Fairy Thief (25 page)

He was strolling onto the beach with a surfboard, and soon caught sight of them. “Hallooo!” he called out, friendly enough.

“
Stars above…,” Wo whispered as his entire body went lax.

“
What, Wo? What is it?” Tai frowned and stared at his starry-eyed brother.

Wo was totally transfixed by the man. He got up to follow the newcomer as he strolled on past them.

“
Wait!” Tai yelped and flexed his wings as he reached up for Wo’s slack arm. “Wo, where are you going?”

“
Oh,” said Wo. “I’ll be right back….” Then he disappeared into the mist after the man with the surfboard.

Orji jumped to his feet and dusted the snow-white sand off his behind as he watched Wo retreat. “What’s going on?”

“
Your guess is as good as mine; what kind of realm is
this?
” Tai craned his neck, but there was no longer any sign or sound of Wo.

“
He said he’ll be right back.” She shrugged. “So, he’ll be right back.” But her mutters sounded hollow with disbelief.

“
C’mon, no use sitting around — let’s check this realm out, and move on.”

Tai wouldn’t budge. He stared hard at the mist where Wo disappeared.

Orji spoke gently. “They just went surfing. This mist should lift soon, and after we check the place out a little, we’ll come back here to collect him. Let him go.”

Tai nodded and trailed slowly after Orji, who was followed by Deva.

Saffron got up, dusted her behind, and followed too, as Orji strode towards what looked like a building in the thinning mist.

It wasn’t long before they found themselves on the main street of a bustling town. People passed them, gave them friendly smiles, and murmured polite greetings. Orji and Saffron were thrilled to be received as such, for once, as they appeared. No one mocked their clothes, sneered at their hair, chased after them because of their differences. The townspeople seemed genuinely pleased to see them. But the folks didn’t hover. As polite as they were, everyone seemed very busy with their own affairs, and after a very brief ‘hello,’ each person moved on.

One woman stopped to pinch Tai’s cheek, and coo at his cuteness. He smiled back at her, then wiggled his wings out from behind his cloak and stretched them wide. He was testing her, as Saffron had seen him do before, to see if the woman would shriek in horror or smile with dollar signs in her eyes at the discovery that the cute little boy was a freak. Tai enjoyed testing people by flashing them, which Saffron thought was a little disturbing. The woman did not scream or look greedy — she didn’t flinch at the sight of his wings at all. She merely formed an ‘O’ with her mouth, and ‘ooohed’ and ‘aaahed’ like a good mommy when her child has done something amazing. She gave him one final pat and moved on.

Tai grinned like a fool in love. “Well, this is a nice change.” The woman gave a friendly pat to Deva on her way by as well. Deva smiled with all of her teeth.

Orji and Saffron released simultaneous breaths of relief. Finally, they were able to relax just a little, after what seemed like an eternity. They looked around.

It was a hilly island. Almost like Greece. The walls of the dwellings that surrounded them seemed to be made of white stucco. They were igloo shaped; every building with a rounded dome roof. Most of the buildings were built into the hillside, and disappeared in the mist.

On the street, vendors sold food, toys, furniture, and odds and ends. Saffron watched as one man called out his variety of meats — sausages, chicken, turkey; all roasted brown and perfect. Saffron felt her mouth water — how she missed her body sometimes. If only to eat again. The vendor was a heavyset man with jet-black, oiled hair and a long, black, curling moustache. He wore a puffy-sleeved white shirt, a red vest, and black swashbuckling pants. He called out with a rich, deep voice. “Sausages here — git your sausages here! Flaming hot and juicy — freshly roasted!” He smiled at Saffron; she couldn’t help herself, and grinned back.

The city was intoxicating. Just then, another man walked up to the vendor. They shook hands fervently. This new man was tall, lean, with wavy, blond hair and blue eyes. The two men chatted amicably for a moment, and then the blonde man stepped behind the meat cart as the curly-mustached man stepped away from it. The curly-mustached man saluted the blonde man, then disappeared into the crowd.

Hmmm,
thought Saffron,
must be his relief person
. But almost immediately, she noticed
all
of the other vendors were being replaced by someone new. The original vendors took off into the crowd, and Saffron thought that they must work for the same big corporation and were probably relieved all at the same time.

They walked on.

Tai came to a sudden stop. “Who’s that?” His eyes grew round and soft with amazement, like a child recognizing his reflection for the very first time. “Quick! Don’t lose her.” He sprinted forward, leaving Deva to moo at his sudden absence.

“
Oh, c’mon,” Saffron muttered, and placed her hand on Deva’s head as they surged forward to keep up with Tai.

But Tai was already, suddenly, gone. He was lost within the folds of the ever-thickening crowd. “Tai!” Saffron shrieked. There was something odd about the way people disappeared around here. Although the land was beautiful (from what she could see within the mist) and the people kind, just the tiniest bit of anxiety started to cool her blood. “Tai!” she shrieked louder.

“
I’ll be right back!” She heard him answer. His call was exuberant, joyful, even.

Saffron stopped walking and let her hands fall limply to her sides. She frowned and looked at Orji. Deva moved closer to her side and Saffron patted the cow’s head absently.

“
What’s going on here?” Saffron whispered to Orji.

“
I don’t know, but I’ll tell you what…” he looked around at the smiling faces and laughing crowd. He breathed the fresh, sea air, and noted that the sun that had finally come out. The mist was almost dissipated. “…I’m not going to worry about it right now. Things are a little weird, yes — but very far from bad; that’s for sure.”

