The Fairy

Chapter 1

The guttural bell beckoned the students back to class. They flocked to their desks while Mr. Pepperzman stood disgustedly. He found the clicking of pens, the whizzing of pages and even, the vibrations in the air, unbearable. Father Gascoine had promised Mr. Pepperzman a quiet life away from the cacophony of the city. The noise however never quite seemed to leave him alone. He wished he was deaf.

"All right everyone turn to page number three-seven-three, the circulatory system. Today, we are going to continue the lesson on blood and its composition", instructed Mr. Pepperzman.

Mac was flipping through the pages of "Blood of Elves" by Andrzej Sapkowski, apathetic to his surroundings. He simply could not wait till the end of school hours to read it. It was the most captivating book he had read in a tragically long time. The medieval European setting, the cities the author blew life into, the suspense, the action and above all the protagonist. A battle hardened Monster Hunter, a ruthless murderer yet as gentle as still water. Mac did not like the common male archetype-rough, uncaring and above all, unwilling to show the slightest pint of kindness or compassion. This infuriated him. He hated men. But this protagonist, he was different; He was strong enough to be gentle.

"Mac!" cried Mr. Pepperzman.

He had always been fond of Mac; partly because of his intelligence and curiosity but mostly because of his soft, gentle voice and quite nature. The fondness was mutual. Mr. Pepperzman was one of those few gentlemen Mac could tolerate.

"Tell me the exact amount of iron the blood of an adult human body might contain?" asked Mr. Pepperzman as he removed his glasses and gave them their customary cleaning.

"There exists zero point zero one two three three millimeters of iron per liter of blood. An average human body contains approximately five liters of blood. Therefore a human body would contain about zero point zero six one six five millimeters of iron", responded Mac.

Mr. Pepperzman clasped his hands together in glee. He and Mac shared a mutual smirk.

"Gabriel?"

"Yes, Father Richards."

"I need you in my office."

"I'll be right there in a moment."

"All right class let's end here for today and Mac, next time, try to pay attention in class, ok?"

Mac nodded and blinked with a smile. The class dispersed. He put his things hurriedly into his bag and set out for the woods. He never liked going home right after school. He loved the woods; they were his true home. People thought Mac loved the woods because of the isolation and solitude it provided but the woods were anything but isolated. He loved the company of the whitetail deer, the blue jays, cardinals, tanagers and woodpeckers, the beavers and muskrats, the fish living in tranquility in the shining waters. He had a chair and a blanket set up on a clearing close to the road. He drew, studied and completed school work and read and sang softly to himself till the orange sun reminded him it was time to return to discomfort. He had always wanted to stay after dark. He was not allowed to stay after dark or stray too deep into the woods. Mac did not care about the rules. In truth he too was a bit afraid that he might run into something in the woods at night.

The evening was windy.

"The weather forecast did say that it would be chilly with a chance of rain tonight", thought Mac.

He remembered his Uncle Arthur. How he would take him to watch bears come out of hibernation after winter ended, these evening chills don't come close to how cold those mornings were. Those trips to the river to learn how to fish; it all came back rushing to him. "Be gentle with the bait, Mackie. Fish can sense when they are being led on. Wish I was a fish too then I wouldn't have had to marry your aunt." said Uncle Arthur as he gave out a hearty laugh.