”
He rushed back into his apartment, shoved a big sweater over his head, and mercilessly pushed his fragile wings up into it. Finally, he was out the door, locking the door behind him, and sprinting down the steps. He made a right once he was out of the building and instead of taking the metro, as usual, he ran the four blocks to his office.
Breathless, he arrived. He pulled out his keycard that he thankfully remembered to grab, and pushed the door open. Not wanting to draw unnecessary attention to himself, Maverick kept his head down and attempted to calm his breathing as he walked the few feet to where the cluster of cubicles was. The chair squeaked beneath him when he sat down, few eyes looked up to him. Unlocking the desk where his laptop was safely secure, he gently took it out and set it on the desk, opening it up right away and typing so it would look as if he had been there all along.
Normally, being close to an hour late for work when you’ve been working there for three years wouldn’t be such a big deal, but Maverick had never been late before. The boss had been kind enough to let Maverick work for him when he was only 17, with no experience. Was there magic involved? We may never know. The point being, Maverick owed this job to his boss, and he couldn’t afford to get fired.
“Maverick. Come into my office, please.” Maverick heard the barked command as he was just starting to breathe normally again.
The door slammed shut behind him and Maverick winced. “Sorry, sir. You called me in?”
“Please, son, it’s been three years. You can call me Roger. No need for all the sir stuff.” Smiling, Dave motioned for Maverick to sit in a chair that was across from his desk.
Shuffling between the filing cabinets and the office plants, Maverick took a gentle seat in the uncushioned chairs and looked around the large office. It seemed to be too large for just one man, with its bookshelves lining all walls but one, and his small air purifier in the corner. Glancing above his head he studied the self-portrait Roger had. It was new, Maverick hadn’t been in the boss’ office since he first started. Not many people were allowed in the nicely lit office.
Roger smiled as Maverick took in the room. He was used to it, he didn’t let many people into his office. “Do you know why I called you into my office today, Maverick?”
Opening his mouth to speak, he seemed to be at a loss for words, he didn’t want to give away that he was late if Roger didn’t already know.
Chuckling, Roger said, “Well, I’ll tell you. You were almost an hour late to work today. You’ve been with us for over three years and you have not once been late. May I ask why?”
A phone rang just then. The two men looked back and forth between each other.
“Well, are you going to take that?” Roger’s good nature seemed lost, he tapped his fingers on the desk, his smile disappeared into a flat line. He didn’t like being interrupted.
“Yes, sir. Roger, I mean, sorry.”
Fumbling, Maverick finally got his phone out of his pocket and answered in a hushed voice, “Hello? Who is this?”
“It’s me, Daisy. Do you really have that many unknown callers that you don’t even think to assume it’s me?”
Sure enough, it was Daisy. “I can’t talk right now, I’m with my boss. I’ll call you back,” Maverick eyed his boss, and seeing the arched eyebrow, he knew he would be toast if he called back during work hours, “after work. I’ll call you back after work, okay?”
The phone was shut, turned off, and shoved back into Maverick’s back pocket, “Sorry about that, Roger. Aunt calling. What were you saying before?”
Roger pulled his suit tighter around his body, “I don’t care the reason why you were late. Just don’t let it happen again. I will not tolerate this happening on a regular basis.” His voice was stern, very different from just a few minutes ago. “Get out of my office and get some work done.”
“Sure thing. Thank you, Roger.”
Maverick heaved his body out of the chair and walked briskly out the door and back to his desk.
Part 3 can be found here.
