Monsters & Fairytales (21 page)

“Yes. Good thing you can hear everything I’m saying in there, huh?”

I pointed to my head then looked away. I didn’t know why that irritated me, but it did.

“You’ll never learn that it’s wants I hear, not thoughts.”

He reached over and touched my chest where my heart is. I looked up at him and felt myself blush a little. Everything went numb. I jumped up and paced in front of the fire place.

“Okay, so anyway, right. Okay, yes, I was getting at; do you have a wallet or something you need to go places?”

“Wallet?”

“Yes, it’s a thing typically used by men for identification purposes.”

“Identification purposes?
You mean this?”

He walked over to me and held out his arm. It transformed back into its natural form only from the shoulder down. I watched him squeeze just below his elbow and then tap his forearm. The velvet skin seemed to be thinner in that area. I swore it was pinkish. Was the velvet his fur? I wanted to touch it but he stopped me. He tapped his forearm one more time and markings raised up. I couldn’t understand them. They were made up of circles, lines, squares and swirly things.

“What’s it say?”

I held my hand over it again and he nodded, giving me permission to touch it. I was right. The velvet was his fur. This was more skin. It was weird. It was still very soft. Feeling over the markings, they were a part of him. Even though they looked more like implants, they felt natural.

“My name.”
He said quietly. I was fascinated.

“How does it get there? Are you born with it?”

“Born?” He asked moving his arm back to his side.

“Yes. The moment we humans come into the world from our mothers’ womb, we call it being born.”

“Oh, susaka?”

“You were susaka-
ed
into the world?”

I tried not to laugh, but the word was so awkward.

“Susaka is when we break from our cocoon. Much like what you call a butterfly in your world.”

“Oh! So you don’t come from your mother’s womb?”

“We do… ” He said.

“Huh?” I sucked my bottom lip in for a second. “How can you be from your mother’s womb but then susaka from a cocoon?”

“Do you think we were placed in our trees of life by no means other than air? Our mothers have to place the sac there and that is where we grow.”

He was laughing at my stupidity. I wanted to smack him.

“So, you’re a cat, a butterfly, a Maracore, a Myrian, a guardian angel… ” I said walking towards the balcony and away from him. He was annoying me with his feelings of superiority.

“What is your identification?” He asked me, trying to ease the conversation.

I opened the window and sat down on the floor outside. I felt this small part of me hoping Joe would come out. Then, I’d be saved from this horrendous conversation and swept away on another beautiful adventure on the back of his motorcycle. Spike walked up instead to give me company. I took it. Pulling on his cute, floppy cheeks, he gave me a big, disgusting kiss. Wiping my face, we playfully pushed against one another. I really needed to get furniture out here. It was lovely out.

“Now you are mad at me?” Sebastian said, startling me.

I looked to the window and he was poking his head through.

“No. Today has just been a long day.” I sighed.

“For you, yes, it has.”

“See? You keep doing that! Will you stop acting all high and mighty?”

The wind blew my hair around in my face. Was everything going to annoy me? I jumped up and leaned over the ledge farthest from him. It was the one where I had first seen him crouched and stalking me. The image was burned into my brain forever. No amount of blinking seemed to deter it. Why was I getting so emotional? I tried to focus on the people at the park across the street. It wasn’t working.

“I’m sorry, but I am.” He said.

The words stung at my ego. He was right. Maybe that’s why it was so upsetting. Everyone was better than me. I expected it out of the world, for some reason I didn’t expect it from a creature of God.

“Then pretend you are not.” I asked, looking over at him.

He smiled and moved my bangs back into their pins. Did I want to kiss him? What was going on?

“Okay. How about we go to that place and I can learn everything from you. Will that be better?”

“I guess.”

“Good.” He smiled. “What form of identification do you need?”

“Huh?”

“You were asking me, before we were going to leave, if I had identification. I assume this means that you have something you humans need to get places?”

“Oh. Well, not really. We need an ID to show we are older than 21 to get alcohol, older than 18 to get tobacco, and we need a driver’s license to drive places.”

“And that says who you are?”

Even though he was purposely acting dumb, it made me feel better.

“Well, sort of. At birth, we get a birth certificate and a social security card. I suppose our social security number is much like your name embedded into your arm.”

“Can I see them?” He asked.

“I don’t have my birth certificate, but I have my ID.” I said.

The balcony creaked under my steps. All the weight it had undergone today may’ve unhinged it slightly. Or it was just a typical wrought iron balcony. However, I slid into the window and grabbed my purse. Sebastian followed me, sliding in the same way I had. It was funny. When he made it to my side, I handed over my driver’s license.

“What does all this mean?” He asked, tilting it around.

“There are water marks so it can’t be forged, dates to show my birthday, expiration, and age when I’m allowed to drink-”

“Allowed to drink? You are not allowed beverages until a certain age?” He was appalled.

“No, no. I said that wrong. We are not allowed alcoholic beverages until we are the age of 21. Regular beverages everyone can drink just fine. Although, some parents don’t let kids have soda.”

“What is this alcohol and soda?”

“Soda is just a sugary, bubbly drink. It’s not good for kids, anyway. And alcohol, well I guess it’s not good for anyone, really.”

