2024 Story Collection

Friendship With The Fae III

After the creature's sudden departure, Grace went through the motions of her evening. She cleaned the dishes, stoked the fire, swept, and did a bit of knitting before bed.

Throughout the day, she couldn't help but keep the flowers near her at all times, within view. So, as she got ready to sleep, she placed the flowers at her beside with a small smile.

The next morning, as she slipped out of bed, she notices a beautifully woven basket, overflowing with sweet, colorful flowers. The flowers matched the ones that the creature had given her the day before. A grin spreads across her face.

She goes about her day as normal, but in the evening she decides to set the table for one and leave a bowl of roast for the creature as a thank you for the flowers. Of course, she has no way of knowing whether or not he'll come back, but she takes the risk.

When she wakes the next morning, she finds more flowers on the table, next to an empty bowl.

The pattern continues: she leaves a meal for the Fae at night and in the morning she is greeted with a new assortment of flowers, all beautiful, colorful and smelling incredible.

As she's placing some flowers in a vase, a man knocks on the small cabin's door. She walks up to the door, opening it and greeting the red-haired man. "Hello, what can I do for you?"

The man takes off his hat and holds it humbly against his chest. His brown eyes shine as he speaks.

"Well, you see, I'm a traveling merchant and I was wondering if you'd be so kind as to trade a nice warm meal and shelter from the snow in exchange for something in my bag?"

"Why, of course," she opens the door wider and lets the merchant in.

He doesn't ask her age, nor why she's out here all alone. She's a legend among the traveling merchants. She's a safe place from a storm, and always has a hardy meal ready for whoever needs it. The merchants also know that she isn't to be taken lightly. As they say, she makes the best black bear and vegetables soup you'll ever have, probably because no one else is crazy enough to take on a bloody bear and make soup from it.

"Those are some nice flowers you got there." His accent is similar to most of the traveling merchants. The books she read as a child described it as what would've been called an Irish accent, but nowadays there are no countries, there's just cold.

"You found yourself a Fae, did ya?" he asks, taking a seat at the small wood dining table.

"Fae?" she asks.

"Tall, thin, cover themselves in living plants and things."

"Oh, so that's what he is," she says as she places the bowl of soup before the man. "Poor thing," she clicks her tongue. "He was so thin you could see his bones."

"You don't seem to fear it," he says. "Most die just from taking one look at the thing."

She gives him a look that makes him reconsider.

"Then again, I suppose after living so long, nothing much fazes ya."

"Nothing much ever did," she chuckles and takes a seat at the table with him.

"So, what did you do to the poor creature?"

"Well, I did what my grandmother taught me. I fed him past full and then some."

The man raises his brows, amused. "You fed him?"

"Well, what was I supposed to do then? Leave him to starve? I mean, bless his heart, he looks like a sun-dried skeleton." She jokes.

He bursts into a hardy laugh before finally saying, "No, I guess not."

"I mean, my ma would've been furious if she'd seen him like that. I can hear her now sayin' "Who let you get like this? You look like you ain't ever had a good meal in your life. That's about to change. We goin' put some meat on them bones. You ain't leaving till you're at least 20lbs heavier," she'd say." As she speaks, her accent comes out even stronger, and she changes her posture to mimic her mother's straight posture.

He laughs. "Sounds like my grandmother."

He continues eating for a bit before Grace breaks the silence again.

She tells him about how the Fae gives her flowers for the food she leaves out for him at night.

He raises his brow. "They can be quite tricky, but I suppose this one took a liking to ya."

"I suppose so." she smiles. "I do enjoy the company."

The man laughs.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he stays here for good one day," he says between bites. "Those kind of creatures tend to stick to ya."

"Well, I wouldn't mind as long as he pulls his weight around here," she says. "I love flowers as much as the next gal, but that just aint goin' cut it."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll have no problem putting him to work," he jokes.

"Speaking of work, I have something I could use a hand lifting," his eyes widen before laughing hard.

"Everything they say about you is true." he laughs harder. "Of course I'll help ya."

"Fantastic, we can call it even for the meal then."

They talk for a while longer; he helps her move a few things and then he's off. Where? She doesn't know. She doesn't much care too. She would likely see him again in a few years, she could ask then.

She waves goodbye as he walks off wrapped in furs against the icy cold wind.

She does her rounds, checking her traps, getting more firewood to bring in, checking on the greenhouses.

As she comes back in from dusting off all the wood from her coat and gloves, she is greeted once again with the tall creature.

"There you are," she says. "I was lookin' darn near everywhere for you."

The end.

January 18, 2024