Saffron nodded slowly and looked around. She wanted to take his word for it, needed to take his word for it. Maybe she wasn’t used to nice people and nice places.
Perfectly nice places.
Maybe she had been bitter for so long, she couldn’t see a good thing without prying for its faults. She took a deep breath, then another, and told herself to relax.

That’s when she saw the woman. She was standing at a vendor’s cart, inspecting a small wooden object, and laughing with the sales clerk. The woman shook her head to nod in agreement with something the vendor said. Her long, chestnut-brown hair flowed and shook, like a silk banner as it rippled in the breeze. Saffron could smell the woman’s hair, could feel it between her fingers, and felt it fall across her face as her mother read her a goodnight story.

She took off after the woman.

She was so close.
Wait, don’t go,
Saffron thought, but said nothing out loud. The woman was still at the stand. Saffron could close the gap in a few quick seconds. She pushed through the crowd.

“
Saffron!” Orji grasped her hand.

Saffron was snapped from her thoughts. She turned around to meet Orji’s furtive glance.

“
Where are you going?”

She saw the distress in his eyes, but realized, finally — he would find someone soon. He wouldn’t be wallowing in his grief for much longer. She couldn’t help him, anyway. She needed to go — go after her mother before she disappeared. “Orji, don’t worry — I’ll be right back.” Then she pried her hand from Orji’s desperate clutch and ran after the woman who had moved away from the vendor’s stand.

When Saffron caught up with the woman, she was breathless. She tapped the woman on the back. She was almost convinced her own mother was about to turn around. But, no, when the woman turned, Saffron realized she was a stranger — someone who looked like her mother.

The woman smiled warmly at Saffron, then reached out to smooth a strand of hair behind Saffron’s ear.

A warm, soft feeling started to flow through Saffron; it calmed her and washed her in bliss. “I...I’m sorry.…” Saffron stuttered. She couldn’t keep her eyes off the woman’s hair — it was
exactly
like her mother’s. It was the same length, shade, and texture. Saffron was convinced it must feel as soft, too.

The woman eyed Saffron with a twinkle in her eye. “Here,” she offered Saffron a length of hair, “is it just as you remember?”

Saffron took the hair, in the middle of the crowded street, and ran it between her thumb and forefinger. “Yes,” she sighed softly, then smelled it because she couldn’t resist. Yes, the scent was the same. Saffron was beside herself with joy. Somehow, in this realm, all of her senses were back with incredible strength and such poignant clarity, that she wanted to weep. She could smell and hear and feel everything!

“
Who was your woman?” The stranger cocked her head to the side. Her eyes sparkled, her lips curved into a soft smile. “She was your mother, wasn’t she….”

Saffron nodded. “I know you…don’t I? We have a past…?” Saffron beamed as she looked at the woman. She wanted to hug her, go home with her.

“
No, Luv; we have never met before. But I will not begrudge you your mother. Come with me. Let me love you, comb your beautiful red hair, tell you bedtime stories, cook your meals.” The woman gently pulled Saffron to her chest and hugged her.

Saffron closed her eyes and sighed.

The woman held her in the middle of the busy street and rocked her gently. As she rocked her, she sang in Saffron’s ear, the very same tune Saffron’s own mother had sung to her before she fell off to sleep every night as a child.

***

Wo sat on the beach with the man, who was waxing his surf board. While he worked, he explained what he was doing. The man lovingly ruffled Wo’s hair, and talked about how they were going to go surfing togther. Then, later, they would go fishing and perhaps that evening, they could camp out on the beach — make a fire from the driftwood, and contemplate the constellations. Tomorrow, the man said, he and Wo would start batting practice. The man was exactly as Wo imagined his father would be. The father he had never met.

***

Deva stood alone in the middle of the crowd, mooing pathetically. The passersby said, “Oh, poor thing,” and patted her on the head, and kept going. Deva was all alone. First Wo, then Tai, then Saffron (which Deva was actually glad of), and now, Orji.

A woman had made off with Orji. She was an older woman, whose hair had just started to grey. As soon as Orji locked eyes with her, he was gone. It seemed he never heard Deva call after him.

Now, Deva looked frantically around. She was about to cry big, cow tears when suddenly something caught
her
eye as well. A field — a field beyond town filled with luscious, green grass. She moved towards the grass like a hypnotized beast, her tongue lolling like a dog’s.

***

The woman told Saffron to call her ‘Mom,’ as they walked into one of the domed buildings. “Shall we live here?” Mom asked.

Saffron looked around. It was a simple house — rustic kitchen table with mismatched chairs, old-world pottery strewn about, and plants everywhere.

“
This is an odd place,” Saffron said as she moved to stroke one of the clay cooking pots.

“
Tell me, what was your home like?”

“
Oh….” said Saffron, and struggled to remember. Her old home seemed so far away — her memories were clouded and wishy-washy. “I think it was a farm by the sea — but I can’t remember much more than that….” Saffron sighed.

“
Well, I think I have just the place!” The woman clapped her hands with delight, then rushed over and took Saffron’s hand. She led Saffron out of the dwelling and down the street. As they walked, time seemed to warp around them. Everything would speed up and blur, as if someone was pressing a fast-forward button. Soon enough, they arrived at a dwelling that sat on the edge of the sea. “And, how is this?”

Saffron looked around, noted the furnishings were more contemporary — just like in her old home. “This is perfect!”

“
Good! Then let’s live here!” The woman rubbed Saffron’s back, then told her to sit at the kitchen table. ‘Mom’ was going to make fresh-baked, chocolate chip cookies.

Saffron felt her heart swell, and her senses fill with a warm, mellow feeling. It was like love and deja vu and ecstasy all rolled together. The feeling washed away a little when she remembered, “I don’t think I can eat them — I’m a ghost.”