An image of my father flashed in my eyes. The destruction, the mangled cars, I didn’t understand any of it until around the time I met Rida. She had been gentle with me. It had helped me create my own decision to never touch the stuff. If it made anyone like that, why would I want it?

“Then why do others wish to drink things that are bad for them? I liked the beverage in your fridge. What was that?”

“Fruit juice.”
I said. “And I don’t know why people do the things they do.”

“You are upset again?”

“Yes, Sebastian. Did you forget about my father driving his car into a pole and him and my mother dying? Yeah, he did that because he drank too much alcohol.”

I didn’t mean to say it so rudely, but I couldn’t help it.

“Oh, oh my.
I am so sorry. It wasn’t the alcohol that did that you know.”

“If he never drank it, he would never have done that. That’s why I will never touch the stuff.”

“This stuff you call alcohol, I think we have that in our world. Ours is delicious. You should try it, if you ever visited.
of
course.”

“Visit you?” I put everything back into my purse.  “Can I?”

“I’m not sure… ” He trailed off.

I glanced up at him.
Somehow.
he
made me so angry and yet.
so
happy. I couldn’t understand him. I liked him. He was so fascinating in all the dullness I had been used to. But with more things in my life, comes more drama. 

“Okay. Well, let’s get going.” I laughed.

I put my heels back on then grabbed my car keys and purse. The cardigan I had on wasn’t really for out of the house adventures. It was warming up again now that the day had moved on. Maybe all I needed was the belt to tie the black in with the shoes? The arcade might be chilly.
             

When I ran down the hall, my bangs fell loose for the last time. I knew I had cut them too short. They’d be alright now with my hair dried. I pulled them free and fluffed my hair. Turning back to Sebastian, I placed the hair tie and bobby pins in their spot on my wrist.

“To the arcade?!”
He called to me.

“Yes.” I laughed.

Spike was sitting there, next to Sebastian. It was pathetic. I could just tell they were scheming against me. He knew better, both of them. I had no control over this.

“He really would like to go with you.”

“Well, I told you, dogs aren’t allowed where we are going.”

“Yes, well... ”

Sebastian stood there with a face as sad as Spike’s.
Pathetic.

“Yes. We can talk more in the car. C’mon.” I pulled him
out the door.

This is awkward.

((
hope
is wanting to believe, faith is believing
))

“What’s that?” Sebastian asked for the fifteenth time.

I was all for him wanting to learn, but he was really getting on my nerves. Isn’t this the stuff that he learned in his “school”, or wherever he learned about the human race?

“It’s Brick Backs.” I sighed.

“Brick Backs?”

“Yes, they serve food.”

“You mean it’s a market?”

“No. They have it all there, and they prepare whatever we want to eat.”

“I do not understand.”

“A market is where you go get the specific food you want, right?” I asked. I wanted to see what his definition of a market was, first.

“Yes... ”

“Okay, well in there, there is a menu that you pick the food you want to eat from. Then, after a few minutes or so, it comes to you, all ready.”

“And you eat every meal here? What about the fresh food?”

“Some people do.” I said.

My stomach growled, I was hungry.

“No wonder your breed is primarily fat, too.” He mumbled.

“Can’t argue with you there.”

“What’s that?” He asked pointing to a stop sign.

“It’s a stop sign. You don’t have those?”

“No, what does it do?” He asked.

“It controls traffic flow. How do you get around your city or whatever?”

“Aegyssus?
We have predetermined routes that are only used for certain directions and needs. For example, the Drybucks are for inside our town. If my status was higher, and we were in dire need, we would use the Mainbucks.”

“What do you guys use for transportation?”

When we passed three street signs in silence, I finally looked over at him. He was just staring at me. I didn’t get it. I looked at the road then looked back at him.

“What?!”

“You’re serious?”

“Yes, Sebastian, tell me!”

“We have wings, Mirabelle.”

“Right, of course I knew that. Then why have roads? You literally hover fly everywhere?”

I imagined a line of him fluttering down a road. I saw them at a four way cross, bickering about who got there first with their fancy ties and briefcases. I tried not to laugh.

“The Mainbucks have a different mode of transportation, but I cannot speak of that. In the city, yes, we walk everywhere.”

“Hmm.”
I sighed.

His world sounded like an uncivilized country that hadn’t been touched by technology. I was very much interested to know what they were learning from us. Could it be possible that technology wasn’t everything? He did have some form of magic, though, why would they need computers to do the work for them?

It was silent again. Maybe it was best to let the conversation die down. It was somewhat nice to have nothing to say. My thoughts could finally unravel. A lot had happened in the three days it took me to get through half a day. I still didn’t really understand it all myself, but that wasn’t important anymore. Joe had taken some serious risks with me. I wondered if I’d see him when we got back. Would he be waiting on me? We should have swapped numbers.
             

Slowing down, the GPS application on my phone showed me that I needed to be making a right soon. We were almost there. I decided to leave Joe at this spot. Sebastian deserved some of my attention for what he had done for me. His treatment here hadn’t exactly been all that it could have been on my end. I really hoped this made up for it.