Elisa and the Fairies

The tree crunched under the roaring bulldozer's strength, falling all at once like the loser in an arm wrestle. The fresh green willow branches dipped defeatedly, then disappeared beneath the metal tread of the machine.

Elisa watched the fairies flee, tiny specks of organic green and orange flitting about like dust sent spinning by a puff of air.

Elisa frowned. It would be a while before another group moved into the area... But then she smiled. That was the neighborhood's problem, not hers.

As she resumed her walk the energy in the air tightened. The heat rose just a few inches higher above the asphalt, and each sound-- the high pitched bicycle bell, the distant rumbling highway, the honking V of geese high in the sky-- pierced the air with just a little more difficulty. To Elisa's ears each was slightly distorted, like a summer barbecue heard through the living room window.

To say it hurt would be saying too much. Elisa simply noticed it, and once she did it was impossible to ignore. The awareness tainted every other thought, as a headache might. Elisa knew her afternoon would be spoiled if the city didn't take care of this.

The fairies were out of a home, and they would make the city know one way or another.

In the distance, a car horn blared, followed by the unmistakable crash of bumpers colliding. A man yelled.

Elisa took a deep breath.

Turning back to face the cloud of dust and angry sounding construction equipment, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted into the chaos.

"I have a couple trees at my place! You're welcome to stay the night if you would like!"

No acknowledgement.

"You don't have to take your anger out on the city!"

Then, because Elisa knew how fairies worked, she turned away and started down the sidewalk again.

Over her shoulder, she said, "but, you know, only if you want."

A nip on her earlobe. The faintest rustling sound, like a solitary leaf flapping in the wind. Then, low to the ground a train of fairies flew past her ankles in a line, going ahead a few sidewalk squares only to loop back every time they got too far ahead.

The fairies had accepted her offer.

Elisa grinned, stepped a little faster, and sent up a prayer that her landlord wouldn't be angry.

----------

"No mom, I'm completely fine." Elisa's knife went chop, chop, chop through the freshly peeled carrot.

"Are you sure? It's okay if you're furious, I'm furious too." Her mom's voice came indignant through the phone's speaker.

"Yes I'm sure." She poured the contents of the cutting board into the pan of broth on the stove.

"He played with your heart, Elisa. No one has a right to do that. And to break it off the way he did-- you should go to him and tell him what a real gentleman would do! A gentleman would at least give you a call."

Elisa smiled sadly, leaning back against the countertop. "Tyler's a good guy, mom, it just wasn't working out. We could both feel it. So I'm not upset that he told me over a text-- honestly I think I prefer it this way."

The broth bubbled happily in the pot.

Her mom made a fussing noise, then, "I suppose these things do happen... All that matters is that you're okay. You would tell me if you're not okay, right?"

"Of course, you'd be the first I'd tell. Now enough about me, how is your book coming along?"

"Oh, dear, I don't think I'm cut out to be an author after all. Chapter fifteen is giving me grief."

A knock on the door.

"I'm not seeing the spark between Laura and Jamie I want to see, and--"

"Hold on, someone's at the door. I'll call you back in a sec."

"Oh okay. Talk to you soon then."

"M-hm. Love you."

She set her cell phone next to the stove before ducking out of the tiny kitchen and crossing the small apartment living room. Using the peephole she peered out into the night. It was Erick, the landlord, glaring up at the peephole from under his bushy black eyebrows.

She opened the door.

He was a short, round man, shaped in a way that always reminded Elisa of her structurely unsound oatmeal cookies. Despite the warm summer night he was wearing a winter coat, likely the same coat he had owned forty years ago, based on the style and condition.

"What's up?" Elisa tried to keep her tone light.

Erick's Australian accent came out thick. "Wanna tell me why your backyard is glowing, Elsa?"

"Oh, is it...? Glowing?" She tried a smile.

"Yeah, green and orange. You know this is a no-fairy complex." He lifted a clipboard, pointing at the paper held there. "You signed the agreement."

"It's not like they're bothering anyone."

"Mrs. Andersson called me to complain about the light. Said it was giving her a headache."

"This Mrs. Andersson?" Elisa pointed a thumb at the next door over.

"Yes, the Mrs. Andersson next door. So I'm going to have to ask you to get rid of them."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Ask them to leave."

"I don't know fairy language."

"Ask them the same way you invited them here."

"Oh, I didn't invite them."

"Don't play dumb, Elsa, we both know the fairy rules. Fairies can't lodge on private property unless invited."

Elisa couldn't argue with the truth.

"And this is private property. So get them out of here or I'll have to call pest control."

Elise crossed her arms. "Fairies aren't pests. They're intelligent creatures."

"You're entitled to your opinion, but as your landlord this is an order. I don't want to be getting any more calls from Mrs. Andersson. She's already upset with me and I'm starting to get scared that she'll replace me if anything else goes wrong."

"Replace you?"

"Yeah." He nodded, eyes going distant. "That woman has... A completely inordinate amount of influence over the local government. You would not believe it."

A cricket chirped from the edges of the yard.

"Anyway, if you could get those intelligent fairies to leave, that would be great. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes. I can."

"I appreciate it, have a great night Elsa." He started away.

Elisa leaned against the doorframe, fingers on her forehead. This really was not how she had intended the day to go.

Stepping onto her back porch she saw the glow he had mentioned. It was a dim haze of color enveloping the branches of the two small sycamores.

"Headache my foot..." She grumbled, slipping on her flip-flops and stepping down onto the grass, which was still wet from the sprinklers cycle.

"Hey guys," she called up at the trees, "I'm really sorry, but you have to leave."

No acknowledgement.

"Please, guys, you have to find another tree."

