The Green Guardian

Chapter 22: Whispers of the Fae

        Maria knew something was wrong. She did not take a break from her chocolate ice cream; the emotional pain was too great. An already empty container lay on its side next to her. The picnic table where she sat was at the very edge of Paperblank Village and on top of a platform. The treehouses' branches seemed to reach for her shoulders. Maria could not admire the green scenery in front of her.

Ms. Brook joined her at the table. She took a seat across from her. "Are you okay, baby?" she asked.

Maria scoffed. She scooped up two teaspoons of ice cream. "Sure. After I have my snack, I'm going to run with the butterflies. Of course, I'm not okay, Ms. Brook!" She banged her spoon on the tabletop a few times.

"Okay, I'm sorry, but you need to slow down on the ice cream." Ms. Brook took the half-empty container away from the young woman.

"Something's wrong. I know it is," Maria said in a choked voice. "Mateo..." Loud sobs replaced her words. She clutched her belly. "The baby. I can't keep this up. Why, Ms. Brook? Why is Mateo such a tyrant? For God's Sake, the wedding is in less than two weeks!" She folded her arms and set them down on the table. Maria buried her face in them. She yelled, but luckily it was muffled.

Ms. Brook got up from her seat and slid in next to her. She picked up her left hand. Ms. Brook patted her engagement ring a few times. "Maria, Mateo's always been impatient."

Maria punched the table as hard as she could. "I know that, but never like this. I don't know what it is, Ms. Brook. Why can't he just ask the Union for a break? Does he even love me anymore?"

"Of course, he does! What gave you a crazy idea like that?" Ms. Brook hugged Maria. "I've seen the way he looks at you. There's nothing in the world that matters to him more than you. Heck, when you were children, you were the only person he talked about. He just has a... questionable way of trying to reach his goals."

"You're wrong, Ms. Brook," Maria choked out. "He loves his job more than me. He's going to abandon me when the baby is born and leave me with these words: 'Well, congrats on the baby. I don't see any reason to stick around.'"

Ms. Brook slapped the back of the young woman's head. "No, he's not! How dare you speak like that! I know my son. He would never do that to you."

"But what if he does?"

"You need to look on the bright side of things."

How on Earth could Maria look on the bright side of things when she knew her fiancé was not in good shape? She felt queasy just thinking about it. Her tummy swirled in ways she thought were never possible.

She soon realized it was still the morning hours, and that meant morning sickness. She had yet to throw up that day.

Maria freed herself from Ms. Brook. She knocked down a few villagers trying to reach the building behind the buffet table. They fell on top of one another. Maria did not bother to pick them up.

She hugged the bathroom's toilet for a good ten minutes. She patted its plastic top and mumbled, "Men. Who needs them?" to herself.

Strands of her long black hair dangled in the toilet bowl's water. Since she had been crying, all her makeup was ruined. When the makeup got involved, that was truly a disaster–in Maria's opinion. She thought ruined makeup was worse than the fact that she had accidentally left the cubicle's door open.

"Are you okay, young lady?" an older woman inquired.

Maria mistook her for Ms. Brook. "Stop asking me if I'm okay!" she shouted.