The Little Fairy

In the morning, Don made breakfast and took me out to a large box that he said was his ‘truck’. There’s only so much that I learned because I wasn’t done with my Lessons and we were just getting to the history of human stuff. The seats were comfortable, but the truck was loud and rattly. I could easily get to where we were going with wings, but I still don’t have them, nor do I think I’d ever get them.

We pulled up to a large building where other cars and trucks were sitting outside, humans conversed next to them and some were coming and going out of the store. When we got in, all I saw were aisles and aisles of clothes, prepackaged foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, and on the opposite side of the store was what Don called ‘homewares’ like blankets and bins and medicines. He let me choose my own clothes which were nothing like what we wore at home. He told me to pick something with long sleeves and pants or a long skirt since it was going to snow soon. I never got to see snow since we were always covered and mother never let me leave the house when it got that cold unless it was for lessons or festivals.

“Good mornin’, Don.” An older-looking woman was scanning my items while also looking at Don with an admiration that could only make me think she was smitten. “Who’s this you got here?” She looked down at me, her deep brown eyes piercing me with wonder.

“My niece…” He trailed off trying to remember my name.

“Kreya.” I chimed in.

“Kreya!” He said a little too enthusiastically.

The woman lifted her eyebrow, looking between us sternly. “You’ve never mentioned any family before.”

“My family and I were estranged.” He was really good at lying through his teeth… I think. “My brother called me up and asked if I could look after her for a while because she kept getting into trouble.” He smirked.

I frowned at him, wondering what that could have meant, but the woman seemed content with the answer and they continued a conversation about the farm and his kids. “It was nice to meet you, Kreya.” She smiled at me wholeheartedly, sending a warm feeling through my body.

“You too, Ma’am.” I nodded and followed Don through the doors of the store and back to the truck.

I helped Don put the groceries in the bed of the truck and hopped myself in, using the seatbelt as he told me to. “Sorry about her,” He gruffed as he loaded himself into the driver's seat. “I think she has a little crush on me. Has since we were kids.” He put the key into the ignition and started to pull away.

“I think she was charming.” I started to fiddle with my fingers and stared out the window at the new scenery around me. Buildings lined the streets of what Don called ‘The smallest town in Oklahoma’. “What are your kids like?” I looked at how he focused on the road, tightening his grip on the steering wheel as I mentioned them.

“My daughter, Sarah Beth, she’s a lot like you; free-spirited and a hell of a young lady. Will tell you how it is.” He paused as if he were waiting for me to say something. “My son, on the other hand. He’s a pretty quiet fella. Smart and successful; went to Harvard. He turns 26 this year and has a pretty young lass he’s going to marry next year.”

I didn’t know what Harvard was, but Don made it seem important so I nodded and smiled. “How old is your daughter?”

“She’s 23, so she’s a little bit older than you are. She has been having a hard time snagging a man to keep her steady, but she’s been working hard as a career woman, said she’s going to school to be an accountant, I guess.” He pulled into a little local diner for something to eat. “She doesn’t seem like the accountant type, but that’s what she was saying.” He signaled me to get out with him.

When we got inside the small little diner, the instant smell of sweet bread and eggs filled my nostrils. My mouth started to water and I had only just then realized how hungry I was. We hadn’t been gone too long, at least I didn’t think so. “What do you recommend that I get?” I looked at the menu at the large selection of meals that the diner had to offer.

“Well, you liked the soup I made last night so why don’t you try the creamy mushroom soup.” He pointed to the picture of it on the menu. It looked a little bizarre but I thought I should give it a go if Don said it was good. The waitress came and took our orders and sauntered off back to the kitchen where the chef was going to make our food.

“Do you think my family will come back for me?” My shoulders sunk as I tried to keep the tears from forming in my eyes.

“Honestly, I’m not sure.” The waitress came back with a mug of coffee and set it right in front of Don while placing a glass of water in front of me. “From what you told me happened, I wouldn’t be surprised if your family wasn’t allowed to leave at all.”

His words caught me off guard, but I had to believe he was right. The elders knew my family would come looking for me, so they must have them heavily guarded. We’re usually so peaceful, but we do have ways to protect ourselves. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I looked out the window next to us, watching the cars drive by, people on the street conversing and laughing with each other, some just giving a small wave to a person they pass. It felt a lot like home, but wings were replaced by cars and bikes and scooters and skateboards.

After our meal, we started to head back home so he could show me how to work on the farm since I’d be there for a while. “What was that paper thing you handed the waitress when we were done?”

“Money.” He looked at me quizzically. “Do you not have money where you’re from?”

“No.”

“Then how do you pay for things?”

“We don’t. We exchange items. If I were to help my neighbor with her garden because she had a cold, she would then let me have some vegetables from her garden.” I paused for a moment, trying to think of what money had to do with how they exchanged their services. “Do you guys not do that?”

“No, we use money to pay for items. We pay our workers money, sometimes not a liveable wage, for the work that they’ve done so that they can then pay for housing, electricity, necessities, stuff like that.” He tightened his grip on the wheel a little bit, seeming uncomfortable with the conversation.

“Well, that seems a little pointless. Where does this money come from?”

“Well, in America, where we are. We cut down trees and cotton for the bills and we use a mix of different metals for the coins.” He rustled a few pieces of round metal coins in the cup holder.

“Why would you want to cut down healthy trees?!” I exclaimed. “That’s where our forest friends live. Why can’t you use the trees that have fallen?” I was flabbergasted at the way humans could live like that.

“I couldn’t tell you, kid. That’s just how the world works.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, your world is stupid.” I crossed my arms and sunk into the seat, trying to think of why humans would do such a thing.

“There’s a lot more to it. You can search the internet when we get home to do more research on human and human history.” He pulled into the driveway. “I’ll show you how to use the computer and then leave you to it. We need to go grocery shopping tomorrow for when the kids get here.” He hopped out of the truck, leaving me with my thoughts. I guess let’s go find out what he was talking about.