A single glow, no brighter than a firefly, drifted lazily from the tree toward Elisa's face. With a final loop-de-loop, it landed almost imperceptibly on her nose. Then it bit her.

"Ow!" She shook her head to send it flying away, rubbing her nose to dismiss the sting. "That was uncalled for. If you don't leave, you'll die, and I don't want that."

Another light emerged from the leaves, followed by at least a dozen others. The swarmed closer, forming a cloud around her head, then, as one, attacked her face, nipping repeatedly at her jaw, neck, cheeks, and lips. Elisa stepped back, swatting them away blindly.

After a few passes with her hand they retreated.

What was she supposed to do? She could hardly force them to leave. And it made sense they'd want to stay where they had comfort and food.

Food--

Elisa bolted up the steps and into the kitchen, to where her soup bubbled all too happily. Dipping her ladle in, she pulled out a spoonful of soggy, overcooked vegetables.

She turned off the burner and dragged the pot off the stove, but it was too late.

Great. Just great. So this was her reward for showing compassion on homeless fairies. She had done the city a favor by quelling the creatures' anger, and as a reward, she got mashed carrots in chicken broth for dinner?

Next to her hand, the phone buzzed.

"Oh, shoot-" she picked it up, dialing her mom's number.

Her mom answered after the first ring.

"Who was it at the door?" She said before anything else.

"It was my landlord."

"Isn't rent at the beginning of the month?"

"Yeah, this wasn't about that. It's kind of a long story..."

"You sound upset."

"I am! I overcooked my dinner because my neighbor complained to the landlord about the fairies I invited to stay the night in our backyard. I invited them because if no one else did, they would go around causing chaos. You know what? Maybe fairies wouldn't be homeless as often if they weren't such fengeful creatures. I'm done with today." She threw a hand up, closing her eyes.

"Do you want to come home? I can whip something up, and we can talk..."

"No mom, it's like nine thirty."

"So? It's only a half hour drive, you'll be back before midnight. Heck, you can stay the night here if you want, I just want to help in any way I can. You've had a bad day. It's my job to be a mom in these situations."

Elisa sighed.

"That actually sounds really nice. But I have to take care of these fairies."

"Bring them with you."

"--what?"

"Bring the fairies here. I live in the middle of nowhere, they won't bother anyone here. Just show them the picture you have hanging in your front room-- the one of the house! They'll love the colors."

"You're saying the fairies will see the picture and come with me to your house?"

"Oh yeah, they'll follow you in a heartbeat. Fairies are actually very intelligent creatures. And they will love my orchard."

Ten minutes later Elisa was in the driver's seat of her car. Behind her, the sound of wind in a tree accompanied a shifting glow of orange and green.

It really was that easy.

----------

The fuel light flicked on as Elisa merged onto the freeway. With a groan, she took the next exit, pulling into the next gas station she saw.

The fairies seemed agitated as the car came to a stop, so Elisa just pointed at the framed photo of the house in the backseat, slammed the door, and started pumping the gas.

Honestly, what was most annoying was how insignificant all of the annoyances had been that day. Burning dinner wasn't a big deal, but after everything else it had been the last straw. It only made sense that she'd be out of gas as well.

"Elisa?"

She whirled at her name-- at his voice!

"Tyler?"

It was him, mussed up black hair and tan skinny jeans and all. He was peeking around the side of the pump, from where he was filling his black sedan. He looked as embarrassed as Elisa felt.

"Hi. Oh, gosh, I-- I'm so sorry." He stuttered. "For how things went. I should have at least called you, I--"

"Tyler," Elisa found her composure. "It's okay. I didn't mind the text."

"Really?" He scratched the back of his neck.

Elisa nodded.

He gave a small smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "So how are you doing?"

"Good. Better than I expected. Hey, I actually want to thank you for calling things off. I wasn't ready to admit it, but I don't think we weren't meant to be. So thanks for speaking up."

"Oh, uh... Wow." He stared for a second. "I thought you'd be upset."

"So did I," Elisa said with a chuckle. "Funny, how life messes with your plans. What about you?"

"Hm?"

"How are you?"

He glanced downwards. "I'm alright. I'm sad about how things turned out, and it sucks being back at square one, but it also feels right, so... I'm pushing along. I'm actually on my way back to Ohio, I've been offered a teaching position there. I guess my dad put in a good word for me..."

Their eyes met, lingered.

"I'm sorry for how I hurt you," Tyler said. The truth in his eyes was as real as she had hoped.

The gas pump clicked, signalling a full tank.

"And I you," Elisa said in return, removing the nozzle. "Now go have a good life, Tyler. You deserve it."

His smile reached his eyes this time. Then his brow furrowed again as he looked behind Elisa.

"What's that light in your car?"

"Fairies. They're for my mom."

---------

Mom's garlic bread was as good as always.

They sat together by the fire pit, beneath a cloud of overjoyed fairies. The air thrummed with their peaceful energy, as steady and warm as their light.

"-- So like I was saying, I don't feel the spark between Laura and Jamie anymore, and that's a problem since they're the main characters. I want to finish the story like I'd planned, but I also want to be true to the characters, you know?"

"Maybe they don't need to get together."

"Of course they do, this is a romance novel. All the readers will want a happy ending."

"Who cares what they want? Break their hearts."

Mom laughed. Elisa stirred the fire, thinking.

"They could still have a happy ending without ending up together."

"Yeah?"

"I think so."

Mom raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "I think you're just coping."

Elisa gasped. "Hey, I'm just saying what I think! Final decision is yours, you're the author."

"Maybe, maybe. We'll see..."

Basking in the shifting green and orange glow, Elisa closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and smiled.

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