The Little Fairy

I woke up in my bed, the morning sun peeking through the red gingham curtains. I rubbed my eyes and looked down at my attire. I was still wearing my suit from yesterday, but luckily someone had taken my shoes off before putting me in bed. I rubbed my face, the coarseness of old makeup sliding under my fingertips. I groaned and yanked the blanket off, hearing the old grandfather clock in the living room. It rang 7 times, letting me know it was 7 in the morning.

Another groan escaped my throat as I left my room and made my way to the bathroom. I knocked on the door and entered when there was no reply. I turned on the shower and undressed, climbing in before the water finished warming up.

I scrubbed my face with a dry washcloth when I got out, trying to get the rest of the dried-on mascara from under my eyes. "K?" Don's voice came through the door, soft and caring.

"Yeah," I croaked, my voice still adjusting to being awake.

"You slept in late, you okay?" I could hear him fidgeting on the other side of the door, the floorboards creaking underneath his weight.

"Yeah, just fine. yesterday must have worn me out more than I thought." I sighed and looked at myself in the mirror, my already pale skin was even lighter.

"Okay, well breakfast is ready when you are." His footsteps descended the stairs and back to the kitchen.

I slapped my cheeks a few times to try to bring some color back to them but turned to my clothes when I failed. I pulled on a plain grey t-shirt and another one of Sarah's old sweatshirts and leggings, wanting comfort more than anything today.

I followed the smell of biscuits and country gravy to the kitchen, a plate already waiting for me at my spot at the table. "So what's the plan for today?" I plopped myself down and crossed my legs in my seat.

"I..." Sarah paused, setting her fork down gently on the ceramic plate. "Actually have to go back to the city for a while. I have some loose ends I need to deal with." She looked at her dad, who didn't make eye contact with her, and angrily shoved some biscuits in his mouth.

"You're coming back though, right?" I looked in between them, my anxiety levels raising.

"Oh, yes! Of course, I am. I just have to deal with some things." She gave me a gentle smile and continued with her meal.

"When are you leaving?" I took a swig of my orange juice, barely breaking eye contact.

"Saturday. So we still have a few days." She scooped up her tableware and set them gently in the sink. "I was thinking we could play more piano, if that's okay with you, dad?"

Don stiffened but nodded his head, still not letting his eyes leave his plate. "Go ahead, I got some deliveries to make." He finished up his meal and angrily put them in the sink, stomping up the stairs to his room.

"What's wrong with Don?" I said as Sarah led me to the back room where the piano was stored.

"He doesn't think I should give up college, or come back just yet." She opened the cover to the keyboard and searched through the bookshelf across the room for sheet music.

"Why are you staying?" I turned around to watch her picking through the old, dusty books.

"I still need to find what I want to do." She spun around, a big smile plastered on her face. She held a rectangular book that said Nursery Rhymes for Beginners on it. "This one is easy enough." She placed the book on the stand above the keyboard and flipped through the worn pages, making sure none of them fell out of the binding.

"Hot Cross Buns?" I looked at her sideways, as she stopped on a page. A picture of a round loaf of bread with an "x" on it sat at the bottom of the page.

"Yeah, these are songs mothers sing to their children, and they're super easy to learn on instruments." She beamed as her fingers hit the keys. The piano groaned in protest from not being used.

"Sorry," She smiled sheepishly. "Old thing doesn't want to behave." She played a few practiced riffs, and the croaking soon turned into beautiful twangs that resonated throughout the room.

We heard Don's truck come up the gravel driveway when we entered the kitchen for some lunch. I hadn't realized we were in there for so long, but Sarah taught me a lot and I can almost play Hot Cross Buns without a mistake.

"Ladies." He gave us a nod before going upstairs, barely making an effort to greet us.

"Is he going to be mad at us forever?" I shifted on my feet as she lit up the stove.

"He's not mad at you, he's upset with me. I promise, he'll get over himself in a little while." She pulled out a few pans and went over to the fridge to grab food.

I nodded, not sure if I wanted to accept that answer, but decided to let it go. "What else did you want to do today?"

"We could work on your speech for the next rally in a few weeks, the commotion around town says there's going to be more people.

My stomach turned. I forgot I needed to do more than one rally for my cause. "Okay that sounds good, I can do that." We sat at the table discussing what we should add to the speech so it didn't sound repetitive to the last one.