Magic Madness™️

Chapter Twelve: Penny Lane

Word Count: 1,706

    "So what should I call you?" Elijah asked, well aware that the hummingbird wouldn't be able to answer.
    "I don't know how to tell a hummingbird's gender, so it has to be neutral," Elijah thought aloud, not batting an eye when the bird landed on his shoulder and sat there calmly.
    "Riley? Nah, that's too human. Charlie? Eh, probably not. What do you think of Skyler? Get it? Cause you fly in the sky?" Elijah asked, grinning. The bird didn't move. Elijah sighed.
    "I'll take that as a no," he said to fill the silence. He thought on names for awhile more, pushing past branches and bushes as he walked. The bird stayed perched on his shoulder the whole time.
    "Hmm...how about Penny? You're kinda small, and your wings are kinda shiny," Elijah suggested, not thinking much before he said anything.
    The hummingbird chirped happily and flew a circle around him before landing on his shoulder, again.
    "Penny? You like that name?" Elijah laughed. The bird chirped again.
    "Penny it is," Elijah decided, stepping over a small creek.

    Elijah walked for another twenty minutes with the bird on his shoulder, before he heard something. He walked faster and arrived at a bustling village, where he could hear a band of small drums and woodwind instruments playing an upbeat tune.
    He fit right in. Like he did at home, he blended into the crowd easily. Since the game provided his clothes now, he dressed like everyone else, in baggy Renaissance clothes and boots. For the first time since he arrived in the game, he was smiling just because. Nothing was making Elijah smile, in particular, but he felt less alone with everyone crowding him and treating him like a normal person. He looked around at everything as he passed shop after shop, searching for the bookshop Evalyn had told him about.

    Elijah wasn't looking where he was going until he bumped into someone.
    "Oh, I'm sorry I-"
    "No, it's my fault, I wasn't paying attention," Elijah laughed, "Are you okay?"
    "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry again, I should probably start looking where I'm going," the girl he had bumped into replied. She was just a little bit shorter than Eli, and she had a very bright smile.
    "Um. I'm-I'm Elijah," Eli introduced himself, holding his hand out. She shook it firmly.
    "I'm Eliza," the girl, Eliza, laughed, "Technically, my name is Elizabeth, but nobody calls me that."
    "Well...it's good to meet you, Eliza," Eli said awkwardly, slipping his hands into his pockets in a way that he hoped looked casual.
    "It's good to meet you too, Eli, and...who is this?" Eliza asked, pointing at the hummingbird that was still perched on Eli's shoulder.
    "On. That's Penny. It's what I'm here for, actually. I-"
    "Eli?" a voice called from somewhere in the crowd.
    "Yes?" Elijah and Eliza answered at the same time, both turning in the direction of the voice. They both laughed.
    "That was my mom. I'd better get going. I'll see you around," Elizabeth excused herself, waving goodbye before heading back in the direction she had come from, following her mother's voice.

    Elijah smiled as she walked away.

    He continued on his journey, looking for the bookshop, watching where he was going, this time. He found it shortly afterward, a smile on his face as he walked inside.
    "Good morrow, lad. Can I help you find anything?" An old man asked from behind the bookshop counter, a sweet smile on his face. He had a thick British accent that had Elijah working to figure out what the old man had asked him. Once he figured it out, he politely declined and began rooting through the shelves for something that could help him.

    After an hour of searching and re-searching the shelves in the tiny bookshop, all Elijah had found was one book on birds that only had one page of hummingbirds. He had read the one page, put the book back, and walked away with no gained knowledge other than the fact that hummingbirds are supposed to bring love and good luck to whoever sees them.