The Adventure of the Magic Chia Plant

Chapter 9: The Mysterious Stranger

Bench watched his brother and sister for a while. When he was sure they were both deeply asleep, he took out Brent's Kindle and navigated back to the Fantastic Beasts book. He scrutinized the information about the blue alien for a while, wondering if there was anything else they could exploit later.

Its eyes only opened one side at a time. This meant they could sneak up on it from the other side if needed.

It stayed in shallow water. Good. They wouldn't have to worry about it going too far from shore, which was fortunate because of the three of them, Brent was the only one who could swim.

It couldn't digest plastic. Bench couldn't figure out how this bit could be more helpful, but in the meantime, it was the only thing keeping the creature from eating and destroying the bottle.

It liked magic chia tea, Mountain Dew, fish, and crabs, in that order.

Bench sighed and put down the Kindle. He hadn't told Brent, but he'd spotted a major flaw in their plan to make tea for the alien. Where on earth were they going to put it? They didn't have a container that size. Brent had mentioned they might need a bucketful of tea, and all they had were their canteens, which at most held only about three glassfuls. That wasn't nearly enough. They'd have to find something that could hold a much bigger amount of water.

Bench briefly considered wandering around the beach, but then he asked himself what Brent would think of such a plan. His older brother would veto it immediately, and he would be right. He would help no one if he got lost or accidentally stumbled over something and broke his leg.

Bench sighed and started playing with the flashlight, swinging it around in all directions so that it bounced off the sparkly sand. The shadows around him danced and shifted wildly with his movements. After a few minutes, he realized that one of the shadows was not moving, regardless of what he did with the flashlight. With a vague feeling of dread, he trained the beam on the patch of inky darkness.

For long seconds, nothing happened. It was as if a four-foot, elongated black hole was floating three meters to his right. Slowly, details started to emerge like a person rising from a lake of crude oil: a sharp nose and chin, chiseled cheekbones, pointed ears, and large glowing amber eyes. Others followed: flowing red hair, spindly limbs, a slender body clothed in a dress made of dark green leaves belted with a length of ivy, and bare feet hovering a few inches above the ground. Gossamer dragonfly wings fluttered with a low-frequency humming sound in the night breeze. 

If Tinkerbell's cousin somehow became human-sized, this might be what she'd look like. The difference was that Tinkerbell, in the movies, was encircled by a golden radiance. This faerie seemed to suck all the light from its surroundings.

He? She? It landed silently on the sand. 

"Greetings," it breathed in a strange voice that sounded like three bells ringing simultaneously.

Bench squirmed uneasily and looked back at his siblings, torn between the urge to wake them up or let them rest. Despite the creature's relatively harmless appearance, he felt vaguely alarmed. There was something about it that didn't feel right.

"Hello," he answered cautiously.

"What is your name?" Don't give it your real name, an inner voice urged, but to his surprise, Bench could not stop himself from answering. "Bench Phillips.

The faerie smiled, but it was not a reassuring expression. "Who are your companions?"

This time, Bench's mental voice was even stronger. Don't tell it the truth! You'll give it power over them!

"I don't know," he lied, although it took a surprising amount of effort. "Who are you?"

The faerie paused before answering. "I am Fae."

That's not its name, thought Bench. But it hadn't lied entirely to him, either. It had told him what it was. Maybe it couldn't lie? Bench filed away that possible weakness for future use.

"Why are you here?" whispered the faerie, drawing nearer. Its pupils expanded and contracted hypnotically, and Bench felt himself drawn into them despite himself.

"We...we came through a door made by a chia plant," he replied dazedly. "We're trying to get back, but..."

"But?"

"An alien took the magic bottle we need to water our chia seeds."

The fairy's gaze seemed to sharpen. "A magic bottle?"

"Yes, a bottle with water that makes plants grow very fast."

The fairy inhaled sharply, its eyes gleaming with intense interest. "How do we retrieve this bottle?"

Bench shook his head, trying to clear his mind, but his mouth seemed to move on its own. "We need a bucket to make chia seed tea for the alien." Something occurred to him. "We don't have one. Do you?"

The fairy nodded eagerly. "Yes."

His mind screamed that it was a trap, but another voice argued, you have no choice. You need a bucket. '

"Can you give it to me?"

"No," said the faerie. "But I can show it to you."

"Where is it?"

The faerie lifted an arm and pointed wordlessly at the forest behind them. Bench swallowed as he looked at its ominous height and breadth.  

"It's too dark now. Let's wait until morning."

"No. If you need the bucket, we must go now."

Bench glanced back at the fire. "Then I'll wake up my siblings so they can come with us." 

"No. I can only bring one of you with me."

Bench's feeling of foreboding was growing stronger and stronger, but he somehow sensed that the faerie was telling him the truth, just not the whole truth.  

"If I come with you, do you swear not to harm me?" He demanded.  

"I will not harm you,"  The faerie promised. Bench failed to notice that it emphasized the word "I."

"Okay, then." Bench made sure that the pocketknife and the binoculars were in his pocket. Brent's Kindle lay forgotten on the sand. He took his flashlight and trained it in front of him. "Lead the way."